WALLA WALLA, Wash. -
Lindsay Drango dropped a team-high 16 points,
Korin Baker added 13 points and nine rebounds and the Whitman College women's basketball team handled Whitworth 68-58 in Northwest Conference action, Tuesday night at the Sherwood Center.
Elena McHargue delivered a strong performance of her own, stuffing the stat sheet with 15 points, seven rebounds and four steals for the Blues (8-5, 3-2 NWC) who forced Whitworth (4-10, 1-4 NWC) into 24 turnovers.
Olivia Mayer posted a double double for the Bucs with 20 points and 10 rebounds with Kimberly Dewey adding 14 points.
The Blues were dominant in the early going. Drango was hot from the floor in the opening moments, draining three consecutive jumpers to put Whitman up four with 6:44 to play in the quarter. Kara Marecle added to the run with a driving layup to give her team a 14-6 lead just past the halfway point of the period.
Whitworth worked itself back into the game in the second quarter. Mayer hit a pair of shots and Dawson Driggs scored at the hoop as well to shave the lead to 24-20 with 4:07 to play. Whitman responded as Baker, Drango and McHargue all hit from the field and all of a sudden the Blues had regained their double-digit lead. A late three pointer from Driggs stopped the run and Whitman settled for a seven-point lead at halftime.
The Blues nearly doubled up the Pirates in the third quarter and extended the lead to 16 points by the end of the period. Baker scored on successive cuts to the hoop to push the lead back up to double digits, then Carly Martin and Kalia Coverson both hit from the field to make it a 40-26 score with 4:29 to play. McHargue later hit a three pointer and made a pair of free throws to close the quarter with her team's largest lead of the game.
Whitman had a difficult time closing out the game in the fourth quarter as the Bucs had their largest quarter scoring output of the game. They managed to whittle the lead to singles digits inside of two minutes to play, but the Blues held on to secure the victory.
The Blues close their homestand this Friday, Jan. 10 when they host George Fox at 6:00 p.m.
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