Sophomore Courtney Carolan scored eight of her career-high 27 points in overtime to lead the Pacific University women's basketball team to a 61-55 win over Luther on Monday in Santa Cruz, California.

The Boxers (5-4) and Carolan outscored the Norse by an 11-5 margin in the extra session to extend its winning streak to three games. It is the first three-game winning streak for Pacific since the 2015-16 campaign. Ironically, the first of the three wins in a row in 2015-16 came in an overtime contest.

Carolan had a solid all-around game with a game-high eight steals to go along with seven rebounds and two assists. Also in double figures for Pacific was senior Charli Elliott, who scored 13 points.
 
One of the key factors in the win for Pacific was its defensive efforts that limited Luther to 38.5% shooting (20-for-52) and forced 33 turnovers. The defensive efforts brought the Boxers back from a double-digit deficit in the win.
 
The Norse (2-7) were led by a 14-point effort from Sarah Holtz, who was joined in double figures by Maggie Anderson and Anna Edel, who added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 
"This was a great team win," said an excited head coach Alecia Wilson. "We got our momentum from our defense and our offense followed. Courtney (Carolan) energy and passion fueled the team and everyone else did their part to have a great team win."

The Boxers entered the fourth quarter down, 44-34, before they outscored by a 16-6 margin in the fourth quarter to force overtime. In the quarter, Pacific held Luther to 16.7% (2-for-12) shooting and spread the scoring around five players as they shot a blistering 53.8% (7-for-12) from the field.
 
Carolan started the extra session, leading an 8-3 run for the Boxers with a pair of 3-pointers, a lay-up and a steal that put Pacific ahead 58-54 with 2:28 to play. The Boxers sealed the win, making three of its final four free throws.
 
Next, Pacific will face Redlands on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in Santa Cruz as part of its final game at the UCSC Christmas Classic.