Willamette`s Fujioka Named Honorable Mention All-NWC

Freshman forward led Bearcats in scoring and rebounding.

Salem-News.com SPORTS

SALEM - Willamette University women’s basketball player Keilyn Fujioka capped a stellar freshman campaign by being named Honorable Mention All-Northwest Conference as selected by the NWC head coaches.

Fujioka was the only Bearcat player to earn All-Conference honors.

Fujioka played in 23 of the Bearcats’ 25 games (20 starts) and led the team in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots.

On the season, she averaged 10.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.2 blocked shots per game.

She finished 14th in the NWC in points per game, third in rebounds per game, and fourth in blocked shots per game.

In addition, she finished second in the conference in field goal percentage, shooting 53.8 percent (99 of 184) on the year.

Her best game of the season came during the Bearcats’ 66-52 win over California State University-East Bay on Dec. 30th, when she poured in a game-high 23 points and pulled down 15 rebounds.

She also recorded a double-double in Willamette’s 71-51 win over Western Oregon on Dec. 8th, scoring 18 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.

Fujioka, who missed two games late in the season due to a knee injury, finished in double figures in scoring 12 times and in rebounding eight times.

She was the Bearcats’ high scorer in eight games, and the team’s top rebounder in 17 games.

Fujioka was one of the bright spots on a Willamette team that finished the season at 5-20 overall and 3-13 in the NWC.

One of the team’s highlights came when the Bearcats stopped a 20-game NWC losing streak by defeating Pacific University 71-66 in overtime on Jan. 5th.

There is plenty of optimism for the Bearcats heading into next season, with Fujioka and juniors Laura Payne (Guard, Sammamish, WA/Skyline HS), Tracie Nygaard (Forward, Astoria, OR/Knappa HS) and Victoria Swigart (Guard, Newport Beach, CA/Newport Harbor HS) returning.

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