Written by Student Assistant Jake Bilyeu

TACOMA, Wash. – The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team took to the court for the first time this season on Friday afternoon, coming up short, 63-57, to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges at the Doug McArthur Classic inside The University of Puget Sound's Memorial Gymnasium. The Lutes laid the groundwork for a very productive season in the opener, thanks to some strong performances from a few newcomers.

Madison Salisbury led the Lutes (0-1) in scoring in her first career college game. Salisbury shot three-for-four from the field in the first-half, and then turned up the aggression in the second half, scoring 15 points to finish with 21 while playing 31 minutes. Salisbury additionally hauled in a team-leading six rebounds.

Kylee Johnson, also a first-year, was second on the team in scoring with 15, making seven of eight shots from the free-throw line. Finally, in her first game with the Lutes in over a year, Madison Green-Hayward hit two key three-point shots in the first half to finish with six points.

"We battled very well against a seasoned program that is used to winning," head coach Jennifer Childress said. "We showed some grit, kept fighting back, and honestly wished we had a few more minutes on the clock."

The Lutes outshot their opponents from the field, but they hope to improve on their combination of high-octane speed and calculated attack on that end of the floor.

"Our offense lacked some flow, but we are learning how to balance the fast play with the deliberate, time to execute play," Childress said. "I love our unselfishness though."

On the other end, the Lutes made it tough on the Athenas (1-0) to move the ball. When the other team does get off a shot, though, the Lutes will need to get more physical in the future to ensure that they don't surrender as many second chances.

"Being our first game, we saw a lot of good things, as well as areas to focus on improving," Childress said. "First and foremost - we need to keep our opponents off the glass better. Our defense played well forcing 24 turnovers but CMS had too many offensive rebounds."

The Lutes will get their first shot to improve on their opening performance on Saturday afternoon, when they take on Saint Martin's University to wrap up the tournament.