FOREST GROVE, Ore. - (From Pacific Sports Information Office) Pacific fought off a late comeback and a last-second scare from visiting Whitworth Saturday to earn a 68-66 victory in Northwest Conference women's basketball action at the Pacific Athletic Center.

The Boxers' (3-17, 2-10 NWC) win over the Pirates (11-10, 6-6 NWC) was their first victory since Jan. 2, when they beat Lewis & Clark 75-70 at home. The Bucs' chances of finishing third in the NWC and earning the conference's final playoff spot diminished greatly as the team fell two games behind Lewis & Clark in the standings.

Bower had 12 points and 13 rebounds

Whitworth had a chance to win the game at the buzzer. Leah Pomante's (So., G, Colbert, Wash.) three-point attempt with two seconds left from the corner bounced off the rim and into the hands of teammate Courtney Gaddis (Fr., F, Honolulu, Hawaii), who threw up an errant lay up as time expired.

Mallory Goldammer paced Pacific with 18 points. Amy Pedersen, the conference¹s third-leading scorer, scored 14 points and added seven rebounds. Christine Kim followed with 12 points.

Alida Bower (Jr., F, Onalaska, Wash.) and Liz Horiatis (Fr., P, Woodinville, Wash.) shared the Pirates' team lead with 12 points apiece. Bower also added 13 rebounds for the double-double. Teresa Zeitler (Sr., G, Medical Lake, Wash.) was close behind with 11 points.

Pacific started the game by going on a 17-4 run, led by Pedersen, who scored her team¹s first seven points. The Boxers extended their lead until they were up by as much as 21, 33-12, with 7:39 remaining in the half. Whitworth fought back and reduced the lead to 41-30 when the half was over.

Whitworth eventually battled back and took their first lead of the game with 1:54 remaining. Kalei Frank saved the ball from going out of bounds but threw it to Pomante, who promptly laid it in to give the Pirates a 66-65 advantage.

Kim put Pacific back at the helm with 46.8 seconds left, sinking two free throws for a 67-66 lead. Whitworth got the ball back and set up their offense for the go-ahead shot, but Natalie Orrell¹s pass went out of bounds with 20 seconds to go, securing the win for the Boxers.

Whitworth returns home on Friday host Pacific Lutheran at 6:00 p.m.