FOREST GROVE, Oregon – There's no place like home, and the No. 24 Puget Sound women's basketball team secured at least one more game in Memorial Fieldhouse this season.
 
The Loggers beat Pacific, 62-57, on the road in the final game of the regular season Saturday. Both teams were playing for the No. 2 seed in the Northwest Conference Tournament. With its second win over Pacific this season, the Loggers (20-4, 13-3 NWC) earned the right to host the Boxers (17-7, 12-4 NWC) Thursday, Feb. 24, to start the postseason.
 
Things didn't look great for the Loggers after the first quarter, as Pacific held a 20-10 lead. The Boxers continued to hold a double-digit lead at halftime, 32-22.
 
But Puget Sound made adjustments during the break.
 
The Loggers closed out the third quarter with a 15-4 run, cutting their deficit to 43-40.
 
Samantha Swartout opened the fourth quarter by hitting a jump shot, and after forcing Pacific into a turnover, Paige Gerhart gave the Loggers a 44-43 lead by making a layup.
 
Pacific put together a small run to reclaim the lead, 51-46, with 6:27 left in regulation. However, Swartout scored from the paint and then drilled a trey to tie the game, 51-51. Pacific briefly answered with two points, but Grace Pytynia-Hillier hit a 3-pointer to give Puget Sound a one-point lead.
 
Following a defensive stop, Swartout connected again from beyond the arc for a dagger 3-pointer. It put the Loggers ahead, 57-53, with 2:20 left to play.
 
Swartout led the Loggers in scoring with 25 points, and she pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Gerhart added 13 points and six rebounds.