WALLA WALLA, Wash. Lewis & Clark College women's basketball pulled within five points three times in the second half but fell to Whitman College 67-58 in Northwest Conference play Saturday afternoon at the Sherwood Center.

THE BASICS
 
Whitman 67, Lewis & Clark 58
Lewis & Clark (6-17, 3-11 NWC)
Whitman (17-6, 12-2 NWC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Sophomore Kaitlen Carns scored a game-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting with four 3-pointers. She added a team-high seven rebounds, five steals and three assists to lead Lewis & Clark.

First-year Lilly Jordan contributed 10 points off the bench with four steals. First-year Ali McCauley added nine points off the bench and went a perfect 4-for-4 at the free-throw line with two assists and two steals.

Whitman opened the game on a 10-0 run as Jordan Leith scored seven points in the first two minutes, including a transition 3-pointer. Carns scored the River Otters' first points on a 3-pointer to make it 10-3, and first-year Hailey Perez (five points) added a 3-pointer to pull Lewis & Clark within 17-6. The Blues led 25-15 at the end of the first quarter.

Jordan opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to seven at 25-18. Whitman pushed the margin back to 12 before senior Madelyn Sanchez and McCauley hit back-to-back 3-pointers to bring Lewis & Clark within six at 35-29. Sumi Leavell scored with three seconds remaining in the half, and the Blues led 37-29 at the break.

Lewis & Clark pulled within five twice in the third quarter. Senior Tatiana Rebanal (six points) scored a layup, and Jordan converted on the fast break to make it 40-35. After a Whitman basket, Rebanal hit a jumper to cut the margin to five at 42-37. Holly Morgan and Briana Andrade then combined for eight unanswered Whitman points to push the lead to 50-37. Jordan scored five straight, including a 3-pointer, to trim the deficit to 10 before the quarter ended 52-42.

Carns scored 10 of her 21 points in the fourth quarter. She converted a layup, a tip-in and a 3-pointer over a three-minute stretch to pull Lewis & Clark within seven at 56-49. Rebanal sank two free throws to cut the deficit to five, 56-51, with 4:47 remaining. Leavell scored back-to-back layups to push the lead back to nine. After Carns made her second 3-pointer of the quarter, McCauley sank two free throws with 33 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 63-58. Whitman scored its final five points at the free-throw line to close out the 67-58 win.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Carns shot 4-of-8 from 3-point range and 3-of-4 at the free-throw line. Her five steals led all players.
• The River Otters forced 16 Whitman turnovers and recorded 13 steals as a team.
• Lewis & Clark's bench outscored Whitman's reserves 24-17. Jordan and McCauley combined for 19 of those points.

WHO'S NEXT
 
Lewis & Clark travels to NWC-leading Linfield for a 5:30 p.m. game on Friday.