Women’s basketball: Pirates dump Pioneers in NWC opener

K.C. McConnell scored 21 points and Whitworth opened Northwest Conference play with a 67-42 win over Lewis & Clark in Spokane.

The Pirates set the tone early, outscoring the Pioneers (0-7, 0-1) 25-6 in the first quarter.

Whitworth (2-2, 1-0) hosts NWC foe Linfield on Saturday.

Cloninger, Landdeck guide North Idaho to win

Shelby Cloninger scored 20 points and Monica Landdeck added 18 as North Idaho pulled away in the second half and beat Skagit Valley 81-54 at the Bulldog Classic in Everett.

Grace Varcoe added nine points and 12 rebounds for NIC (6-1), which outscored Skagit Valley (1-4) 40-20 after halftime.

North Idaho will play Highline Saturday in the semfinals. Highline advanced with a 68-62 win over Everett.