WALLA WALLA, Wash. – An 18-11 stretch over the final six minutes rallied Whitman College's women's basketball team to within a bucket in the final seconds Sunday afternoon, but the buzzer-beating tying shot wouldn't fall allowing visiting Corban (Ore.) University to escape with a 65-63 non-conference victory at the Sherwood Athletics Center in the concluding game of the eighth annual Kim Evanger Raney Classic.

The Missionaries slip to 5-3 on the season while the Knights even their record at 6-6 with the win.

The frantic finish was made possible by the hounding Whitman defense which found another gear in the closing minutes. It had already generated nine steals and forced 13 turnovers over the contest's first 34 minutes, turning those opportunities into 12 points. In the final six minutes the defense flipped five steals into six points with Hailey McDonald coming away with three of the five thefts.

Corban move ahead by nine, 54-45, on a pair of free throws from Payton Wilcox with 6:36 remaining. Heather Johns' jumper on the ensuing possession triggered the run from the M's. Six different players registered a basket during the rally as Johns posted six of her game-high 19 points during the last-gasp push.

Casey Poe converted a three-point play with a free throw following a jumper that had cut the lead to two with 34 seconds on the clock. One of McDonald's steals set up a go-ahead basket but Poe's jumper rimmed out and was pulled down by Corban's Sadie Pilgeram. Twice during that next possession Whitman tipped passes away but where unable to come up with the loose ball either time. Forced to foul now the M's sent Jade Lowery to the line with 5.6 seconds remaining. Lowery missed her first but dropped in her second -- which actually saved time -- handing the ball to Whitman with enough time to race down court for a tying bucket that didn't have to be from long range behind the three-point line.

Johns weaved through a pair of Knights defenders approaching half court then drove into the lane for a short jumper, but the attempt was deflected and rebounded at the buzzer by Corban's Tara Van Weerdhuizen to allow Corban its narrow victory.

Whitman rolled out of the gate quickly following the opening tip with the game's first five points. The advantage was trimmed to just a point at 7-6 but another 5-0 spurt grew the lead back to five at the midpoint of the first half. Corban reeled off six unanswered points to nab its first lead of the game, 12-11, but a Johns layup and free throw and a Heather Lovelace jumper following a McDonald rebound of a Danielle Vanderstoel miss pushed the M's back in front. The lead would change hands once more in the final minute but another short-range jumper from Lovelace ended the scoring in the half and sent the two teams into the break knotted at 22-22.

Early second-half action favored Whitman until Corban managed a 20-9 run over seven minutes through the middle of the half, setting up the drama of the final 6-plus minutes.

In addition to Johns' double-digit afternoon the Missionaries' Hailey Ann Maeda added 15 points -- and a team-best 11 rebounds to pick up the double-double -- with Lovelace reaching double-figures with 10 points. Maeda also came away with three steals and a block to help the junior earn All-Classic Team honors.

Corban's Lowery, also an all-Classic selection, led a quartet of Knights into double-figures, finishing the win with 17 points, one rebound, three assists and three steals.

Joining Maeda and Lowery on the all-Classic team were Whitworth University's KC McConnell and Jessica Kramer, and Michaela Garcia from Walla Walla University. Whitworth downed Walla Walla U., 92-40, in Sunday's early contest.

Whitman next takes to the court in January 2015 with the beginning of Northwest Conference play on Jan. 2 at Lewis & Clark University and Jan. 3 at Willamette University. The next home game for the M's is against Linfield College on Jan. 10.