
The Lane Titans Women's Basketball team lost in the NWAC Champiosnhip game Sunday afternoon to the Walla Walla Warriors in Pasco, Washington.
The Titans came in to the game as back-to-back defending NWAC champions with an undefeated record of 32-0.
The Warriors finished the regular season as East Region champions, and defeated Lane's Southern Region rival Umpqua in the NWAC semifinals.
Walla Walla jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead over the Titans, but the Titans quickly closed the gap to take a 16-12 lead before a buzzer-beating layup for Walla Walla trimmed the lead to two.
The second quarter belonged completely to the Warriors, as they outscored the Titans 27-11 in what would be Lane's worst quarter of the season.
The Warriors led 41-27 at halftime and the Titans faced their first halftime deficit of the season.
The Titans would not go away quietly, however, and quickly got back into the game, trailing by only 6 points midway through the third quarter.
Both teams would go back and forth as the Titans fought all the way back to a 2 point deficit at the end of the third quarter.
Scoring did not come easy to either team in the fourth quarter, but the excellent play of reigning NWAC Tournament MVP Micah Wicks led to a 3 point lead with just under four minutes to go.
Unfortunately for the comeback hopeful Titans, they would fail to score again for the rest of the game and Walla Walla ended up winning by a score of 65-58 and winning their 4th ever NWAC Championship.
Lane ends the season with a record of 32-1, which adds to an impressive program record of 135-6 since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Despite the loss, it was an extremely successful 2024-2025 campaign for the Titans, winning their fifth straight NWAC Southern Region Championship and coming within minutes of their third straight NWAC Championship.
The Titans will look to bounce next season with a reloaded roster and the returning experience of this current freshman class and as they seek their conference-leading 8th NWAC Championship.