Northwest Conference women’s basketball play is winding down. Loose play full of turnovers and porous defense will no longer be tolerated by Puget Sound coach Loree Payne.
She did not just remind her team of that at halftime Tuesday night – she told her starters that if there were any slip-ups to start the second half, five reserves would be checking in to take their places.
The ultimatum created a sense of urgency because the Loggers played their best half of the season and ran away from Pacific Lutheran for a 64-50 victory at Memorial Fieldhouse.
Kelsey McKinnis led the charge with 18 points. Her energy was a key in UPS beginning the second half on an 11-0 run to take a 44-31 lead with 16 minutes, 10 seconds remaining.
And while the Loggers (12-10, 8-5 in NWC) were rolling, PLU fumbled any chance of grabbing an upset by fumbling away the basketball on many possessions – a disheartening development since it was the Lutes (7-15, 4-9) who controlled the early stages of the game.
“It was a must win,” Payne said. “For us to stay alive and go to the (NWC) tournament … we had to get this win tonight.”
Maybe that is why Payne, normally controlled and encouraging with her players during a game, laid down the law, even after UPS rallied late to take a 33-31 halftime lead.
“If we started out flat, we were going to change (the lineup),” Payne said. “I do not like to do that, but they needed it. You try and find different ways to motivate them.”
Amanda Forshay started it by hitting a 3-pointer. Then McKinnis dashed and darted her way through any PLU defender who tried to take her on, especially along the baseline. She got easy baskets.
As UPS piled up points, the Lutes just could not get the ball into the paint to standout Samantha Potter. They forced the issue too much, leading to a rash of turnovers.
“What works for us all the time is Samantha,” PLU coach Kelly Robinson said. “It also sometimes becomes our Achilles’ heel, too, because we stare her down and cram it into her and we start to commit turnovers. They had five white jerseys in the paint that did not allow us to get going in there.”
Later in the second half, McKinnis spearheaded a 10-1 UPS run – capped by two Erin Stumbaugh free throws to give the Loggers a 54-38 advantage with 11:01 to go.
“We have definitely had our ups and downs, but we have never given up or thrown the towel in,” McKinnis said. “We lost two (games) last weekend, but today we got a solid win at home. We are not done.”
Todd Milles: 253-597-8442 todd.milles@thenewstribune.com
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