by Kelsey Segren, Sports Information Assistant

SPOKANE, Wash. – Camy Aguinaldo scored 23 points to lead the visiting Pacific Boxers to a 78-67 Northwest Conference women's basketball victory over the Whitworth Pirates on Friday night.  

Whitworth (12-10, 5-8 NWC) drops to seventh in the NWC standings with the loss. Pacific (15-7, 9-4) moves into a tie for second with George Fox after the Bruins fell to Whitman on Friday evening.  

The Pirates trailed 19-17 after the first quarter. Courtney Gray scored 10 points in the period and the Pirates shot 58.3% (7-12) from the floor.

The Boxers opened the second on a 7-2 run to get out to a 26-19 lead. A three-pointer from Macey Morales cut the Pirates' deficit to four. Pacific got its first double-digit lead of the night on a layup from Brillie Kovaloff with 4:39 left and a three from Aguinaldo extended the Boxers lead to 41-26 with 1:18 to go before the half. Quincy McDeid answered with a quick three for the Pirates followed by one of two free throws from Morgan Winder to enter the break down 41-30.  

The Pirates shot 54.5% (12-22) from the floor and made three of four attempts from three but committed 12 turnovers through the first half. The Boxers had a 6-1 advantage on the offensive boards.

Whitworth got back within single digits (43-34) two minutes into the third after back-to-back baskets from Gray and Sydney Abbott. Pacific responded with a 6-0 run to bring its lead back to 15 with 5:52 remaining in the quarter. Whitworth closed the third down 57-43 after a pair of Abbott free throws.

Kovaloff opened the fourth period with a three-pointer to give the Boxers a 17-point lead. A layup from Aguinaldo gave Pacific its biggest lead of the night, 66-46, three minutes into the quarter. McDeid responded with five consecutive points to bring the Bucs deficit to 15 points with six and a half minutes left. McDeid hit another three two minutes later to bring the score to 68-56. Abbott cut the Boxers' lead to single digits on a pair of free throws with just over three minutes to go, before Pacific pulled away for the 78-67 win.

McDeid led the Pirates with 21 points and shot 4-5 from three-point range. Abbott finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for her second consecutive double-double. Megan Dorney also reached a double-double, scoring 10 points with a career-high 14 rebounds. Gray added 15 points on 7-10 shooting.

Whitworth committed 24 turnovers in the loss, their most since Nov. 26. Whitworth shot 46.9% (23-49) from the field and made five of 10 shots from beyond the arc. The Boxers took 19 more shots than the Pirates, making 42.6% (29-68) on the game.  

Courtney Carolan finished with 15 points and Kovaloff added 13 for Pacific. The Boxers scored 27 points off Pirate turnovers.

Up next, Whitworth takes on George Fox tomorrow at 4 p.m. for senior day.