TACOMA, Wash. — Down a pair of starters, the Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team refused to back down against the nation's 21st-ranked team. The Lutes opened up an early lead but ultimately couldn't match the firepower of Northwest Conference co-leaders University of Puget Sound, falling 69-45 on Tuesday night inside Olson Gymnasium. 

"We talked a lot about measuring this season by growth and we definitely showed a lot of it tonight," said Head Coach Lee Aduddell. 

"We managed to play at a pace that benefited us and our guards did a great job handling their press."
 
The intracity rivals traded buckets in the early moments of the game with a Taylor Schmidtke jumper establishing an 11-7 advantage for the homestanding Lutes (2-22, 2-13 NWC) with 5:03 remaining in the opening quarter. The visiting Loggers (20-4, 13-2 NWC) responded, scoring the final 11 points of the quarter, part of a larger 20-0 spurt that included four treys to seize control of the game. 
 
Puget Sound took a 41-24 lead into the halftime break and kept the Lutes' at arm's length the rest of the game.
 
Ashley Akamine led the Lutes, dumping 14 points on the nationally-ranked Loggers with four steals and three rebounds. Akamine was dialed in, hitting six of her nine shots from the field while hitting a pair of treys. Schmidtke had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Kasidy Javernick added eight. 
 
PLU kept the Loggers under their season scoring average but depth proved a factor on Tuesday night with Puget Sound enjoying a 32-4 advantage in bench production. 
 
The Lutes close out the regular season on Friday, facing Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.