BOX SCORE

SPOKANE, Wash., - The 2008-09 women's basketball season came to an end for the Lewis & Clark Pioneers with a 80-72 loss to Northwest Conference foe Whitworth on Sunday afternoon. The Pioneers were led by Kim Kittell who finished the game with a team-high 18 points, while dishing out four assists and collecting one steal. The Pioneers finish their season with an overall record of 11-14 and 5-11 in the NWC.

Natalie Orrell led all players in points netting 25 for the game. Kittell ended her day shooting five of seven from the charity stripe. Tallera Rich collected 16 points for the Pioneers, while freshman Margaret Dowling ended her freshman campaign with a double-double, netting 13 points and collecting 11 boards. Dowling's 11 boards lead all players in rebounds.

Dowling put the Pioneers on the board first with a jumper in the paint, after collecting a pass from junior Kelly Vega with 18:48 on the clock. The Pioneers maintained control of the scoreboard for the next five minutes of action before Whitworth gained control at the 13:28 mark. Megan Spence took charge with 3:29 remaining in the half, giving the advantage back to the Pioneers with a layup in the paint. Whitworth battled its way back to take a 38-35 lead to halftime.

The second half belonged to Whitworth, who never allowed the Pioneers to gain possession of the scoreboard. Whitworth jumped out to its largest lead of the game with 1:47 remaining when they posted a 78-68 advantage on a made jumper by Orrell. Unlike in the first half, where the two teams tied the game on nine separate occasions, there was only one score tie in the second half.

The Pioneers shot 37.9 percent (22-58) compared to Whitworths 50 percent (25-50) from the floor. The two teams were nearly even statistically when shooting from the charity stripe, with the Pioneers shooting 76.5 percent (26-34) and Whitworth finishing 79.3 percent (23-29).