TACOMA, Wash. - Five Lutes finished in double figures, including Megan Drake piling on a career-high 23 points, but it wasn't enough on Friday night as Northwest Conference rival University of Puget Sound ran past the homestanding Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team 93-89 inside Olson Gymnasium. 

The Lutes (3-5) held a 16-point advantage with 3:26 remaining in the third quarter after Drake buried a three-pointer for the squad's biggest lead of the night. The visiting Loggers (4-5) slowly whittled away the Lute advantage, hitting a pair of threes in the final minute of the quarter to reduce the gap to just 69-62 heading into the final period.

PLU's lead ballooned back into double digits on a Drake layup with 6:56 remaining in the game but the Loggers scored the next seven, pulling within a single possession at 80-77 with 4:26 left. Pacific Lutheran's lead was six with 89 seconds remaining off another Drake layup but a Logger trey followed by a quick turnover and an and-one play completely erased the Lute lead. 

Emma Janousek converted a layup with 45 seconds to take the 89-87 lead but the Lutes would be held off the scoreboard the rest of the way, misfiring on their final three shots while the Loggers took the lead on a three the old fashioned way with 36 ticks left and held the Lutes at bay by hitting three free throws in the final 17 seconds to escape with the win. 

PLU outscored the Loggers 24-20 in the opening stanza and enjoyed a 47-42 lead at the halftime break.

Drake hit 10 of her 13 shots from the field, including three treys to tally a career-high 23 points while also adding seven rebounds. Ava Edmonds added 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds while Madison Salisbury had 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Toni Thibert and Janousek both scored a bakers' dozen with Janousek also adding a game-high seven assists while Thibert tallied five helpers.

The Lutes shot 51.6 percent (33-for-64) from the field and outrebounded UPS by a 42-38 margin but the Loggers hit 12 threes on the night and won the turnover battle 17-9. 

The Lutes close out their home slate tomorrow evening, hosting Puget Sound at 5:30 p.m.