AUSTIN, Texas ­— The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team extended its win streak to three on Friday afternoon, slipping past host Concordia University 75-67 in a see-saw game featuring seven lead changes and four ties.
 
Four Lutes ended the day in double figures with Ashley Akamine leading the way after dropping a season-high 19 points. 
 
The visiting Lutes (3-1) seized control of the game in the third quarter. The Tornados (1-3) led 35-34 with 8:56 left in the third before Stacie Spahr scored a three the old fashioned way— hitting a layup and a free throw to give the Lutes a two-point advantage. It's a lead PLU would keep the rest of the way, building a double digit lead with 61 seconds left in the quarter on an Ava Edmonds three.
 
Concordia knifed the lead to just four points on a three with 9:14 left in the game but the Lutes answered by scoring nine of the next 10 points— staking a 12-point lead with 4:47 remaining on a pair of free throws from Taylor Schmidtke. 
 
Concordia whittled the deficit to just five with 38 ticks left but the Lutes made five free throws down the stretch to collect the eight-point victory and extend its win streak to three games.

"I love the adjustments the players made today," said Head Coach Lee Aduddell.

"They consistently found a way to score when the first option was taken away. Late in the game they stepped up and hit free throws when we had to have them. We're really excited that the team was able to step up when it mattered and grind out the win."
 
The Tornados led by as many as seven points in the opening quarter but the Lutes fought back, trailing by one after the opening 10 minutes of play and owning a slim 32-31 halftime edge.
 
Akamine was seven-for-nine from the field to lead all scorers while also grabbing five rebounds. Sydney Reisner added a baker's dozen while Raylie Wardenaar added 11. Brandie Tobin was the fourth Lute in double figures, netting 10 points along with a team-best five assists and three steals.
 
PLU dominated inside, enjoying a 32-16 edge in points in the paint. The Lutes shot 52.3 percent (23-for-44) from the field, including scorching the nets in the second (75 percent), and third quarters (61.5 percent).
 
The Lutes look to close out their Texas trip undefeated on Saturday, facing Southwestern University in Georgetown. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. (Central).