KIRKLAND – Northwest missed a couple of important shots late, thwarting an effort to come back from 17 points down in a 71-68 loss to the College of Idaho on Saturday.
 
The Yotes knocked down an astounding 93 percent of their first-quarter shots to take a 30-16 lead and expanded the lead to 35-18 with seven minutes left in the second quarter.
 
NU knocked eight points off the lead by halftime and trailed 50-41.
 
The Yotes maintained a double-digit lead for most of the third quarter, but Linnea Schafer and Maya DuChesne scored late to pull the Eagles to within 62-55 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Shelaine Lorenz scored to pull the Eagles to within two points twice late and went 0-5 in would-be game-tying attempts. 
 
Andie Kristinat buried a three-pointer to cut the CI lead to 69-68 with 35 seconds left.
 
Livi Lindsey came up with a steal, but a well-contested drive to the basket proved fruitless with six seconds to go. NU got off a shot at the buzzer, but the three-pointer bounced off the rim.
 
"Let's just call this the 'learning weekend,'" said NU Head Coach Ken Crawford. "Both Eastern Oregon last night and College of Idaho today, we had lots of opportunities. We're learning, but at some point, we have to answer the call. To come back from 17 points down and have a chance at the end to take the lead shows a lot about our ability."
 
Caitlin Monten led the Eagles with 15 points, followed by Sam VanLoo with 14 and Kristinat with 10. Kaylee Krusemark had 19 to lead the Yotes.
 
"We've lost five of the last six, and we have to put a stop to that," Crawford said. "We have to answer the challenge now, especially with the second half of the season upon us."
 
The Eagles get back on the game floor on Friday with a noon home game against Walla Walla.