Spieker Ties 3s Record as Lutes Stay Alive
McMINNVILLE, Ore. - Amy Spieker tied a Pacific Lutheran women's basketball single-game record with eight three-point baskets as Pacific Lutheran beat Linfield, 67-63, in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game played Friday night in Ted Wilson Gym.
With the win, the Lutes kept their slim conference playoff hopes alive, though Pacific picked up a 70-67 overtime win over Puget Sound to stay one game ahead of PLU in the battle for the final postseason berth. PLU needs to defeat unbeaten and No. 2-ranked George Fox in Newberg, Ore., and Pacific has to lose to last-place Linfield on Saturday night in order for the Lutes to edge the Boxers for the final conference playoff spot based on a tiebreaker.
Spieker tied the school record for three-point field goals originally set by Kelly Turner against George Fox on Jan. 20, 2006.
The Lutes were able to overcome multiple comebacks from an
upset-minded Linfield squad that nonetheless ended up losing to
Pacific Lutheran for the 28th consecutive time. PLU runs its record
to 14-10 overall and 8-7 in conference play while Linfield slips to
3-21 and 2-13 in Northwest Conference action.
After Linfield built a 30-25 lead by intermission, PLU came out
firing on all cylinders to start the second half. Paced by five
Spieker three-point field goals over a four-minute period, the
Lutes opened the half with a 21-6 run by the 13:45 mark.
The Wildcats responded appropriately with an 8-0 run of their own,
capped off by a 3-point-play from Amanda Juarez, who led the
Wildcats with a career-high 23 points.
After cutting the Pacific Lutheran lead to 46-44 with 9:06 to play,
Linfield went completely cold from the floor. The Wildcats would
not score again until the 4:33 mark, but by then the Lutes had
built a 55-46 advantage.
Trailing by 10 with just over two minutes remaining, Linfield
caught fire from beyond the arc. The Wildcats got three 3-point
makes from Sarah Amina and Juarez to trim the lead to 62-58 with 37
left to go.
Linfield fouled PLU down the stretch hoping that the Lutes would
fritter away the lead, but instead they drained their final six
free throw attempts over the final 30 seconds to seal the
victory.
In the first half of action, both teams played within five points
of each other the entire 20 minutes. The frame saw four ties and
four lead chances. The Wildcats took a 30-25 advantage into the
break.
Both teams were erratic with the ball in the first half. PLU had 19
turnovers while Linfield turned the basketball over 14 times. The
two teams both shot 39 percent from the floor but Linfield was able
to converted 10-of-10 free throw attempts.
The difference in the ball game proved to be PLU's ability to
control the backboard and consistently knock down the three-point
shot. PLU won the rebounding war 46-31 and shot 10-of-21 from
beyond the arc.
Emily Voorhies and Trinity Gibbons chipped in with 13 points a
piece for the Lutes and Gibbons added a game-high 11 rebounds.
(Courtesy of Linfield Sports Information Office)
