PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Lewis & Clark Pioneers' 73-58 loss to the No. 8 Whitman Blues on Saturday had a similar feeling to their first meeting earlier this season.

Leading by three at halftime at Pamplin Sports Center, the Pios went on a five-minute drought without a field goal as the Blues outscored Lewis & Clark 27-10 in the third quarter. Last month, Whitman used a 28-15 edge in the third to spark their home victory.

After starting 1 for 9 from 3-point range, the Blues made 6 of 11 in the second half.

Laurel Marchant scored nine first-half points to help the Pioneers build a 27-24 halftime lead. Delsie Johnson added 15 points in the game, while Hannah Martin finished with nine.

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Key Moments

Whitman opened to an 8-2 lead as the Pioneers didn't score in the game's first two minutes. That changed when Martin scored back-to-back buckets -- a layup and a corner 3-pointer -- to spark the Pioneers offense.

The Blues (19-2, 11-1 NWC) led the entire first quarter before six straight points from Johnson gave Lewis & Clark its first lead with 6:49 remaining in the second. Marchant hit a three and a jumper on each side of Martin's jump shot. A lay-in from Johnson with 1:09 remaining gave the Pios their largest lead of the game, 27-22. 

Makana Stone and Mady Burdett, the Blues' top two scorers, started the game a combined 3 for 18, as Whitman trended toward its lowest field-goal percentage of the season. The third quarter changed the pace, however, and the Blues finished 9 of 19 (47 percent) from the field including 5 of 9 from the 3-point area in the period. Stone had 10 of her 12 points in the second half.

Deeper Look

• At 43 percent for the game, Lewis & Clark was five percent better than Whitman from the field 
• With a 5 of 14 performance from 3-point range, the Pios have made at least five in 11 of their last 12 games
• Coco Shafer scored six off the bench on 2 of 3 shooting, but Whitman led 33-15 in bench points
• With 28 minutes, Gabby Beltran was one minute shy of her career high, scored three points and had a team-high three assists
• The NWC leader, Whitman had 18 assists on 26 made field goals
• Martin had a team-high five rebounds
• Whitman held a 37-26 advantage on the boards and pulled in 16 offensively for a 15-6 edge in second-chance points

Looking Ahead

Lewis & Clark (2-18, 1-11 NWC) will seek to snap a six-game losing streak on Friday at Puget Sound.