TACOMA, Wash. — Ava Edmonds dropped a season-high 21 points but it wasn't enough on Saturday at the Pacific Northwest Tournament, as the Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team dropped a 70-67 overtime heartbreaker to the University of Redlands inside Olson Gymnasium.
 
It was a wild affair that featured 10 lead changes and nine ties. In the end it was the Bulldogs (6-2) who etched out the win, pulling ahead on a pair of free throws with 56 seconds left in overtime and making seven more down the stretch to secure the win. 
 
PLU (0-8) trailed by one in the fourth before an Edmonds jumper gave the homestanding Lutes a 55-54 advantage with 1:52 remaining. Edmonds pushed the Lute buffer to three with another basket with 79 ticks left but Redlands drained a three with 18 seconds left to force an extra period. It was the Bulldog's only made three of the game, misfiring on their other nine attempts from distance. 
 
"In a game where it would be really easy to feel discouraged, we're focusing on our program wins. We executed our scout defense extremely well and did some things offensively we struggled to do earlier in the season," said Head Coach Lee Aduddell. 

"The category we didn't control well was turnovers. That's an area we will have to cut down to be able to finish our close games."

It was the Breeze Bartle show in the opening quarter. The visiting Bulldogs scored the opening three points before the Lutes mounted a 12-4 run that saw Bartle score seven of PLU's 12 points. That included a Bartle bucket two minutes into the game to spark the run and another bucket to cap off the scoring binge. 
 
Redlands whittled the gap to a single point at 12-11, but the Lutes scored eight of the final 10 points of the quarter, heading into the second with a 20-13 advantage.  
 
PLU led by as many as six in the second quarter and enjoyed a 29-25 advantage at the halftime intermission and held a tenuous 41-39 lead heading into the fourth. 
 
Edmonds finished with 21 points, nine rebounds, and three steals, hitting eight of her 12 shots from the floor. Ashley Akamine and Sydney Reisner both scored a baker's dozen while Bartle scored 12 along with seven rebounds. Emi Wada distributed the ball well all game, netting eight assists.

Jonathan Cohen of the Lute Sports Network chats with @plu_wbb Ava Edmonds after finishing with 21 points, 9 boards & 3 steals in OT nailbiter #GoLutes pic.twitter.com/Lf9VD63y3x

— PLU Athletics (@golutes) December 18, 2022

 
PLU hit 42.4 percent (28-for-66) of its shots from the floor and limited the Bulldogs shooting at a 38.7 percent clip (24-for-62) but Redlands thrived at the charity stripe having more made free throws (21) than the Lutes had attempts (seven). 
 
The Lutes close out the Pacific Northwest Tournament tomorrow afternoon, hosting the United States Coast Guard Academy at 4 p.m. inside Olson Gymnasium.