Five players contributed all but two of the points for the Lewis
& Clark Pioneers against Pacific Lutheran on Saturday
night at Olson Auditorium as the Pioneers continued their unbeaten
streak in Northwest Conference play by defeating the Lutes, 74-62.
The Pioneers (10-3, 4-0 NWC) shot 65 percent from the free throw
line as they were able to get the foul line 40 times in the
contest, knocking down 29 of those attempts. PLU (3-10, 1-3 NWC)
only got to the free throw line 10 times but stayed in the game by
shooting 45.5 percent from the field.
However, the Lutes could not slow down Lewis & Clark as the
Pioneers pushed the tempo, going on a 17-6 run midway through the
first half. The Lutes fought back late in the first half with a
trio of three pointers, two by Melissa Pixler and one by Sara Backstrom, to make the score 37-28 in favor of the Pioneers at the
break.
The Lutes were able to continue their push to catch up with
the Pioneers, tying the game at 46-46 at the 11 minute mark of
the second half, but the Pioneers were able to pull away from the
Lutes once again, going on a 14-6 run to make the score 60-52 with
5:34 left in the game.
It looked as though the Lutes could make things interesting
late, but the Pioneers never let the Lutes within six points and
held the hosts to six points in the last five minutes. Margaret
Dowling scored 19 points to lead Lewis & Clark, followed by
Kristina Williams and Christina Herring with 16 points apiece. Neva
Hauser added 13 points off of the bench and Talerra
Rich scored nine for the Pioneers. Additionally, the
Pioneers' defense that was able to force 23 turnovers by the Lutes.
Tracy Goehri led the Lutes in scoring with 14 points, and she
was joined in double figures by Jordan Westering and Backstrom with
12 each and Pixler with 10.
- PLU -
By Kyle Irion, Student Assistant
