WALLA WALLA, Wash. - (From Whitman Sports Information Office) Scoring its final 16 points from the free throw line, Whitworth University rallied past Whitman College 73-65 in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game Tuesday night in Sherwood Center.

With the win, the Pirates moved into a tie for third place in the NWC standings with the Missionaries.

Orrell was 7 of 7 from the field to lead Whitworth

Down by five points early in the second half, Whitworth (9-7, 4-3) pieced together a 15-2 scoring spurt to take a 48-40 lead with 11 minutes left to play. Natalie Orrell, who led all scorers with 16 points, made Whitworth's final basket with 6:24 remaining to put the visitors in front 55-51. From there, the Pirates made 16 of 20 charity tosses to polish off the win.

Whitman (10-6, 4-3) led by as many as five points in the first half and was up 32-31 at the break. Two hoops by Emily Shubin and one by Hilary White had the Missionaries in front 38-33 with just two minutes gone in the second half. That's when Orrell and Alida Bower combined for 13 points as the Pirates surged ahead.

Kelsey Krumdieck's offensive rebound and putback closed Whitman's gap to 55-53 at the 6:46 mark. But Orrell countered with a layin and Whitworth began its parade to the free throw line.

With Whitworth in front 65-55 at the 3:24 mark, Whitman turned up its defensive pressure and reeled off seven unanswered points. First-year forward Anna Forge capitalized on a pair of Pirate turnovers and finished with layins to spark the rally, and first-year guard Jenele Peterson made one of two free throws to slice Whitworth's lead to 65-62 with 1:38 remaining. The Pirates answered by making eight of 10 free throws in the closing seconds to put the game away.

Whitman shot 46.6 percent from the floor and made seven more field goals than Whitworth, which made 45.5 percent of its field goal attempts. For the game, the Pirates made 29 of 36 free throws while the Missionaries went to the line 12 times, making seven. With Bower pulling down 11 rebounds, Whitworth worked its way to a 35-28 advantage on the backboards.

White and Krumdieck scored 13 and 12 points, respectively, to pace Whitman. Krumdieck, who converted all four of her free throws, was also four of five from the floor. The Missionaries got 10 points from Michelle Krall. Shubin finished with a team-high seven rebounds.

The Whitworth scoring was equally balanced. In addition to 16 points from Orrell, who was seven of seven from the floor, Cassie Snyder had 12 points and Leah Pomante finished with 10. Tiffany Corigliano added nine points and Teresa Zeitler had eight.

Whitman stays at home to host first-place George Fox University (14-1, 6-0) at 6 p.m. Friday. Whitworth (8-8, 3-4) welcomes George Fox to Spokane at 6 p.m. Saturday.