SPOKANE, Wash. -- In an opening season matchup of highly ranked teams, No. 11 Whitman hit key shots from everywhere on the floor to come from behind and edge No. 5 St. Thomas (Minn.), 77-76, tonight at the Whit Classic hosted by Whitworth College.

It was the season opener for both teams and the game lived up to its billing, with both clubs hitting clutch shots down the stretch before the Missionaries made a stop on the final possession of the game, causing an errant shot as time ran out to seal the victory.

Whitman trailed by as many as 11 points with 6:37 remaining in the game but Tiffani Traver and Sarah Anderegg  (22 points), both hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to seven. A trey by Traver moments later made the advantage only four.

The Tommies converted two free throws but Heather Johns, who led all scorers with 27, banked in a layup high off the glass. When St. Thomas pushed the lead out to five, Traver (15 points) drained another three to cut the deficit to just two with 4:05 left in regulation.

Katie Stone hit a three for the Tommies to stretch the lead back to five but Traver connected from beyond the arc again to make it a 69-67 game with 3:26 showing on the clock. Anderegg converted a layup to tie the game, only to see St. Thomas respond with a layup and another Stone trey to grab a 5 point lead with just over two minutes remaining.

Undaunted, Whitman cut the lead back to one on two consecutive jumpers in the lane by Johns and then by Anderegg. On the next possession, Johns drove right and hit a contested layup to give the Whits the lead 75-74 with 49 seconds to go.

The Tommies' Taylor Young was fouled and proceeded to drain two free throws to give St. Thomas the lead again but with 20 seconds remaining, Anderegg who was fouled moving to the hoop; she sank two clutch free throws to give the Missionaries the lead for good.

St. Thomas came down the floor and was forced to take a timeout when it could not get an open shot. Then, off the inbounds and with time running out, the Tommies were forced to take an off-balance shot that did not hit the rim as the Missionaries swarmed to the ball.

Said Whitman head coach Michelle Ferenz after the game, "It was a great game. They hit big shots; we hit big shots.  It was a lot of fun and a great game to be a part of.  We found out a lot about ourselves tonight and what we need to work on."

Whitman shot a blistering 58.1 % for the game -- 65.2 % in the second half. They also went to the foul line twice as much as St. Thomas, hitting 23 of 32. The Tommies were a perfect 15 of 15.

St. Thomas had four players in double figures: Anna Smith with 17, Stone and Young with 14, and Maggie Weiers with 13.

In the first half Whitman took an early 9-3 lead on a layup by Meghan White; the Missionaries also enjoyed a 16-8 advantage after a Traver layup, but then St. Thomas found its sea legs and tied the game up at 21-all. The Tommies took their first lead at 22-21 when Stone converted a free throw with just under seven minutes left to play in the first half.

St. Thomas led at the half 34-28.

Contact:

Andrew Holt

Whitman Sports Information Director

holtac@whitman.edu

509.527.5902