The Pioneer women topped the NAIA Division II Warner Pacific
Knights on Tuesday, December 2, 63-51 (boxscore). The victory
is the Pioneers' second consecutive win, improving their record to
2-3 overall.
The Pioneers opened the first half by taking an early lead in
the first few seconds of the game. The Knights, who opened the half
in a zone defense, struggled to stop the Pioneers' outside
shooting. The Pioneer offense took charge, attacking their zone to
no end. With ball movement and composure, the Pioneers were able to
find the gaps and thrive from the three-point line in the first
five minutes of play. The Knights then switched to a man-to-man
defense, allowing the Pioneers to capitalize inside. Kim Kittell
(Jr., Tillamook, Ore.) came out hot from beyond the arc, scoring
eight of the Pioneers' first eleven points, six of which came
from beyond three-point range. The Pioneers entered the locker room
at halftime with a 32-27 lead.
In the second half, the Pioneers continued to build their lead for
the first two minutes of play. But the fight in the Knights was not
lost, as they slowly chipped away at the Pioneer lead. By the 15:33
mark, the Knights had battled their way to 36-37, taking the lead
for the first time in the game. The lead would alternate between
the two teams for the next 10 minutes.
By the 5:00 mark, the Knights' shooting had gone ice cold,
while the Pioneers were shooting 44.8% from the floor. With
just three minutes remaining in the game, a Megan Spence (Fr.,
Kingston, Wash.) three-pointer boosted the Pioneers to a 60-51
lead. The Knights did not score again for the remainder of the
game.
The Pioneer defense was relentless, forcing the Knights to commit
25 total turnovers, reducing their number of scoring opportunities.
With full court pressure by Kittell for 40 minutes, the Pioneers
were able to control the tempo and force the Knights into
trouble.
Kim Kittell led the Pioneers in scoring with 17 points and five
assists. Dominating the boards on both ends for the Pios was
Margaret Dowling (Fr., Burlingame, Calif.), with the first
double-double of her career. Dowling grabbed a game high 14
rebounds, also scoring 10 points. Christina Herring (So., San
Dimas, Calif.) added 12 points and three assists for the Pioneer
offense.
