SALEM, Ore. - Yet another strong defensive effort allowed the Puget Sound Loggers to conclude the regular season with a 70-50 win over the Willamette Bearcats in a Northwest Conference women's basketball on Saturday night at Cone Field House in Salem, Ore.

The Loggers and Bearcats battled it out for the first half of the opening period but the Loggers slowly built an 11-point lead on a three-pointer by freshman Courtney Blume (Olympia, Wash./River Ridge) that gave Puget Sound a 29-18 lead with 2:11 left before halftime. After the teams traded baskets for the final two minutes of the period, the Loggers took a 33-24 lead into the break.

The Bearcats brought the UPS lead down to five points The Loggers then went on a 10-o run to push the lead up to 15 and the Loggers never looked back as they held the large lead for the eventual 70-50 victory. With the win, the Logger clinched sole possession of second place in the Northwest Conference standings which comes with a home game to open the NWC Tournament.

The Loggers were led by 16 points from Jocelyn Riordan (Lake Forest Park, Wash./Shorecrest). Caitlyn Faidley (Seattle, Wash./Azusa Pacific) came off the bench to added 12 points in the win. The Loggers out-rebounded the Bearcats, 37-28.

Willamette was led by 14 points from Erin Barclay. Molly Fillion added 11 points for the Bearcats, who shot 40.9% from the field but just 60% from the charity stripe.

The Loggers now turn their attention to the post-season as they will play host to Pacific on Thursday in the opening round of the NWC Tournament. Tip-off with the Boxers is set for 6:00 p.m. at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.

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