SALEM, Ore.—Puget Sound's women's basketball team kept its hold on fourth place in the Northwest Conference standings Saturday night thanks to a 30-point display from Katy Ainslie. The Loggers beat Willamette by 27 points at Gordie James Court in Salem, Ore. 

Ainslie's 30 points is the most by any Logger since Kelsey McKinnis netted 36 at Southern Oregon in Nov. 25, 2012. She went 13-of-17 from the floor for a 76.5% field goal percentage, the highest of any Logger in the last three years (minimum of eight made). Ainslie blew past her previous career high of 19 from earlier this year at Concordia, reaching that mark just past halfway through the second half.

The Loggers jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the game's first 3:50 all thanks to Ainslie, who scored all eight of those points. Willamette countered with eight straight points to take its first and only lead of the game at 11-8, but the guests countered with a 12-1 run of their own to take a 20-12 lead with 9:05 left in the first half. Ainslie netted the first two of those points to score Puget Sound's first 10 of the game. 

Puget Sound kicked off another big run starting at the 7:38 mark when Hannah Lekson drained a three-pointer. The Loggers finished the run with a jumper from Alexis Noren with 2:24 left in the half, and after the stretch the Loggers found themselves with a commanding 15-point lead at 37-22. They extended that lead just a bit—by one point—in the final 2:09 of the half and went into the break up by 16 at 43-27.

Over three and a half minutes into the second half, the Loggers took their first 20-point advantage, going up 51-30 on a jumper by Ainslie. The host Bearcats brought their deficit to 17 just over two minute later, but the Loggers didn't allow any more of a comeback after that point. Fittingly, it was Ainslie who gave the Loggers their largest lead of the night as she hit her final bucket of the night to give Puget Sound a 29 point advantage with 1:48 left in the game. They went on to win the game 85-58 for a 27-point win. 

Emily Sheldon also had a strong game, scoring 18 points after shooting 50% from the floor. Lekson added 11 points for the Loggers, hitting double digits for the firs time this season. Both Ainslie and Sheldon grabbed eight rebounds and Sheldon tallied four steals for the second time this season.

As a team, the Loggers shot 53.2% from the field, hitting 33 of their 62 field goal attempts. They tallied assists on 18 of their 33 field goals, the team's most since dishing out 22 assists against Willamette Jan. 17 at home. Also, the visitors outrebounded Willamette 47-22 on the night. 

With the win, the Loggers kept pace in the NWC tournament race. They advance to 8-6 and keep hold of fourth place in the conference standings, half a game over Lewis & Clark who also won Saturday night. The top four teams in conference action earn berths to the tournament and only Puget Sound and Lewis & Clark have a shot at finishing in fourth. The Loggers have two games remaining while the Pioneers, who are currently in fifth with a 7-6 record, have three left to play. 

Puget Sound (15-8, 8-6 NWC) will look to maintain their hold on fourth place when they host third-place George Fox Friday, Feb. 21. That game tips off at 6:00 p.m. at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash. The game against the Bruins kicks off the Loggers' final weekend of regular season action as they will recognize their seniors in the final regular season game Saturday, Feb. 22 against Pacific.