FOREST GROVE, Ore. - (From Pacific Sports Information) Whitworth College bounced back from its most disappointing loss of the season with a 60-48 victory over Pacific University in Northwest Conference women's basketball action Friday night at the Pacific Athletic Center.

Bower led the Bucs with 13 points

The Pirates (12-6 overall, 6-3 NWC), who lost at Willamette last Friday, held off the Boxers (4-12, 0-8 NWC), who made 17 of 19 free throws in the game. The success from the stripe didn¹t translate into field goal shooting success though, as they shot 29-percent from the field (14-48). Whitworth hit 45-percent of their field goals, as they drilled 24 of 53.

Kaela Zarkovich led the way for the Boxers with 11 points. Kristina Stevens and Ashley Bellamy each chipped in six. Whitworth's Alida Bower carried the offensive load for the Pirates, cashing in four three-pointers on her way to 13 points. Susan McDaniel, Cassie Synder and Natalie Orrell all contributed eight points for Whitworth.

The two squads traded buckets in the opening minutes, but Pacific grabbed a 7-5 lead with a pair of Stevens free throws at the 16:15 mark. That would be all of the lead the Boxers would see in the first half, as the Pirates went on a 10-2 run, ending on a Bower long ball with 11:18 left to give the Pirates a 15-9 advantage.

The Pirates continued their tear as a Susan McDaniel lay-up gave them their largest lead of the half, 24-13, with 5:29 left. The Boxers then began to chip away at the lead, working it down to four on another pair of Stevens charity shots at the 1:40 mark.

With just under five seconds left in the half, Shanna Rietmann buried a three-pointer from the corner off a Stevens kick-out pass to trim the Pirate lead to three, 28-25, heading into the halftime locker room.

Pacific came out flat in the second half as Whitworth put together a 20-5 run, culminating at the 9:06 mark on a Tiffany Corigliano jumper. The Boxers showed some life late in the game, as a pair of Jenna Archibald free throws and a Bellamy lay-up sparked a 9-3 run, ending on another Bellamy basket at 1:27 left to make the score 59-46. Free throws would wrap up the scoring for both squads, as Stacie Scott hit one for the Pirates and Mallory Goldammer dropped two for the Boxers.

The Boxers finish up the weekend at home against Whitman while the Pirates travel to Portland to face Lewis and Clark. Both games are scheduled to tip-off at 4:00 p.m.