SANTA CRUZ, Calif.—Using a stifling defense that limited Whittier College to a 22.4 shooting percentage, the Puget Sound women's basketball team tallied a 57-34 victory over the Whittier Poets Friday night at the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz, Calif.

The Loggers scored the game's first 10 points with Whittier not getting on the board until 12:31. They hovered around that 10 point lead for most of the first half, although went into half time up six after a late Poet field goal and two Whittier free throws.

In the first half, the Loggers held Whittier to just a 17.9 shooting percentage, forcing 10 turnovers and limiting the Poets to one three-point shot.

Offensively in the first half, Puget Sound saw contributions from all five starts as each tallied at least one point in the opening frame. Alexis Noren and Hannah Lekson both tallied four points in the first half, while Emily Sheldon grabbed six boards in the opening frame. Ashley Agcaoili added five rebounds—four of them on defense—and tallied two steals to start out the game.

In the second half, the Loggers took control. They extended their lead to 21 after scoring the first 15 points of the second. Amanda Forshay scored all eight of her second half points in the 15-0 run that lasted the first four minutes of the half.

Whittier scored the next eight to cut the Loggers' lead to 13, but that was it for the Poets. Puget Sound took a 20-point lead with 7:37 left in the second and never looked back, extending it out to 24 with five and a half left to play and hitting that mark again with just 2:44 left.

Katy Ainslie led all players with 10 points, while Forshay was right behind her her with nine. Sheldon grabbed eight rebounds, a game high, while Agcaoili earned three steals, also a game high. The Loggers shot 33.3% from the field, but held Whittier to just a 22.4% shooting mark. They also forced the Poets into 21 turnovers.

The Loggers continue play at the Hampton Inn Classic Saturday, Nov. 16, when they take on St. Catherine. That contest will tip off at 3:00 p.m., again at Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz.