by SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth built double-digit leads in each half, but visiting Puget Sound rallied twice for a 66-59 overtime victory in a Northwest Conference women’s basketball game on Sunday afternoon at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
The Pirates (6-11 overall, 3-5 NWC) missed an opportunity to even their NWC record despite opening a 15-point margin in the first half and an 11-point advantage in the second. Puget Sound avoided a second loss in Eastern Washington to improve to 11-6, 5-3.
The visiting Loggers came out cold, missing their first nine shots from the field, allowing Whitworth to open a 9-0 lead. The Pirates ended the opening quarter with a 15-8 advantage. Whitworth eventually stretched the lead to 28-13 on Rachel Cram’s three-pointer midway through the second, but only scored two points the rest of the way. UPS rallied to tie the game 30-30 on Natalie Sefair-Lopez’s basket just before the buzzer.
The Loggers took the momentum into the opening minutes of the third quarter, outscoring Whitworth 8-2, taking a 38-32 lead on Addison Reardan’s three-pointer. The Pirates responded with a 16-2 run, going ahead 48-40 on Alyssa Fitzgerald’s three-pointer. Whitworth led 53-42 after three quarters thanks to a three-point play by Kimberly Dewey.
The Pirates would not make another basket in the game. Puget Sound outscored Whitworth 15-4 in the fourth quarter as the Bucs went 0-9 from the field and 4-6 at the free throw line. The Loggers used a withering full court press to force turnovers by Whitworth on six out of seven possessions midway through the period. Sophie Nilsson tied the game 57-57 with 1:25 left. Both teams turned over the ball once before Dewey was blocked on her potential game-winning shot in the final second.
The Pirates’ shooting woes continued into overtime as they went 0-6 from the floor. Puget Sound outscored Whitworth 7-2 in the extra period.
Dewey, Fitzgerald and Zalissa Sanfo all scored a dozen points apiece to lead the Bucs. Sanfo added 10 boards and three blocks. Cram scored a career-high eight points off the bench.
