WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Despite leaping to a 15-point lead in the opening eight minutes, the Corban University women's basketball team fell victim to some cold shooting en route to an 82-65 defeat to Whitworth University. It was the Warriors first contest at the KER Classic hosted by Whitman College.

Junior guard Jade Lowery (Oregon City, Ore.) led all scorers with 22 points on an 8-for-11 effort from the field, while senior center Tara Van Weerdhuizen (Spokane, Wash.) added 10 points to go along with nine rebounds.

The Navy and Gold (5-6) scored the first nine points of the contest, as sophomore forward Payton Wilcox (Salem, Ore.) nailed a jumper in the paint before the Pirates (7-0) finally got on the scoreboard. Corban continued to roll, as senior guard Katherine Salness (Portland, Ore.) converted a layup to give the Warriors a 17-2 advantage with 11:46 remaining in the first half.

But the tables quickly turned on Corban, as Whitworth held the Warriors to a 33.3% (5-for-15) effort for the remainder of the frame. A pair of free throws gave the Pirates their first lead (28-27) at the 1:36 mark, but then Lowery responded with a three-pointer to put the Warriors back on top. The two teams were deadlocked at 30 apiece after 20 minutes of play.

Despite buckets by Lowery and Van Weerdhuizen on the Warriors' first two possessions of the second half, the Pirates responded with a 20-4 run to take a 51-38 lead with 12:57 remaining in the contest. Lowery completed a rare four-point play after being fouled on a three-pointer to bring Corban to within single digits (59-50) at the 8:07 mark, but the Warriors could never get any closer.

"We started the game on fire, both on defense and offense, and we opened up a nice lead," stated head coach Dave Bale. "They started making a few shots, and so did we, but the fouls began to add up and as they got into the bonus. We found ourselves without Tara and Dani. Whitworth's three-pointers and free throws along with our fouls did us in."

Wilcox finished the contest with nine points in 24 minutes of play, while junior guard Chris Carlson (Silver Lake, Wash.) came off the bench and scored seven points for the Warriors.

The Pirates were led by KC McConnell, as she finished the game with a team-high 18 points. Jessica Kramer tallied 12 points for Whitworth, while Lexie Zappone nearly registered a triple-double with eight points, seven assists, and 10 rebounds.

Corban shot 22-for-53 (41.5%) from the field compared to a 25-for-59 (42.4%) clip by Whitworth. Although the two teams shot similar percentages, the game was decided by the charity stripe, as the Warriors shot just 63.0% (17-for-27) while the Pirates nailed 82.8% (24-for-29) of their free throws. Whitworth edged Corban on the glass, 41-32, and the Pirates made eight three-pointers compared to four by the Navy and Gold.

The Warriors return to action tomorrow against Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash. at 2 p.m.