By Jake Bilyeu, PLU Sports Information Student Writer
PARKLAND – The Pacific Lutheran women's basketball team returned from J-Term Break to host third-ranked George Fox Friday night, going toe-to-toe with the undefeated Bruins until the final buzzer as George Fox scored the final three points of the game to hold off the upset-minded Lutes 62-60.
While the game counts as a loss in the record column, it may have been the team's best performance of the season, as the Lutes never wavered in their fight against the top team in the conference. PLU actually led for the majority of the game – nearly 25 minutes – and claimed its final lead with 36 seconds remaining on the clock against a team that advanced to the NCAA Div. III finals last season.
"We played as a team and completely bought in and executed our game plan," PLU head coach Jennifer Childress said. "Different people stepped up, and I'm most proud of our ability to counter their runs."
Price set the tone early, scoring the first points of the game for the Lutes. Kaelyn Voss also helped the Lutes get going, but just as George Fox looked to start an early run, Megan Abdo hit a 3 to tie things up 11-11. Abdo finished the night 3-of-5 from long-range as the Lutes made a season-best 57.1 percent of their 3-point attempts (8-of-14). Voss and Lacey Nicholson added two buckets late, and the Lutes took a 15-14 lead into the second.
Price added five more points to start the second, and a 3-pointer from Samantha Kelleigh gave the Lutes their largest lead of the night at 23-17. The Bruins rallied back to take a one-point lead going in the final minute of the quarter, but Price scored on a buzzer-beating layup to put the Lutes back up 27-26 heading into the half.
"Ionna has the capability to play as well as she did today," Childress said. "She can score from the block and the 3-point line, and today she stepped up and took open shots."
The Bruins opened the second half on a 7-0 run, as they looked to change the tone of the game. The Lutes didn't let that happen though, as Price knocked down a 3-pointer and followed it with another bucket, and Nicholson and Abdo also contributed to a 10-point PLU run that put the Lutes back up 37-33. Both sides continued to fight back and forth throughout the rest of the quarter, and, as the Bruins looked to inch away once again, Price tied things up with a mid-range jump shot to send the game into the final quarter at a dead-even 46-46.
After George Fox scored to take the lead at the start of the fourth quarter, Abdo responded with another 3-pointer. Midway through the quarter Madison Green-Hayward hit a 3 of her own to give the Lutes a 54-50 lead with less than five minutes remaining. The Bruins battled back and tied the game at 57 with 2:38 to play, and a pair of free throws allowed George Fox to go up 59-57.
A block by Michaela Edgers on the Bruins' next possession gave the momentum back to the Lutes. Price capitalized moments later, hitting a 3-pointer that bounced off the front of the rim before dropping to give the Lutes a 60-59 lead with 36 seconds on the clock. The lead was short-lived, though, as the Bruins regained the advantage on a layup by Justine Benner 11 seconds later. The Lutes had two late chances to go back on top, but close shots from Price and Abdo could not find the net, and the Bruins hung on for the two-point win.
"Today our team learned that they can beat anyone in the country," Childress said. "We were able to focus for 40 minutes, and no one was going to let the team fade out tonight."
Price set a PLU career-high with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting, making three of her four 3-point attempts for the Lutes. Voss shot a nearly-perfect 5-of-6 for 11 points to go with six rebounds, four steals and three assists. As a team, the Lutes out-rebounded George Fox 46-to-36 and limited the Bruins to 37.5 percent shooting (24-of-64).
The Lutes will be back on the court Saturday night to take on Linfield at 4 p.m. as part of the PLU's annual Game Day recruiting event.
