12/13 - WESTERN BAPTIST 71, GEORGE FOX 68: Late Bruin Rally Falls Just Short in Loss to Warriors
SALEM, Ore. - Down by 23 points with 15 minutes to play, the George Fox University Bruins rallied to within a single point with a minute left, but could not complete the comeback and dropped a 71-68 decision to the Western Baptist College Warriors in a non-conference women's basketball game Saturday night here at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center.
The Bruins made just 5 of their initial 23 field goal attempts as the Warriors built a 20-point advantage, 34-14, with less than five minutes remaining in the first half. Western shot 48 percent (14-29) and connected on 13-16 from the line in the opening frame to take a 41-27 lead to the locker room.
Western Baptist outscored George Fox 12-3 to open the second half and took their biggest lead of the game, 53-30, with 14:52 remaining. However, the Bruins steadily cut into the deficit and a pair of free throws by Liz Clark pulled GFU within one, 69-68, with one minute to play. The Bruins committed two turnovers in the final minute, though, and Lindsy Brownell hit a jumper with 20 seconds left for the final margin.
Brownell paced the Warriors to their fourth win in a row with 17 points, while Toran Lundgren had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Former Bruin Jessica Gama and Jessi Schaumburg scored 11 points and Erin Plotts added 10. Tosha Wilson dished out 7 assists in the victory. Western Baptist shot 44 percent (24-54) from the field and made 23-27 from the foul line.
George Fox got 18 points apiece from Kim Leith and Kellie Thomas and 11 from Darby Cave, but could not overcome a difficult shooting game, finishing at 34 percent (20-59) for the night. The Bruins hit 8-26 from beyond the arc, but failed to convert from the line at the pace of the Warriors, making 20-31. Clark led the Bruins with a game-high 8 rebounds, but Western won the battle on the glass, 42-36.
The Bruins had a three-game winning streak snapped and are now 5-2 on the season, while the Warriors won their fourth straight and improved to 5-3.
George Fox is off until Tuesday, Dec. 30, when its hosts Concordia University-Portland in another non-league tilt at 7:00 p.m. Western Baptist commences its Cascade Collegiate Conference slate on Wednesday, Dec. 17, with a game at Oregon Tech, ranked 24th in the NAIA, starting at 5:30 p.m.