NEWBERG, Oregon – Grace Pytynia-Hillier led the No. 21/14 Puget Sound women's basketball team in scoring as the Loggers cruised to a 72-43 win at George Fox Friday night. It was the first Northwest Conference game of the new calendar year.
 
Pytynia-Hillier scored 15 points in just 14 minutes off the bench. She shot 4-for-6 from 3-point range, and 5-for-9 from the floor overall. Paige Gerhart scored 14 points off the bench, and Sophie Nilsson added 13.
 
The Loggers forced George Fox into 24 turnovers, while Puget Sound committed just 10 miscues.
 
The Bruins held a 12-11 lead late in the first quarter, but Nilsson hit a 3-pointer to reclaim a two-point Logger lead. The Bruins answered back with a trey of their own, and then Pytynia-Hillier connected from beyond the arc. Following a George Fox turnover, Kennedy Brown knocked down a couple of free-throws to give the Loggers a 19-15 lead after 10 minutes.
 
The Loggers went cold to start the second quarter, and George Fox took a 20-19 lead four minutes to the period. Pytynia-Hillier got the offense clicking again when she made a transition layup while drawing a foul for a three-point play.
 
Those three points put the Loggers ahead, 22-20, and they entered halftime with a 38-22 lead.
 
Puget Sound remains in Oregon to take on Willamette Saturday, Jan. 7, at 4 p.m.