Pacific Lutheran 58, at Linfield 44

McMinnville, Ore. – (From Kelly Bird, Linfield SID) Pacific Lutheran had just enough gas left in its tank to hold off upset-minded Linfield 58-44 in an intense Northwest Conference women's basketball game played Saturday at Ted Wilson Gym. The Lutes couldn't be blamed for being emotionally drained after losing in overtime a night earlier at neighboring George Fox.

PLU (15-3, 9-2 NWC) kept its hopes intact for an NWC title, but had to rally from behind in the second half to defeat the Wildcats (9-11, 5-7 NWC).

Lutes guard Becky Franza scored 10 of her game-high 17 points in the first half but it was her seven free throws in the second stanza that helped put the game away. PLU controled the backboards, outrebounding the hosts by a 49-30 margin. Jessica Iserman corralled nine missed shots and Andrea Kustrua pulled in six boards to go with six points.

Linfield was led by Monica Schwing's 16 points and four rebounds. Shae Wright made 6 of 11 from the field to finish with a dozen points.

After firing 56 percent from the field in the first half, the Wildcats left behind their shooting touch in the locker room at halftime. The 'Cats were an abismal 3 of 26 from the field in the final 20 minutes, allowing PLU to easily take command. Linfield began the second half with a four-point lead, but that melted away in the first two minutes following baskets by Jamie Keatts and Shannon Hayes. The lead see-sawed back and fourth over the next six minutes before PLU took control for good on Kustura's bucket with 11:30 on the clock.

The underdog Wildcats got off to a good start in the first half, building a six-point lead on a Tiffany Reynolds jumper at the 7:32 mark. PLU cut Linfield's lead to 20-18 when Franza connected on her second field goal of the game. Four straight points by Schwing and a free throw by Heidi Jurgens pushed the lead back to seven with 3:32 left. A clutch three-pointer by Franza as time expired in the first half closed the Lutes to within four, 31-27. The Wildcats 13 of 23 shots in the period while holding PLU to 11 of 31 from the floor (.355).

Linfield went 0 for 8 from beyond the three-point stripe. The Lutes hit 4 of 10 from outside the arc, including two each by Franza and Keatts.

Linfield concludes the regular season with four straight road games beginning next weekend at Whitworth and Whitman. PLU hosts Puget Sound on Tuesday.

Puget Sound 70, at Pacific 59

Forest Grove, Ore. – (From Blake Timm, Pacific SID) Julie Vanni scored 14 of her game high 18 points in the first half, giving Puget Sound a 14 point halftime cushion that transferred into a 70-59 victory over Pacific in women’s basketball action Saturday night at the Pacific Athletic Center.

The Loggers (15-4, 7-3 NWC) won their fourth game in a row and stay a game ahead of Whitworth in the NWC playoff race.  The Boxers (9-11, 5-7) have dropped three straight and could fall into sixth place following the evening’s activities.

Vanni paced the Loggers early, scoring their first eight points on the contest.  Pacific, however, kept the door open early.  Pacific opened up a 5-0 lead in the first three minutes on a three-pointer by Katannya Kapeli, who scored seven of her 11 in the first half. Courtney Leybold tied the contest at 12-12, then capitalized on a rash of 14 Boxer turnovers to build a 14 point lead at the half.

Pacific came out of the locker room cold and could not get the guns going only until it was too late.  The Boxers held the game to within 11 until the 16:04 mark when Jennifer McLuen hit a jumper to spark a19-9 run to put the game out of reach.  Lindsay May did much of the damage for the Loggers, hitting 11 of her 16 points in the second half.  Janna Vavra did her part to keep the Boxers close, hitting for 16 points, 11 in the second stanza.

The Loggers shot 49 percent (28-57) from the field, out-shooting the Boxers’ 46 percent (23-50).  The Loggers capitalized on 22 Boxer turnovers, compared to the Loggers’ 18.  The Boxers finished 8 of 11 from the free throw line (73 percent).

Pacific hits the road for their final away contest Friday night at Lewis & Clark.  The Loggers play at cross-town rival Pacific Lutheran Tuesday night.

At Whitworth 71, Lewis & Clark 56

Spokane, Wash. – (From Steve Flegel, Whitworth SID) Erica Ewart set a new Whitworth career three-point record on Saturday night, highlighting Whitworth College's 71-56 win over visiting Lewis & Clark College in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game.

With three treys tonight, Ewart now has 110 in her career, breaking the old record of 108 set by Annette Sweeney from 1991-95. The senior guard from Connell, Washington scored 13 points to tie teammate Tiffany Speer for team high honors. Chrissy Oneal added 10 points for the Pirates, who won their second straight game to improve to 13-8 overall and 8-4 in the NWC.

Lewis & Clark was led by Lindsay Tarr, who scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Lindsay Sweetland added 10 points. Lewis & Clark fell to 7-13, 1-10. The Pioneers have lost nine games in a row.

Whitworth led by as many as 24 points in the second half when Dani Bielec hit a three-pointer to give the Pirates a 58-34 advantage. Lewis & Clark got as close as 67-54 in the closing minutes on a basket by Tarr.

Whitworth returns to action Tuesday night when the Pirates host Whitman College. L&C will host Pacific next Friday.

At Whitman 57, Willamette 49

Walla Walla, Wash. – (From Jay Babbitt, Whitman Asst. SID) Winning for the second time in as many nights, the Whitman women's basketball team rolled to a 57-49 Northwest Conference win over Willamette University Saturday night in Sherwood Center.

Whitman is now 7-13 overall and 3-9 in the conference, while the Bearcatsdrop to 9-12 overall, 4-8 in the NWC.

Dominating the first 20 minutes from start to finish, the Missionariesopened the night on a 12-1 run, as it took Willamette nearly nine minutesbefore its first field goal went down with 11:20 to play in the period.

Led by ten first half points from Sunny Gulberg, Whitman eventually wentinto the locker rooms up 31-11.  The Bearcats connected on four-of-22 field goals in the opening frame.

The second half opened with Willamette finding its long range touch, as three different Bearcats connected from long range, pulling Willamettewithin 13 points with 15 minutes left to play in regulation.

Denise Kirstein single-handedly kept Whitman ahead, as she scored the first seven Missionary points of the second half, on her way to a game-high 18 points on seven-of-11 shooting from the field.  Kirstein led all players with nine rebounds on the night, adding three assists, one blocked shot and a steal to her effort.

Willamette would eventually close the gap to single digits with just over two minutes to play, but the Bearcats never got closer than seven points, as Ashley Wright and Kirstein sunk free-throws down the stretch.

Wright finished with 11 points, three assists, two blocked shots and four steals.  Gulberg ended the night with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Darin Reynaud and Kim Evanger both tallied seven rebounds for Whitman.

Willamette had three players in double figures: Wenchi Liu and Kasey Sorenson with 11, and Rosie Contri with 10.

The Missionaries totaled 41 rebounds, four more than the Bearcats.