SPOKANE, Wash. - Jessica Kramer scored a game-high 18 points and KC McConnell added 17 points as Whitworth remained unbeaten at home with a 67-51 victory over visiting Willamette on Saturday evening at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

The No. 15/17 Pirates (18-1, 9-1 Northwest Conference) completed a regular season sweep of the Bearcats (6-13, 1-9) following a 68-48 win over Willamette earlier this season in the NWC opener for both schools. With the win, Whitworth remains in a close second place behind conference-leading George Fox in the NWC standings.

Kramer came within two points of tying her career high and was an efficient 9 of 12 from the field. McConnell scored 11 second-half points and now sits just 14 shy of 1000 for her Whitworth career.

Whitworth never trailed against Willamette, using a pressing defense to force six turnovers in the opening seven minutes of play and help build a lead. The Bearcats kept the deficit to within single digits for most of the first half before a 9-2 Whitworth run to close the opening period helped the Pirates to a 33-21 halftime lead.

Willamette committed 12 fouls in the first half, contributing to 14 free throw attempts for the Pirates. The Pirates hit 10 of 14 attempts in the first half and were 12 of 16 for the game.

"They got in some foul trouble so we were able to create a little bit more with our defense and get some easy baskets, and that provided energy which was helpful going into halftime," head coach Helen Higgs said.

Kramer made six of the 11 field goals scored by Whitworth in the opening half, asserting her presence inside to help get the Whitworth offense rolling.

"For her to step up and go six-for-six in the first half -- to be confident and find her shot was definitely something we needed to get us started," Higgs said.

Willamette closed to within eight points early in the second half at 35-27, but that was as close as the Bearcats would get as an 8-2 run highlighted by two 3-pointers from McConnell stretched the lead back to double digits. Willamette could not cut the deficit to fewer than 10 points for the rest of the contest.

Kendra Knutsen added nine points, six assists and two steals while Lexie Zappone had eight points, five rebounds and three steals for the Pirates.

The Pirates shot 44.6 percent (25-56) from the floor while Willamette made 44.4 percent (20-45). Both teams were 33.3 percent from 3-point range but Whitworth won the turnover battle, 21-8, and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds compared with five for the Bearcats.

Marisa Hamilton led the Bearcats with 16 points while Jojo DeLong added 11.

The Pirates have a short break before returning to action at Whitman on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. Whitworth will then travel to face Linfield on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 4 p.m.