SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth University dropped its first official home game of the season 72-60 to visiting Benedictine University in a non-conference women's basketball matchup on Sunday afternoon at Whitworth Fieldhouse.
The Pirates (1-5) fought their way to a one-point deficit in the third quarter, but Benedictine (7-3) pulled away with 12-2 run in the fourth.
Both teams shot the ball well in a back-and-forth first quarter that held 12 lead changes. Benedictine led by four at the six-minute mark but back-to-back three-pointers from Ashlyn Peterson gave the Bucs a 20-19 lead to close the quarter.
The Eagles got out to a five-point lead midway through the second frame after a layup from Megan Duzansky. Alex Goetz scored six-straight points to spark the Pirate offense, and they battled back to retake the lead 31-30 with just over three-minutes to play in the quarter. That lead would be Whitworth's last of the game as the Eagles responded with a 7-0 run to take a 37-31 lead into halftime. Despite making half of its field goals in the first half, Whitworth turned the ball over 12 times. Goetz led all scorers with 12 points at the break.
The Pirates opened the second half on a 10-5 run and cut the deficit to one after a layup from Addyson Gallatin at the 7:28 mark. Benedictine again answered and stretched its lead back up to seven after Duzansky's three-point play. Goetz's free throws put the score at 53-49 heading into the final frame.
The Pirates could not get any closer as the Eagles opened the fourth quarter on a 12-2 run and took a 65-51 lead with 5:21 to play, their largest of the game. Benedictine made seven of 11 field goals in the quarter and forced eight Whitworth turnovers to secure the win.
Whitworth shot 44% (22-50) from the field while the Eagles shot 45.9% (28-61). Both teams made seven shots from beyond the arc. Benedictine turned 22 Pirate turnovers into 19 points and had a 40-26 advantage in points in the paint. The rebound battle finished deadlocked at 33.
Goetz led all scorers with 23 points on 9-16 shooting. Peterson added 16 with four three-pointers made. Ava DePew and CC Size each had eight, DePew grabbing a team-high nine rebounds.
Abby Drendel led Benedictine with 20 points on 7-10 shooting. Allison Jarvis scored 13 and Catey Carney added 11. Duzansky had nine rebounds and five assists.
The Whitworth women will look to bounce back against UC Santa Cruz on Wednesday.
