Tacoma, Wash. - Pacific Lutheran used a couple of big scoring quarters to fend off the visiting Willamette Bearcats 83-55 on Saturday night. Addie Hiler scored a career-high fourteen points for the Bearcats, but it wasn't enough to keep up with the hot-shooting Lutes who connected on over fifty percent of their shots and made thirteen three-pointers.
Peyton Gardner scored the first four points for Willamette and a Gio Horner long-range jumper gave the Bearcats a 7-5 lead before the Lutes went on an 11-0 run to pull ahead 16-7. A three-point jumper by Emma Floyd cut the lead to seven, but an 8-1 run to end the quarter put Pacific Lutheran ahead 27-13 after the opening ten minutes.
Willamette found its shooting stroke in the second quarter and a made three by Elyse Waldal pulled the Bearcats within eleven at 33-22, while a Hiler three-pointer and lay-up by Kaitlin Imai made the score 35-27 and the Bearcats were within eight. PLU responded with a three of their own and two free throws by Waldal in the final minute sent Willamette to halftime trailing 41-31 after outsourcing the Lutes 18-14 during the quarter.
The second half did not start the way the Bearcats hoped as Pacific Lutheran scored the first 13 points of the half to take a commanding 54-31 lead. Willamette could only muster six points in the quarter, two from Gardner and four from Maya Sanders, and found themselves trailing 61-37 heading to the fourth quarter.
PLU started hot in the fourth quarter as well, scoring the opening eight points and putting the game out of reach. The Bearcats continued to play hard and got scoring from Hiler, Horner, and Floyd in the final quarter, but fell in the end by a score of 83-55.
Gio Horner joined Hiler in double figures with 11 points, followed by both Elyse Waldal and Peyton Gardner with nine. Daisy Boling-Schmidt led the Bearcats with nine rebounds, six coming on the offensive end. Boling-Schmidt also handed out two assists, along with Horner and Gardner.
Willamette returns to Tacoma on Friday, February 21st to take on the University of Puget Sound at 8:00 pm before coming home the next night for Senior Night when they host Pacific University for a 6:00 pm tipoff.
Willamette Top Performers
14 points
5 total rebounds
11 points
4rebounds
9 points
2 assists