SPOKANE, Wash. – The Puget Sound women's basketball team fell 69-61 at Whitworth on Friday. The Loggers (11-9, 7-4 NWC) quickly erased a halftime deficit but the Pirates (9-11, 5-6 NWC) sprinted away at the end for the victory.

Jocelyn Riordan led the Loggers with 13 points on the night. Amanda Forshay pulled down 10 rebounds while also adding six points.

"It was a back and forth battle for 40 minutes. Ultimately, we lost the rebounding battle and they hit a few big shots down the stretch," said head coach Loree Payne. "It was definitely a tough one but we need to move on and focus our energy on to a good Whitman team tomorrow."

After taking an initial lead, the Loggers fell behind on a Lexi Belcher layup at the 14:53 mark in the first half. Belcher would go on to lead the Pirates with 17 points and 11 rebounds and the Pirates would lead the rest of the half. The lead reached as much as nine behind 15-of-21 shooting from the free throw line. The Loggers were just 3-of-5 in the half. A last second jumper in the paint from Riordan made the halftime score 34-29.

The Loggers opened the half on a 5-2 run to quickly close the gap and eventually took a 40-41 lead on a Sarah Stewart layup. However, Taylor Taylor and Belcher combined to score the next seven points to reclaim the lead for the Pirates for good.

The Pirates would lead the rest of the way and kept the Loggers at arm's length as they held on for the win. Emily Guthrie pitched in 12 points for Whitworth and Kayla Johnson added 11.

The Loggers head to Whitman tomorrow for a 5 p.m. tip off with the Missionaries.