SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's basketball team picked up its second win in the last three games with a 73-65 victory over visiting Pacific Lutheran on Saturday afternoon at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
The Pirates got 23 points from Ashlyn Peterson to improve to 3-14 overall and 2-6 at the halfway point of the Northwest Conference schedule. The Lutes dropped to 1-16, 0-8.
Peterson opened the game with a three-pointer, sparking Whitworth to a quick 7-0 lead. The Pirates, who never trailed, extended the lead to 12-4 on a three-pointer by Ashlyn Neilsen. PLU pulled back within 12-11, but the Bucs never gave up the lead and took a 17-13 advantage into the second quarter. Peterson scored eight of her points in the first period.
Whitworth opened the second quarter on a 7-1 run, taking a 24-14 lead on a basket by Ayanna Tobeck. A Tobeck three-pointer extended the margin to 31-16, the Pirates' largest lead of the game. PLU trimmed the margin back to 40-30 at halftime after Sydney Reisner scored in the final 33 seconds. Reisner had ten points at halftime for the Lutes.
PLU made a strong push in the third quarter, pulling within 46-41 after a basket by Emi Wada. The Lutes cut the margin to only two (48-46) when Reisner made one of two free throws with just over two minutes left. Whitworth answered with the final eight points of the third quarter, four by Addyson Gallatin, to keep a double-digit lead (56-46) heading to the final period.
The Pirates kept the Lutes at bay most of the fourth quarter. When Gallatin made a layup with 3:17 to play, Whitworth had retaken a 14-point margin (69-55). Lilli Williams scored at the buzzer to trim the final deficit to eight points.
Peterson played all 40 minutes for the Pirates, making 10-23 shots from the floor, for her second-highest point total of the season. She added seven rebounds. Gallatin finished 8 of 12 from the field for 19 points. Tobeck scored ten off the bench. Whitworth made 30-70 (43%) from the field and 8-23 (35%) from beyond the arc. Just as important, the Bucs outrebounded the Lutes 38-27.
Reisner scored a game-high 24 points to lead PLU. Kate Wooten, Williams and Wada each added ten points. The Lutes made 50% of their shots (24-48), but took 22 fewer shots in the game than the Pirates because of the rebounding and because they committed 13 turnovers.
Whitworth will open the second half of Northwest Conference play next weekend at Pacific (Ore.) and Willamette.
