TACOMA, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team limited visiting Pacific University to shooting just 29.5 percent from the floor but a 13-0 run spanning both halves was enough for the Boxers to gain separation and escape Olson Gymnasium with a 47-37 win on Saturday evening. 

The opening half was a defensive slugfest with the visiting Boxers (12-5, 5-3 NWC) enjoying a 21-15 lead at the break. Stacie Spahr scored the game's opening bucket but Pacific scored eight straight over the next two minutes to seize the lead. PLU trailed by just three at the end of the first quarter and cut the gap to just two points on buckets from Sydney Reisner before a four-point play in the waning moments of the half gave Pacific the six-point halftime buffer. 

The Boxers kept on the gas early in the third, building a 15-point cushion just over two minutes into the second half, part of a 13-0 surge that was sparked by the four-point play prior to halftime. 

The Lutes (1-16, 1-7 NWC) battled in the fourth, reducing the gap to just seven on a Spahr layup with 4:28 remaining but Pacific did just enough to keep the Lutes at bay. 

"When you limit a team to 47 points you typically give yourselves a great shot at winning but this game came down to who played hard and we didn't do that tonight," said Head Coach Lee Aduddell. 

Taylor Schmidtke led the Lutes with nine points, shooting four-of-five from the field while Ashley Akamine added eight. Spahr led the Lutes on the glass with nine rebounds while Ava Edmonds hauled in eight. 

PLU's stingy defense limited the Boxers to shooting just 23.5 percent in the opening half (eight-for-34) and 29.5 percent (18-for-61) on the game while outrebounding the Boxers 41-33. Pacific made the Lutes pay for their mistakes, owning a 24-4 edge in points off turnovers and a 20-18 edge in points in the paint. 

The Lutes are back on the hardwood on Friday, trekking across the Cascades for a showdown with Whitworth University in Spokane. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.