SPOKANE, Wash. -- Behind 70 percent shooting early, the Whitworth Pirates built a 28-point halftime lead from which Lewis & Clark could not recover, as the Pioneers lost 67-42 inside the Whitworth Fieldhouse on Friday night.

Whitworth made 7 of its first 10 shots, including scoring the game's first 11 points, while the Pios were 2 of 7 in the first four minutes of the game, helping the home team Pirates jump out to a 16-4 lead.

By the end of the opening quarter, Whitworth held a 25-6 lead, shooting 56 percent for the entire first half. Meanwhile, Lewis & Clark finished the half making 29 percent of its shots.

"Whenever you start conference play, you're more anxious and nervous," said Lewis & Clark head coach Asha Jordan. "In the first half, we struggled getting comfortable on the road."

The Pirates were paced by returning All-NWC First-Team selection KC McConnell who scored 21 points. Callie Harwood had seven of her eight points in the opening half quarter to finish behind Faith Emerson's 11 points.

Defensively, Whitworth limited Lewis & Clark's leading scorer, Miyah Leith, to 11 points, including three in the first half on four shots. Coming into Friday's game, Leith had averaged over 17 points per game. Kaitlin Mathewson scored eight points, second-most from the starting lineup, as the two combined to shoot 7 of 23 in the game.

Lewis & Clark's best defensive stretch was in the early third quarter, as the Pioneers held Whitworth to just four points in the first four minutes of the period. However, the Pios only scored a pair of Mathewson free throws before the halfway point of the quarter, trailing 51-19.

Following a Lewis & Clark timeout, Hogman (pictured right) nailed a 3-pointer, the Pioneers only triple in the game, before Leith scored on a lay-in and a free throw. The team couldn't build any momentum, though, as the Pios didn't score again until there was just over a minute left.

Hogman put in nine points off the bench, shooting 3 of 9 from the floor. Lauren Wood scored three points, as did Cianna Ochoco and Natalie Kelly, the last of whom also had a team-high six rebounds from her guard spot.

Rachel Cox and Tate Kelley played their first game of the season, with Cox scoring two points.

"We're really, really young, and it's hard to remember that sometimes, being so competitive," said Jordan. "We only have one senior."

Mathewson, the Pios' lone active senior, has averaged six more minutes per game this season than a year ago, averaging two more points per game. Lewis & Clark's other senior, Sarah Anderson, was injured before the season. She scored eight points per game last year.

"Hopefully we got this one under our belts and our nerves completely gone, and tomorrow, hopefully we'll at least play like ourselves for the full 40 minutes."

Lewis & Clark travels to Walla Walla on Saturday evening to face the Whitman Missionaries at 4 p.m.

Other Northwest Conference Scores - Friday

Whitman 78, Linfield 62
Willamette 67, Pacific 60
George Fox 92, Puget Sound 66