12/7 - GEORGE FOX 71, WESTERN BAPTIST 59: Bruins Win 4th Straight with 2nd Win over Warriors
SALEM, Ore. - Amy Fitch had 17 points, leading a quartet of George Fox University Bruins who scored in double figures, and grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds as the Bruins hung on to defeat the Western Baptist College Warriors 71-59 in a non-conference women's basketball game here Saturday night (Dec. 7).
Kellie Thomas added 16 points to help the Bruins withstand a second-half rally by the Warriors after building a 14-point advantage. Kim Leith scored 14 and Sarah Myhre had 10 off the bench as George Fox won for the sixth time in a row against Western Baptist. Darby Cave and Myhre added 6 rebounds each to Fitch's 7 as the Bruins controlled the boards 37-34. Thomas had a game-high 4 assists.
Toran Lundgren had 12 points and Amber Matthews tallied 10 for the Warriors, who suffered their second straight home loss. Matthews joined Tara Schmidgall with 8 rebounds apiece.
Western Baptist shot 37% from the field (20-54) compared to the Bruins' 39% (22-57), but missed all 6 of its 3-point efforts. George Fox hit 5-15 from long range.
Western Baptist scored the first two field goals of the game to jump ahead 4-0, but George Fox came back to tie it at 14-14, and then went on a 7-0 run, capped by a Fitch 3-pointer, for a 21-14 lead. The Warriors went nearly 12 minutes with just one field goal and shot just 26% in the frame, but 8-10 shooting from the line left the home team trailing only 29-24 at the break.
George Fox started the second half with an 11-2 surge to build its biggest lead, 40-26. But Western clawed back and when Matthews finished a post-up, the Warriors were down only two, 52-50, with 5:40 to play. However, the Bruins went on an 8-0 run, capped by a 3-point play by Thomas, and were not threatened again. The Bruins finished off the game from the line, making 22-27 on the night, while the Warriors were 19-27 from the stripe.
It was the 4th straight victory for the Bruins, now 4-1 on the year, after a season-opening loss at Seattle University, while the Warriors slipped to 2-5.
George Fox looks to avenge its only defeat this season Saturday (Dec. 14), hosting Seattle at 5:00 p.m. Western Baptist returns to the hardwood Friday (Dec. 13), traveling to Linfield College for a tip-off at 7:00 p.m.