FOREST GROVE, Oregon – Sophie Nilsson scored a season-high 18 points as the No. 19/12 Puget Sound women's basketball team ran away in the fourth quarter with a 63-51 win at Pacific Friday night.
 
The Loggers and Boxers entered the game with identical overall records (11-2) and identical Northwest Conference records (4-0). Puget Sound now has sole possession of first place in the NWC.
 
Puget Sound held a 27-23 lead at halftime, but foul trouble prevented the Loggers from pulling away in the third quarter. The Boxers were in the bonus just about midway through the period, and they shot 7-for-9 overall from the stripe in the third.
 
The teams were tied, 38-38, with a few seconds left in the third quarter when Katie Minnehan came up with a steal and layup that just beat the buzzer.
 
Nilsson opened the fourth quarter by hitting a 3-pointer that gave the Loggers a 43-38 lead. Pacific tied the game with a 7-2 run, but Jenai Ancheta scored in the paint to put the Loggers back up by two with 5:18 on the clock. Puget Sound led for the rest of the game.
 
The Loggers' lead reached double digits, 57-47, when Ancheta hit a baseline jumper off the dribble with two minutes left in regulation.
 
Kennedy Brown scored 11 points in the winning effort, while Minnehan filled with stat sheet with six points, seven boards, four assists, and four steals. Paige Gerhart came up one point shy of a double-double, totaling nine points and 10 boards off the bench.
 
The Loggers shot 13-for-14 from the free-throw line.
 
Puget Sound remains in Oregon to take on Linfield Saturday, Jan. 14, at 4 p.m.