TACOMA, Wash. – The Puget Sound Loggers leapt ahead in the fourth quarter to defeat the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes 48-39 on Wednesday night in Olson Auditorium.
Sophie Nilsson led the scoring with 13 points, while
Katie Minnehan stunned with four offensive rebounds, five steals and six points.
Paige Gerhart has scored in double-digits in the last six matches, leading with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Emme Eisenman grabbed seven boards and six points in the win.
In the first quarter the Loggers and Lutes were evenly matched tying it up at the quarter break and then again at half time, 23-23, but it was nearly always nip-and-tuck. The Loggers maintained the lead throughout most of the first half with six tied scores. The final score matched one less than the game's largest lead.
The Lutes jumped out in front at the start of the third period. The Loggers continued to respond tying the score twice before the score was deadlock at 28-28 and the Loggers took the lead for keeps. Gerhart stole the ball and grabbed a layup off the fast break. The Loggers outscored the Lutes 15-11 in the third period, Nilsson was on fire. scoring nine points in less than five minutes on the court.
In the final period, the Loggers took control harnessing a powerful defensive strength and holding the Lutes to just five points. The Loggers jumped into the period scoring a layup by Nilsson, followed by free-throws from Gerhart, and finalizing the 6-point run with a steal and layup from Minnehan to garner the biggest lead of the game. The Lutes chipped away at a chance to regain control but could never get within five and the Loggers finished with a stealthy pass from Gerhart to Eisenman for an easy layup to finalized the score 48-39.
The Lutes had 21 turnovers in which the Loggers scored 14 points off of those errors while the Loggers only had 14 turnovers throughout. Both teams saw poor shooting percentages with the Loggers only shooting for 32.3%. The Loggers found most of their luck inside with 32 points from the paint.
The Loggers return home on Friday, Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. to face George Fox University in Memorial Fieldhouse.
