Feb. 13 NWC Women’s Basketball Wrap (Stories provided by host SID)

At Whitworth 54, Pacific Lutheran 45

Spokane, Wash. -- Whitworth College outscored visiting Pacific Lutheran University 19-5 over the final ten minutes of the game to knock off the 16th-ranked Lutes 54-45 in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game on Friday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

With the win the defending NWC champion Pirates improved to 16-4 overall and 8-3 in the NWC, moving within two games of PLU (16-3, 10-0). The loss also ended the Lutes' school-record 12-game winning streak.

Tiffany Speer scored 17 points to lead the Pirates. Sarah Shogren scored 12 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds after missing six games with a sprained ankle. Dani Bielec added 11 points for the Pirates.

Whitworth outscored the Lutes 34-24 in the second half and had a 28-14 rebounding advantage after halftime.

PLU got 17 points from Sara Wilcox. Aundi Kustera added eight points and a team-high seven rebounds. Courtney Johnson, who had 23 blocks in two games last weekend, finished with five blocks.

PLU led 21-10 with 2:44 to play in the first half. The Lutes had held the Pirates to 8% shooting at that point (2/25). But Whitworth closed the half with a 10-0 run, including a three-point play by Bielec and a three-pointer at the buzzer by Katie Regier.

PLU extended the lead back to as many as seven points (30-23) early in the second half and led 40-35 on a lay-up by Pam Isaacson with 10:11 to play. But the Pirates' defense stiffened and they finished with their 19-5 run, finally taking the lead 46-44 on a drive by Speer with just over four minutes to play.

Combined with Whitman's 74-63 win over UPS, Whitworth moved into a third-place tie with UPS (8-3), one game behind second place Whitman (8-2). Whitworth will host UPS and PLU travels to Whitman for Saturday evening contests.

At Whitman 74, Puget Sound 63

Walla Walla, Wash. – In a crucial Northwest Conference game, the Whitman women's basketball team beat Puget Sound 74-63 Friday night in Walla Walla. Their eighth consecutive win gave the Missionaries sole possession of second place with a record of 9-2, 15-5 overall. The Loggers dropped to 8-3 in conference play, 16-4 overall.

The Missionaries came out hot, hitting four of their first five shots from the field. Sophomore guard Laura Vertatschitsch's second three-pointer of the half gave Whitman a 21-14 lead ten minutes in to the contest. Whitman would eventually extend its lead to 13 before the Loggers came back to cut it to eight, 36-28, at halftime.

In the second half, Sarah Laird hit a jumper at the 15:00 minute mark put Whitman up double-digits, 43-33. The Missionaries maintained their double-digit lead for much of the second half before Puget Sound hit two free throws and a three-pointer to cut the lead to six with eight minutes to play. That was as close as the Loggers would get, however, as Whitman hit five of its six free throws in the final minute to seal a 74-63 victory.

Laird led Whitman with 18 points on eight of 16 shooting, hitting five of her final seven shots from the field. Katie Patneaude and Laura Vertatschitsch had sixteen points apeice, while Lizzy Wasburn's 11 points rounded out the four Missionaries in double figures. Denise Kirstein led both of Whitman's other main offensive categories with six rebounds and five assists.

Whitman shot 52 percent from the field, while holding the Loggers to just 37 percent.

Kilty Keaton scored 14 as the leading scorer for the Loggers. Lindsay May had 12, Laura Koval 11 and Jennifer McLuen 10. Angie Straw grabbed eight boards and finished with nine points.

George Fox 84, at Willamette 58

Salem, Ore. -- Robin Taylor hit four of five three-point shots in the first half en route to 20 points, and Darby Cave added 21 points and seven rebounds as the George Fox Bruins (11-9, 5-7 NWC) defeated the Willamette University women’s basketball team 84-58 in a Northwest Conference game Friday night.

Cave and Taylor were a combined 10-11 in the first half as the Bruins opened up an 18-point lead at the break. The Bearcats (4-16, 0-11) could get no closer than 17 in the second half.

The Bearcats had four players in double figures. Megan Scheelar had 16 points and five rebounds. Deanna Lund had 12 points and six boards. Simmie Muth scored 11 points, all in the first half and Abbie Unick returned to the lineup to score ten points.

Amy Fitch added ten points and seven assists for the Bruins. Liz Clark grabbed 11 rebounds as the Bruins won the battle of the boards 48-32. George Fox shot 48% from the field (46% from three-point land). Willamette hit 33% of their shots.

At Linfield 80, Pacific 70

McMinnville, Ore. -- Friday the 13th was anything but unlucky for the Linfield Wildcats, who turned on one of their better performances of the season against Northwest Conference rival Pacific Friday night at Ted Wilson Gym. Linfield snapped a three-game losing slide with an 80-70 victory, avenging a 10-point loss to the Boxers in Forest Grove four weeks ago.

Inserted into the starting lineup for the first time this season, Linfield guard Brandi Loring responded with her best game in a Linfield uniform. The 5-foot-11 transfer from Chemeketa Community College tallied a season-high 19 points, sinking 7 of 13 shots, including five three pointers.

In addition to Loring, three other Wildcats reached double figures in the scoring column. Kendra Victor and Lindsay Sticka riddled the Boxers for 15 points each, and Monica Schwing netted 12. Sticka hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds as the 'Cats held a 36-30 advantage on the backboards.

The loss overshadowed a stellar performance from Boxers forward DeeDee Arnall, who filled the hoop with a game-high 26 points while adding eight rebounds and four steals. Tori Nelson had 18 points and four assists, and Kristi Poe notched 11 in a losing cause.

Linfield built a 10-2 cushion after three minutes and led by as many as 13 points following a three-pointer from Loring with 5:24 left on the clock. Nelson's baseline jumper with four seconds before intermission cut the Linfield lead to 38-28.

Both teams shot well from the field in the first half. The Wildcats converted a blistering 52 percent of their shots (14 of 27), including five threes. For its part, Pacific sank 48 percent (12 of 25) as Arnall scored 12 of her 26 points during the opening 20 minutes.

Three consecutive three-pointers to start the second half quickly erased the Wildcats' lead. Pacific outscored Linfield 27-10 during the first 10 minutes of the period, capped by Nelson's two free throws with 9:56 left. The Boxers built an eight-point lead, but the Wildcats slowly chiseled away, eventually overtaking the Boxers on Loring's fifth long bomb of the game. Schwing swished the ball from the top of the key, giving Linfield a 71-68 lead with 2:10 left. The Boxers were forced to foul in the waning moments and Victor and Sticka cashed in free throws to salt the game away.

Linfield improved to 4-7 in NWC play, 7-13 overall. The Boxers saw their NWC record fall to 4-6 and 9-8 overall.

Pacific is at home Saturday to take on the George Fox Bruins. The Wildcats are idle for Valentine's Day but continue their homestand next weekend with games Friday against Whitman and Saturday against Whitworth.