SPOKANE. Wash. – The Whitworth Pirates could not overcome a late third quarter Pacific Boxer run in a 72-66 loss on Friday night in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game.
The Boxers went a 20-6 run over six minutes of game time in the third and fourth quarters to pull away and move to 9-13 overall and 5-8 in NWC play. The Pirates fell to 5-8 in the NWC (8-14 overall)
Alex Goetz converted a three-point play to give Whitworth a 9-6 lead midway through the first quarter. The Boxers responded with a 7-0 run to go up 13-9, before ending the first with a 13-11 advantage.
Pacific's lead grew to seven after Shaade Willaims scored eight straight Boxer points, six of those coming on back-to-back three pointers. After a Pacific layup, the Pirates trimmed the lead back to two after Ashlyn Peterson's bucket capped off a 7-0 run with 2:27 left in the quarter. The Boxes hit a jumper and a pair of free throws to take a 31-26 lead at the half. The Pirates shot 36.7% (11-30) in the first half and turned the ball over 10 times to Pacific's three. Peterson scored six points and Mya Bair had six points and eight rebounds to lead Whitworth in the first half.
The Bucs cut the lead to three on three separate occasions in the third quarter, the latest coming after a Peterson jump shot cut the deficit to 35-32 with 7:09 on the clock. Whitworth struggled to knock down shots in the period (4-14) and hit only five of 10 free throw attempts. Pacific capitalized and scored seven unanswered points in the final two minutes to stretch their lead to 50-39 heading into the final frame.
The Boxers further widened their lead to start the fourth. Ava Cook made a hook shot to give Pacific a 60-43 lead with 6:50 to go, its largest of the game. Whitworth responded with a late 7-0 run and shrunk the lead to seven after a Bair free throw. Peterson then cut it to five after a three-point play with 19 seconds to go, but it would not be enough, despite outscoring the Boxers 27-22 in the final quarter.
"Our fight is a sign of growth and maturity of our group, them showing an understanding what it takes to win in this conference," said head coach Kenny Love. "It was a good sign of our resilience, belief, and togetherness at this point in the season."
Whitworth shot 36.4% (24-66) from the field and made two of 16 (12.5%) three-point attempts, a season low in both makes and percentage. For the second straight game, the Pirates shot under 70% from the free throw line (16-25, 64%), a rarity for the conference's leading free throw shooting team. The Bucs controlled the glass and outrebounded Pacific 51-40, with 15 offensive boards.
Despite the loss, Bair set career highs in both points (19) and rebounds (15) to lead Whitworth. Peterson scored 15 points and had six rebounds while Keely Maves added 10.
Pacific shot 40.6% (28-69) from the field and edged the Pirates in paint points (42-40). Willaims scored a game-high 20 points and added eight rebounds. Keiki McGee scored 12 and Anya Henderson had 10.
The Pirates will face off against George Fox on Saturday at 6:00pm in the final home game of the season.
