Lute Women's Basketball vs. Willamette 2024-2025 Pacific Lutheran University Digital Game Program

Setting the Scene: The Lutes honor their senior class tonight, closing out the home slate by welcoming Willamette University to Olson Gymnasium.

Series History: The conference rivals have met 89 times since the 1980-1981 season with PLU holding a slim 46-43 edge in the series. The two teams last met on Jan. 17 with PLU coming away from Salem with a 68-56 victory behind 16 points from both Sydney Reisner and Brooke Samura.

About the Lutes: A furious fourth quarter comeback was unable to negate and early scoring drought on Tuesday night as PLU stumbled 60-51 to crosstown rival University of Puget Sound inside Olson Gymnasium.

The Lutes (7-15, 4-9 Northwest Conference) outscored the Loggers 17-10 over the final 10 minutes, pulling within five points on a Brooke Samura layup with 82 seconds left in the game. That bucket capped off an 8-0 Lute run that was largely fueled by the first year who tallied six of those points. Puget Sound would hit six free throws in the final minute, staving off a Lute upset bid and hold on for a nine-point victory.

A Jaida Wood jumper with 95 seconds left in the opening quarter put the homestanding Lutes up 11-10 before the Loggers (9-13, 8-5 NWC) held PLU off the scoreboard for nearly eight minutes, scoring 15 unanswered points to build a 14-point advantage. Puget Sound maintained a comfortable gap the rest of the second quarter, taking a 30-17 lead into the halftime break.

The UPS lead swelled to as many as 18 points on a three with 5:49 left in the third but the Lutes dug deep to make it a five point affair late in the fourth.

Brooke Samura finished one rebound shy of a double-double, netting 13 points and finishing with nine rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Sydney Reisner added 12 points while Ashley Akamine provided a spark off the bench with nine points and six rebounds.

PLU held Puget Sound to just 36.8 percent shooting (21-for-57) on the night, including holding the Loggers to just two field goals in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for the Lutes, the shots weren't falling on the offensive end, finishing the game shooting at a 25.0 percent clip (14-for-56).

Sydney Reisner leads the team, averaging 12.1 points per game and has been a sharpshooter all season, hitting 37 threes in 2024-2025. Brooke Samura averages 8.7 ppg and 5.9 rebounds per game as a first year while Stacie Spahr has a team-leading 6.6 rebounds per game.

Lock Down D: PLU's defense has been outstanding all season, holding opponents to 60 points or less in 13 games this season.

That defense put the clamps on George Fox on Jan. 11 inside Olson Gymnasium, holding the Bruins to just two points in the second quarter. It's the fewest points scored by an NCAA team against the Lutes in a period since women's college basketball moved from halves to quarters during the 2015-2016 season. It's also the third best effort in a quarter with PLU holding Northwest Indian College to just one point in a blowout 85-35 win back on Dec. 15, 2023 while the Lutes pitched a second quarter shutout of NWIC on Nov. 12, 2021, outscoring the Eagles 27-0 in that 10 minute segment in a 93-20 victory.

About the Bearcats:The Bearcats (8-13, 5-7 NWC) heads into the weekend having won three of their last five games. That includes taking down Whitworth University 67-57 last Saturday behind a big opening quarter that saw Willamette outscore the visiting Pirates 19-11.

Willamette’s other two wins during that stretch came by razor thin margins, edging Puget Sound 63-61 back on Jan. 25 and skating by host Lewis & Clark 61-58 on Jan. 28.

Kaitlin Imai is the Bearcats’ leading scorer, averaging 14.1 points per game through the first 21 games of the season. Elyse Waldal adds 12.1 ppg while Gio Horner is the third Willamette player in double figures, boasting 10.1 ppg.

Daisy Boling-Schmidt is the top rebounder, netting 5.4 rebounds per game with Imai and Waldal adding 4.4 and 4.3, respectively.