TACOMA, Wash. — Lilli Williams uncorked a season-high 24 points but the third quarter proved to be the Achilles' heel for the Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team, falling short 69-65 to crosstown nemesis University of Puget Sound in a Northwest Conference clash inside Olson Gymnasium.
 
"Tonight we got glimpses of the potential of this team," said Head Coach Lee Aduddell. 
 
"What an effort across the board. We continue to get better and are excited for the rest of NWC play."

Williams wasted little time getting into the scorebook, draining a three to open the game. The visiting Loggers (10-2, 3-0 NWC) would counter, building an early five-point advantage. 
 
Puget Sound's lead was just a possession at 25-23 after one quarter of action. Sydney Reisner would tie the game with a jumper with 4:56 left before halftime before canning a three 40 seconds later, giving the homestanding Lutes a three-point edge. PLU's lead would grow to five on another Reisner jumper with just under two minutes to go as the Lutes held a 40-39 edge at the halftime intermission.
 
The Loggers would reclaim the lead with the opening seven points of the third quarter, a gap that swelled to as many as nine as PLU (1-11, 0-3 NWC) was held to shooting just 22.2 percent in the third, the only quarter the squad shot below 50 percent. 
 
A Reisner three with 7:33 left in the game brought the Lutes to within two. Puget Sound would push its lead back up to seven with 3:34 remaining. PLU again whittled the gap to a single possession, first on a Kylie Griffin to make it a three point contest with 71 seconds left before closing to within a single point with 38 seconds left after a pair of free throws from Emi Wada. Unfortunately for the Lutes, Puget Sound did just enough, hitting free throws down the stretch to preserve its unblemished record in conference play. 
 
Williams finished nine-for-16 from the floor, scoring a career-best 24 points with 20 coming in the opening half. Sydney Reisner added 19, hitting a trio of threes while Kylie Griffin had 10 points and six boards. Emi Wada and Kate Wooten both had four assists while Ghadir Ramadan led the team on the glass with seven rebounds.
 
PLU finished the game shooting at a 50 percent clip (23-for-46), including shooting 60 percent (15-for-25) in the opening half, and limited the visiting Loggers to shooting 38.6 percent (27-for-70) on the night.
 
The Lutes return to the court on Friday night, trekking to Salem, Oregon to face Willamette University. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.