WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- After digging themselves a deep hole with poor first-half shooting, the Whitman College women rallied over the final 20 minutes before dropping a 52-49 decision to Lewis & Clark Saturday night in Portland, Ore.

Rebecca Sexton

The setback, Whitman's first road loss of the season, dropped the Missionaries to 13-4 overall and 5-3 in the Northwest Conference.

Lewis & Clark, which lost a close decision to Whitworth Friday night, improved to 9-8 and 3-5. 

Despite the loss, Whitman finished the first half of the NWC season in a three-way tie for second place.

Whitman found itself down 27-15 at halftime, after converting just five of 13 free throws and making just five of 24 shots from the floor. The Pioneers stretched their advantage to 31-17 early in the second half, but Hilary White drilled a 3-pointer and Whitman quickly closed to within 33-27 with nearly 16 minutes left to play.

Jessica Brice popped another Whitman three with 11:32 minutes remaining, cutting the Missionary deficit to 37-32. From there, the Lewis & Clark lead fluctuated between six and 11 points until Whitman made a final push in the final two minutes. 

After White hit her second trey of the night and Rebecca Sexton scored inside, Jennifer Keyes cut into the paint and dropped home a floater with a minute left. That sliced the Lewis & Clark lead to three points at 52-49, and Whitman got a final possession in need of a 3-pointer to tie. That opportunity fizzled with a turnover with 10 seconds left on the clock.

White paced Whitman with 16 points, five rebounds and four steals. Sexton added 11 points while Michelle Krall had seven points and six rebounds. 

Lewis & Clark outrebounded Whitman 40-36. 

Box Score

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