PORTLAND, Ore. -- A 2 of 12 shooting performance in the fourth quarter prevented the Lewis & Clark Pioneers from holding onto a 10-point third quarter lead, as Pacific Lutheran came back to defeat the Pioneers 71-66 on Saturday night at Pamplin Sports Center.

The Pios were sharp in the first half, shooting 8 of 12 from 3-point range including Miyah Leith's 4 for 4 performance. Natalie Kelly added two more on 5 of 7 shooting, as the duo combined for 32 first half points, and the Pios led 43-35 at halftime.

Sarah Barnes was Paciflc Lutheran's only answer in the opening half, as the senior made 13 straight points over five minutes to bring PLU back to within single digits of Lewis & Clark. Barnes finished with a PLU-best 18 points.

Barnes cooled in the second half, but Lewis & Clark's Ayisat Afolabi (pictured right) got red hot, making all four of her shots in the third quarter to build the Pios' lead to a game-best 16 points with 5:22 remaining in the third. Aside from a basket by Leith, Afolabi accounted for all of the Pios' points over a near-three-minute span starting at the 8:10 mark of the quarter.

"I don't have enough words to describe how proud I am of my team," said head coach Asha Jordan. "Often you look at the stat sheet and there are a few glaring statistical differences, but that's not the case tonight."

Both teams shot nearly even overall, 47 to 45 percent in favor of PLU, and both were 50 percent from 3-point range. The Lutes had one more rebound than the Pios, 27-26, and two fewer turnovers, 15-13. PLU (9-14; 5-9 Northwest Conference) did score 11 second chance points to the Pioneers' four.

In the fourth quarter, Lewis & Clark led 64-55 with 6:44 left. Megan Abdo made two 3-pointers over a 90-second span to close the gap to three points, 64-61, making her second off a Michaela Edgers offensive rebound. With 3:15 remaining, Ionna Price sunk a 3-pointer and a layup on back-to-back possessions to give PLU its first lead of the game with 2:43 left.

Lewis & Clark (2-21; 1-13 NWC) didn't score a field goal past the 7:26 mark of the quarter.

"The biggest hurdle for us right now is just wholeheartedly believing that if we continue to fight, stick to gameplans and play LC basketball, the outcome will be in our favor," said Jordan. "We have to play to win down the stretch, and trust that it's within our power to get back the momentum and secure the victory."

Leith scored 23 points after starting the game 9 of 12 from the floor. Kelly had 17 points and Afolabi finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds for her third double-double of the season, and second straight. Kaitlin Mathewson had seven points and six rebounds.

Lewis & Clark plays its two final games of the season at Willamette on Friday and against Pacific for Senior Night on Feb. 20.

Other Northwest Conference Scores - Saturday

Puget Sound 76, Pacific 62
George Fox 68, Whitman 61
Whitworth 67, Willamette 61