Pacific Lutheran played two solid halves of women's basketball on Saturday night in Olson Auditorium and as a result the Lutes picked up their first win of the season with a 64-58 non-conference victory over the visiting Concordia Cavaliers.

Megan Abdo, a 5-foot 7-inch freshman point guard, had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds as the Lutes improved their record to 1-6. Concordia, meanwhile, lost for the third time to a Northwest Conference team and is now 5-5 this season.

Through their first six games, the Lutes would invariably play well in one half but not in the other. Tonight's game was a different matter as they ran with the Cavaliers through a high-paced first half that saw the visitors take a 38-32 advantage into the halftime locker room.

In the second half, Pacific Lutheran shot the ball well and also harassed Concordia into 19 percent shooting. As a result, the Lutes pulled away in the closing minutes to put one in the win column.

PLU took its largest lead of the opening half, 20-16, on Andi Adams' three-point field goal about six minutes into the game. Once Concordia wrestled the lead away at 25-23 on Malori Dixon's layin with 9:48 left in the half, it maintained the advantage until just about the midway mark of the final period.

The Lutes turned their six-point halftime deficit into a 43-43 tie on another Adams three-poniter with 11:56 to play, and just over one minute later a Sarah Barnes free throw gave them a lead that they would not give up. Concordia was able to tie the game at 52-52 on a pair of Dixon free throws with 5:55 on the clock, but the Lutes were able to build a lead as big as eight points inside the final minute to hold on for the victory.

Despite being one of the shorter players on the floor, Abdo led everyone with 13 rebounds, sometimes out-jumping and out-muscling taller players for possession. Samantha Potter added 12 rebounds, six on each end of the floor, and with 14 points she notched her fourth consecutive double-double of the season. For the second straight game Adams led the Lutes in scoring, finishing this one with 18 points. She also had five assists and three steals.

Dixon scored 26 points, including 11 at the foul line, to lead all players in scoring. She also contributed five rebounds and four steals to Concordia's cause. Randi McReynolds ended the game with 12 points and she tied Kelly Huey with a team-high six rebounds.

Led by Adbo and Potter, PLU dominated the rebounding column 47-34. The Lutes also finished the game shooting 40 percent (23-for-58) from the floor compared to 33 percent (18-for-54) for the Cavaliers.

- PLU -