Box Score FOREST GROVE, Ore. – Senior Kayla Johnson scored a career-high 27 points to lead the Whitworth University women's basketball team to a 91-63 win over Pacific (Ore.) in the Northwest Conference opener for both teams on Friday evening in Stoller Center. Whitworth improves to 7-3 on the season, 1-0 in NWC action, while Pacific falls to 4-5 overall, 0-1 in the NWC.
"It was a great team effort for 40 minutes," Whitworth head coach Helen Higgs said. "Our seniors did a great job of setting a tone and picking up their first win at Pacific."
The teams played a close game in the early going, tying the score four times in the first six minutes of action. After an 11-11 tie at the 14:05 mark, Whitworth went on a 17-2 run to jump out to a 15 point lead with 8:25 left to play in the half. Sophomore Alexis McLeod, junior Jessica Kramer and senior Kendra Lahue sank three-pointers on three consecutive possessions. Senior Kayla Johnson capped off the run with a steal on the defensive end and a breakaway layup. Sophomore KC McConnell converted an offensive rebound into a putback layup that gave the Pirates the largest lead of the half, 42-24 with 28 seconds left. Whitworth took at 42-26 lead over Pacific into the halftime.
Whitworth continued to cruise in the second half, keeping a double digit lead throughout the entire half. Sophomore Faith Emerson closed the game with a three-pointer that gave the Pirates a 28 point victory.
The Pirates shot 44.9 percent from the floor and 39.3 percent from behind the three-point arc. Whitworth outrebounded Pacific 46-32 and scored 28 points off of 23 Pacific turnovers. The Pirates had eight steals, led by three steals from junior Katara Belton-Sharp.
"Our rebounding and ability to force turnovers created extra opportunities for us to score," Higgs said.
In addition to Johnson's 27 points, she had six rebounds and four assists for the Pirates. Kendra Lahue added 14 points for Whitworth. KC McConnell posted a double-double for Whitworth, scoring 12 points and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds. Jessica Kramer scored 10 points in the first NWC game of her Whitworth career. Sophomore Lexie Zappone led the Pirates with five assists.
Olivia Cook led the Boxers with 15 points and Olivia Mayorga-Overtone added 14 points for Pacific. Kati Sheldon led the Boxers with six rebounds.
Next up, Whitworth faces Willamette in NWC play at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 4th in Salem, Ore.
