TACOMA, Wash. --- The Pacific Lutheran Women's Basketball team notched their first home win of the season on Monday night, defeating the Vancouver Island Mariners 64-60 in comeback fashion.
 
Freshman guard Brooke Smaura opened up the scoring for the Lutes, sinking a pair of baskets to put the Lutes up 4-0 through three and a half minutes. The Mariners 7-2 run gave them their first lead of the night with 3:51 remaining in the first quarter, but Kasidy Javernick later tied the game at 7-7 with a free throw. Vancouver added another impressive run of 6-0 to regain the lead before free throws by Samura and Kylie Griffin cut the deficit to just three. Jaida Wood sank a three in the closing seconds of the first quarter to match the Mariners at 15-15 through one.
 
Ashley Akamine and Taylor Schmidtke opened the second with five-straight points to take the lead back yet again for the PLU. Vancouver snuck within three but Sydney Reisner and Stacie Spahr headlined a 12-3 run to give the Lutes their largest lead of the night at 36-24, capped off by a three from Wood. The Mariners converted an and-one opportunity followed by a lay-in to cut the deficit to just seven at the half; 39-32.
 
After a slow start for both squads to open the third, Akamine executed the three-point and-one to maintain the Lutes seven-point lead with under four minutes to play in the quarter. But the Mariners defense stifled the Lutes for the rest of the third, allowing their offense to go on a 10-0 run and take the lead back at 49-46 after thirty minutes of play.
 
Vancouver Island saw their largest lead of the game after opening the final quarter with a three-pointer, leading by six. Reisner and Akamine's buckets helped the Lutes crawl back into the game, which led to an Emi Wada and-one, tying the game up at 51-51; the first tie since the end of the first ten minutes. Reisner scored the Lutes next six points, including a deep ball from beyond the arc to put the Lutes up three with 1:22 remaining. Akamine and Javernick handled the late free throw shooting well for PLU, securing a comfortable lead and giving the Lutes a 64-60 win at home.
 
Reisner led the Lutes in scoring with 18-points, thanks to a perfect three-for-three from beyond the arc. The Junior added three rebounds and an assist as well. Akamine followed with 11-points on five rebounds, a pair of assists, and a block. The Lutes shot 43.1% from the field and 42.9% from beyond the arc while going 14-21 from the free throw line; all higher than the Mariners totals. Although the Lutes were out-rebounded 44-40, nine-different scorers and 24 points off the bench propelled them back into the win column.
 
"I'm really proud of the 40-minutes of effort we showed tonight." Said Head Coach Lee Aduddell following the Lutes 64-60 win.
 
"Moving into a tough conference schedule, this was an important win to claw out."
 
The Lutes open up Northwest Conference play on the road this weekend, as they travel to the east side of the state to face Whitworth and Whitman on Friday and Saturday.
 
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