NEWBERG, Ore. - Momentum was a fickle partner Sunday afternoon for Whitman College's women's lacrosse team. Several times in the Missionaries' non-conference game against the College of Wooster (Ohio) a Whitman goal might have sparked a full rally, but the Fighting Scots were able to hold off the Whitties, 16-8, under rainy skies at George Fox University's Austin Sports Complex.

Whitman (1-6) picked up a team-best five goals from Lindsay Schwartz while unbeaten Wooster (5-0) was paced by a game-high eight from Ellie Hudson-Heck.

With a few lessons learned from a three-game trip into Southern California where the Missionaries were downed by a trio of highly ranked teams within the West Region, Sunday's game turned on several instances of finishing or not finishing on the attack.

Wooster jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Anna Melville scored for Whitman, circling open in front of the cage where she received a sharp pass from behind the goal circle by Schwartz. Another Whitman tally would have halved the deficit but the Scots were the ones to find the back of the goal two minutes later.

Nina Henelsmith eventually broke a 10-minute scoring drought by both teams, netting an unassisted marker to bring Whitman within three, at 5-2. Soon after the Whitties gained a free-position attempt which could have cut the deficit to two, but Wooster not only repelled the attempt, they broke out a quick transition clear and scored at the other end to extend its lead.

Wooster had earned a 7-2 lead at the break but Schwartz put in her first goal of the day less than three minutes into the second half to cut into the Scots' lead.

As would happen with the next four Whitman goals, the Scots answered each with a goal of their own to continually steal momentum away from the Missionaries' attack.

Late  in the game trailing 13-6 Schwartz would score on a free position shot followed by a Whitman draw control win. Twice on that possession the Whitties would get off a shot on goal but neither could hit the mark, and once again Wooster would break out in transition with a long pass into the middle third where it could gain a numbers advantage in the attacking third, ending with another Hudson-Heck goal.

"We might not be putting everything all together all the time," explained head coach Kate Robinson. "But we certainly are finishing attacks often enough, and coming up with defensive stops often enough. Now, we just need to put those two ideas -- along with the good draw control work we've been getting -- together more often."

Whitman, indeed, was able to hang their hats on work within the center circle, earning a 14-12 edge in draw controls, especially during second half action when the margin was 11-5 in favor of the Whitties. They also worked to gain free-position opportunities while limiting those surrendered. Overall the Missionaries converted 4-of-8 free-position attempts, 4-for-5 in the second half alone, while giving up just three free-position chances all game to the Scots.

"This was a nice step forward for our team," said Robinson. "It's a sign of a good team when they can follow up games such as those we had against top-level competition in California then learn from that situation and put what's been learned into action against an undefeated team also ranked well within the region."

Non-conference action continues for Whitman's next two outings at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. First is a neutral-site contest March 22 against Wellesley (Mass.) College followed by a game against the host Tigers the next day.