Women’s Basketball Upended In Home Opener

WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The Whitman College women’s basketball team suffered its first loss of the season, a home-opening 62-49 defeat to the University of St. Thomas (TX) in the Friday showcase game of the Kim Evanger Raney Memorial Classic at the Sherwood Center.

Holly Morgan scored a team-best 12 points with Briana Andrade, Morgan Montgomery and Jordan Leith all chipping in 10 more. Andrade also corralled a team-best seven rebounds. But it wasn’t enough to overcome a Celts squad that turned 14 Whitman turnovers into key points and never let the Blues play from ahead after the first quarter.​

Whitman looked to build on momentum from two road wins to start the season, but the Celts surged to an 18-11 first quarter lead, capitalizing on early turnovers and setting the pace with a swarming defense and smooth ball movement. 

Despite the early deficit, the Blues made a statement in the second quarter. Andrade and Morgan answered with clutch baskets and the home crowd roared as Whitman narrowed the score to just three points by halftime, trailing 30-27.​

That would be as close as the Blues would come. In the critical third quarter, St. Thomas’s balanced attack took charge, led by Kenna Gibson’s 14 points and supported by strong showings from Laura Jones and Amyia Bowie. The Celts attacked the paint with authority, outscoring Whitman 42-18 inside and using a decisive period to stretch the lead into double digits.​

Whitman’s offense, meanwhile, struggled to find a rhythm. The Blues shot just 26.9 percent from the field and shot only 4-19 from beyond the arc. St. Thomas pulled away late in the fourth quarter.​

The Classic concludes on Saturday with Whitman squaring off against Wisconsin-Platteville at 12pm.
 

#GoWhitman

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