SPOKANE, Wash. - KC McConnell scored 17 points and Tayler Flemming added a career-high 15 points as Whitworth clinched a berth in the upcoming NWC tournament with a 67-61 win over visiting Willamette on Saturday at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

Whitworth (14-9, 9-5 NWC), currently tied for third in the NWC standings after the Senior Night victory, will appear in the tournament for the fourth consecutive year.

After a close first quarter, the second quarter featured a big run from each team. Willamette (12-11, 4-10) led 14-9 at the end the first quarter before putting together a 13-1 spurt in the second quarter for a 27-13 lead. Whitworth was held to just two points over a span of nearly six minutes before switching the momentum in a big way.

The Pirates answered the Bearcats' run with a 14-2 run over their own to close the second quarter. Flemming led Whitworth with eight points during the spurt, including two 3-pointers. Her 3-pointer with 46 seconds to play brought Whitworth within 29-24 and she connected from distance for a second as time expired in the quarter to bring Whitworth within 29-27.

A jumper from McConnell tied the game at 29-29 early in the third quarter and the Pirates went up 32-29 on a 3-pointer by Callie Harwood. The Bearcats answered and took a 34-33 lead on a 3-pointer from Whitney Anderson but that turned out to be the last lead of the game for Willamette. The Pirates regained the lead with a jumper from Jessica Thoens, which jumpstarted a 12-2 run en route to a 46-39 lead at the end of three quarters.

The Bearcats closed to within three points of Whitworth on four occasions in the fourth quarter but Whitworth never surrendered the lead. The Pirates did not allow Willamette to reduce the lead to any fewer than five points over the final 2:25 and went 9 of 10 at the free-throw line over the last 1:58 to preserve the win.

In addition to the standout performances from McConnell and Flemming, Faith Emerson also finished in double figures with 13 points. Harwood added nine points and Thoens had seven points for the balanced Whitworth offense. McConnell pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

Kylie Towry scored a game-high 24 points to lead Willamette while Marisa Hamilton added 14 points.

Both teams shot well from the field, with Willamette at 48.9% (23-47) and Whitworth at 42.6 % (20-47). Whitworth made 21 of 26 free throws while Willamette was 10 of 13 from the line.

Whitworth will close out the regular season next weekend in western Washington. The Pirates will battle Puget Sound at 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 19, before finishing the regular season against Pacific Lutheran at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20.