LA VERNE, Calif. – The Whitworth Pirates could not overcome a hot shooting La Verne team in an 84-71 loss in a non-conference women's basketball matchup on Monday afternoon.
The Leopards (3-7) shot 42.9% from beyond the arc to pull away while the Pirates (3-4) dropped their first of three road games in as many days.
La Verne made each of its first three shot attempts to go on a 7-2 run to begin the game. The Whitworth offense was sparked after Ashlyn Neilsen hit a jumper and Bri Talley knocked down a three-pointer to cut the lead to three with 3:26 left in the first quarter. The Leopards made a three-pointer at the buzzer to grab a 23-13 lead at the end of the first period.
The Pirates were held to just two points in the first four and half minutes of the second quarter. La Verne kept the offensive pressure on and went on a 12-2 run, pushing the lead to 35-15 at the 5:47 mark. Alex Goetz drew a foul and knocked down two free throws to lock the score at 40-23 at halftime. The Pirates shot 28% from the field in the first half. Goetz and Mya Bair each led Whitworth with eight points, while Alyssa Smith scored 17 for the Leopards.
The hot shooting continued for La Verne in the third quarter as they made three shots from beyond the arc in the first three minutes of the third quarter. The Pirates responded after a Bair layup and Julianna Jeross free throws sparked a 19-5 run. Jeross hit a three-pointer and Goetz nailed two more shots from distance on back-to-back possessions to shrink the Leopard lead to 56-48 with 2:43 left in the third. La Verne capitalized on two trips to the free throw line and went into the final quarter with a 62-51 lead.
Whitworth continued to chip away after Ashlyn Peterson made a three-pointer, the first of her nine fourth quarter points, to get the Pirates within eight with 7:08 to play. That would be as close as the Bucs would get, as La Verne's Annie Trinh knocked down three straight shots from beyond the arc to extend the lead that the Leopards did not give up.
The Pirates shot 42.4% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. La Verne finished with an efficient 44.9 field goal percentage and 12 made three-pointers. The Leopards outrebounded Whitworth 41-34, including a 17-13 advantage on the offensive end.
Goetz led the Pirates and finished with a season-high 19 points to go along with four rebounds and four steals. Bair finished with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Jeross put up 13 points and added five rebounds.
Smith scored a game-high 36 points for La Verne and grabbed 11 rebounds. Trinh added 27 points with seven three-pointers made and nine rebounds.
The Whitworth women battle Chapman on Tuesday at 2:00 PM.
