The Loggers' Jocelyn Riodan guards Linfield's Grethen Owens during Puget Sound's 65-57 win on Jan. 20. (Photo by Steve Forshay)
Solid defense and rebounding led the UPS women to a 65-57 victory over Linfield on Jan. 20.
Guard Kelsey McKinnis nailed a three-pointer to put UPS up 26-17. Forward Lindsay Layland hit two free throws at the end of the half to send the Loggers to the locker room with a 32-26 lead.
After a technical foul was called on Linfield's coach, McKinnis hit both free throws to put UPS up 45-34.
Linfield's Gretchen Owens, the league's leading scorer, hit four free throws to narrow the UPS lead to 48-46.
McKinnis, Erin Stumbaugh and Amanda Forshay hit clutch free throws near the end to seal the victory.
The Loggers forced 19 turnovers. McKinnis led the Loggers in scoring with 17 points while Stumbaugh had 12, hitting three of six three-point attempts. Sarah Stewart had 13 rebounds for UPS. Owens led Linfield with 19 points.
One of the top Division III teams in the nation, Lewis & Clark, rolled into Memorial Fieldhouse on Jan. 21 and left with a 70-64 victory.
The lead changed nine times in the first eight minutes. UPS guard Taylor Jones hit a three-pointer that put the Loggers ahead 16-14. L&C's Neva Hauser responded with a trey to retake the lead.
L&C's Kristina Williams scored 13 of her 17 points in the first half to build a 37-28 advantage for her team at halftime.
Forshay hit a field goal and a free throw to cut the Pioneer lead to 53-48. After that the Loggers got within two points on several occasions but were unable to take the lead. Hauser and Sara Villanueva hit clutch free throws to seal the victory for L&C (16-1, 7-1 NWC).
Villanueva led L&C with 18 points. McKinnis led UPS with 14 while Jocelyn Riordan chipped in 12.
"Free throws hurt us in this game," McKinnis said. "We were able to turn up the heat on them in the first half. We can go deep into our bench, which really helps."
"We had some mental errors," head coach Loree Payne remarked. Asked about the spark McKinnis clearly created in the second half, she said, "Kelsey is our emotional leader. She is a good offensive player. She really sparked our comeback attempt. We just needed some other players to step up."
The Loggers record is 9-8, 5-2 in conference. They return to action with home games against Willamette on Jan. 27 and Pacific on Jan. 28. Tipoff is 6 p.m. both nights.
