By Jake Bilyeu, PLU Sports Information Student Writer
PARKLAND – Pacific Lutheran's big second-quarter run put the Lutes up, but Puget Sound rallied to force overtime and come away with a 79-69 crosstown rivalry win in the Northwest Conference women's basketball opener for both teams Tuesday night at Names Family Court.
PLU opens the NWC season 0-1 and falls to 1-2 overall, while Puget Sound improves to 5-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play. Although the Lutes didn't come up with the win, the team still took plenty of positives from its performance against the team that finished second in the NWC last season.
"We showed that we can compete," PLU head coach Jennifer Childress said. "We are not satisfied with the loss, but we know that we will definitely improve going forward."
Puget Sound jumped ahead early and finished the first quarter with a 20-11 lead. The Lutes responded aggressively with a 19-point streak to open the second quarter, out-scoring UPS 23-9 in the period to head into halftime with a 34-29 lead.
The Lutes maintained their lead through the third quarter, taking a 49-45 lead into the final period. However, Puget Sound rallied late with a 7-1 run, and Alex Noren made a buzzer-beating layup to tie the game at 64-64 and send it into overtime.
"UPS is a very talented team," Childress said. "Taking them to overtime is huge for us."
From there, the Loggers got to the free throw line to take and keep the lead until the final buzzer, as the Loggers outscored the Lutes 15-5 in the extra period to get the win.
Samantha Kelleigh led the Lutes in scoring with 15 points, as she made five of her 10 three-point attempts, including back-to-back threes during PLU's second-quarter run. She also had five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Megan Abdo also filled the stat sheet, compiling 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists. Sarah Barnes scored 10 for PLU.
The teams were closely matched on the boards, with the Lutes narrowly out-rebounding the Loggers 48-47. Many of those rebounds came from junior Lacey Nicholson, who had a double-double with 10 rebounds and 14 points.
"Lacey showed up and brought the energy," Childress said. "Megan also showed great composure and led the team well."
Emily Sheldon led all scorers with 34 points for Puget Sound on 30 shot attempts. Noren scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Allie Wyszynski added 12 points for the Loggers.
The Lutes head back on the road to take on Willamette Saturday at 4 p.m. in Salem, Ore. They'll be on the road again against Northwest Friday, Dec. 11, before returning home Sunday, Dec. 13, to host Evergreen in a nonconference matchup.
