FOREST GROVE, Ore. — Willamette used a 10-0 run and torrid shooting in the second quarter to blitz past Pacific 67-60 in women's basketball action on Friday night at the Stoller Center.

It was the Northwest Conference opener for both teams. The Bearcats moved to 4-1 overall while the Boxers dropped to 2-3 on the season.

Willamette broke open a 12-11 game midway through the first quarter with a 10-0 run that extended to a 15-3 streak just two and a half minutes into the second period. The Bearcats would continue that red hot run up through halftime, hitting nine of 13 shots from the field in the second quarter. That included 6-for-11 marksmanship from beyond the arch in the first half, taking a 41-21 lead into the locker room at the break.

Additionally, the Bearcats held Pacific's Sarah Curl, who came into the game averaging 20.5 points a contest, to just two first half points. Willamette also outscored the Boxers 21-7 in the second quarter.

Both teams began the third quarter stone cold before the visitors heated up again. A three-pointer by Kylie Towry halfway into the period gave the Bearcats a 46-23 lead, doubling up their hosts with a 23-point margin.

But the Boxers finally starting clicking offensively and went on a run of their own to make things interesting in the fourth period. Pacific put together a 21-7 blitz at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth, pulling to within nine points (53-44) after a Kyla Siri three-pointer and following rebound basket with 7:30 remaining. After WU pushed the lead back to 13 points, Pacific came back to within nine points again on a McKenna Mulder five-footer with 1:20 left.

The Boxers would pull to within seven on a three-pointer by Curl with just a few tics left on the clock to account for the final score as the Bearcats opened up conference play with a win.

Curl heated up after intermission with 16 points after the break, finishing with 18 and seven rebounds to lead the home team. Karli McHone added 16 while Mulder was close to a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds.

Towry led the Bearcats with 18 points, hitting 8-of-11 shots from the field. She also topped her team with seven boards. Marisa Hamilton popped in 13 and Whitney Anderson contributed 10. After the torrid first half, the Bearcats cooled to 50 percent shooting from the field and a final tally of 41 percent from three-point range.

Pacific will return to the Stoller Center court on Saturday afternoon, hosting No. 2 nationally ranked George Fox at 4 p.m.