The Pioneer women fell to the Puget Sound Loggers 58-47 Friday night, January 30, at Pamplin Sports Center (boxscore). The Loggers entered the contest in 2nd place in the conference with a record of 5-3 in NWC and 11-6 overall. The Pioneers, coming off of a spectacular win over the Whitman Missionaries last Saturday night at home, entered the match-up with a NWC record of 3-5 and an overall record of 9-8.

In front of a roaring crowd, the Pioneers clung tight to the 2nd place Loggers for the first 20 minutes of play as both teams shot an even 40.0% from the floor. Despite Puget Sound's impressive start, jumping ahead 7-0 in the first three minutes of play, the Pioneers recovered to within one point at 19-18 with nearly five minutes to go in the half. But, the Loggers responded by going on a 7-0 run in the final four minutes of the half, including a buzzer beater three-pointer to enter the locker room. At halftime the Pioneers trailed 28-20.

After the break, the Loggers extended their 8-point first half lead to 19 in the first nine minutes of play. As the Pioneers suffered a 19-6 run by the Loggers, they shot just 29.0% from the floor, unable to find their same first half shooting success. After entering the bonus with eight minutes to go in the game, the Pioneers earned seven points from the line, as they rallied back to 48-32 by the 5:00 mark. The Pioneers came as close as 55-47 when Christina Herring was fouled on a three point shot with just under 30 seconds to go in the half, giving her three foul shots. After making the first two, Herring missed the third, grabbing her own rebound and putting it back in to complete a four point play. Despite a run by the Pioneers in the final two minutes, the Loggers would go on to finish the game with a 58-47 lead.

The Pioneers were led by Christina Herring (so., San Dimas, Calif.), who scored 11 second half points to guide the Pioneer comeback attempt. Herring finished with 16 points and three assists.

With the loss, the Pioneers fall to 3-6 in NWC and 9-9 overall. They will play their fifth consecutive home game Saturday night, January 31, against the Pacific Lutheran Lutes. Tip off is at 6 pm.