Women’s basketball loses in a heartbreaker to Puget Sound in the first round of the NWC Playoffs

The Lewis & Clark Pioneers just couldn’t beat the Puget Sound Loggers at the Northwest Conference tournament semifinals at Memorial Fieldhouse on Thursday, Feb. 23. Although they led the very end of the game with 10 points and only 4:02 left on the clock, the Pios lost with a final score of 61-58. “It was an incredible basketball game. The team fought so hard,” responded first year coach Pamela Findlay. She claims that the Puget Sound Loggers, “were able to put together a fourth quarter run by working it into the low post. We played with so much heart, especially our three seniors.”

Although their final basketball game at LC was a loss, Ayisat Afolabi ’17 and Sarah Anderson ’17 were able to showcase their talent and remain two of LC’s most esteemed basketball players. Afolabi finished the game with a season-high of 20 rebounds and a career-high of 30 points while Anderson remains one of the nation’s best 3-point shooter as she was able to attempt two 3-pointer shots while being surrounded defensively by Puget Sounds. Afolabi finished the game with 50 percent performance and LC added another 22 percent from the floor.

The Pios held a leading score of 20-2 during the first 4:20 of the game until they hit the final halftime score of 26-20. After offense had gotten off to a slow start, the Pios were able to use 19 offensive rebounds to boost their score in the late third quarter of the game.

On reflecting over her first year with the women’s basketball team, Coach Findlay fondly responded that she had “inherited an amazing group” and the whole team “became a family”. Although their final game ended in unfortunate circumstances, Findlay said, “The season as a whole was so special…It was so fun to see [the team] believe in themselves and play hard for their teammates. They brought a competitive fire to practice and games every single day.” This is a great summation of the game considering the intensity that these teammates play at. The closeness of the team is recognized among the school as well as on the court. Coach Findlay also said that she wishes “this season never had to end,” in expressing how much she enjoyed her first season with the Pios.

Finally, the Puget Sound Loggers were able to extend their score past the LC Pios by 15-2 during the very last minutes of the game. The game would have been the Loggers’ second loss of the season had LC beat them. Thus, LC finishes the 2017 women’s basketball season with 16 wins and 10 losses. A stark contrast to their previous streak being 11 wins within the past two years.