WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The No. 13 Whitman College women’s basketball team started strong but struggled from the floor as the game went on, losing for the first time this season with a 57-47 defeat at the hands of Lewis-Clark State College on Friday night at the Sherwood Center.
Korin Baker led all scorers with 21 points and Carly Martin posted a double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Lindsay Drango also chipped in 10 points but, after a 25-point first quarter, the Blues (8-1) managed only 22 points in the final three quarters.
Mataya Green scored a team-high 14 points to go along with seven boards for the Warriors, and Ellie Sander added 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds.
The Blues set an early tone with a dominant opening quarter, putting up a season-high in points for a quarter with 25. The Warriors led by a point early, but Baker’s jumper in the paint sparked a run of 15 unanswered points that put Whitman up 20-6 with 2:30 to play. Drango had the hot hand during the run, draining back-to-back three pointers and helping her team to the big lead.
LC State (10-0) recovered and did a better job defensively, but it was the Blues who maintained their double-digit lead heading into halftime. Sander followed up a missed shot for LCSC but Baker answered with a bucket on the other end to make it a 27-14 game with 7:41 to play. Both teams then went cold from the floor and didn’t hit a basket until Ella Nelson’s hoop shaved the lead to nine points with just under three minutes remaining. Whitman recovered as well and ended the half on Martin’s buzzer beater three to give the Blues a 35-19 lead at the break.
LC State came alive in the third quarter and nearly grabbed their first lead since the opening moments of the game. The Warriors emerged from the locker room and ran off 15 unanswered points to open the second half. Green’s three pointer capped the run and whittled the Whitman lead to 35-34 with 5:18 to play.
The Blues escaped the third quarter with the lead, but the final 10 minutes belonged to the Warriors. The Blues couldn’t find the basket as LC State pulled away for the win.
The game was Whitman’s final of the month and return to action on Friday, Jan. 3rd against Puget Sound for the start of Northwest Conference play.
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