TACOMA, Wash. — Lilli Williams dropped a career-high 20 points on Sunday afternoon as the homestanding Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team nearly pulled off the comeback before running out of time in a 68-60 setback to University of California Santa Cruz. 
 
"We're incredibly proud of the effort we saw on the court today," said Head Coach Lee Aduddell. 

"Coming up short on the scoreboard is disappointing but our growth is undeniable. Emi Wada was a rockstar today for us, doing a little bit of everything to help us battle against a quality D3 opponent."

The visiting Banana Slugs (7-8) seized an early lead, collecting the game's opening six points and outscoring the Lutes 20-11 in the opening quarter. The UCSC lead jumped to 41-27 at the halftime break before swelling to 17 early in the second half off a three from Emilie Ngo.

Undeterred, the Lutes (1-7) started chipping into the lead, scoring 14 of the quarter's final 20 points to bring the deficit to single digits. Kiley McMahon drained threes on consecutive possessions during that stretch while also getting a three from Williams.

The Banana Slug lead continued to disappear in the fourth quarter with a Kylie Griffin layup with 4:04 remaining making it a two point contest at 59-57. That bucket capped off a 16-3 Lute rally stretching across the third and fourth quarters.

UCSC answered with the next six points and maintained at least a six point buffer over the final minute to hold on for the win. 

Williams led all scorers with a career-high 20 while also grabbing three steals. Williams' production eclipses her previous best of 18 set against Northwest University two games ago.

 Sydney Reisner added 16, making all six of her attempts at the charity stripe while Emi Wada had a team-high seven assists along with five points and five rebounds. Kylie Griffin hauled in a team-best seven rebounds and added six points while McMahon had six points as well. 

PLU won the turnover battle, forcing 20 and collecting 10 steals. Bench production proved critical for the Slugs who held a 29-17 edge in that department while also outshooting the hosts with UCSC shooting at a 50 percent clip (24-for-48) to PLU's 32.8 percent (20-for-61).

The Lutes have the next nine days off for the Holidays, resuming the season on Tuesday, December 30 against Middlebury College.