Whitworth avenges lone NWC setback

With one notable exception, Whitworth is relegating the rest of the Northwest Conference men’s basketball teams to also-ran status. As part of that process, the Pirates earned a little payback Friday night.

Whitworth collected its ninth straight win with a 77-68 home victory over Linfield. It was a reversal of a seven-point loss in the teams’ conference openers on Jan. 4, the last time Whitworth found itself on the losing end.

“We’ve matured as a team,” said coach Jim Hayford, whose team kept pace with Puget Sound atop the NWC standings.

Following a career-high 33-points against UC Santa Cruz last week, Ryan Symes led all scorers with 30 points for the Pirates.

“Ryan had a tremendous performance,” Hayford said. “He decided to take this team on his shoulders and not let us lose. … They were fronting him and letting him have the ball. We felt that if you let him have it, he’s our best player and we’ll take our chances. He came through.”

Whitworth’s hounding defense, which again harassed an opponent into a woeful shooting performance, helped the Pirates jump ahead 43-25 at halftime. That lead was enough for the Whits (15-3, 8-1 NWC) to withstand Linfield in the second half, when the Wildcats closed within 65-60 before falling.

The Pirates have allowed an average of 59 points through 18 games, which ranks in the top 10 nationally. They stifled Linfield, which entered the game third in the NWC at 79.5 points per game, and held the Wildcats to 6-of-25 shooting in the first half and 22 of 58 (38 percent) in the game.

Whitworth and Puget Sound enjoy a three-game cushion over Linfield and Lewis & Clark.

Hayford cautioned that the disparity between the teams at the top and those below them isn’t as pronounced as it may appear.

“You look at the standings, and it might reflect (a gap),” he said, “but you’ve also got to look at the scores of the games between the teams. We played Willamette and went to overtime to get the win. Puget Sound and Linfield were tied (late). I like where we are … but every night is going to be tough like we had tonight.”

K.C. Wiser and Steve Taylor scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, for Linfield.

Women

Alida Bower knocked down two free throws with 15 seconds left to seal Whitworth’s 76-73, double-overtime victory over visiting Linfield in a Northwest Conference game.

Bower scored eight of her team-high 21 points after regulation to help the Pirates complete their comeback from a double-digit deficit in the first half. Whitworth (10-8, 5-4) trailed 34-26 at halftime.

Pirates wing Natalie Orrell got two looks from 3-point range in the final 6 seconds of regulation, and the second one rattled in at the buzzer to send the game into overtime at 59-all. Molly Schlander rebounded Orrell’s first attempt and located her teammate open in the corner for the assist.

Bower’s bucket off the glass gave Whitworth its first lead of the game at 63-61 with 2:55 remaining in overtime. The Pirates trailed 67-65 with 5 seconds left, but Bower’s 15-foot jumper tied the game to force a second extra session.

Orrell scored 14 points, and Cassie Snyder and Tiffany Corigliano added 10 apiece for Whitworth.

Courtney McFadden scored 15 points to pace Linfield (10-8, 2-7).