SALEM, Ore. – The Puget Sound women's basketball team stole the Northwest Conference Championship finals against Pacific University on Saturday night in Cone Field House, 61-57. 

Paige Gerhart led the Loggers with a game-high 20 points going 8-for-13 from the field adding a team-high eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals in the win. Katie Minnehan followed with 10 points, six rebounds and four steals. Freshman Autumn Hill scored eight points going 4-for-6 from the floor and Kennedy Brown scored nine points. The Pacific Boxers had 16 turnovers while the Loggers only had 10, but the Boxers had more than double the amount of second chance opportunities than Loggers. 

The Boxers scored the first two, but the Loggers quickly responded to equalize. The Boxers took a brief lead but the Loggers finished the first period 14-10. 

The Loggers took a 6-0 lead to start the second period and managed to maintain a small lead finishing the first half leading 31-24. 

The greatest lead happened in the third period when the Loggers grabbed four points off the whistle to take a 35-24 lead. The Loggers played back and forth with the Boxers never gaining too far of a lead but maintaining an 8-point lead going into the fourth.

Gerhart made a layup to start the final period leading by 10 points, but the Boxers cut the deficit down to 57-55 with 0:43 left in regulation, Minnehan picked the game back up scoring two and grabbing the next rebound to draw a foul and extend the lead to six points. The Boxers scored two in the last 0:03, but couldn't make a full recovery. The Loggers finish the finals leading 61-57 with one lead change and two tied scores. 

The Loggers next move will be announced on the 2024 NCAA Division III women's basketball championship selection show on Feb. 26 at 11:30 a.m. There will be a broadcast at the Welcome Center for students and the Puget Sound community members, all are welcome to join the celebration.