1/4 - GEORGE FOX 67, WHITWORTH 66: Bruins Bounce Back to Beat Conference Favorite Whitworth
SPOKANE, Wash. - Liz Clark's rebound of a missed free throw and subsequent two free throws with 0:09 left sealed a 67-66 Northwest Conference women's basketball victory for the visiting George Fox University Bruins over the Whitworth College Pirates Saturday night (Jan. 4) here at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
With the Bruins leading 65-63, Clark rebounded a missed free throw by teammate Kellie Thomas, then made two free throws, giving George Fox a 67-63 lead. Whitworth's Dani Bielec made a 3-pointer as time expired to pull the Pirates within 67-66.
Whitworth, the pre-season conference favorite, jumped out to a 16-4 lead in the first six minutes of the game, Tiffany Speer and Chrissy Oneal scoring all 16 of the Pirates' points. But the Bruins tightened up on defense and fought back to take a 22-21 lead on a basket by Clark. The teams traded leads until Whitworth went into halftime with a 29-26 lead.
It was George Fox that started fast in the second half, using a 13-4 run to take a 39-36 lead that they never lost. Darby Cave sparked the run with 7 points. The Bruins eventually extended the lead to 57-46 on a 3-pointer by Clark with 5:45 to play. Over the final five minutes, the Pirates forced six George Fox turnovers and made 10-11 free throws in a 15-6 run to pull within 64-63 with 11 seconds to play. Thomas was fouled and made the first free throw before Clark turned in her heroic effort.
Cave led George Fox with 18 points, while Clark had 13 and Thomas added 11. Laura Koval came off the bench to grab 8 rebounds as the Bruins out-rebounded the Pirates 46-32. Melissa Alexander handed out a game-high 7 assists. George Fox made 49.1% (26-53) of its shots for the game, including 60% (15-25) in the second half.
Whitworth was held to 31.1% shooting (19-61), making only 6-27 shots from 3-point range. Speer scored 27 points to lead the Pirates, while Sarah Shogren finished with 15. Speer, Shogren, and Oneal all had 6 rebounds.
Bouncing back from a 58-50 loss at Whitman the night before, the Bruins evened their conference record at 1-1 and are 6-5 overall. The Pirates fell to 1-1 in league play and 7-4 overall.
George Fox is off for a week, returning to NWC action Saturday (Jan. 11) with a 6:00 p.m. home game against Pacific University, followed by the men's game at 8:00 p.m.