Pacific Lutheran 62, at Puget Sound 56

Tacoma, Wash. – (From Robin Hamilton, UPS SID) The University of Puget Sound Loggers made it tough but the Pacific Lutheran Lutes earned their fourth Northwest Conference Championship in five years with a 62-56 victory Tuesday night.

Courtney Johnson got the Lutes off to a great start with 13 first half points as the Lutes took a 34-28 lead into intermission.  Lute standout Jessica Iserman sat out much of the first half because of an ankle injury but returned to the lineup after a six minute absence.

The Lutes held a comfortable margin until the final five minutes of the second stanza as Iserman warmed up and finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds.  The Lutes biggest lead was 11 points on three occasions including at the 6:10 mark 57-46.  The Loggers, however, would not go away and pulled to within four points at 58-54 with 3 minutes remaining after Allison McCurdy hit a three pointer for Puget Sound.  The Loggers held the Lutes but a turnover on the next series led to a foul.

Becky Franza connected on a pair of free throws with :57 remaining for a 60-54 advantage but the Loggers came back down the court and freshman Lindsay May scored to pull Puget Sound to within four points again at 60-56 with :42 to go.  The Loggers fouled and Franza hit the first for a 61-56 lead before McCurdy launched another three-point attempt with :29 second to go that went in and out.  A Logger foul sent Iserman to the line and a made free throw gave the Lutes the final 62-56 margin and the Northwest Conference Championship.

The Logger shooters struggled hitting on just 32% from the floor on 21-65 while the Lutes connected on 42% (20-48).  PLU went to the free throw line 25 times hitting on 72% while Puget Sound was 11-14 (79%).  Jamie Keatts came up big for the Lutes from the outside for 13 points including 3-6 from beyond the arc.  Franza finished with 11 points and 5 assists.

The Loggers were led by senior Julie Vanni with 19 points and 12 rebounds, her 8th double-double performance of the season.  May added 12 points and Allison McCurdy 10 points and 6 rebounds.

The loss drops the Loggers to 9-5 in Northwest Conference action and 17-6 overall with two games remaining.  The Loggers will need two wins plus some help to earn the third playoff spot in the NWC.  The Lutes improve to 19-3 overall and 13-2 in conference play.  PLU hosts Willamette and Linfield in their final regular season games on Friday and Saturday.

Willamette 69, at Lewis & Clark 49

Portland, Ore. – (From Tom Galbraith, L&C SID) Willamette scored the first 14 points and held Lewis & Clark scoreless for the first 9:46 of the game to run away with a 69-49 victory Tuesday at the Pamplin Sports Center.

The Bearcats led 38-17 at the intermission and never looked back. Simmie Muth led the way for WU with 14 points and six steals. Rosie Contri scored 13 and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. She also had five steals. Kasey Sorenson also scored 13. Wenchi Liu scored 10 and had five steals.

Lindsay Tarr tied a career high with 12 points in leading Lewis & Clark. Kayla Bewersdorff and Deidra Wilson each tallied 10 points for the Pios. Nnenna Lewis grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds.

The loss with the 12th in a row for the Pioneers.