1/30 - WHITWORTH 78, GEORGE FOX 71: Whitworth Explodes in Last 12 Minutes to Burst Bruins' Bubble
NEWBERG, Ore. - Down by five with 12 minutes to play, the Whitworth College Pirates scored 14 unanswered points to take control, and 39 points in those 12 minutes, to overcome the home-standing George Fox University Bruins in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game Friday night here at Miller Gym in the Wheeler Sports Center.
George Fox opened the game with an 8-0 run and led by as many as 12 points twice in the first half before the Pirates closed within six, 27-21, at the break. The Bruins held the Pirates to 29.6% shooting (8-27) and stopped Tiffany Speer, the Pirates' stellar post player who leads the conference in scoring, with only 4 first-half points on 1-7 shooting and a pair of free throws.
The Bruins were up by 5 at 44-39 on a jumper by Kim Leith with 11:52 to play, and then the Pirates caught fire, out-scoring the Bruins 14-0 over the next 3 1/2 minutes. Speer canned 6 free throws and Katie Regier hit two big 3-pointers before the Bruins stopped the slide with a layup by Kellie Thomas. Seven points was as close as the Bruins could get, however, as the Pirates hit 22-27 free throws in the half to stay comfortably in front.
Leith tied her career high with 20 points to lead the Bruins, Darby Cave added 16 on 7-10 shooting, and Thomas added 13. Amy Fitch had a career-high 10 rebounds, leading the Bruins to a 40-35 edge on the boards, and tied her career best with 8 assists.
Speer led all scorers with 24 points, 20 in the second half and hitting 13-13 from the line, while Micki DesMarais added 16, Dani Bielec 14, and Wenchi Liu 12. Bielec had a double-double with 11 rebounds, and Liu had 5 assists.
George Fox fell to 9-6 overall and 3-4 in the conference, while Whitworth climbed to 13-4 overall and 5-3 in the conference.
The Bruins are back in conference action Saturday (Jan. 31), hosting Whitman College on the school's Homecoming evening. The Pirates are off until next Friday (Feb. 6), when they will visit Lewis & Clark College. Both games are at 6:00 p.m., followed by men's games at 8:00 p.m.