Box Score MCMINNVILLE, Ore. -- Sara Hogman's only field goal gave Lewis & Clark a three-point lead with 4:25 remaining in the game, and after Paige Graham's layup 19 seconds later, neither team scored the rest of the game, as the Pioneers defeated the Linfield Wildcats 53-52 at Ted Wilson Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
The win is Lewis & Clark's first in Northwest Conference play this season, and its second overall.
"We got back to our roots tonight and took pride in our defense," said Lewis & Clark head coach Asha Jordan.
Linfield (8-6; 1-4 NWC) came into the game averaging over 70 points per game, but the Pios held the Wildcats to 52, their third-lowest output of the season. Lewis & Clark, which ranks in the NWC's top two in defensive 3-point percentage, kept Linfield to a season-low 10 percent from long range. Quincey Gibson, the Wildcats' leading scorer, was held to just her third single-digit scoring game of the season, and first in six games, putting in nine points.
The Pioneers helped themselves by forcing five more Linfield turnovers than they committed, 19-14. There were nine lead changes in the game, and neither team led by more than eight points.
Three of the lead changes came in the fourth quarter, in which there were only 14 points scored. With Linfield leading 46-45 at the start, Mariah Hellebrandt scored on Linfield's first shot of the period before Alyx Crager hit a jump shot a minute later to bring the Pios back within one. Following a Hogman steal, Crager scored again with 7:24 left, giving Lewis & Clark its first lead of the quarter. Genna Hughes scored a minute later to move Linfield back up 50-49 before Miyah Leith's layup put the Pios up for good.
Leith (pictured right) scored her 13th double-digit game of the season, putting in a game-high 15 points despite 5 of 14 shooting from the field. Crager, a freshman playing just her third game of the season, scored a career-high 13 points on 50 percent shooting. Ayisat Afolabi nearly had a double-double, scoring nine points to go with 11 rebounds, a game best.
Crager and Afolabi played as reserves, giving the Pios a 22-9 edge in bench points.
Genna Hughes and Hannah Depew led the Wildcats with 14 points apiece.
Lewis & Clark (2-12; 1-4 NWC) continues play on Friday at Pacific Lutheran starting at 6 p.m. The Pioneers are seeking their first back-to-back wins since last January.
