Box Score TACOMA, Wash.—The Puget Sound women's basketball kept up with Whitman for much of the game and trailed by just one at halftime, but the third-ranked Missionaries got separation in the second half and hung on for a 12-point victory against the Loggers Saturday afternoon at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma.
The guests from Walla Walla scored the game's first five points, but a traditional three-point play from Katy Ainslie got the Loggers on the board 2:30 into the contest. The teams traded buckets for the next four minutes as the Loggers stayed within two through the game's first six and a half minutes.
Puget Sound tied the game up at 15 after back-to-back field goals by Amanda Forshay and Hannah Lekson. Lekson then gave the Loggers their first lead of the game by netting a layup despite getting fouled by the Missionaries. She made the resulting free throw to give the hosts a three-point advantage. Alexis Noren built on that lead by netting a layup, but the Missionaries broke the 7-0 Logger run with a jumper by Hailey Ann Maeda with 9:15 left in the first.
Whitman erased the Logger advantage with 7-0 run of their own, but Erin Stumbaugh brought the teams level again with a layup at the 7:02 mark. At that point, the Missionaries' defense kept the Loggers without a field goal for four straight minutes. The Logger defense also stepped up in that stretch and only allowed Whitman to establish a five-point advantage during Puget Sound's field goal drought.
Forshay ended the stretch for the Loggers by putting back a missed free throw from Noren for a layup. Ainslie evened the two teams at 28 with a jumper of her own one minute later. Whitman tallied a traditional three-point play to go back up by three, but Noren netted two free throws and Forshay earned a steal and fastbreak bucket within 19 seconds of each other to give the Loggers a brief advantage. Whitman came right back and hit a layup of its own, however, and went into the break up by one at 33-32.
The second period started no different than the first one ended as both teams traded buckets for the first four and a half minutes. A three pointer by Whitman's Tiffani Traver gave the Missionaries a four-point advantage with 15:23 remaining in the half. They extended their lead out to 10 with 11:05 remaining, but Stumbaugh drained a three to halt the 9-0 Missionary run.
Puget Sound kept the margin around seven points for the next two minutes, but Whitman re-took a double-digit lead with 7:11 left in regulation with an 11-2 run that lasted nearly three minutes. That run gave the visitors a 16-point lead, their largest of the contest. The Loggers didn't quit at the end of the game, however, as they outscored Whitman in the final five minutes. They ended the game down 12 by a score of 76-64.
"I'm very proud of the team tonight for our energy and effort," said Logger head coach Loree Payne. "We rebounded incredibly well and left it all out on the floor."
Forshay led the Loggers with 20 points, her fourth 20-point game of the season. Ainslie and Noren added 11 points apiece, and Noren also grabbed 12 rebounds to tally her first career double-double. Whitman's Heather Johns led all scorers with 23 points while Sarah Anderegg also tallied a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
As a team, the Loggers shot 34.8% from the field, making 24 field goals. Whitman only made one more basket than the Loggers, but they also took 12 less shots and tallied a 43.9 field goal percentage. Puget Sound out-rebounded the Missionaries 47-37, a big turnaround from when these two teams met in Walla Walla on Jan. 10.
With the win, No. 3 Whitman won its 21st game of the season to remain undefeated at 21-0 (12-0 NWC). The 21st victory sets a new regular season record for the Missionaries. They entered the game ranked third in the nation by D3Hoops.com.
The Loggers (13-8, 6-6 NWC) don't have much time to recover from the weekend's games as they're back in action Tuesday, Feb. 11 at Pacific Lutheran. They take on their cross-town rival at 6:00 p.m. at Names Family Court on the campus of Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland, Wash.
