TACOMA, Wash.—Faced with a win-and-in situation, the Puget Sound women's basketball squad took a large early lead Saturday and never looked back, dispatching Pacific 84-61 and clinching a spot in the Northwest Conference tournament at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.

With the win and a loss by Lewis & Clark, Puget Sound took fourth place in the NWC standings with a 9-7 conference record (16-9 overall) and a spot in the conference tournament. The postseason appearance is the team's eighth in the last nine years. Thanks to tonight's win, they've only missed the tournament once in the six years of the current four-team format. They kick off the 2014 edition of the postseason tournament at Whitman, who is currently undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the entire nation.

The Loggers opened the game strong red-hot, holding Pacific to just one point in the first 4:27 of the game and without a field goal in the first six-plus minutes. They used the strong defensive start to their advantage, building a 17-3 lead before Pacific made a basket. Six different players scored for the Loggers during the stretch, headlined by Ashley Agcaoili, Amanda Forshay, and Kristine Miller, who all scored four in the first six minutes. Miller earned the buckets after getting the start in her final collegiate game at Memorial Fieldhouse.  

"Something we emphasized in the game was coming out strong," said Forshay of the team's hot start. "The first four minutes of each half are always the most important to get the ball rolling, to get the flow down, and to get some shots down. We executed well to begin the first half."

After hitting their first bucket, Pacific made two more in the next two minutes to cut the Logger lead to 17-9. Forshay answered with two straight layups of her own and Hannah Lekson added a three-pointer for good measure to take a 15-point lead at 24-9 with 10:27 remaining in the period. The Boxers remained within 15 points for the next seven minutes, but the Loggers took off on a 9-3 run over the next minute and a half to take a 22 point advantage. Forshay, Emily Sheldon, and Olivia Roberts all added three points apiece to get give the Loggers  the 20 point lead; Roberts drained a three-pointer while Forshay and Sheldon both made traditional three-point plays. The hosts went into the half up 19 at 47-28.

 Pacific trimmed the margin to 13 after the first five minutes of the half, but a jumper by Katy Ainslie and a three-pointer from Forshay re-extended the lead to 18. Puget Sound grabbed another 20-point advantage with 11:21 left, and a minute later the hosts embarked on an 8-0 run that put them ahead 26 at 71-47.

Puget Sound took their largest lead of the game, a 27-point advantage, with 2:00 exactly remaining in regulation after Taylor Jones drained a three-pointer to put the game at 84-57. Jones is the other senior on the squad and was playing her final game at Memorial Fieldhouse as well. She left the court two seconds later to great applause from the 347 in attendance. Pacific made the game's final two buckets to put the game at its final of 84-61.

"We considered this our playoff game," said Puget Sound head coach Loree Payne on the team's mindset coming into the game. "They came out, they came focused, our seniors rallied us to victory, and they knew what they needed to do today to advance. We got left out of postseason last year and the returners had a bad taste in their mouth. They wanted the opportunity to go over to Whitman and have a chance to pull an upset."

Forshay had another career night, setting a career high of 30 points just one day after equaling one with 27. She was an efficient 14-18 from the floor, going 13-14 from inside the three-point arc. Her 14 field goals and 77.8% shooting percentage are both the squad's best marks in those categories over the last three years. Sheldon added 15 points and five assists on the night, and Noren hit 11 off the bench as well. Forshay was just one rebound away from another double-double, grabbing nine boards on the night. Ainslie was right behind her with eight rebounds.

As a team, the Loggers shot 48.0% from the field, hitting 36 field goals, the most in a single game the Loggers have hit in the last three years. In comparison, Pacific shot 41.7% by going 25-60 from the floor. The home team grabbed 48 rebounds on the night, 18 more than Pacific, and the Loggers dished out 20 assists as well.

Although the 2013-14 regular season is finished, the Loggers have at least one more game as they now head to Walla, Walla, Wash., and play No. 2 Whitman in the first round of the NWC tournament. That game tips off at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27 at the Sherwood Atheltic Center in Walla Walla.