SALEM, Ore. – The Whitworth Pirates could not overcome a cold shooting first half in a 67-57 loss to the Willamette Bearcats at Cone Fieldhouse on Saturday night.
The Pirates, who beat the Bearcats 65-49 in January, fell to 8-13 overall and 5-7 in the NWC. Willamette ended a two-game losing streak and drew even with Whitworth at 5-7 in conference play.
The Whitworth offense started hot as Keely Maves’ layup gave the Pirates a 9-4 lead midway through the first quarter. The efficiency did not continue as the Pirates missed their next six shots and were outscored 15-2 in the remainder of the quarter. Both teams struggled to get shots to fall in a low-scoring second quarter. Whitworth got one more field goal to drop and battled to a 10-9 advantage, but the Bearcats took a 28-21 lead into halftime. The Bucs shot just 27.5% (8-29) from the through the first two periods…