SPOKANE, Wash. - KC McConnell scored 19 points to lead a trio of Pirates in double figures as Whitworth pulled away from Pacific Lutheran in the second half for a 65-49 win on Saturday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse. 

The No. 15/18 Pirates improved to 16-1 overall and 7-1 in Northwest Conference play with the win over Pacific Lutheran (4-12,1-6). The victory also kept the Pirates a game back of conference-leading George Fox in the standings.  

Whitworth led by as many as 10 points in the opening half but clung to a 29-26 halftime lead as the Lutes closed the gap with a 9-0 run in final five minutes of the first period. 

Pacific Lutheran scored the first points of the second half to come within a point before Whitworth responded with a 17-5 run to open a 46-35 advantage. The Lutes were unable to cut the deficit to fewer than eight points the rest of the way.

Whitworth stretched the lead to as many as 16 points on three occasions and maintained a double-digit lead over the final 10 minutes of the second half to earn its 12th double-digit win of the year. Displaying better energy and patience offensively after halftime were key contributors to the performance in the second half, head coach Helen Higgs said.

Katara Belton-Sharp and Lexie Zappone scored 12 points apiece to compliment McConnell and give the Pirates a balanced scoring attack. Zappone also totaled four assists and three steals.

"That's one of the things that makes us tough," Higgs said. "We have different people stepping up so you have to choose who you're going to try and stop."

On a night in which Whitworth shot below its season average from the floor, Higgs noted the importance of a dominant team rebounding performance to maintain possession and aid the offensive effort.

The Pirates controlled the boards with a 47-32 rebounding advantage, including a season-high 19 offensive boards for 16 second-chance points. Jessica Kramer led the Pirates with 10 rebounds, six of which came on the offensive glass.  

The Lutes held a slight field goal percentage advantage, shooting 37.3% compared with 36.4% for Whitworth. But the Lutes shot only 56.3% (9-16) from the line while the Pirates made 86.7%(13-15) of their free throws.

Megan Abdo scored 12 points to lead the Lutes while Lacey Nicholson added 11.

Whitworth enters the second half of conference play next weekend, hosting Lewis & Clark and Willamette.