Whitworth, ranked 14th in the latest WBCA poll and 19th in the D3hoops.com poll, fell behind 4-0 as the Bruins got baskets from Kim Leith and Kellie Thomas, but recovered to take as much as a 10-point lead and were up 29-21 at the break. The Pirates stretched it to 12 at 33-21 on a layup by First Team All-American Tiffany Speer with 18:32 to play before the Bruins caught fire.
After hitting only 1-16 from three-point range in the first half, the Bruins made three in a row in a 13-0 run, capped by a go-ahead jumper by Erin Powers, that gave them a 34-33 lead at the 15:23 mark. The Bruins took a 47-43 lead on a three-point shot by Katy Campbell with 10:13 to play, but would not score again until Robin Taylor's basket with 5:38 to go. The Pirates went on an 8-0 run in that span to regain a 51-47 lead that they would not relinquish, and then scored on three of their next four possessions to effectively ice the game, taking a 58-51 lead with 1:11 to play.
Thomas scored 16 points for the upset-minded Bruins, and Leith finished with 10 points despite foul trouble that limited her to 16 minutes of playing time. Liz Clark led George Fox with 11 rebounds, but the Bruins were over-powered on the boards by the bigger Pirates 45-32. The Bruins, leading the league and ranked 3rd nationally in three-pointers per game, made 7-33 from beyond the arc, breaking their former record for three-point tries in a game of 31 at Lewis & Clark College on Feb. 8, 2000.
Sarah Shogren led Whitworth with 17 points and 13 rebounds, her 7th double-double of the season. Speer added 15 points, but struggled by shooting only 3-9 from the field, and Holly Ridings finished with 10 points. Speer and Dani Bielec had 4 assists apiece. The game was decided at the free throw line, where Whitworth made 15-23 while the Bruins got only 6-8.
George Fox is now 7-4 overall and 1-1 in the conference, while Whitworth, off to its best start ever, is 11-0 overall and 2-0 in the league. The Pirates visit 6th-ranked University of Puget Sound Friday and the Bruins host Linfield College Saturday in their next action, both games at 6:00 p.m. followed by men's games at 8:00 p.m.