Facing long odds at the end of regulation and midway through overtime, Pacific Lutheran upended Whitworth, 87-83, in a Northwest Conference women’s basketball game Saturday in Spokane.
All five Lutes starters, led by Mackenzie Bieker’s career-high 21 points, scored in double figures.
“It was fun to play tonight, and the reward was the win,” Lutes coach Kelly Robinson said. “A couple of basketballs bounced our way tonight ... but we also put ourselves in that position.”
Sara Backstrom made two 3-pointers in the final 25 seconds to tie it for the Lutes (7-14, 4-8 NWC), but Whitworth (9-12, 5-7) regained the lead, 74-72, on a pair of Kayla Johnson free throws with 5.6 seconds to go.
The Lutes took it the length of the court, and Shelly Kilcup drove the lane and made an underhand scoop shot at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.
The Pirates had an 83-78 advantage with 2:51 to go in OT, but PLU ended the game on a 9-0 run. Samantha Potter’s layup at the 1:14 mark gave the Lutes (7-14, 4-8) the lead for good, 84-83.
At Whitman 66, UPS 59: Every time the Loggers got close, storming back from as much as a 16-point deficit in the second half, Janele Peterson answered with a big 3-pointer for the Missionaries (12-9, 8-4 in NWC).
UPS (11-10, 7-5) trailed 51-35 with 10:18 to go, but five UPS 3-pointers – three by reserve Olivia Roberts – got the Loggers back in it.
Roberts’ last one cut it to 55-52 with 3:56 to go. Forty-two seconds later, Peterson hit a 3-ponter. The Loggers’ last run sliced it to 59-55 at the 1:12 mark, but Peterson – who led all scorers with 19 points – made another one.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
At Whitworth 82, PLU 80: Trailing 81-80, the Lutes got the look they wanted, getting Kai Hoyt open on a back cut along the baseline, but he missed a bank shot high off the glass with 13 seconds to go that would have given PLU (10-11, 7-5 in NWC) its first lead of the game.
Mack Larkin hit one of two free throws to give the No. 10 Pirates (18-3, 11-1) an 82-80 lead.
UPS 66, at Whitman 64: Riggs Yarbro, a reserve center, made two jumpers in the final 1:31 – the last giving the Loggers (16-5, 8-4 in NWC) the lead for good at 66-64 with 31 seconds remaining.
Whitman called two timeouts on its final possession, but Josh Duckworth missed a game-tying inside shot at the buzzer for the Missionaries (15-6, 8-4).
UPS and Whitman are tied for second in league along with George Fox, but the Loggers hold the tiebreaker edge over the Missionaries with their season sweep.
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