TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team returned to the court after a nearly month layoff, tussling with Northwest Conference rival Willamette University on Saturday night inside Olson Gymnasium. It was a see-saw affair early with four lead changes and three ties before the Lutes ultimately came up short, ending on the wrong side of a 63-48 scoreline.
The Bearcats (7-6, 2-2 NWC) scored the opening five points but the Lutes (3-7, 0-3 NWC) wouldn't back down, tying the game on a
Maddie Plevyak jumper and owning a 12-11 advantage after one quarter of play. The score was deadlocked at 24 with 2:07 remaining in the second quarter before Willamette used a 10-0 run spanning both halves to build a double-digit edge, a lead they would maintain the rest of the contest in a 15-point win.
Plevyak and
Ava Edmonds powered the Lutes, each finishing with a dozen points. Edmonds additionally hauled in five rebounds.
Kasidy Javernick scored seven points while
Stacie Spahr added six points with a team-high seven rebounds.
The Lutes held a 28-16 advantage in points in the paint and limited the Bearcats to shooting just 37.7 percent (20-for-53) from the floor but struggled from the field as well, hitting only 31.3 percent (20-for-64) of their attempts.
The Lutes are back on the court on Friday, trekking to Walla Walla, Washington to face Whitman College. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
