Pacific Lutheran 61, at Lewis & Clark 43

Portland, Ore. – (From Tom Galbraith, L&C SID) Lewis & Clark hung around for most of the game Saturday against nationally-ranked Pacific Lutheran, but in the end the Lutes were too much for the Pioneers, 61-43.

PLU led by only 10 at the half, 27-17, and the Pios cut that lead to eight twice after the intermission.  However, PLU used a 12-0 run midway through the second half to put the game away.  The Lutes held L&C to just 30 percent shooting in the second half, outscoring the Pioneers 34-26.  Pacific Lutheran controlled the boards, topping the

Pios 47-34 for the game.

Jamie Keatts led the Lute attack with 16 points.  Jessica Iserman tallied 11 points and eight rebounds.  Hilary Berg led the team with nine caroms.  Courtney Johnson had five blocks.

Lindsay Sweetland led the way for L&C with 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.  Nnenna Lewis added 12 points and five steals.

At Whitworth 66, Pacific 52

Spokane, Wash. – (From Steve Flegel, Whitworth SID) Freshman Tiffany Speer led Whitworth College to a 66-52 win over visiting Pacific University by hitting career highs in points and rebounds Saturday night in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game.

Speer finished with 23 points and 16 rebounds to help the Pirates win their third straight game and improve to 11-6 overall and 6-2 in the NWC. In addition, freshman forward Sarah Shogren added 15 points off of the bench for the Bucs.

Speer scored 17 of her points in the first half to help Whitworth take a 38-18 lead into the locker rooms. Whitworth led 14-12 before going on a 15-2 run to take a 29-14 lead with 3:45 to play in the first period. Speer and Shogren combined for nine points during the run.

The Pirates extended their lead to 24 points when two free throws by Chrissy Oneal gave Whitworth a 52-28 lead with 11:08 to play in the game.

The Boxer cut the deficit to 14 points twice, the final time coming on a lay-in by Katannya Kapeli with 10 seconds to play. But the Boxers saw their five-game winning streak come to an end and they fell to 8-8 overall, 4-4 in the NWC.

Oneal was the only other Pirate in double figures with 10 points. She also added 13 rebounds. Whitworth outrebounded Pacific 55-41. Senior guard Erica Ewart finished with nine points one night after leading Whitworth to an upset win over George Fox by scoring 29 points.

Kapeli led Pacific by scoring 16 points. No other Boxer was in double figures. Jessica Cooper led Pacific with 11 rebounds.

Whitworth will return to the road next weekend, taking on Pacific Lutheran University Friday night in Tacoma. Pacific will host Willamette University next Friday night.

George Fox 69, at Whitman 57

Walla Walla, Wash. – (From Dave Holden, Whitman SID) Despite a huge offensive night from Sunny Gulberg, the Whitman women's basketball team dropped a Northwest Conference game to 10th-ranked George Fox 69-57 Saturday night in Sherwood Center.

The victory rights the Bruins ship after a Friday night loss at Whitworth. George Fox jumps to 15-2 overall, 6-2 in the conference. Whitman falls to 5-10 overall, 1-6 in the NWC.

Gulberg led all scorers with a career-high 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting from field, including five three-pointers. The senior point guard single-handedly led the Missionaries to a 33-31 first-half lead. She scored 20 points on eight-of-nine shooting in the opening frame.

Whitman led by as many as 14 points in the first stanza, after opening the game on a 15-4 run. The Bruins closed the half outscoring Whitman 11-3, to pull within two at the intermission buzzer.

The nationally-ranked Bruins opened the second half with a pair of buckets to take a 35-33 lead, and after the two teams traded the lead, Liz Clark put the Bruins up for good on a three-pointer with 17:15 left in the game.

The Bruins generated spurts of 9-0 and 6-0 in the final frame to keep the game out of reach.

Heather Doud and Nicole Prazeau each finished in double-digit scoring for the Bruins. Doud led the team with 18 points, while Prazeau finished with 16.

Whitman's Ashley Wright finished with 10 rebounds, nine points, four assists, three steals and a pair of blocked shots before fouling out with just under five minutes to play in regulation. Kim Evanger added seven points, six rebounds and four steals.

For the evening, the Bruins turned the ball over 21 times, twice more than Whitman. The Bruins enjoyed a 43-37 margin on the backboards.

Gulberg finished the night just three points shy of the 1,000-point plateau for her Whitman career. She can top that mark when Whitman plays Tuesday at Linfield College.

At Linfield 69, Puget Sound 57

McMinnville, Ore. – (From Kelly Bird, Linfield SID) Linfield recorded its most significant women's basketball victory of the season, stunning Northwest Conference title contender Puget Sound 69-57 Saturday night in Ted Wilson Gym. The Wildcats won their second straight NWC game, improving to 3-4 in conference play, 7-9 overall. UPS, which began the week with one conference loss, was sent home with a 3-3 NWC record and an 11-4 overall mark after also losing Friday night at Willamette.

The Wildcats' Shae Wright hit 7 of 11 shots from the field to finish with a game-high 19 points and Monica Schwing sank 6 of 10 for 15 points.

Linfield overcame an 18-point night by NWC all-star post Julie Vanni, who made 6 of 10 shots and collared five rebounds. Lindsay May had 13 points and seven boards for UPS, which fell behind by seven points in the first half and never recaptured the lead.

After Vanni tied the score at 14 with a three-point play, the Wildcats went on a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to jump in front 25-14. The Loggers countered with an 11-2 run of their own to close within a basket, 27-25, following another Vanni three-point play. The 'Cats went back in front by five on a 10-footer by Wright, then Erin Nooy canned two free throws with one second left in the half to give the Wildcats a 35-28 advantage at the break.

Puget Sound outscored the Wildcats 9-2 during the first 3:15 of the second half, knotting the score at 37 on Alison McCurdy's three-point bucket. An 11-3 run by Linfield put the 'Cats back on top by eight, 48-40. The Loggers closed to within three, 50-47, but Linfield kept its composure and extended its lead to 10 on Wright's layup with 3:52 to go.

The Wildcats forced 24 UPS turnovers as Linfield guards Lindsay Sticka and Leah Moore tallied three steals each. For the game, Linfield shot .490 compared to the Loggers' .388 and the Wildcats outrebounded UPS 38-29.

Next up, the Wildcats host the Whitman Missionaries Tuesday at 7 p.m. UPS hosts Lewis & Clark the same night.