TACOMA, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team seized an early lead and never relented, leading by as many as 27-points in a 77-52 blowout victory over Northwest Conference rival Lewis & Clark College on Saturday inside Olson Gymnasium. 

The Lutes charged out of the gate against the Pios (2-13, 1-5 NWC), utilizing a 12-0 run to take 14-2 lead six minutes into the game. An Ava Edmonds bucket sparked the scoring surge that saw Sydney Reisner, Edmonds, and Emi Wada all sink threes. 

 PLU (1-14, 1-5 NWC) led by nine after one quarter and continued to pull away in the second quarter, leading by as many as 19 on a Jaida Wood trey and enjoying a 40-23 advantage at the intermission. 

The Lutes maintained a 13-point cushion the entire second half en route to the 25-point blowout win. 

Sydney Reisner led all scorers with 22 points while Taylor Schmidtke came off the bench and added 14. Ashley Akamine scored 11 with nine rebounds while Stacie Spahr hauled in nine rebounds.

"I'm just so happy for this team. Their relentless hope and unwavering belief in what we're doing as a program was evident in their play tonight," said Head Coach Lee Aduddell. 

PLU dominated on the glass, outrebounding L&C 44-26, including a 15-6 edge on the offensive glass. PLU's bench out produced the Pios 27-8 and enjoyed a 30-14 edge in points in the paint. 

The Lutes are back in action on Tuesday night, making the short trip across town to face University of Puget Sound.