SALEM, Ore. – The Whitworth Pirates could not overcome a cold shooting first half in a 67-57 loss to the Willamette Bearcats at Cone Fieldhouse on Saturday night.
The Pirates, who beat the Bearcats 65-49 in January, fell to 8-13 overall and 5-7 in the NWC. Willamette ended a two-game losing streak and drew even with Whitworth at 5-7 in conference play.
The Whitworth offense started hot as Keely Maves' layup gave the Pirates a 9-4 lead midway through the first quarter. The efficiency did not continue as the Pirates missed their next six shots and were outscored 15-2 in the remainder of the quarter. Both teams struggled to get shots to fall in a low-scoring second quarter. Whitworth got one more field goal to drop and battled to a 10-9 advantage, but the Bearcats took a 28-21 lead into halftime. The Bucs shot just 27.5% (8-29) from the through the first two periods.
Alex Goetz led a Pirate comeback by scoring all 10 of her points in the first four and a half minutes on the third quarter. Mya Bair made a free throw at the 5:06 mark to give the Bucs their first lead (34-33) since the first quarter. The lead did not last long as Willamette knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to take a nine-point lead with a minute to go in the third. Kaitlin Imai followed with a jumper to give the Bearcats their largest lead of the game 51-40 heading into the final frame.
The Pirates battled back to a 53-48 deficit after Maves dropped in two free throws. The Bearcats answered with three straight made jumpers to retake an 11-point lead with 4:25 remaining in the game. Ashlyn Nielsen stole a pass and laid it in at the other end to get within seven, but Whitworth could not close the gap any further, despite making seven of 11 shots in the quarter.
Whitworth shot 42.3% (22-52) from the field and made a season low three shots from distance in 17 attempts (17.6%). Willamette shot 48.3% (28-58) from the field and 25% (3-12) from beyond the arc. The Pirates outrebounded the Bearcats 31-26 but were outscored 42-36 in the paint.
Ashlyn Peterson led the Pirates with 14 points and two steals. Maves scored 13 and grabbed five rebounds while Bair had six rebounds and team-leading six assists.
Imai and Maya Sanders led Willamette with 14 points apiece. Gio Horner had 10 points, five rebounds and three steals.
The Pirates will battle Pacific on February 14th and George Fox on February 15th at Whitworth Fieldhouse.
