KIRKLAND – Northwest's late rally came up short in a 66-60 loss to Bushnell on Saturday.
 
The Eagles trailed 35-34 at the half but Bushnell came out of the lockers strong and had a 53-44 cushion heading into the fourth quarter. The Beacons got their biggest lead, 60-44, after shutting out the Eagles for the first four minutes of the fourth quarter.
 
From there, NU steadily whittled away at the deficit and put together a 15-2 run. Maria Arroyo Sanchez hit a jumper with 32 seconds left to cut the lead to 62-59. Kylie Lunday had six points and Arroyo and Maya Duchesne had four each in the run.
 
Bushnell staved off the Eagles from the free throw line from there and claimed the win.
 
"We're learning," said NU Head Coach Ken Crawford. "We talked last night about learning and we're still learning. We have to figure out how to come out in the second half with more consistency. If we can figure that out, we'll be okay. The group that was in at the end of the game played with great energy and I was proud of their effort."
 
DuChesne finished with a game-high 20 points with Lunday adding 11 points and six rebounds. Morgan Marshall led the team with six rebounds and Kyrin Baklund added five assists. DuChesne and Katie Fleming had three steals apiece.
 
Aspen Slifka led the Beacons with 16 points with Bella Pedrojetti getting 15. Kalina Rojas pulled down nine rebounds.
 
The Eagles return to action Jan. 6-7 with road games at Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho, respectively.