WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- With a second-half Whitman College rally falling just a bit short, the University of Puget Sound escaped with a 69-66 Northwest Conference women's basketball victory Saturday night in Sherwood Center.

The loss dropped Whitman, ranked No. 23 in one NCAA Div. III national poll, to 4-2 in the NWC and 12-3 overall. Puget Sound improved to 3-3 and 9-6.

Jenele Peterson

Down 35-32 at intermission, Whitman rallied in the first seven minutes of the second half to knot the score at 44-44. Whitman finally took the lead at 59-58 with five minutes left to play, when Rebecca Sexton scored inside off a slick pass from Jenele Peterson. Jocelyn Riordan answered with a 3-pointer and Puget Sound managed to stay in front the rest of the way.

Whitman got within a single point three times in the closing minutes, the last time on an Anna Forge free throw with 19 seconds left. Riordan canned two free throws with nine seconds remaining to complete the scoring, although Peterson rushed the ball up the court and forced a 3-pointer that fell just short at the final buzzer.

Karen Chase combined 16 points and nine rebounds to lead a balanced Puget Sound attack. The Loggers, who shot 51.1 percent from the floor and outrebounded Whitman 34-28, survived a woeful night at the free throw line, where they made just 16 of 32 tries.

Peterson had a fine night for Whitman, scoring a game-high 19 points while making seven of nine shots from the floor and five of six from the charity stripe. Jennifer Keyes, a first-year bomber, came off the Whitman bench to drill four 3-pointers. Hilary White added 10 points and nine rebounds, and Sexton chipped in with eight points.

The Loggers also got 14 points from Claire Ely and 11 more from Courtney Blume. Natasha Ludwig added nine points and nine rebounds.

With Chase scoring Puget Sound's first nine points, the Loggers overcame an early 10-7 deficit and jumped into a 15-10 lead at the 13-minute mark behind Caitlyn Faidley's back-to-back 3-pointers. Blume added to Whitman's misery with three more long balls, pushing the Puget Sound lead to 26-18 with just under 10 minutes left in the half.

White scored five points and Forge two as the Missionaries finished the half on a 7-1 run to draw within three points at the break. 

Whitman heads to Spokane on Tuesday to play Whitworth at 6 p.m. Puget Sound hosts Pacific and Willamette next Friday and Saturday.

Box Score 

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CONTACT: Dave Holden
Sports Information Director
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
holden@whitman.edu; (509) 527-5902