TACOMA, Wash. – Trailing by 22 points with just over five minutes left to play, the Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team cut Northwest Christian University's lead to just six with one minute remaining on
Katie Taylor's eighth three-point field goal of the game, but the Lutes could get no closer as they ran out of time in a 73-65 loss on Friday night.
The Lutes trailed by double figures for the majority of the contest, but still had plenty of fight as the game got late. PLU blitzed the Beacons for 27 fourth-quarter points and outscored the visitors by 11 in the final frame.
The Beacons held their largest lead of the game with 5:05 left after Northwest Christian's Hannah Eddens knocked down a pair of free throws, but the Lutes went on a 21-5 run over the next four minutes to make it a two possession game with 61 seconds left.
Katie Taylor knocked down three of her school record tying eight three pointers over the run, while
Holly Flynn knocked one down from downtown and added a free throw.
Kylie Rademacher had four more over the late push, while
Megan Drake chipped in a layup.
All of Taylor's 24 points came from beyond the arc, while
Emma Janousek was the only other Lute to reach double figures with 11. Both Taylor and Janousek passed out five assists, while
Madison Salisbury,
Hailey Marsh and Rademacher all pulled down six rebounds.
A tough Beacon defense held PLU to just 29 percent from the field, while Northwest Christian was 50 percent from the floor. Morgan McKinney had 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead the way for the visitors, while Kayce Mock had six blocks and nine boards.
The Lutes remain at home next Saturday when they host Northwest University at 6:00 p.m.
