WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- After seeing a 14-point halftime lead go away in the second half, the Lewis & Clark Pioneers had one more chance down by one point, but Cianna Ochoco's right wing 3-point try was off the mark and Whitman held on to a 61-60 victory on Saturday night.
The loss at Whitman's Sherwood Athletic Center drops Lewis & Clark to 0-2 after the first weekend of Northwest Conference play, while the Missionaries improved to 2-0.
"This team is learning what it truly means to fight and we're learning how to do that from the beginning until the end and every moment in between," said Lewis & Clark head coach Asha Jordan. "We're not quite there, but we took a huge step forward tonight."
Lewis & Clark (0-7; 0-2 NWC) exploded to a 38-24 halftime lead. Both teams exchanged baskets in the first five minutes of the game before the Pioneers closed out the first quarter outscoring Whitman 11-6 behind 3-pointers from Ochoco, Sara Hogman and Kaitlin Mathewson.
The second quarter was similar, as Whitman stayed within seven points through the first half of the period. Mathewson scored all six of Lewis & Clark's points down that stretch. Making her first career start, Hogman made a couple of lay-ups to help the Pioneers grow their lead to 14 at the break.
Mathewson led the Pioneers with 18 points in the game, followed by 13 points from Miyah Leith and 12 points from Sara Hogman. Mathewson had 15 by halftime, while Hogman and Leith scored seven points apiece in the first half. The Pios shot 57 percent in the first half including 4 of 10 from 3-point range. They finished the game at 53 percent and made 4 of 7 from 3-point range in the second half, getting makes from Natalie Kelly, Mathewson, Hogman and Ochoco.
Whitman (6-0; 2-0) started its comeback with Hailey McDonald and Casey Poe scoring 10 of the team's 12 points in the first 3:15 of the third quarter to bring the Missionaries within four points, 40-36. McDonald scored again with 6:11 remaining in the quarter before Kelley Koeppen's lay-up moved the Pios back up by four. Buckets by Poe and Megan Martin with 5:09 remaining in the quarter tied the game for the first time since the opening tip.
The Missionaries moved ahead 54-48 by the end of the period.
In the fourth quarter, Hogman scored followed by a Kelly 3-pointer to bring Lewis & Clark back within one, 54-53. Despite closing within a single point twice in the quarter, Lewis & Clark never recaptured the lead, but did tie the game at 60 apiece when Mathewson's 3-pointer was good with 1:11 remaining.
A foul by Koeppen put McDonald at the free-throw line where she split makes, giving the Missionaries a one-point lead with 0:18 remaining. The Pios twice inbounded the ball, but didn't get a shot off. With three seconds remaining, Ochoco put up her 3-point try, which was no good, and Whitman held on.
"Any true competitor hates losing," said Jordan. "I can honestly say I am proud of how the team responded coming off the Whitworth game and am proud of the heart and fight we showed tonight."
Hailey McDonald led Whitman with a game-high 20 points. She shot 7 of 16 from the field, while Poe went 7 of 13 for 17 points. Chelsi Brewer added eight points off the bench and Alysse Ketner scored six points with 10 rebounds.
Lewis & Clark is idle until Dec. 29 when the Pios travel to Claremont M-S.
Other Northwest Conference Scores - Saturday
George Fox 75, Pacific 64
Whitworth 77, Linfield 65
Pacific Lutheran 69, Willamette 55