Written by Student Assistant Jake Bilyeu

TACOMA, Wash. – The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team wrapped up the Pacific Northwest Tournament with a stellar 59-42 win against Benedictine University. Both Kristin Sturdivan and Madison Salisbury made the All-Tournament team, with Salisbury taking home MVP honors.

Salisbury and Emma Janousek led the team offensively with 14 points each. Salisbury hit six of 10 shots from the floor, while Janousek helped control the offense down the stretch by drawing fouls and hitting eight of her 10 free throws. Salisbury also led the team with four steals, while finishing tied for second with Kristin Sturdivan in rebounds, as both grabbed seven apiece. Anna Hurd led the Lutes (3-5) in rebounding with eight, adding three assists and three steals as well.

"The women are starting to recognize how their defense can win games," head coach Jennifer Childress said. "We followed our game plan perfectly, and we recognized who the opponent's shooters and drivers were at all times."

The Lutes maintained a slight edge over the Eagles (7-2) through the first three quarters, and were able to cap off their most complete game of the season with a strong final period, outscoring their guests 24-15.

"I think our confidence has always been there for us, we just hadn't been able to put together four strong quarters in a row until tonight," Anna Hurd said. "Now we know that we can get these wins, and so we're just going to keep building on that and making ourselves better," Salisbury added.

The Lutes now have a long break ahead of them. The team will get back to work right after Christmas weekend, flying south to Thousand Oaks, California for two contests against California Lutheran University and University of La Verne. Coach Childress hopes the team can maintain their momentum through their time away from the court.

"Looking at the flipside, if we had gone into the break with a loss, it would be difficult for us to generate momentum to push through into conference play," Childress said. "We'll ride this into the new year and keep building on our defense, because you can never overthink defense."

For now, the Lutes are set to enjoy the holidays and return with fresh legs for the second half of their season.