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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

True To Form, Pirates Squeak Past Whitman

Mike Bond Correspondent

NCIC women

The outcome was exactly what host Whitworth had hoped for in the first round of the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges women’s basketball playoffs Friday night.

How they got there was a typical of a Whitworth vs. Whitman matchup, with the Pirates winning 51-50 on Jennifer Tissue’s 3-foot bank shot with 2 seconds left.

“We’ve done this before down there,” Whitworth coach Helen Higgs said, referring to the Pirates’ 53-52 win at Walla Walla on Jan. 10. “Every game, we play them close.”

After Whitman’s Andrea Sherer missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity with 10 seconds left, Pirates point guard Kim McFadden took the ball the length of the court and found Tissue posting up on the left side. Tissue took a dribble, spun right, and banked in the winning shot.

Tissue, a Shadle Park graduate, finished with 14 points to lead Whitworth.

“They all had their back to Kim, so I just moved to the other side,” Tissue said. “I’ve never made that move in my life.”

Whitworth plays Willamette tonight at 7 for the NCIC championship in the Whitworth Fieldhouse. The teams tied for the NCIC regular-season championship, but Whitworth earned top seeding by beating Willamette twice. Willamette advanced to tonight’s title game by defeating Lewis & Clark of Portland 74-73 Friday night.

The Pirates enjoyed double-elimination status since they were the league champions. If they lose tonight, they will play Willamette again Monday night.

Whitman’s Amanda Bradford hit a free throw with 1:59 left to give the Missionaries, who trailed by 10 points midway through the second half, their first lead since the 12-minute mark of the first half at 50-49.

The Pirates then had three opportunities to tie it from the free-throw line, but McFadden missed the front end of a oneand-one and Tissue missed two free throws after being fouled while shooting.

Whitman held the Pirates’ leading scorer and the NCIC’s most valuable player, Annette Sweeney, to eight points on 3-for-16 shooting. She was averaging 18.2 points.

Whitworth 51, Whitman 50 WHITMAN

Enzminger 1-4 2-3 5, Weissbeck 4-9 4-5 12, Repanich 1-2 0-0 2, Lampe 1-10 2-2 5, Bradford 9-18 3-7 21, Johnson 1-5 3-4 5. Totals - 17-48 14-21 50.

WHITWORTH McFadden 2-5 0-1 5, Sherer 1-8 3-4 5, Roberts 5-13 1-1 11, Sweeney 3-16 1-2 8, Tissue 7-11 0-2 14, Northington 4-9 0-0 8, Elliott 0-2 0-0 0, Dehn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals - 22-64 5-10 51.

Halftime - Whitworth 31, Whitman 28. 3-point goals - Whitman 2-8 (Enzminger 1-1, Weissbeck 0-3, Lampe 1-3, Bradford 0-1). Whitworth 2-13 (McFadden 1-3, Roberts 0-1, Sweeney 1-8, Tissue 0-1). Rebounds - Whitman 43 (Johnson 8), Whitworth 41 (Northington 14). Assists - Whitman 5 (five with 1 apiece), Whitworth 13 (McFadden 4). Total fouls - Whitman 10, Whitworth 17. Fouled out - none. Technicals - none. Attendance - 1000.

Willamette 74, Lewis & Clark 73 LEWIS & CLARK Gray 2-5 1-5 5, Fillbach 6-12 3-5 19, Honl 3-4 0-3 6, Getches 2-2 2-2 6, McInturff 4-5 0-2 8, Cottle 7-14 5-8 19, Winters 0-0 0-0 0, Woodward 4-8 2-2 10. Totals - 28-50 13-27 73.

WILLAMETTE Welter 0-3 0-0 0, Weber 3-6 2-2 8, Leary 5-11 10-13 22, Liebler 0-0 0-0 0, Ell 0-0 0-0 0, Shepard 2-5 0-0 4, Kruger 3-9 1-2 8, Joseph 3-8 4-5 10, Ulrey 3-8 2-2 11, Patillo 5-11 1-4 11. Totals - 24-61 20-28 74.

Halftime - LC 34, Willamette 34. 3-point goals - LC 4-8 (Fillbach 4-7, Woodward 0-1). Willamette 6-16 (Welter 0-3, Leary 2-4, Kruger 1-2, Ulrey 3-7).