TACOMA, Wash. - Christiane Carlisle delivered a season-high 21 points and the Whitman College women's basketball team turned in a fourth-quarter offensive explosion to top the University of Puget Sound 67-60 in Northwest Conference action on Friday night.
With now one game remaining in the conference season, the Blues (19-5, 11-4 NWC) are locked into a spot in the NWC Tournament with their exact seeding to be determined following Saturday night's slate of league games.
Korin Baker chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds for the Blues who scored 25 points on 56% shooting in the fourth quarter to pull away for the win.
Paige Gerhart led the Loggers with 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
The opening quarter saw the Blues start slow but go on an 11-2 run midway through the period. Carlisle converted a four-point play after getting fouled on a made three pointer to help Whitman to a 12-6 lead with just under four minutes to play. UPS regained the lead but Lindsay Drango got her jumper to go on the quarter's final possession to put the Blues back up.
Whitman took over in the second quarter. The Blues ran off eight unanswered points early in the period which included another Carlisle three pointer and three more trips to the foul line after being fouled shooting a three pointer. Three pointers by Drango and Carlisle later in the quarter kept the lead at nine points and the Blues took a 32-25 lead into the locker room.
Led by back-to-back three pointers from Gerhart, the Loggers responded in the third quarter and tied the game at 36-36 off a Sophie Nillson bucket with 6:40 to play. UPS expanded the lead to five points before consecutive hoops from Brianna Andrade and Baker made it a one-point game heading into the fourth quarter.
Both teams shot it well in the fourth quarter which saw a couple of early hoops from Baker and an and-one three-point play from Jordan Reverman to keep UPS with a two-point lead. The game was tied on three different occasions down the stretch where Carly Martin came up with several clutch shots, one to tie the game and another to put the Blues ahead for good at 60-58 with 45 seconds to play.
Whitman closes the regular season on Saturday at Pacific Lutheran. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
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