Area women: NIC defeats CSI

Brittany Duerr and Niki Scott scored 14 points apiece as North Idaho edged Southern Idaho 67-64 Friday in a Scenic West Conference matchup at Twin Falls, Idaho.

Kay Hill and Jessica Thielen each scored 12 and Cassie Pilkinton chipped in seven points and 10 rebounds for the Cardinals (15-6, 7-4). NIC limited the Golden Eagles to 25 percent shooting from the field to pull within one game of Southern Idaho for second place in conference.

Brittany Moore scored 13 for the Golden Eagles (17-4, 8-3), who got to the foul line 34 times, making 22. NIC shot 7 of 23 from the line.

“Whitworth’s offense flatlined and the Pirates’ postseason hopes took an unhealthy turn as a result.

The Pirates shot a woeful 28.3 percent from the field in a 60-47 loss to Linfield in a Northwest Conference game at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

Linfield’s victory was the Wildcats’ first in Spokane since Jan. 15, 2000. Whitworth (12-8, 6-5) entered the contest third in the NWC standings, but that cushion vanished with the loss. Lewis & Clark pulled even with the Pirates in the standings with a 58-54 win over Pacific Lutheran on Friday.

The top three teams in the conference will advance to postseason play. The conference’s third seed plays at the NWC’s No. 2 on Feb. 22, and the winner of that game will meet the regular-season champion two days later to determine the conference’s automatic entrant into the NCAA Division III national tournament.

“We’ve just got to win,” Whitworth coach Helen Higgs said. “We need to have the attitude that we can beat anyone in this league, and we’ve got to fight for it.”

Linfield (10-9, 5-6) led comfortably in the second half after seizing a 25-21 lead at intermission.

Whitworth trimmed its deficit to two twice in the second half, but the Pirates’ offensive struggles foiled their comeback.

Alida Bower and Tiffany Corigliano scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, for Whitworth.

Casey Stepan led four Linfield players in double figures with 14 points.