McMINNVILLE, Ore. – The Pacific women's basketball team was light's out from the field inside of Ted Wilson Gymnasium on Saturday evening, as the Boxers shot over 50-percent from the field and over 60-percent from beyond the arc in a 76-54 Northwest Conference victory over Linfield.
 
Sarah Curl (So., Portland, Ore.) led the Boxers on offense with 22 points, including 12 from the 3-point line.
 
After falling behind quickly to Linfield, as the Wildcats jumped out to a 4-0 lead off the opening tip, the Boxers entered the scoreline with a jumper from Curl and a layup from Abby Jones (Sr., Haines, Alaska) off an assist from Nani Ostrom (Sr., Juneau, Alaska).
 
After a made free throw on the Linfield side, a jumper in the paint from Kelsey Misseldine (Sr., Phoenix, Ariz.) gave Pacific its first lead of the evening and the Boxers never looked back.
 
Misseldine's jumper set-off an 11-point Pacific run with baskets from Misseldine, Jones, Lauren Lykins (Fr., Hillsboro, Ore.), Curl and Kyla Siri (Jr., Spring Creek, Nev.), with a 3-pointer from Ostrom mixed-in. By the time Amantha Hood's jumper fell for Linfield with 10:35 left in the opening period, the Boxers held a 17-7 lead over the Wildcats.
 
Linfield cut Pacific's lead to eight, before Jones and Curl combined to put Pacific up 26-13 with 6:27 left in the first half.
 
With 5:57 on the clock, Taylor Solomon scored for Linfield to cut the Boxers' advantage down to 11 points before Ostrom and Curl teamed up for a five-point Pacific swing. Curl and Ostrom again answered a Linfield basket in a stretch of less than a minute with back-to-back 3-pointers giving Pacific a 20-point lead with two minutes left in the opening half.
 
A five-point run from the Wildcats closed out the half with Pacific heading to the break with a 37-22 lead.
 
The Boxers extended its double-digit advantage to 20 points for the second time on the evening at the 16:32 mark in the second half when Jones assisted on an Ostrom 3-pointer, which put Pacific up 48-28.
 
Pacific continued to control the scoreline as the second period rolled on, which was highlighted by a jumper at 14:04 by Lykins that put the Boxers up by 21 points. The 21-point lead was short lived as Linfield clawed back with a quick five-point swing to cut the Boxers' lead to 54-38 inside the 13-minute mark.
 
After a scoreless span of nearly two minutes as the game clock ticked under 10 minutes, Olivia Cook (Sr., Beaverton, Ore.) broke the drought with a layup at 8:16 to put Pacific ahead 60-40.
 
Cook tallied on the next possession, before Jones sank a pair of free throws to give Pacific a 24-point advantage.
 
The Boxers' lead extended to 26 with 3:01 left in the first half, before Annalise Beshears scored in the paint to cut the Boxers' lead to 70-46. Curl followed Beshears' layup with a 3-pointer, which Beshears quickly countered with another layup on the Linfield end. Beshears' second lay-up left the Boxers with a 25-point lead over the Wildcats with less than two minutes left in regulation.
 
Allison Warren (Fr., Sherwood, Ore.) came off the bench for the Boxers with 1:55 left in the second period and made her presence felt two seconds later with a 3-point make to give Pacific a 28-point lead.
 
Linfield finished the second period with a six-point run before Pacific left the gym with a 22-point road victory.
 
Curl's 22-point performance also featured four rebounds and two assists on the evening.
 
Ostrom followed her career-high scoring performance against Pacific Lutheran with an 18-point outing, while joining Curl with four 3-point makes on the evening. Jones tallied 11 points and four assists, as Cook grabbed six rebounds and scored 11 points.
 
The Boxers return to the Stoller Center on Jan. 9, with a 6 p.m. scheduled tip-off against the visiting Lewis and Clark Pioneers.