TACOMA, Wash. - Tied at intermission, the Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team was unable to weather a scoring surge from Pacific University to open the second half as the Lutes fell 80-58 to the Boxers in a midweek Northwest Conference clash inside Olson Gymnasium.
The two teams battled to a 36-36 stalemate after two quarters of play but the Boxers (13-5, 7-2 NWC) turned the tide early in the third quarter, scoring 19 of the first 22 points of the half to build a 160-point cushion with 4:28 remaining in the period.
The Lutes (5-11, 2-7 NWC) whittled the gap to single digits on a
Mady Simmelink three with 1:54 left in the quarter and again on a
Josie Napoli bucket in the fourth but were unable to come any closer as the Boxers pulled away late to cement the win.
Napoli paced the Lutes with 15 points and five assists while
Mady Simmelink came off the bench and added 10 points.
Maddie Plevyak tallied nine points while
Stacie Spahr hauled in seven rebounds.
PLU enjoyed a 14-7 edge in second chance points and the Lute bench outscored the Boxer bench 28-18 but the Lutes were outrebounded by a 49 to 36 margin.
The Lutes are back in action on Friday, trekking to Salem, Oregon to face Willamette University at 6 p.m.
