TACOMA, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team didn't make it easy for Linfield University. The stingy Lute defense kept the Wildcats two points off a season low on Friday night but it wasn't enough, falling 58-38 in the Northwest Conference home opener inside Olson Gymnasium.

The homestanding Lutes (3-9, 0-3 NWC) were red hot to begin the night, scoring the game's opening eight points. Kasidy Javernick hit a jumper on the first possession of the game followed by threes from both Sydney Reisner and Javernick, forcing a Linfield (11-1, 2-1 NWC) timeout just under three minutes into the game. 
 
The pesky Wildcats would chip away at PLU's advantage, taking a one point lead on a pair of free throws with 13 ticks left in the first quarter but the Lutes answered with two points from the charity stripe from Kate Wooten, owning a 17-16 edge after one quarter of play. 

A Wooten layup with 3:34 left in the second quarter made it a five-point Lute advantage but Linfield scored the final nine points of the half, taking a 30-26 lead into the halftime break.

The Wildcats gained separation inch-by-inch in the second half, scoring the first five points of the second half. PLU trailed by just nine heading into the fourth quarter but the visitors rattled off the opening nine points of the period to pull away for the win. 

Reisner led the Lutes offensively, scoring 10 points in her first action of the 2025 calendar year. Emi Wada added eight points with Javernick and Wooten chipping in five. Stacie Spahr had a big night on the glass, hauling in nine rebounds, including four on the offensive end. 

"When you struggle to score it puts a premium on every other part of the game. We gave up 20 second chance points tonight to our 5," said Head Coach Lee Aduddell.

"Until we put a full game together we're going to continue to come up short."

PLU held Linfield's perimeter shooting in check, limiting the visitors to shooting just 13.0 percent (three-for-23) from beyond the arc. Despite the struggles outside, the Cats thrived in the paint, owning a 32-12 edge in points in the paint and a 20-5 advantage in second chance points. 
 
The Lutes finish off their homestand tomorrow evening, welcoming George Fox University to Olson Gymnasium with tipoff slated for 6 p.m.