Box Score SPOKANE, Wash. – Katara Belton-Sharp scored a career-high 29 points to lead Whitworth to a 77-61 win over visiting Northwest University in a non-conference women's game on Tuesday night.
The 15th-ranked (WBCA) Pirates improved to 9-0 and went unbeaten against non-conference opponents for only the second time in school history. Northwest dropped to 8-5.
Belton-Sharp scored 23 of her points in the opening half, going 9-11 from the field and 4-6 from three-point range. She helped the Pirates overcome an early deficit that reached five points on a couple of occasions, the second when Morgan Jacobson's two free throws gave the Eagles a 24-19 lead. But Belton-Sharp hit three of her three-pointers over the final five minutes of the half to rally Whitworth to a 39-33 lead at halftime.
"Katara was awesome tonight," said head coach Helen Higgs. "She really gave us a spark when we needed it in the first half."
The Eagles bounced back to retake a five-point lead early in the second half, going ahead 48-43 on a three-pointer by Kristen Frey. But Whitworth used four Northwest turnovers to go on a 14-0 run over the next five minutes, taking a 57-48 lead. Callie Harwood had seven of those points.
Once again it was the Pirate defense that led to much of its offense. Whitworth forced 27 turnovers and outscored Northwest 33-6 in points-off-of-turnovers. That was crucial as several of the Bucs' early shots would not fall after two weeks since the last game.
"We were just a little out of sync," Higgs said. "We got some good shots, but they just didn't go down."
Whitworth finished the game making 41% (26-63) from the floor, 40.9% (9-22) from three-point range. The Bucs were also uncharacteristically off at the free throw line, where they made only 59% (16-27) after coming into the game ranked 2nd in Division III in team free throw percentage (82%).
Belton-Sharp also led the Pirates with nine rebounds. She finished the game 12-20 from the field to surpass her previous career high of 18 points. KC McConnell added 16 points and dished eight assists, while Lexie Zappone scored 13 points and came away with six of Whitworth's 15 steals.
Frey and Chanara Greene each scored 17 points for Northwest and Greene added a game-high 13 rebounds for the double-double. The Eagles shot 44% from the floor and 46% (6-13) from three-point range. But their 27 turnovers led to 18 fewer shot attempts and nine fewer free throws.
Whitworth will open its conference slate on Friday night at Willamette (6:00 pm). The Pirates are chasing the 2004-05 team for best start in school history (12-0).
