Setting the Scene: The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball squad closes out its homestand tonight, welcoming another Texas team to Olson Gymnasium in Concordia University.
Series History: This is just the second all-time meeting between the Lutes and Tornados. The two teams last met last season on Nov. 24, with the visiting Lutes earning a 75-67 victory in Austin, Texas. Four Lutes finished that game in double figures, including a 19-point performance from Ashley Akamine.
About the Lutes: Revenge was on Texas Lutheran University's mind on Friday night, using a big second half scoring run to secure the 62-40 victory over the Lutes inside Olson Gymnasium.
A Brooke Samura layup, a Reisner free throw, and a Taylor Schmidtke trey turned a tie game into a 13-7 lead for the homestanding Lutes (1-3) with 3:51 left in the opening quarter. That lead slowly evaporated as the quarter wore on, with PLU's lead just 13-12 after 10 minutes of play.
Emi Wada put PLU up three with 5:50 left in the second quarter but TLU (3-1) answered with a 9-0 run, seizing a 25-19 lead on a three-pointer with 2:05 before intermission. Reisner hit a three in the final 30 seconds as the Bulldogs took a 25-22 lead into the half.
Kasidy Javernick tied the game with a three early in the second half but the Bulldogs responded with back-to-back threes to reestablish the lead. Reisner hit a three with 6:07 left in the third, closing the gap to just five points but PLU would misfire on its next 10 shots as Texas Lutheran scored 22 consecutive points spanning the final two quarters to put the game out of reach.
The game was revenge for the Bulldogs after the Lutes waltzed into TLU's gymnasium last November and drained 14 threes in a 50-47 victory that included a last second game winner from Reisner.
Javernick hit four three-pointers on the night, finishing with 12 points while Reisner contributed 11. Stacie Spahr was the squad's top rebounder once again, hauling in nine and dishing out two assists. Tami Gallo-Paul made the most of her minutes in the fourth quarter, hitting two of her three shots from beyond the arc, finishing with a half dozen points.
"The offensive woes that have plagued us so far this season continued tonight. As their coach I have to find a way to get us easy baskets and as players they have to have the confidence to score it," said Head Coach Lee Aduddell.
Texas Lutheran capitalized on its trips to the free throw line, taking 21 free throws to PLU's four. The Bulldogs owned a slight rebounding edge, 39-35, but took full advantage of PLU mistakes, scoring 18 points off turnovers.
Kasidy Javernick leads the Lutes in scoring through the opening three games of the year, averaging 12.5 points per game along with hauling in 4.0 rebounds per game. That includes shooting at a 38.3 percent clip from beyond the arc. Sydney Reisner adds 10.3 ppg while Brandie Tobin has a team-best 14 assists.
Stacie Spahr is the team's leader on the glass, averaging 9.3 rebounds per game and helping the squad enjoying a +4.0 rebounding margin this winter.
About the Tornados: Concordia (1-3) heads to Olson Gymnasium no stranger to the Northwest Conference, having already played three of PLU's conference rivals.
The Tornados downed Lewis & Clark 79-64 in the season opener with Destiny Mathews dropping 37 points. Since then its been tough sledding, falling 69-57 to Howard Payne before dropping a pair of games over the weekend at the Ken Schumann Classic.
Concordia fell behind 27-12 after one quarter and never recovered against Pacific on Friday with the Boxers securing a 98-62 blowout win. On Saturday, Mathews had 23 points and seven boards but it wasn't enough as Linfield pulled away in the second quarter in a 70-54 win.
Destiny Mathews is Concordia's leading scorer and rebounder, entering Monday night averaging 24.0 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game. Katelyn Tietjen adds 10.3 ppg while Kiki Gonzales and Daysha Tijerina both contribute 9.3 ppg.
The second quarter has not been kind to the Tornados this season with Concordia outscored 105-63 in the second over the opening four games.
Giving Back to the Community
Earlier this fall, the PLU women's basketball program gave back to the local community, volunteering with Metro Parks Tacoma doing a restoration project at Catherine Ursich Park.
Weekend Highlights from Around Luteville
Highlights from a great weekend in Luteville that including wins from women's soccer, women's basketball, and football.
NWC Preseason Coaches' Poll
Trailblazing NIL the D3 Way: PLU Athletics continues to lead the way nationally in Name, Image, and Likeness, unveiling the Luteville Marketplace last fall through the department's partnership with Opendorse. But don't stay on the sidelines, get involved and connect with PLU student-athletes on the Luteville Marketplace: LINK
The Luteville Marketplace is the first dedicated NIL marketplace in Division III on the Opendorse platform that directly connects student-athletes with fans, supporters, and business partners in an easy to use website.
Last spring PLU became just the second Division III school in the nation and the first school in any division in the State of Washington to partner with Athlete's Thread. Athlete's Thread allows every Lute student-athlete to sell customizable gear and jerseys with their name and number and receive monetary compensation for a portion of each sale. Check out the link above to order your gear today!
Stay connected to your favorite teams by downloading the official mobile app of the Pacific Lutheran University athletic department powered by SIDEARM Sports, available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
Featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, gameday details and more, the new PLU Athletics app is free and compatible with both iOS and Android devices.
Next Home Game:
Dec. 30: Vancouver Island University at 5 p.m.
PLU Non-Discrimination Policy: Pacific Lutheran University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability or age in its programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Title IX Coordinator Jennifer Childress-White; 253-535-7361; TitleIX@plu.edu
Credits:
Lindsey Clark