FOREST GROVE - A big first half provided all of the momentum
Pacific needed to notch a victory in their Northwest Conference
women's basketball opener Sunday as the Boxers walked away with a
73-59 victory over Pacific Lutheran at the Pacific Athletic
Center.
The Boxers (4-4, 1-0 NWC) blistered the nets for 50 percent
shooting in the opening period, connecting for 15-of-30 from the
field and 5-of-10 from the three-point line, much of it behind 13
points in the stanza from Julianne Erbe. Pacific went into
halftime with a 42-21 lead. The Lutes (3-8, 1-1 NWC) cut the
lead to 10 late in the game, but would never come closer.
Erbe and Mallory Goldammer led four Pacific players scoring double
figures with 15 points apiece, with Goldammer adding seven assists.
Rochelle Reeves-Howe added 13 points and nine rebounds while
Kayla Akers scored 12. Pacific shot 42.4 percent (25-of-59)
for the game and 5-of-15 from the three-point line.
Sara Backstrom led PLU with 14 points while Jordan Westering
connected for 12 points. Meghan Dowling pulled down nine boards as
the Lutes out-rebounded the Boxers, 40-39. PLU shot 36.2 percent
(21-of-58) for the game and hit 5-of-13 from long range.
It did not take Pacific long to set the pace and build the lead
they would hold for all but three minutes of the contest. The
Boxers trailed 4-2 when a Reeves-Howe three-pointer ignited a 19-4
run over the next eight minutes, closing on an Erbe jumper with
8:36 to go that gave the Boxers a 21-8 lead. PLU cut the
advantage to seven on Westering's jumper at the 6:44 mark, but Erbe
replied with a jumper that started an 18-4 run over the final six
minutes that secured the 42-21 halftime lead.
While Pacific saw their shooting cool off in the second half, they
still managed to keep pace with the Lutes the entire half. PLU cut
the lead to 15 on Tracy Goehri's jumper at the 12:34 mark, but
back-to-back short-range shots by Reeves-Howe and Akers extended
the lead back to 19 points at 56-37.
The Lutes kept fighting and managed to make things interesting
late. PLU managed to cut the lead to 10 points, 67-57, on a
Melissa Pixler three-pointer with 2:59 left. The Lutes would
come no closer as they made just one more shot over the final three
minutes.
The Lutes return to Northwest Conference action on Wednesday,
traveling to face cross-town rival Puget Sound for a 6 p.m. tipoff.
(Courtesy of Pacific Sports Information Office.)
