Jan. 30 NWC Women’s Basketball Wrap (Stories provided by host SID)

Pacific Lutheran 56, at Puget Sound 53

Tacoma, Wash. – Puget Sound came one shot short of completing what otherwise was a fantastic rally, falling 56-53 to Pacific Lutheran at Memorial Fieldhouse tonight in front of a ruckus crowd.  The crowd lost its' collective breath as Puget Sound guard Kilty Keaton watched her last second three-point shot rim off, handing the Lutes their seventh consecutive NWC win.  Pacific Lutheran remains in first place in the conference, moving to 13-2, 7-0.  The loss drops Puget Sound to 13-2, 5-2.

Down 24-39 midway through the second half Puget Sound began their rally.  A three-pointer by Keaton gave the Loggers momentum for a final push, and Puget Sound took their first lead of the second half 49-48 on a short jumper by Angie Straw with 3:17 remaining.

Pacific Lutheran responded like the #18 ranked team in the nation, reclaiming the lead 53-51 with 47 seconds remaining on a two free throws by Kelly Turner.  Turner led all Lute scorers with 13 points.   Transfer Heidi Collier answered with two free throws of her own at the other end, knotting the game at 53 apiece with 22.5 left on the clock.  It would be the as close as the Loggers would come to victory.  Three more Lute free throws completed the scoring for Pacific Lutheran, and as Keaton and the crowd watched her three attempt draw iron at the buzzer, the Lutes escaped with a hard fought victory.

Logger Lindsay May led all scorers with 18 points.  Straw was one rebound shy of a double double, contributing 9 rebounds and 16 points.  Pam Isaacson was the leader on the boards for the Lutes with seven.

Whitworth 78, at George Fox 71

Newberg, Ore. -- Down by five with 12 minutes to play, the Whitworth College Pirates scored 14 unanswered points to take control, and 39 points in those 12 minutes, to overcome the home-standing George Fox University Bruins in a Northwest Conference women’s basketball game Friday night at Miller Gym in the Wheeler Sports Center.

George Fox opened the game with an 8-0 run and led by as many as 12 points twice in the first half before the Pirates closed within six, 27-21, at the break.  The Bruins held the Pirates to 29.6% shooting (8-27) and stopped Tiffany Speer, the Pirates’ stellar post player who leads the conference in scoring, with only 4 first-half points on 1-7 shooting and a pair of free throws.

The Bruins were up by 5 at 44-39 on a jumper by Kim Leith with 11:52 to play, and then the Pirates caught fire, out-scoring the Bruins 14-0 over the next 3 1/2 minutes.  Speer canned 6 free throws and Katie Regier hit two big 3-pointers before the Bruins stopped the slide with a layup by Kellie Thomas.  Seven points was as close as the Bruins could get, however, as the Pirates hit 22-27 free throws in the half to stay comfortably in front. 

Leith tied her career high with 20 points to lead the Bruins, Darby Cave added 16 on 7-10 shooting, and Thomas added 13.  Amy Fitch had a career-high 10 rebounds, leading the Bruins to a 40-35 edge on the boards, and tied her career best with 8 assists.

Speer led all scorers with 24 points, 20 in the second half and hitting 13-13 from the line, while Micki DesMarais added 16, Dani Bielec 14, and Wenchi Liu 12.  Bielec had a double-double with 11 rebounds, and Liu had 5 assists.

George Fox fell to 9-6 overall and 3-4 in the conference, while Whitworth climbed to 13-4 overall and 5-3 in the conference.

The Bruins are back in conference action Saturday, hosting Whitman College on the school’s Homecoming evening.  The Pirates are off until next Friday (Feb. 6), when they will visit Lewis & Clark College. 

At Pacific 79, Willamette 60

Forest Grove, Ore. -- DeeDee Arnall scored 29 and Tori Nelson dropped 25 as the Boxers defeated the visiting Bearcats 79-60 at the Pacific Athletic Center on Friday.

The combined 53 point effort from the duo was only seven points shy of the Willamette (4-12, 0-7 NWC) team total of 60.  The Boxers (9-5, 4-3 NWC) dominated the offensive glass getting second and third chances after shooting only 41 percent from the field.  Pacific out rebounded Willamette 47-31 including a 24-6 advantage on the offensive boards.  Arnall pulled down 13 rebounds recording the double-double.

Pacific never trailed in the game that saw them lead by as much as 20 during the first half.  Katannya Kapeli dealt out eight assists, pacing the Boxer offense.  The second half story was much of the same as the deficit never dipped below double digits.

Simmie Muth led the Bearcats with 18 points and Megan Scheelar added 10 to lead the Willamette scorers. 

At Linfield 59, Lewis & Clark 53

McMinnville, Ore. --Brandi Loring and Lindsay Sticka combined for 26 points and 13 rebounds, carrying Linfield to a 59-53 Northwest Conference victory over Lewis & Clark Friday night at Ted Wilson Gym.

Sticka, normally the Wildcats' defensive catalyst, dropped in 15 points to go with six rebounds and two assists.  Loring made a trio of three-pointers on her way to a career-best 13 points and team-high seven rebounds. Monica Schwing added 11 points and Heidi Jurgens had 10 for the Wildcats.

Sarah Moon paced the Pioneers with 13 points on 4 of 9 shooting. Krystle Mortimore added nine points in a losing effort.

The Wildcats won their second straight contest, improving to 3-4 in conference play and 6-10 overall. Lewis & Clark fell to 1-7 and 4-13.

The Pioneers went nearly 10 minutes of the first half without a field goal. Mortimore ended the drought with a bucket with 5:49 to go, but by that time Linfield had built an 18-10 advantage. Loring followed up a turnaround jumper with a three-pointer from the left side to make it 25-12 with 3:40 remaining. L&C's Marianna Gordon cut the lead to seven with a wide-open jumper, but Linfield responded with a Schwing field goal from close range and Loring's second three-pointer of the half to take a 31-20 lead at the break.

For the half, the 'Cats sank 10 of 32 shots from the field (.313) and were 9 of 10 at the line. Lewis & Clark made 7 of 26 (.269) and the Pioneers were 5 of 8 from the stripe. Lewis & Clark led just once - at 15:20 of the first period. Lindsay Tarr's bank shot gave the visitors a momentary 7-6 lead.

Lewis & Clark made four of its first six shots to begin the second half, pulling within five at 35-30. A three-pointer by Jurgens and a pair of free throws from Loring put the 'Cats back in front by eight, 40-32.

Sticka's baseline 10-footer and a Jurgens' three-ball put Linfield comfortably in front, 53-43 with 2:25 left. But the Pioneers weren't done yet. Marissa Wyatt connected on a three-pointer and Carrie Centilvre picked Jurgens' pocket and raced in for a open layup that made it 55-50 with less than a minute to play. The Pioneers missed two jumpers with 30 seconds, then fouled Sticka at the other end. After the Linfield junior made both free throws, Gordon raced down court and hit a long three-pointer with four seconds remaining. Guard Shannon Schiele sank two free throws to ice the victory for the Wildcats.

The two teams combined for 48 turnovers, 26 by the Wildcats. Linfield owned a slight edge on the backboards, outrebounding the Pioneers 40-36. Lindsay Sweetland corraled a game-high 11 boards.