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Whitman College Athletics

Schedule

Makana Stone
66
Puget Sound PS 13-13,7-9 NWC
72
Winner Whitman Whitm 24-2,15-1 NWC
Puget Sound PS
13-13,7-9 NWC
66
Final
72
Whitman Whitm
24-2,15-1 NWC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Puget Sound PS 5 25 15 21 66
Whitman Whitm 15 23 16 18 72

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women's Basketball Takes Down UPS, Moves On To NWC Title Game

WALLA WALLA, Wash. - It wasn't pretty, but in the postseason it doesn't have to be. Mady Burdett scored a team-high 16 points, Kaylie McCracken added a double double with 15 points and 10 rebounds and the No. 7 and top-seeded Whitman College women's basketball team advanced to the Northwest Conference Tournament title game with a 72-66 win over Puget Sound, Thursday night at the Sherwood Center.

The Blues (24-2) never trailed en route to a return meeting with George Fox in Saturday's championship game. Both squads were even in turnovers but it was Whitman who made good on its takeaways by way of a plus-6 advantage in points off turnovers and a 15-6 advantage in fast break points.

Katie Minnehan scored a game-high 19 points for the Loggers who close the season at 13-13. Giavanna Sorn added 14 points and a team-high six rebounds. 

It was a slow start for both teams to open the game. Kaelan Shamseldin nailed a three pointer on Whitman's first possession with Cassidy Daugherty getting the Loggers on the scoreboard with a three ball moments later. Daugherty's triple would be the only UPS points until Grace Pytynia-Hillier's basket late in the quarter. Meanwhile, the Blues had found the stroke as back-to-back three pointers from Shamseldin and Taylor Chambers helped their team to a 15-5 lead after one quarter.

The Loggers picked it up in the second quarter. UPS opened with a 9-2 run as Minnehan and Jamie Lange both hit a pair of buckets to cut into the Whitman lead. The Blues settled back into their game and rebuilt the lead back up to double digits. Shamseldin hit from distance and Makana Stone was fouled scoring a midrange jumper. Stone hit the free throw and the Blues led 31-20 just inside of four minutes to play. The lead swelled to 13 points but Pytynia-Hillier's three-pointer as time expired made it a manageable eight-point deficit for UPS.

The Blues came out of the gates slow to start the third quarter and saw their lead cut to six points on a Sorn three pointer. Chambers responded with a three pointer of her own with McCracken adding another and suddenly the lead was back up to 12 points.

The story of the remainder of the game was a tug of war as UPS seemed on the verge of making a game of it, and Whitman at times looking to race away. The Loggers put the result in serious jeopardy inside of three minutes when Samantha Swartout hit a jumper and got fouled by Burdett in the process. She couldn't complete the three-point play but it was still a four-point game with 1:40 remaining. McCracken scored on the next possession and the Blues, who were 17-18 from the line as a team, made all their free throws down the stretch to ice the game.

Whitman and George Fox square off for the league title this Saturday, Feb. 29 at the Sherwood Center. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. Tickets will go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, Feb. 28 at 12:00 p.m.
 
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