12/12 - GEORGE FOX 60, ST. MARTIN'S 52: Bruins Hang On for Win over D-II Opponent St. Martin's
NEWBERG, Ore. - Pulling off their first win over an NCAA Division II opponent in Scott Rueck's eight years as a coach, the George Fox University Bruins gave up all but one point of a 22-point lead but hung on at the end to defeat the St. Martin's College Saints 60-52 in a non-conference women's basketball game Friday night here at Miller Gym in the Wheeler Sports Center.
Both teams began the game cold, the Bruins getting only a jumper by Sarah Myhre and the Saints only a pair of free throws by Julia Eisentrout in the first 7 minutes of the game. George Fox went on 15-0 run midway through the period, however, to take a 20-4 lead, and stretched it to 30-11 at the half. The Bruin defense forced 11 first-half turnovers by St. Martin's and held the Saints to a meager .097 shooting percentage (3-31).
Melissa Alexander's 3-pointer early in the second half boosted the Bruins' lead to its largest of the night at 33-11with 17:50 to play, but the Saints fought back behind some tighter pressure that caused 11 second-half George Fox turnovers and the hot hand of Martina Kartikova, who had 17 points in the final period. Kartikova's layup with 2:45 left cut the Bruins' lead to 51-50, but Darby Cave's rebound layup and long triple by Liz Clark put the home team back up 56-50 with 1:56 left and finally took the steam out of the Saints.
Kim Leith sparked the Bruins twice, once in each half, with a trio of 3-pointers off the bench and wound up with a team-high 14 points, while Cave added 13 and Alexander 10. Kellie Thomas grabbed 10 rebounds, a career high, and Clark had 9 to lead the Bruins to a 43-41 edge on the boards. Thomas and Leith had 5 assists apiece.
Kartikova finished with 19 points and Eisentrout had 17 as the only Saints in double figures. Kartikova made it a double-double evening with a game-high 14 rebounds, while Beth Layton had a team-high 4 assists.
George Fox is now 5-1 after winning its third in a row, while St. Martin's lost for the second straight time and slipped to 3-4.
The Bruins are back in action quickly, visiting Western Baptist College in Salem Saturday (Dec. 13) at 7:30 p.m. The Saints head for San Bernardino, Calif., next weekend, where they will take on California State University-San Bernardino in the Sheraton-Ontario Airport Coyote Classic at 7:00 p.m. Friday (Dec. 19). Western Oregon University and the University of California-Davis play at 5:00 p.m. in the other first-round match-up.