Story by Vince Ghiringhelli, UPS Sports Info

TACOMA, Wash. - Wearing down their opponents, the Puget Sound Loggers put the game in overdrive in the final ten minutes of play to defeat the Willamette Bearcats, 76-49, in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game on Friday night at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.

The two teams went basket for basket for most of the first half as the lead changed eight times in the period.  Freshman guard Carolyn Moore (Seattle, Wash./Holy Names) got her only points of the game on a three pointer from way behind the arc to cap a 7-0 Logger run in the final 1:20 of play to send Puget Sound into the locker room up 13 at 38-25.

Sophomore forward Jocelyn Riordan (Lake Forest Park, Wash./Shorecrest) led the Loggers at the half with 14 of her 19 points, while senior guard Claire Ely (Walnut Creek, Calif./Northgate) had 12 points and four assists.

Willamette came out gunning for the Loggers in the second half, closing the lead to four points on two separate occasions in the first six minutes of play. The Bearcats ran out of gas near the 12 minute mark, as they only managed five points in the final 11:42 of play. Puget Sound gradually built their lead and cleared the bench and coasted to the final buzzer.

The Bearcats were led by Keilyn Fujioka's 17 points and got 12 from Alex Zennan. While Willamette shot over 40 percent in the game, they were a dismal 6-14 from the charity stripe and committed 23 turnovers to the Loggers 12.

The Loggers were led by 24 points from Ely, who also finished with six assists. Freshman forward Lindsey Layland (Homer, Alaska/Homer) added 11 points, while senior forward Natasha Ludwig just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds .

Puget Sound finishes a four game homestand when they host Whitworth and Whitman on Friday, Jan. 15 and Saturday, Jan. 16. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on Friday and 6 p.m. on Saturday in Memorial Fieldhouse.