Spieker Ties 3s Record as Lutes Stay Alive

Box Score

McMINNVILLE, Ore. - Amy Spieker tied a Pacific Lutheran women's basketball single-game record with eight three-point baskets as Pacific Lutheran beat Linfield, 67-63, in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game played Friday night in Ted Wilson Gym.  

With the win, the Lutes kept their slim conference playoff hopes alive, though Pacific picked up a 70-67 overtime win over Puget Sound to stay one game ahead of PLU in the battle for the final postseason berth. PLU needs to defeat unbeaten and No. 2-ranked George Fox in Newberg, Ore., and Pacific has to lose to last-place Linfield on Saturday night in order for the Lutes to edge the Boxers for the final conference playoff spot based on a tiebreaker.

Spieker tied the school record for three-point field goals originally set by Kelly Turner against George Fox on Jan. 20, 2006.

The Lutes were able to overcome multiple comebacks from an upset-minded Linfield squad that nonetheless ended up losing to Pacific Lutheran for the 28th consecutive time. PLU runs its record to 14-10 overall and 8-7 in conference play while Linfield slips to 3-21 and 2-13 in Northwest Conference action.

After Linfield built a 30-25 lead by intermission, PLU came out firing on all cylinders to start the second half. Paced by five Spieker three-point field goals over a four-minute period, the Lutes opened the half with a 21-6 run by the 13:45 mark.

The Wildcats responded appropriately with an 8-0 run of their own, capped off by a 3-point-play from Amanda Juarez, who led the Wildcats with a career-high 23 points.

After cutting the Pacific Lutheran lead to 46-44 with 9:06 to play, Linfield went completely cold from the floor. The Wildcats would not score again until the 4:33 mark, but by then the Lutes had built a 55-46 advantage.

Trailing by 10 with just over two minutes remaining, Linfield caught fire from beyond the arc. The Wildcats got three 3-point makes from Sarah Amina and Juarez to trim the lead to 62-58 with 37 left to go.

Linfield fouled PLU down the stretch hoping that the Lutes would fritter away the lead, but instead they drained their final six free throw attempts over the final 30 seconds to seal the victory.

In the first half of action, both teams played within five points of each other the entire 20 minutes. The frame saw four ties and four lead chances. The Wildcats took a 30-25 advantage into the break.

Both teams were erratic with the ball in the first half. PLU had 19 turnovers while Linfield turned the basketball over 14 times. The two teams both shot 39 percent from the floor but Linfield was able to converted 10-of-10 free throw attempts.

The difference in the ball game proved to be PLU's ability to control the backboard and consistently knock down the three-point shot. PLU won the rebounding war 46-31 and shot 10-of-21 from beyond the arc.

Emily Voorhies and Trinity Gibbons chipped in with 13 points a piece for the Lutes and Gibbons added a game-high 11 rebounds.

(Courtesy of Linfield Sports Information Office)