PORTLAND, Ore. - Madison Salisbury finished with a double-double, powering the Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team to a 59-56 victory over host Warner Pacific University to open the season on Friday afternoon.
 
Salisbury was a force to be reckoned with all game for the Lutes (1-0), finishing with a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds, shooting an impressive 10-for-14 from the floor.
 
PLU trailed by as many as eight points in the second half before outscoring the host Knights (2-1) 22-12 in the final quarter. Salisbury put the Lutes ahead for good with 21 seconds left while a WPU turnover and a pair of Emma Janousek free throws put the Lutes up three with 10 seconds remaining. Warner Pacific threw up a three-pointer at the buzzer but it missed the mark as the Lutes held on for the win.

"We're very happy with the result, winning our first game of the season on the road against a talented team," said Head Coach Jennifer Childress. "Proud of how we battled back and played with confidence the final five minutes to 'will' the win out."

PLU held a 16-14 advantage after one quarter of play and enjoyed a 27-24 lead at the halftime break. Warner Pacific stormed back and reclaimed the lead in the third quarter, building an eight-point advantage off a Samantha Morgan free throw with 17 seconds left, outscoring PLU 20-10 during the quarter. Pacific Lutheran utilized a 12-1 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to erase the Knights' lead and it was a nip and tuck affair from there with no team leading by more than a possession the final eight minutes of the game. 

"Looking forward, we can now move past those first game jitters and direct our focus to executing some fundamentals we faltered on tonight."
 
Janousek finished with 13 points and five assists while Katie Taylor collected nine points, hitting a trio of three-pointers throughout the contest.

"Madison played a ton of minutes and really stepped up down the stretch. Freshman Toni Thibert was our quarterback the entire third quarter when Emma was in foul trouble. I'm very impressed with her stamina."
 
PLU's stout defense limited the Knights to shooting just 29.3 percent (17-for-56) from the field while forcing 24 WPU turnovers. The Lutes took full advantage of those opportunities, enjoying a 21-13 edge in points off turnovers. Pacific Lutheran held a slim 30-24 advantage in points in the paint while Warner Pacific held a 34-3 edge in bench production.

"There were lots of standout plays that don't show on the stat sheet. I felt Holly Flynn's charge in the final minute was a big momentum swing for us."
 
The Lutes return to the hardwood tomorrow afternoon, facing Multnomah University at 1 p.m.