 |  |
Nov. 15, 2008
Voorhies Leads Lutes to Season-Opening Win Over St. Thomas
PARKLAND, Wash. - Emily Voorhies scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Pacific Lutheran to a 61-59 non-conference women's basketball victory over the visiting St. Thomas University Tommies on Saturday afternoon at Olson Auditorium. The game was the season opener for both teams.
Voorhies, a 6-1 senior post, shot 9-for-15 from the field and 5-for-9 from the charity stripe, and five of her 11 rebounds came on the offensive end of the floor.
The outcome came down to a Trinity Gibbons jumper with three seconds remaining, breaking a 59-59 tie forged with 22 seconds remaining when Melissa Richardson made the second of two free throw opportunities for the Lutes.
Pacific Lutheran came out strong, racing to a 15-3 lead five minutes into the game. St. Thomas whittled its deficit to seven points at 21-14 on a layup by Kassie Robinson with 8:28 to play in the half, but Gibbons hit back-to-back baskets to help the Lutes open up their biggest lead of the game at 30-16 with 6:04 to play in the opening half.
After leading 37-30 at the half, the Lutes again opened up a double-digit margin, taking a 48-36 advantage on a pair of free throws by Melissa Richardson with 12:06 to play. Trailing 54-44 with 8:02 left, St. Thomas scored 13 unanswered points to take a 57-54 lead with 3:58 left. Jazmin Townsend hit a three-point field goal to get the run started and she ended it with a layup. In between, Sarah Smith hit a jumper and two free throws and Robinson and Katch each added a pair of charity tosses.
Trailing for the first time, the Lutes stemmed the tide on a pair of free throws by Voorhies who tried to convert a follow shot after grabbing an offensive rebound. St. Thomas kept the lead until Gibbons hit her game-winning shot in the closing seconds following a Tommies turnover with 14 seconds remaining.
Gibbons scored 15 points on 7-for-14 shooting, while Sara Backstrom had eight points and a game-high six assists off the bench for PLU.
Katch and Robinson both scored 14 points to pace St. Thomas, while Townsend scored 10 off the bench. Robinson led the Tommies with seven rebounds and Sheena Porter finished with four assists.
The Lutes finished 24-for-50 from the field, or 48 percent, compared to 20-for-51, or 39 percent, for the Tommies. PLU also enjoyed a 33-28 rebounding advantage.
St. Thomas returns to action tomorrow when it faces Puget Sound in a non-conference game at Tacoma's Foss High School. The Lutes play next at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, against Concordia in Portland, Ore.
- PLU -
