MCMINNVILLE, ORE. – After getting beaten up inside in their last few games, the Pacific women's basketball team was primed to dish out the punishment in the paint at Linfield.
 
Outscoring the Wildcats 34-18 in the lane, the Boxers said sayonara to a five-game losing streak and four-game shooting slump with a 73-60 Northwest Conference victory at Ted Wilson Gymnasium Tuesday night. The win breaks a three-way deadlock and puts Pacific momentarily in fifth place in the conference standings (3-6 NWC, 10-7 overall).
 
The Boxers came out firing, shooting a scorching 58 percent in the first half, while forcing 12 Linfield turnovers. If the Boxers were red-hot, you would have to call Linfield white-hot. The Wildcats (2-7, 8-10) connected on 62 percent for the half, including 4 of 6 threes and only trailed 40-34 at halftime. Two players did almost all of the scoring. NWC scoring leader Gretchen Owens and 5-11 freshman guard Katelyn Henson combined for 28 of Linfield's 34 points.
 
Kaila Johnson (Fr., McKinleyville, Calif.) opened the second half with a 3-pointer to light a 7-0 run as the Boxers took a 47-34 lead in the first two minutes. Linfield came back with eight straight scoring possessions, capped by a fast break basket by Owens that cut the Boxers' lead to 54-49.  After Heather Hitch (Jr., Enumclaw, Wash.) missed a shot inside, Linfield rebounded the basketball with a chance to cut the lead to three or two, but Kaely Maltman missed an off-balance shot inside and Annette Highley (So., Juneau, Alaska) pulled down the rebound, taking it coast to coast for a layup. After a Linfield timeout, Owens missed a three then could not convert on a fast break layup attempt. Pacific came back with a Highley 3-pointer to regain a double-digit lead 59-49. Linfield would get no closer than eight the rest of the way as Erica Schultz (Sr., Medford, Ore.) bookended a 12-4 run with a pair of treys to give the Boxers their largest lead of the game, 71-55 with 5:57 remaining.
 
Schultz led Pacific's frontcourt attack with a team-high 23 points and seven rebounds. Brittney Anderson (Sr., Missoula, Mont.) added 13, with Highley chipping in 12 points and three assists off the bench in her best game in two months. Paige Jensen (Jr., Bemidji, Minn.) finished with 10 points and a season-high seven steals as the Boxers forced 19 turnovers and gave the ball away just eight times. Pacific's effectiveness inside opened up opportunities outside the 3-point arc and they capitalized, hitting 8 of 19 shots from downtown. Schultz was 3 for 5, while Highley and Nani Ostrom (Fr., Juneau, Alaska) each hit a pair of treys.
 
Owens poured in a game-high 26 points, hitting 4 of 5 from three. Henson added 17 points on 8 of 13 from the field including a perfect 5 for 5 in the first half. The Wildcats were 5 of 11 from beyond the arc and 11 of 12 at the free throw line.
 
Each team shot 47 percent from the field, but Pacific had 19 more shot attempts (31 for 66), limiting Linfield to three offensive rebounds while finishing the game plus-11 in turnover margin. Pacific's superior depth prevailed as the Boxer bench outscored the Wildcats 24-8.
 
The Boxers stay on the road this week with a huge game at Puget Sound. The Loggers currently lead Pacific by a game and a half in the NWC standings and won the first meeting 69-67 with a tiebreaking basket in the final five seconds. The game will be webcast live starting at 5:45 p.m. on www.goboxers.com.