WALLA WALLA, Wash. (December 15, 2019) - Destiny Einerwold scored 20pts while Erin Gerke followed with 12, but the Buena Vista women's basketball team couldn't overcome a fast start by Whitworth on Sunday afternoon, as the Beavers fell to the Pirates, 78-60.

Whitworth went 12-for-18 in the opening quarter while the Beavers made just 3-of-11, and the Pirates took a 31-10 lead to the second.  BVU began to heat up over the second 10 minutes, outscoring the Pirates, 20-9, in the quarter to get back within 40-30 at the half.

Einerwold scored the first basket of the second half as Gerke later added a fastbreak layup to get the Beavers as close as seven with 6:43 remaining in the period, but the Pirates would then go on an 8-0 run to help them build a 55-41 lead going to the final stanza.  

Nicole Lange hit a three-point bucket to cut the deficit back down to 10 with 6:48 left in regulation but Whitworth responded with six straight points, and BVU was unable to get any closer than 12 after that.

Einerwold was 9-of-17 from the field and also added six rebounds and two steals.  She was also named to the All-Tournament Team.  Gerke played all 40 minutes and made a pair of shots from downtown and also dished out a team-high three assists.  Lange chipped in with 11 points while Jennifer Schneider hauled in a team-best 11 rebounds.

The Beavers shot 41.4 percent overall from the field and made five attempts from downtown.  Whitworth (6-2) shot 50 percent from the field and was 8-of-19 from long range.  The Pirates also made 14-of-19 from the charity stripe.

Buena Vista is now 1-10 on the year and will be off for the holiday break.  It will return to action on Monday, December 30, when it hosts Mount Marty College in an exhibition game that tips-off at 3 p.m.