SPOKANE, Wash. --- The Pacific Lutheran Women's Basketball team (3-7, 0-1 NWC) fall late in their first Northwest Conference game of the season on the road against the Whitworth Pirates (4-6, 1-0 NWC).
 
Ashley Akamine scored the first basket of the game for either team, sinking a layup nearly 90-seconds after tipoff. The Pirates responded with a 5-0 run to take a 5-2 lead, before Taylor Schmidtke's driving layup cut the deficit to one. Whitworth pulled ahead yet again in a low scoring affair, taking a 9-4 lead, but Jaida Wood and Ashley Akamine made it a 9-7 game after the first ten minutes. Both teams fought early season shooting woes, as each shot under 20% in the first.
 
The second quarter was much of the opposite, as the Pirates climbed out to the game's largest lead at 14-9 after making their second three of the game. A 5-0 run tied the game up at 14-14 thanks to a layup and three-pointer from Wood. Both Whitworth and PLU traded baskets on the next three possessions each, with Raylie Wardenaar sinking a three to give the Lutes a short 19-18 lead before Whitworth matched with a deep ball of their own. The Lutes trailed 21-19 at the half.
 
Whitworth executed from the free throw line to take a 25-19 lead, but Schmidtke stopped the Pirate run with a driving layup. The largest lead of the game came for Whitworth at 33-26 with 6:29 remaining in the quarter, but Wood, Samura, and Wooten led the Lutes in an effort to stay within striking distance. Wood and Schmidtke went back-to-back from beyond the arc, to cap off an 8-2 run and cut the deficit to just one with 1:49 left in the third. Following a pair of free throws for the Pirates, Wood sank yet another three ball to tie the game up at 42-42 on the final possession of the quarter.
 
After the Pirates notched the first basket of the final quarter, Schmidtke responded with 7:30 left, tying the game back up, 44-44. Tami Gallo-Paul gave the Lutes their first lead since the first basket of the game, but a 4-0 run but Whitworth back on top with 4:35 left. Trailing a five, Brooke Samura found her stride in the final minutes, scoring three consecutive buckets to cut the deficit to just one entering the final minute of play. Whitworth continued to execute from the free throw line, taking a 56-53 lead after grabbing an offensive rebound with five seconds remaining. Following a timeout by Head Coach Lee Aduddell, the Lutes looked to Wood for the final three-point attempt of the game, but missed the target, giving the Pirates the win in the conference opener.
 
"It's tough to win on the road in this conference, and we didn't get the boards down the stretch we had to have." Said Head Coach Lee Aduddell.

"But we fought hard to find our way without one of our major pieces on the floor and I'm proud of the continued fight of this team."

Wood led the way for the Lutes with 15-points and eight rebounds in just 26-minutes; a new career-high in points. The senior went 4-7 from beyond the arc, making three of her last four attempts. Schmidtke went for 10-points and seven rebounds of her own on 4-11 from the field. The Lutes shot 32.8% from the field, 28.6% from the field, and 33.3% from the free throw line. The Lutes outshot the Pirates from the floor, but Whitworth's 17 of 18 from the free throw line proved to be the difference.
 
The Lutes continued the conference-opening road trip tomorrow night in Walla Walla against the Whitman Blues at 4 p.m.
 
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