McMINNVILLE, Ore. - Madison Salisbury collected her second double-double of the season on Friday evening, powering the Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball squad to a 80-68 victory over host Linfield College in a Northwest Conference clash inside Wilson Gymnasium.
The Lutes (2-2, 1-1 NWC) asserted its dominance early, scoring 11 of the opening 13 points with six coming from Salisbury. PLU's lead was extended to 15 off a
Katie Taylor jumper with 2:07 left in the opening quarter as the Lutes enjoyed a 25-19 advantage after 10 minutes of action.
The host Wildcats (2-5, 0-1 NWC) clawed within a single point midway through the second quarter but PLU responded with nine consecutive points to reestablish a double-digit advantage.
Kristin Sturdivan served as a catalyst for the run, draining a three with 5:21 remaining.
PLU kept Linfield at bay the entire second half, limiting the Wildcats to just seven points in the third quarter to net the squad's second win over the past three games.
Salisbury finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks to set the tone for the Lutes while Taylor drained four of her six shots from beyond the arc, also scoring 20 points.
Emma Janousek scored 13 points with nine assists and four steals while Sturdivan was the fourth Lute in double figures with a baker's dozen.
"Our offense was very balanced inside to outside," said Head Coach
Jennifer Childress. "Katie hit some timely threes that forced Linfield to extend their defense off our bigs. Emma proved her toughness playing 39 minutes with a great stat line."
PLU scorched the nets in the first half, shooting 57.6 percent from the floor (19-for-33) ending the contest shooting at a 50.8 percent clip (32-for-63). That included success from beyond the arc, hitting eight treys while owning an advantage over Linfield in points in the paint (44-30), points off turnovers (20-8), and bench points (25-8).
"We weren't satisfied with the way we played defense the first half but we responded well in the second."
PLU resumes non-conference play on Thursday, welcoming Walla Walla University to Olson Gymnasium.
