Sophomore Emily Drivstuen led Northwest with 21 points.
Whitman Squeaks by Northwest
SPOKANE, Wash. - Whitman College came back from a 31-28 halftime deficit to rally in the second half for a narrow 70-69 victory in the Quality Inn Oakwood Whitworth Tournament in Spokane this afternoon.
Whitman would break out to an early 5-3 lead on the Eagles, but NU would out score the Missionaries 9-6 to take a 14-9 lead 12:30 into the first half. NU would maintain that distance for a good part of the half, but Rebecca Sexton's free throw with 4:55 left would pull Whitman to within 2 points at 24-22. The teams would trade baskets for the next several minutes until the 1:51 mark when Northwest's Emily Drivstuen would hit a 3-pointer to give the Eagles a 5 point edge (29-24). Whitman's Sexton would make one of two free throws with 1 second to go to make it a three point ball game, 31-28 at the half.
In the second half, NU would hold a 38-33 lead after Brittney Marshall's free throw, but Whitman would begin making their move and Janele Peterson's jumper with 14:38 left would make it a one point game, 38-37 and the Missionaries would take the lead on a Peterson layup, 39-38. NU would battle back to tie the contest at 59-59 (3:23) and 61-all at the 2:29 mark, but Whitman would go on a 6-0 run capped off by two Peterson free throws to make it 67-61 would 1:31 left in the game. The Eagles would fight back to pull to within two points, 70-68 on a Domi Mendezona 3-pointer and would have a chance to tie the game with 14 seconds remaining but Jessalyn Jackson's second free throw would come off the rim. Whitman had a chance to put the game away with 13 seconds to go, but Megan White would miss both free throws giving the Eagles one more shot, but Jackson's jumper would miss its mark with 4 seconds left as Whitman would pull out the one point win.
Northwest (3-3) was led by Emily Drivstuen's 21 points and teammate Jessalyn Jackson dropped in 17 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. The Eagles shot 38% for the night and hit 46% of their 3-point attempts. NU out rebounded Whitman 39-34 with 12 offensive boards.
Janele Peterson led Whitman (1-0) with 16 points followed by Rebecca Sexton's 12 points, 7 rebounds and Kelly Peterson added 11 points.
NU will play tournament host Whitworth tomorrow at 4 p.m. to conclude their tournament play. Live stats, audio and video will be available on the Whitworth web site.