SPOKANE, Wash.— The Whitworth Pirates fell 58-52 in their season finale to the visiting Willamette Bearcats in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game that determined the final spot for the conference playoffs on Saturday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
Whitworth fell to 10-15 overall, 7-9 NWC and was eliminated from contention. Willamette improved to 14-11, 9-7 NWC and qualified for the final spot in the tournament. The game featured five ties and eight lead changes.
Willamette scored the first four points of the game, but Kimberly Dewey's three-pointer on the other end kept the Pirates close. Both teams battled the entire quarter, but the Bearcats ended the period up 17-14 after Megan River's trey in the final seconds.
In the second quarter, Willamette's Danielle Morgan scored to go up five. The Pirates fought back to within 22-20 after a Devyn Cope layup with 3:43 remaining. Whitworth held Willamette to shooting just 18.2% (2-11) from the floor in the period. The Pirates trailed 25-24 at halftime.
Whitworth started the third quarter on a 6-2 run, after back-to-back three-pointers from Tara Kanashiro and Quincy McDeid. The Bearcats responded with a 5-0 run to take a 32-30 lead with 6:56 remaining. The game continued to be competitive, with Mya Edward's steal and basket giving the Pirates a 40-35 edge with 1:09 remaining. Willamette's Carolyn Ho made a jumper at the buzzer for Willamette, but Whitworth led 42-39 at the end of three quarters.
McDeid knocked down a trey to start the fourth quarter and extend Whitworth's lead to 45-39. The Bearcats stormed back with a 12-0 run, capped by Carolyn Ho's turn-around jumper, to take a 51-45 lead with 2:58 remaining. Edward's three-pointer brought the Pirates back within three points with 1:54 remaining. Whitworth was unable to make plays down the stretch, falling 58-52 to Willamette.
Olivia Mayer led Whitworth with 13 points and 12 rebounds, her 19th double-double of the season. McDeid added 10 points and five rebounds. Cope finished with 8 points. The Pirates shot 33.3% (21-63) from the floor, 26.9% (7-26) from behind the arc, and 42.9% (3-7) from the charity stripe. Whitworth edged Willamette 42-36 in rebounds.
Megan River led Willamette with 22 points and two rebounds. Carolyn Ho added 14 points and Sami Riggs finished with 12 points. The Bearcats shot 43.3% (23-53) from the floor, 25.0% (3-12) from three-point range, and 75.0% (9-12) from the free-throw line.
