At Puget Sound 78, Lewis & Clark 45

Tacoma, Wash. – (From Robin Hamilton, UPS SID) The University of Puget Sound women's basketball team enjoyed their first home game in 18 days with a 78-45 victory over Northwest Conference foe Lewis & Clark College Tuesday night at Memorial Fieldhouse.

The Loggers raced to a 45-25 halftime lead as point guard Courtney Leybold hit on 5-5 from three-point range and the Loggers connected on 68% of their shots from the floor (17-25).  The Loggers continued their strong shooting in the second stanza and finished shooting 54% (31-57) for the game. The Pioneers shot just 30% from the floor on 16-53.  The Pioneers forced 18 Puget Sound turnovers while committing 21.  Puget Sound also won the battle of the boards out-rebounding the Pioneers 39-28.

Leybold led all Loggers with 20 points on 7-12 from the floor and finished 5-8 from beyond the arc. Lindsay May and Julie Vanni were outstanding as they both produced double-double performances.  May had 16 points and 12 boards while Vanni had 14 points, 10 rebounds and added 4 assists. It was the 7th double-double of the year for Vanni. The Pioneers Nnenna Lewis led all scorers with 23 points on the night, the only LCC player in double figures.  Kim McBride added 6 points and Lindsay Sweetland 5 points.

Puget Sound improves to 12-4 overall and 4-3 in league play while the Pioneers drop to 7-10 overall and 1-7 in NWC games.

The Loggers who have played just five of their first 16 games at home hold a perfect 5-0 ledger at home.  The homestand continues for Puget Sound as they welcome Whitman College Friday night.  The Pioneers play at George Fox on Saturday evening.

At Linfield 54, Whitman 40

McMinnville, Ore. – (From Kelly Bird, Linfield SID) A nine-minute scoring drought by Whitman to start the second half allowed Linfield to break open a close game and post a 54-40 victory over the visiting Missionaries Tuesday night in Northwest Conference women's basketball. The double-digit win was Linfield's third consecutive and fourth in its last five games and moved the Wildcats into a tie for fourth place in the NWC standings.

With the exception of a 14-14 tie, Whitman (5-11, 1-7 NWC) led for all but a few seconds of first half. Monica Schwing's fast-break layup with two seconds in the half gave Linfield its first lead, 18-17, just as the two teams retreated to the locker room.

Linfield (8-9, 4-4 NWC) played spirited defense to begin the second half, building a 21-point lead, 38-17, on Britany Mock's field goal. Whitman finally scored its first point of the period at the 11-minute mark on a basket by Stephanie Lien. Back-to-back field goals by Anna Stephens and a three-pointer by Kim Evanger allowed the Missionaries to close to within 46-35 with 2:11 to play. Linfield's lead shrank to 10 after a Sunny Gulberg three-point bucket with 50 seconds left. Two free throws by Heidi Jurgens and another basket from close range by Schwing in the final minute sealed the win for Linfield.

Schwing hit 8 of 11 from the field and scored a game-high 18 points. Alicia Westley nailed a trio of three-pointers to finish with 12. Gulberg had 14 points, including four threes, and Lien totaled 10 for Whitman.

The Wildcats outrebounded Whitman 40-29 and forced 26 Missionary turnovers.

Up next, Linfield hosts nationally ranked George Fox Friday night. Whitman is on the road Friday to play Puget Sound.