Written by Student Assistant Jake Bilyeu

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team opened its final weekend road trip with a 74-59 setback at Northwest Conference Lewis & Clark College as the host Pioneers pulled away late in the game, closing the contest on a 24-9 run to secure the win.

The Lutes (5-17, 1-12 NWC) trailed by two after one quarter of action and went into the locker room for the halftime intermission trailing just 32-31. A pair of Madison Salisbury free throws tied the game at 50 early in the fourth quarter before the Pios (12-10, 7-6 NWC) pulled away, scoring the next six points and owning a lead the rest of the way en route to the 15-point victory.

"We had some positive moments and quality possessions," head coach Jennifer Childress said. "Unfortunately, the score doesn't represent how close the game was."

Emma Janousek led the Lutes in scoring with 13 points on seven shots while adding five rebounds and a pair of assists and steals. Salisbury added 12 points while Lauren Furu came off the bench and scored a season-high 12 points, making five of her eight shots while grabbing a team high six rebounds. Anna Hurd and Hailey Marsh both added seven points, each hitting one of the Lutes' four three-pointers on the night. Madison Green-Hayward contributed the other two, finishing with six points.

The Lutes matched the Pioneers in bench points at 18 each, and also nearly matched them in turnovers (18-16). However, the Pioneers bested the Lutes from behind the three-point-line (6-4) and within the paint (36-24). The Lutes will have to address both of these areas in Saturday's contest against Willamette University.

"We're looking forward to another opportunity tomorrow," Childress said. "We need to take care of the ball late in the game and defend the three-point line better."

The Lutes will take the court against the Bearcats at 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon.