FOREST GROVE, Ore.—Despite never trailing throughout the contest, the Puget Sound women's basketball squad needed a 16 point run in the second half to put away Pacific Friday night, beating the Boxers 76-60 in Forest Grove, Ore.

The Loggers started the game hot, scoring the contest's first 10 points and seeing a double-digit lead just four minutes in. Emily Sheldon alone scored seven of those points, netting two free throws, a jumper, and a three-point shot in the first four minutes.

Host Pacific countered with a 6-0 run of its own and pulled within four with 12:58 remaining in the half. Over the next four minutes, Puget Sound netted two straight three-pointers with shots from Amanda Forshay and Olivia Roberts, and Katy Ainslie added a jumper to give the Loggers a 12-point lead for the first time.

They hit that mark twice more in the next two minutes, but Pacific kept rallying back. Between the 6:16 and 3:13 marks, the Boxers eliminated the Logger advantage on the strength of 11 points combined by Olivia Mayorga-Overtone and Olivia Cook. Up by only one at that point, Puget Sound scored seven of the next nine to re-establish a seven point lead, but the hosts ended the half with seven consecutive points and the teams went into the half tied at 38.

Coming out of the second half, the Loggers took the lead numerous times, but they needed over five minutes of second-half action to take a two-possession advantage. Between the beginning of the period and 16:20 mark Puget Sound took three separate leads on three different field goals, but Pacific matched each Logger shot to even the game each time. Four minutes into the half, Taylor Jones drained a three-ball to give the Loggers a permanent lead, and a minute and a half later Allie Wyszynski countered a Boxer free throw shot with two buckets from the charity stripe, giving the Loggers a four-point advantage.

Those free throws kicked off a great stretch for the sophomore forward as she scored the game's next six points. The Loggers added eight more after Wyszynski's outburst—including two more from Wyszynski herself—and took an 18 point lead, their largest of the contest. The 16-point run that Wyszynski kicked off lasted 8:28, from 14:14 to 5:46 and essentially clinched the game for the visitors.      

Pacific halted the Loggers' run with a three-pointer, but the teams traded baskets for the next three minutes. The hosts then trimmed the Logger lead to 12 with 1:07 left in the game, but Puget Sound closed out with two field goals from Ainslie and won 76-60.  

Ainslie led the squad with 15 points, and three others scored in double figures as well. Forshay scored 13 in her fifth consecutive game with double-digit points, Wyszynski added 12 points, and Sheldon netted 11 in the Logger victory. Forshay led the squad with eight rebounds and Ainslie trailed with seven.

As a team, the Loggers shot 42.6% from the field and 30.0% from beyond the arc. They also showed why they're in the nation's top 20 for free throw percentage, draining 18 of 21 free throw attempts for an 85.7% free throw percentage. The Loggers also grabbed 43 rebounds, their third consecutive game with over 40 boards. Defensively, Puget Sound held Pacific to a 37.7% mark from the floor and just 28.6% from beyond the arc. The Boxers grabbed 31 rebounds, giving Puget Sound a rebounding margin of +12.

Puget Sound (11-5, 4-3 NWC) continues its four-game road trip with a game at George Fox Saturday, Jan. 25. The Loggers and the Bruins tip off at 6:00 p.m. at Wheeler Sports Center in Newberg, Ore.