TACOMA, Wash. - Ava Edmonds and
Stacie Spahr both finished in double figures but it wasn't enough on Tuesday night as the Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team fell 70-58 to crosstown nemesis University of Puget Sound in a Northwest Conference clash inside Memorial Fieldhouse.
The host Loggers (13-2, 6-1 NWC) raced out to an early advantage, scoring nine of the contest's opening 11 points. The Lutes responded with a 12-2 run over the four minutes to seize the lead.
Ava Edmonds sparked the run, hitting a layup before draining a three-pointer the next offensive possession. PLU took its first lead of the game with 1:49 left in the first quarter on a
Mady Simmelink three before a
Maddie Plevyak layup made it 14-11 in favor of the Lutes (4-9, 1-5 NWC).
PLU's lead grew to four with 7:45 left in the second on another Edmonds trey but Puget Sound hit consecutive threes within a 15-second window to reclaim the lead, a lead they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the way.
The Loggers led 35-24 at the halftime break and built a 15-point buffer early in the third quarter. A 10-0 run midway through the third, whittled the deficit to just five on a
Kasidy Javernick layup but ended the quarter on a 10-2 run, enjoying an 11-point edge heading into the game's final 10 minutes.
Edmonds led the Lutes with 13 points, hitting three of her six attempts from three point range while also wrangling six rebounds. Spahr added 12 points, hitting all five of her shots from the floor while hauling in a team-high nine rebounds. Javernick and Plevyak both added nine points with
Josie Napoli adding four assists and three steals.
PLU outshot the Loggers, shooting at a 40.4 percent clip (23-for-57) compared to UPS's 34.9 percent (22-for-63) but was outdone in the turnover battle and at the charity stripe. PLU turned the ball over 24 times compared to 16 for UPS while the Loggers made more free throws (19) than the Lutes had attempts (11).
The Lutes are back on the hardwood on Saturday evening, facing Linfield University at 6 p.m. in McMinnville, Oregon.
