TACOMA, Wash. – The University of Puget Sound women's basketball team avenged an early-season loss to UC Santa Cruz in a 73-61 Friday night at Memorial Fieldhouse.

The Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz dealt the Loggers their first loss of the season on Nov. 17 by a score of 66-56 in the UC Santa Cruz Hampton Inn Classic. Friday night the Loggers repaid the favor with their 12-point victory on their home floor.

A tightly contested first half saw the Loggers with a one-point, 26-25 lead at the 3:52 mark. Then UC Santa Cruz went on an 8-0 run in just over a two-minute span to take a 38-30 lead into the locker room, despite outscoring the Slugs by ten from the free throw line in the first half.

Coach Loree Payne's team came out aggressive in the second half, starting with a full court press that helped lead to 11 second-half turnovers. The Loggers also continued to be aggressive on their way to the basket, getting to the free throw line 21 times in the second half, converting on 18.

The game was still in doubt with 8:05 remaining and UC Santa Cruz holding a one-point lead, 53-52. From there, the Loggers played clutch basketball by hitting big shots and converting at the free throw line to end the game on a 21-8 run that ended up being the difference in the ball game.

On the night, the Loggers shot 31-for-38 from the line while the Slugs only shot 5-10, a 26-point difference. Junior forwards Amanda Forshay and Katy Ainslie combined for a perfect 15-for-15 from the free throw line on the night, helping the Loggers outscore UC Santa Cruz 43-23 in the second half.

The Loggers got contributions from all over their roster, but were led by Forshay (14 points) and Ainslie (13 points). Junior guard Ashley Agcaoili led the team with ten rebounds.

The Puget Sound defense was ferocious, holding Slug's leading-scorer Sarah Mackey to only three points on 1-for-10 shooting. Mackey had been averaging more than 17 a night. The Logger D held the Slugs to just 36.4% shooting from the field.

The victory was only Puget Sound's second home game of the season and improves the squad to 7-2 before Northwest Conference play begins in January. The loss dropped UC Santa Cruz to 8-5 in 2013.

The Loggers host the Lewis & Clark Pioneers Friday, Jan. 3 at 6:00 p.m. at Memorial Fieldhouse in their next contest.