CLAREMONT, Calif. – Whitworth women's basketball opened its two-game road trip to California with an 85-55 loss to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in a non-conference game at Roberts Pavilion on Thursday night.

The Pirates (0-3) shot nearly eight percent better than CMS from the field, but the Athenas (4-1) made 13 three-pointers and forced 21 turnovers to earn a commanding win.

Whitworth jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter after a layup from CC Size. CMS fought back and tied the game at nine midway through the quarter. Ashlyn Peterson's layup gave the Bucs a 13-11 lead at the 3:23 mark, but it would be the last Whitworth lead of the game. The Athenas made eight of their next 11 shots and carried a 22-2 run into the second quarter. CMS led by as much as 20 in the second frame and took a 48-32 lead into the halftime break. Whitworth shot 60% from the floor in the first half and Peterson led the offense with 10 points. The Athenas forced 10 turnovers and made nine three-pointers.

CMS held the Pirates to just 11 points in the third quarter and forced seven turnovers to extend its lead. The Bucs hung tough in a lower-scoring fourth quarter with the game out of reach.

Whitworth shot 49.0% from the field and 23.1% (3-11) from three-point range. The Athenas shot 41.1% (30-73) and made 13 of 26 three-point attempts. CMS edged the Bucs in the rebound battle (36-35), with 15 of their rebounds coming on the offensive end.

Peterson led the Pirates with 14 points on an efficient 7-11 shooting. Size led with six assists and Ava DePew grabbed six rebounds.

Five players scored in double figures for the Athenas, led by Haylie Wang with 16 points off the bench. Caleigh Edwards led CMS with five assists and seven rebounds. Eight different players made a three-point basket.

The Whitworth women battle Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday at 1:00pm.