CLAREMONT, Calif. – Pacific Lutheran battled back from a double-digit first-half deficit to claim a narrow 58-56 nonconference road victory over Pomona-Pitzer in the 2014-15 women's basketball season opener Saturday evening at Voelkel Gymnasium.

PLU finished 21-of-54 from the field, including 5-of-13 from three-point range to overcome a 22-11 free throw deficit in the win. Megan Abdo led the Lutes with 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Jordan Bengen tallied 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

Basha Brulee-Willis scored a game-high 17 points and added five steals to lead Pomona-Pitzer, while Amelia Hummel posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Jenn Okonkwo added 14 points and nine rebounds.

Tayler Flemming opened the night with a three-pointer to put PLU on top in the first minute of play, but the Sagehens followed with an 11-1 run to take an early seven-point lead. Over the ensuing five minutes Pomona-Pitzer stretched the lead to 11 points at 18-7, and the Sagehens eventually pushed it to a game-high 12-point advantage on a jumper by Anya Quig with 5:52 on the clock.

A jumper by Bengen and another three-pointer by Flemming cut the deficit to seven, and PLU scored the final five points of the period to pull within one at 29-28 going into the break.

Fleming's third trey of the night finally put PLU back on top 34-33 three minutes into the second period. The next six minutes saw five tie scores and no leads larger than two points. A Jori Hall layup tied the game at 44-44 with 10:58 to play, sparking an eight-point run that gave the Lutes their largest lead of the night at 55-40 with nine minutes to go.

Pomona-Pitzer worked its way back and tied it at 54-54 on Brulee-Willis' jumper with 4:15 on the clock, but Abdo made a free throw less than a minute later and hit a three-pointer with 75 seconds remaining to put PLU back up four. Kacie Hitomi made a layup in the final minute to make it a one-possession game and the Sagehens forced a turnover with 11 seconds to go, but Hitomi missed a jumper at the buzzer to seal the win for the Lutes.

PLU returns to action Sunday, when the Lutes conclude their season-opening trip to California with a nonconference matchup against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.