Women's Basketball Release
1/2 - GEORGE FOX 74, BIOLA 73: Bruins Edge Eagles to Tie Team Record with 11th Straight Win
LA MIRADA, Calif. - Katy Campbell's free throw with 0:09 remaining broke a 73-73 tie and lifted the George Fox University Bruins to their 11th straight win, tying the school record, for a 74-73 victory over the Biola University Eagles in a non-conference women's basketball game Tuesday afternoon here at Biola's Chase Gym.
The game featured several spurts by both teams. The visiting Bruins jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and stretched it to 15-9 on a three-pointer by Kim Leith seven minutes into the game. The Eagles rallied with a 20-6 run over the next seven minutes, however, to go up 29-21 on a jumper by Lindsey Richelli. The Bruins then out-scored the home team 20-9 to end the period, taking a 40-37 lead into the locker room when Campbell made a steal and fed Tiffany Behary for a layup with eight seconds left.
After Behary hit a three to open the second half, the Eagles' 6-6 Nigerian center, Linda Ogugua, scored 10 of her game-high 20 points to spark a 22-6 run that put Biola up by 10 at 59-49 with 13 minutes left. Two free shots and a layup by Leith slowed the Eagles and started a 16-5 burst, capped by a layup and a pair of free throws by Behary, that enabled the Bruins to forge back on top 65-64 with 7:54 to play.
Robin Taylor's three gave George Fox a 73-68 lead with 3:15 left, but Biola tied it for the 10th time on a trey by Rachel Dulin and a jumper by Crystal Duncan with 36 seconds to go. Leith missed a go-ahead jumper with 12 seconds left, but Campbell collared the offensive rebound and was fouled by Jessica Velazquez, then hit the front end of a one-and-one to break the deadlock. Ogugua rebounded the miss on the second shot, but the Bruin defense kept the Eagles from getting off a shot in the final nine seconds.
Behary led the Bruins with a career-high 18 points, Leith and Taylor added 16 apiece, and Tiffany Schmidt scored 11 off the bench. Campbell's 11 rebounds paced the Bruins to a 40-29 advantage on the boards over the taller Eagles. Behary and Taylor had 6 assists each, and Behary made 4 steals.
Ogugua posted a double-double for the Eagles with 20 points and 11 rebounds, Dulin added 18 points, and Duncan and Megann Alberts scored 10 each. Dulin passed out 7 assists and Duncan had 6.
The Bruins shot only 38.5% (25-65) in the game to 54.4% (31-57) for the Eagles, but made up the difference by hitting 10-12 (83.3%) from the line and making 14 three-pointers to 6 for the Eagles. Six different players nailed threes for the Bruins in their first game this season decided by less than 10 points.
In winning 11 in a row, George Fox (11-0), ranked 2nd in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division III coaches' poll and 3rd in the D3hoops.com poll, equaled a mark set in the middle of the 2000-01 season and tied at the start of the 2001-02 season. The Bruins will try to establish a new record for consecutive wins when they visit the University of Puget Sound for a Northwest Conference clash Friday at 6:00 p.m., followed by the men's game at 8:00 p.m.
Biola (4-6), an NAIA team, returns to action Thursday at 5:30 p.m., hosting The Master's College in a Golden State Athletic Conference contest.