At Whitman 51, Pacific Lutheran 42

Walla Walla, Wash. – (From Dave Holden, Whitman SID) Sunny Gulberg scored 19 points, moving into 11th place on Whitman's career scoring list, to power the Missionaries to a 51-42 Northwest Conference victory over Pacific Lutheran Friday night in Sherwood Center.

Whitman upped its record 5-6 and 1-2 in the NWC. The loss snapped PLU's nine-game winning streak, dropping the Lutes to 10-2 on the season, 4-1 in conference play.

Gulberg, a senior, hit five of nine shots from the floor and eight of nine free throws to raise her career scoring total at Whitman to 922 points. She moved into 11th place on the

Missionary scoring list, passing Kristi Lampe, a 1995 graduate who tallied 918 points.

Kim Evanger added 12 points, nine rebounds and three steals for the Missionaries. Ashley Wright chipped in with 12 points and seven boards.

Toni Craig scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds off the bench to lead PLU. Becky Franza had eight boards and four points for the Lutes.

Whitman held PLU scoreless for a stretch of more seven minutes midway through the first half to build a 14-8 lead. The Lutes closed the gap to 20-18 at the break.

After shooting just 18 percent from the floor in the first half, the Lutes warmed up early in the second stanza, jumping in front 34-26 with 10:41 left to play.

The Missionaries evened the score at 35-35 by the 6:51 mark, but PLU moved back in front 40-36 with 5:34 remaining. Whitman outscored the visitors 15-2 the rest of the way, however, to ice the victory.

For the game, PLU hit just 22 percent of its shots from the floor and 50 percent of its free throws (14 of 28). Whitman outrebounded the Lutes 44-38 and canned 42 percent of its shots from the field. Neither side took great care of the ball, with Whitman committing 25 turnovers, six more than PLU.

Puget Sound 71, at Whitworth 62

Spokane, Wash. – (From Steve Flegel, Whitworth SID) Spokane, WA - In a match-up of young teams looking to prove they belong with the top teams of the NWC, visiting University of Puget Sound held off Whitworth College 71-62 in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game on Friday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

UPS, which bounced back from a loss at George Fox on Tuesday evening, improved to 10-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference. Whitworth, playing only its second home game of the season and first in over a month, fell to 8-5 and 3-1.

Courtney Leybold led the Loggers with 19 points. She made 7/8 free throws, including three of four in the final 30 second to help UPS hold off the Pirates. Senior post Julie Vanni added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Lucy Wilson and Lindsay May added 10 points apiece for UPS.

Tiffany Speer and Erica Ewart, who scored 14 points each, led Whitworth. Sarah Shogren added 13 points off of the bench and led Whitworth with nine rebounds.

UPS led only 23-20 with just under seven minutes to play in the first half before going on a 23-2 run that spanned the rest of the first half and the first three minutes of the second half, to open up a 46-22 lead with 17 minutes to play in the game. The Loggers eventually led by 27 points (53-26) on a lay-up by Angie Cashman with fifteen minutes to play.

But Whitworth fought back. A 17-4 Whitworth run pulled the Pirates to within 61-49 with just under four minutes to play. The Pirates got as close as 65-58 on a pair of free throws by Ewart with 1:30 to play. But UPS made 6/8 free throws down the stretch to hold on.

UPS will travel to Walla Walla, Washington to play Whitman College on Saturday night. Whitworth will host league-leading Pacific Lutheran on Saturday.

George Fox 80, at Lewis & Clark 46

Portland, Ore. – (From Tom Galbraith, L&C SID) Number 16-ranked George Fox opened up a tight game midway through the first half Friday and rolled to an 80-46 victory over host Lewis & Clark.

The Pioneers led 7-2 early, but Fox responded with a 14-0 run and held the Pios scoreless for nine minutes.  The Bruins were never threatened again and led at the intermission 40-20.

George Fox forced 24 turnovers, 17 in the first half, and outrebounded the Pioneers 54-37.  Nicole Prazeau led the Bruins with 14 points. Darby Cave added 12 and Melissa Alexander 11.  Alexander also dished out seven assists.  Becky Thompson had a team-high four steals.

Lindsay Sweetland again charted a double-double for Lewis & Clark, scoring a game-high 19 points and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. Deidra Wilson chipped in with 13 points.

At Linfield 75, Willamette 51

McMinnville, Ore. – (From Kelly Bird, Linfield SID) A shakeup to the starting lineup by Linfield coach Robyn Stewart proved to be just the right cure for Linfield’s struggling basketball fortunes. The fifth-year coach replaced two starters and the result was the Wildcats’ best performance this season. Linfield (5-8, 1-3 NWC) staked a 23-point first half lead, then traded baskets in the second half in a 75-51 rout of Willamette (6-8, 1-4 NWC) Friday night at Ted Wilson Gym. The Northwest Conference women’s basketball victory gave Linfield a degree of momentum heading into Saturday night’s matchup against nationally ranked George Fox.

Linfield’s 75 points was its highest output of the year and came on the heels of a disappointing three-point loss six days earlier at Pacific.  Monica Schwinghit 7 of 11 shots, carrying Linfield with a game-high 22 points. The sophomore from Bend added five rebounds and three assists. Shae Wright went 5 for 10 from the field to finish with 10 points in 13 minutes. Alicia Westley keyed Linfield’s defense, picking up a game-high three steals to go with three assists.

Rosie Contri tallied 15 points and six assists for the Bearcats. Simmie Muth added 11 points.

The Wildcats hit 11 of their first 16 shots while bolting to a 15-point lead in the first 13 minutes. Linfield kept the pressure on, extending its cushion to 21 on Schwing’s three-point play with 2:32 left in the half. The Wildcats, eager to snap a two-game losing skid, led 44-21 as the teams retreated to the locker room.  For the half, Linfield shot .640 to Willamette’s .200 and forced 11 Bearcats turnovers.

Muth cut the margin to 17, 49-30 with 13:15 left to play, but Linfield quickly recovered, pushing its lead back to 25 on Westley’s three-pointer from the right side with just under 10 minutes to go. Willamette never got closer than 20 points as Linfield went on to its largest victory of the season.

The Wildcats shot .500 for the game, compared to the Bearcats’ .275.