In the final two games of their season, the Logger women’s basketball team defeated Whitworth, but ultimately fell to the undefeated George Fox in the finals. The loss took their chance at both the conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Puget Sound women’s basketball team played the Whitworth Pirates in the Northwest Conference Semifinals at home on Feb. 26. The game, which determined the team’s advancement to the final round, was highly anticipated not only because of the stakes, but also because the Pirates and the Loggers were neck and neck in the conference standings.
The Loggers received a lot of support from their fans for the semi-final game. A sizeable crowd turned out to watch the Loggers compete, and the Puget Sound students dressed in white to show their support.
Although the score was close throughout the game, the Loggers led the Pirates from beginning to end. However, in the final minutes of the game, the Pirates caught up to the Loggers 65-64. Rebounds followed by free throws from sophomore Alexis Noren (Milwaukie, Ore.), junior Emily Sheldon (Portland, Ore.) and senior Ashley Agcaoili (Kaneohe, Hawaii) shut out the Pirates from a victory and secured the game for the Loggers.
Senior Amanda Forshay (Moraga, Calif.) led the Loggers in both points scored and rebounds for the game with 20 points and 11 rebounds. The game against the Pirates earned Forshay a spot on the list of Puget Sound’s all-time scoring list. Forshay needed only seven points to take the 10th spot on the list, and succeeded before the first half ended.
Forshay will end the Northwest Conference season in the number 10 spot on the all-time scoring list.
The 71-64 victory for the Loggers took the team to their first conference title game in five years.
In the final game of their season in the Northwest Conference, the Loggers fell to the George Fox Bruins in a narrow 66-61 defeat.
Although the Loggers scored the first points of the game, the Bruins caught up halfway through the first half. From then on, the Bruins kept a steady lead over the Loggers and ended the first half with a double-digit lead.
In the final minutes of the game, the Loggers stepped up their game and closed in on the Bruins.
With less than two minutes in the game, Agcaoili scored three points, but fouled and gave the Bruins two successful free throws. In the same time frame Sheldon scored four points, bringing the score to 64-61.
However, with another two-point basket from the Bruins and only four seconds left on the clock, the Loggers couldn’t gain enough of a lead to win the game and were defeated by the Bruins 66-61.
This game gave Forshay her seventh double-double of the season when she scored 16 points and made 12 rebounds.
The Logger women’s basketball team finished their season in the Northwest Conference 13-3, losing only to nationally ranked teams Whitworth and George Fox.
The Puget Sound women’s basketball team ends ranked second in the conference.
Next, the Loggers will compete in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
They will be taking on Claremont-M-S in the first round. The game will be played today at 5 p.m. at George Fox in Newberg, Ore..
