Whitworth Wins, Takes Half-Game Lead

At least for a night, the Whitworth women’s basketball team could enjoy sole possession of first place in the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges after the Pirates beat Lewis & Clark 66-62 Friday night at the Whitworth Field House.

Whitworth (4-1 NCIC, 9-10 overall) moved a half-game up on Willamette, which played a non-conference game. Tonight, Willamette (3-1, 11-4) entertains Pacific Lutheran University.

For the second weekend in a row, Whitworth’s Pirates were the epitome of a cohesive unit. And a lot of that has to do with the play of point guard Kim McFadden.

As the quarterback, McFadden, a senior, did her job controlling the offensive tempo and getting the ball to her teammates. She finished with a game-high eight assists.

“Coming into the season, there were only two of us around from last season,” McFadden said. “We’re finally getting comfortable with each other.”

And head coach Helen Higgs is feeling comfortable with McFadden.

“I’ve asked Kim to do a lot of things,” Higgs said. “Early on, I was asking a lot in a short period of time. She’s getting a handle on all of the things I’ve asked her to do.”

Whitworth jumped to a 34-24 halftime lead before relaxing defensively in the second half.

Lewis & Clark (1-3, 7-9) took a 54-53 lead with 7:44 left in the game before Whitworth finished with 13-8 run to seal the win.

Whitworth’s Annette Sweeney led all scorers with 23 points while LC’s Stacey Cottle led her team with 14 points.

Whitworth is host to Pacific tonight at 6 in the Pirates’ fieldhouse.

Whitworth 66, Lewis & Clark 62

LEWIS & CLARK

Gray 4-9 1-2 9, Fillbach 4-7 0-0 9, Honl 2-7 0-1 6, Getches 0-2 0-0 0, McInturff 3-5 2-3 8, Cottle 4-10 6-8 14, Winters 2-5 2-2 6, Woodward 5-7 0-0 10. Totals 24-52 11-16 62.

WHITWORTH

McFaddend 2-4 0-0 4, Sherer 1-5 2-4 4, Roberts 6-10 0-1 12, Sweeney 9-25 2-3 23, Tissue 4-7 5-6 13, Northington 3-7 2-4 8, Elliott 1-2 0-0 2, Dehn 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-51 11-18 66.

Halftime score - Whitworth 34, LC 24. 3-point goals - LC 3-8 (Gray 0-2, Fillbach 1-2, Honl 2-4), Whitworth 3-14 (McFadden 0-1, Sweeney 3-11, Tissue 0-1). Total fouls - LC 15, Whitworth 16. Fouled out - None. Technical fouls - None. Rebounds - LC 44 (Cottle 11), Whitworth 31 (Northington 6). Assists - LC 17 (Gray 7), Whitworth 15 (McFadden 8).

Santa Clara 81, Gonzaga 68

Suzanne Ressa scored 22 points and Colette Chiamparino added 18 as Santa Clara beat Gonzaga in West Coast Conference play at Santa Clara, Calif.

The Mustangs improve to 3-0 in the conference and 10-5 overall. Gonzaga, which trailed 43-29 at halftime, is 1-2, 6-8.

Sarah Christensen scored 23 points to lead the Bulldogs, but the forward grabbed just two rebounds. Teammate Joy Pauley added nine points and led all players with 10 rebounds.

Pauley’s seven turnovers were also a gamehigh as the Bulldogs had twice as many turnovers than assists - 24-12.

GONZAGA

Pauley 3 3-3 9, Silva 3 0-2 6, Howell 3 0-0 6, Herman 3 0-0 7, Andrews 3 2-2 8, Fenwick 0 0-0 0, Ledgerwood 0 0-0 0, McCliment 2 2-2 6, Morgan 0 0-0 0, Gere 0 3-4 3, Christensen 7 8-10 23. Totals - 24 18-23 68.

SANTA CLARA

Brantley 1 0-0 2, Gonzales 4 0-0 8, Baldwin 1 1-3 4, Ressa 6 7-9 22, Chiamparino 5 4-5 18, Hollowell 3 0-0 6, Hurley 2 2-3 6, 0 0-0 0, Pagon 0 0-0 0, Sacco 1 2-2 2, Silacci 5 1-2 11, Wallen 0 0-0 0. Totals - 28 17-24 81.

Halftime - Santa Clara 43, Gonzaga 29. 3-point goals - Gonzaga 2-4 (Herman 1-1, Pauley 0-2, Christensen 1-1), Santa Clara 8-19 (Brantley 0-2, Baldwin 1-2, Ressa 3-6, Chiamparino 4-7, Sacco 0-2). Fouled out - none. Rebounds - Gonzaga 29 (Pauley 10), Santa Clara 30 (Silacci 7). Assists - Gonzaga 12 (Herman 4), Santa Clara 22 (Ressa 6). Total Fouls - Gonzaga 19, Santa Clara 22. Technicals - none. Attendance - 265.

Huskies battle Oregon today

The recent injuries to several members of the University of Washington women’s team may soon be a thing of the past.

On Friday, sophomore guard Michelle Perkins took part in her first practice since suffering a cartilage tear in her left knee prior to Washington’s Dec. 19 loss at Santa Clara.

The 13th-ranked Huskies, 4-1 in the Pac-10 and 14-4 overall, face Oregon (3-1, 10-3) today at 2 p.m., in a game televised live by Prime Sports Northwest.

In addition to Perkins’ return, Washington should have backup forward Heidi Hills (gallstone surgery), forward Melissa Wuschnig (finger) and point guard Katia Foucade (fractured eye socket) available in the next week.

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