by Kelsey Segren, Sports Information Assistant

WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The visiting Whitworth women's basketball team fell short of a fourth quarter comeback, falling to Whitman 60-58 in Saturday's Northwest Conference matchup.

Whitworth (3-4, 3-4 NWC) trailed by double digits after the third but outscored the Blues 22-13 in the final period. Macey Morales had a chance for her second game-winner of the season, but her three-point attempt bounced off the rim in the closing seconds. Whitman improves to 6-2 on the season with the win.

Morales finished with a career-high 16 points for the Pirates, while Talia Brandner added 15. Megan Dorney grabbed 11 rebounds to help the Pirates outrebound the Blues 41-32 on the game.

Whitworth shot 5.9% (1-17) from the floor with seven missed three-pointers in the opening quarter to fall behind 11-2. The first Pirate basket came with just 32 seconds remaining in the period. Whitworth trailed by 15 points midway through the second quarter but used a 9-2 run to get back within single digits and enter halftime down 25-17.

The Blues kept the Pirates at a distance in the third, building back up a 40-27 lead with 03:13 to go in the period. Whitman entered the fourth quarter with a 47-36 lead.

Trailing 52-41, Whitworth went on a 9-0 run to pull within just two points of the Blues with under three minutes on the clock. A Morales jumper brought the Pirate deficit to 55-54 with 01:15 remaining. The Pirates found themselves down by one (57-56) again at the 27-second mark after a jumper from Brandner. Morales tied the game at 58-58 after the Blues made one of two free throws.

Sydney Abbott's jump shot gave the Blues the 60-58 lead with four seconds to go. Whitman hung on for the weekend split as the game-winning shot attempt from the Pirates just missed.  

Abbott led Whitman with 20 points, shooting 3-4 from beyond the arc. Kaylie McCracken finished with nine points for the Blues.

Up next, the Pirates will make up a pair of games against Puget Sound in Tacoma on March 7-8.