TACOMA, Wash.—The Puget Sound women's basketball saw solid production all throughout the lineup en route to the squad's first conference victory of the season Saturday night, dispatching Linfield 70-59 at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.

After trailing or seeing a tie score for the first 4:36 of the contest, the home team grabbed a permanent lead with 11-plus minutes left in the first half. Once they held the advantage, they immediately started work on a double-digit lead by embarking on a six-and-a-half-minute 11-2 run. Olivia Roberts kicked off the run with a three-pointer, and Hannah Lekson added a layup 28 seconds later. Katy Ainslie, Erin Stumbaugh, and Taylor Jones all contributed points en route to a 23-12 Logger lead with 6:47 left in the first half.

In the final six and a half minutes of the period, the teams essentially swapped points as the Loggers maintained at least a seven point lead through the half. Thanks to a free throw by Emily Sheldon with 35 seconds remaining, the Loggers enjoyed a 10 point lead and went into the break up 31-21 on their guests from McMinnville, Ore.

Coming out of halftime, the Loggers immediately built on that lead. They scored 11 of the first 13 points in the half to take a 42-23 lead just over three minutes into the period. After Kaely Maltman netted a layup for Linfield, Ainslie and Ashley Agcaoili made back-to-back layups to give the Loggers a 21-point lead, their largest of the night.

For the next 10 minutes, the lead bounced between 14 and 20 for the hosts. In the final five minutes Linfield finally found its three-point stroke by netting four three-pointers, but it was too little too late for the Wildcats. The Loggers closed out with enough free throws and layups to enjoy an 11-point victory, winning 70-59 for their first Northwest Conference victory of the season.

"Our team bounced back and responded tonight, especially on the defensive end," said Puget Sound head coach Loree Payne. "We knew defense and rebounds were going to be keys for us and the team stuck to the game plan and executed on both ends."

The Loggers saw even production throughout the lineup. Ten of the 13 Loggers that played added at least two points, and three hit double digits with Noren leading the way with 11 off the bench. Allie Wyszynski also added 10 from the bench while Ainslie put up 10 in a starting role. As a team, they hauled in 43 rebounds, the squad's highest since grabbing 44 boards Nov. 26 at Concordia. Forshay led the team with seven rebounds while Agcaoili and Ainslie both had five apiece.

For Linfield, Maltman had a huge night, leading all players with 17 points and 18 rebounds in a losing effort. Taylor Solomon added 15 points, and Quincey Gibson also hit double-digits by scoring 11 for the visitors.

Puget Sound (8-3, 1-1 NWC) will next hit the road for its first away conference games of the season. The squad travels to Walla, Walla, Wash., and takes on Whitman Friday, January 10 at 6:00 p.m. The Loggers will conclude the brief road trip a day later with a showdown against Whitworth in Spokane, Wash.