Pacific Lutheran University Athletics

SHERMAN, Texas —  Lilli Williams dropped a season-high 18 points and two more finished in double figures but the Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team was unable to pull out a Texas sized victory, falling 78-50 to host Austin College.

Williams never left the floor on Friday night, playing all 40 minutes and leading all scorers with 18 points while also adding four rebounds and three steals. Kylie Griffin and Brooke Chisholm added 10 with Ghadir Ramadan hauling in a team-high seven rebounds. 

The visiting Lutes (1-2) outscored the host Kangaroos 20-12 in the final quarter but ended on the wrong end of the turnover battle that saw Austin own a 26-6 edge.

Both teams shot at a blistering pace in the opening quarter but it was the host Kangaroos (1-1) that did it best, draining 68.4 percent of their shots (13-for-19) to build a 28-13 lead after 10 minutes of play. A Brooke Chisholm layup with 6:02 left in the first cut the deficit to a single point but the Roos would score the next 13, part of a larger 32-7 spurt spanning the opening two quarters to open up a 26-point gap and take a 51-23 lead at the halftime break. 

PLU outshot Austin, shooting at a 47.7 percent clip (21-for-44) to the Roos' 45.1 percent (32-for-71) while also holding a slim 35-34 rebounding advantage. 

The Lutes close out their Texas trip tomorrow afternoon, battling host University of Dallas at 3 p.m. (Central Time) in Irving, Texas.