Box Score SALEM, Ore. - Ashley Akamine piled on 18 points but the Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team ran out of gas down the stretch with host Willamette University pulling away late for a 49-38 victory.

"We continued to show our defensive toughness tonight, holding another opponent well below their average shooting percentage," said Head Coach Lee Aduddell.

"When Sydney got injured early, we displayed a "next player up mentality' and competed well against a top team."

Akamine hit a three the old-fashioned way with 2:49 left in the third quarter to give the visiting Lutes (2-21, 2-12 Northwest Conference) the 30-27 edge, the eighth lead change of the quarter. A Bearcat three from Kaitlyn Imai tied the game on the next possession, touching off a 22-8 Willamette run to close out the game. The Lute deficit stood at just four with 5:52 left in the game on an Akamine three but PLU was unable to come any closer down the stretch as the Bearcats (13-10, 8-6 NWC) collected the 11-point win.

Willamette led by as many as nine points in the first half but the Lutes methodically chipped into the lead, reducing the gap to just three at the half off a Jaida Wood jumper with 33 seconds left.

Akamine finished with a game-high 18 points along with five rebounds. Taylor Schmidtke hauled in 10 rebounds and added six points with Emi Wada scoring a half dozen points.

PLU limited the Bearcats to shooting just 31.6 percent (18-for-57) from the floor in a game that depth proved a significant factor as the Willamette bench outscored the PLU bench by a 33-6 margin.

The Lutes are back in action on Tuesday night for the penultimate game of the season, hosting University of Puget Sound. Tipoff inside Olson Gymnasium is slated for 6 p.m. Free rivalry t-shirts will be given to fans who donate five or more canned goods while supplies last.