SALEM, Ore. – Willamette University's 25-4 first half run led to a 60-46 victory over visiting Whitworth in Saturday's Northwest Conference women's basketball game at Cone Fieldhouse.

The Bearcats (8-12 overall, 5-6 NWC) swept the season series over the Pirates, who had won three of their last four games heading into Saturday.

Neither team led by more than a basket early in the game until Mikiah Dunham's layup capped an 8-0 Whitworth run to grab a 12-6 lead with 2:30 to go in the first quarter. After a Whitworth turnover, Peyton Gardner made a driving layup at the buzzer that closed the gap to 12-11 heading into the second frame.

The Bearcats carried their momentum into a dominant second quarter. The Pirate offense went cold, and Willamette took advantage of it by completing a 16-1 run over eight minutes of game time. Riley Walden's shot from beyond the arc put WU up 22-13 at the 3:54 mark before Ava DePew followed with Whitworth's first and only field goal of the quarter. After another scoring run, the Bearcats took a 31-16 lead into halftime. The Pirates made one of 11 shot attempts in the quarter and seven of 26 (26.9%) in the first half. The Bearcats made nine of 14 shots in the quarter and 14 of 30 (46.6%).

A jumper from Gardner on the first possession of the third quarter pushed Willamette's lead to 33-16. The Bucs regrouped and scored six unanswered points to trim the deficit to 11 after a basket from CC Size. Despite getting to within 11 two more times and outscoring the Bearcats 17-14 in the quarter, Whitworth could not get any closer.

The Bearcats opened the final quarter with two consecutive three-pointers and Kaitlin Imai's three-point play gave Willamette a 57-36 lead, its largest lead of the game midway through the fourth. The Pirate defense held Willamette to its worst shooting quarter of the game (26.7%), but it was out of reach.

Whitworth shot 32.1% (17-35) from the floor and made just three of 15 three-point attempts (20%). The Bearcats shot 40.3% (25-62) from the floor and 35.3% (6-17) from beyond the arc. WU converted 16 Pirate turnovers into 23 points.

Ashlyn Peterson led all scorers with 19 points, tied a career-high with nine rebounds and had three steals. Addyson Gallatin added 10 points and Size finished with nine.

Imai led the Bearcats with 18 points and five steals. Walden scored 11 points Emma Floyd grabbed seven rebounds to lead Willamette to a 40-34 advantage on the glass.

The Pirate women will look to bounce back against Whitman on Tuesday in Spokane.