TACOMA, Wash. – Lewis & Clark College women's basketball dropped its Northwest Conference opener, 61-54, to the University of Puget Sound on Friday night at Memorial Fieldhouse.
 
THE BASICS
 
Puget Sound 61, Lewis & Clark 54
(Lewis & Clark 2-7, 0-1 NWC)
(Puget Sound 8-2, 1-0 NWC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Junior Lauryn Frederickson led all players with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. She pulled down six rebounds and recorded one assist.
 
First-year Lilly Jordan finished with a career-high 16 points, hitting 5-of-9 from the floor and 2-of-5 from three-point range. Jordan grabbed four rebounds and snagged three steals.
 
Sophomore Kaitlen Carns and first-year Ali McCauley scored eight points apiece. Carns added five rebounds and three assists, while McCauley connected on 2-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc.
 
Junior Divinity Singleton and first-year Hailey Perez rounded out the scoring with two points each. Singleton added two rebounds and two assists, while Perez finished with three rebounds and two steals.
 
The opening quarter belonged to Puget Sound. The Loggers jumped out to a 14-8 lead, holding Lewis & Clark to 1-of-10 shooting from the field. The River Otters missed all four of their three-point attempts but stayed within striking distance by going 6-of-8 at the free-throw line.
 
Lewis & Clark responded in the second quarter, outscoring the Loggers 15-9. McCauley provided a spark off the bench with eight points in the period, including back-to-back three-pointers that trimmed the deficit to 23-19. Frederickson hit a jumper and added two free throws in the final minute to erase Puget Sound's advantage. The Otts held the Loggers scoreless over the final 4:19 and used a 10-0 run to knot the score at 23-23 heading into halftime.
 
The third quarter proved challenging for both offenses. Puget Sound edged Lewis & Clark 12-9 to take a 35-32 lead into the final 10 minutes. The River Otters took their first lead since 4-2 on a Frederickson layup with 4:13 left in the quarter, but the Loggers reclaimed the lead 20 seconds later. Lewis & Clark stayed within one possession for the remainder of the period.
 
Puget Sound took control early in the fourth quarter, opening a nine-point lead, 44-35, just two and a half minutes in. Lewis & Clark pulled within four points on multiple occasions but could not close the gap further. The Loggers pushed their largest lead to 61-50 with 15 seconds remaining, before Carns converted a four-point play by knocking down a three-pointer and a free throw with three seconds left.
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• McCauley scored all eight of her points in the second quarter, while Carns scored all of her points in the fourth.
• The River Otters went 12-of-14 (85.7%) from the free-throw line, including 4-for-4 in the second half. They limited Puget Sound to three first-half attempts, but the Loggers went 14-of-16 over the final 20 minutes.
• Jordan scored 10 of her career-high 16 points in the second half, including going 4-of-5 from the field and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.
• Carns, listed at 5-foot-4, recorded the lone block for the River Otters, the third of her career, and finished second on the team with five rebounds.

UP NEXT
 
Lewis & Clark continues Northwest Conference play at Pacific Lutheran University on Saturday, Jan. 3, at 3 p.m. in Tacoma.