Women's Basketball Release
1/21 - GEORGE FOX 76, WILLAMETTE 48: Bruins Bounce Back to Batter Bearcats Behind Balanced Attack
SALEM, Ore. - Kim Leith led a balanced attack of five players in double figures with 16 points, 11 in a nine-minute span in the second half, as the George Fox University Bruins pulled away from the Willamette University Bearcats for a 76-48 victory in Northwest Conference women's basketball Saturday night here at Cone Field House.
Bouncing back quickly from Friday's gut-wrenching last-second overtime loss to Pacific Lutheran University, the Bruins scored the first six points of the game on baskets by Erin Powers, Robin Taylor, and Leith, and held a wire-to-wire lead for the seventh time this season. They took their first double-digit lead at 14-4 on a layup by Melissa Marek-Farris with 15:14 left in the first half, and stretched it to 15 at 23-8 on a three-pointer by Leith with 9:25 left. The Bearcats went on an 11-0 run at that point, Sara Brooks scoring eight with a pair of threes and Jennifer Bell hitting a trey, to cut the lead to four at 23-19 with 6:05 left, but the Bruins went on an 11-3 run to end the half up 34-22.
Leith's jumper put the Bruins ahead 38-22 early in the second half before the Bearcats made one final 8-0 run, getting within 38-30 on a pair of Brittany Farrer free throws with 16:11 to go. Leith broke the string with two free throws and scored 9 points in a five-minute stretch as the Bruins gradually pulled away. The final score was the Bruins' largest lead of the game as Mandee Spotts sank a fast-break layup at the buzzer.
Joining Leith in the scoring parade for the Bruins were Powers with 14, Katy Campbell and Marek-Farris with 11, and Kaleigha Ramey with 10. Campbell grabbed 9 rebounds as the Bruins controlled the boards 48-38. Marek-Farris blocked 4 shots, and the Bruin defense forced 24 turnovers while holding the Bearcats to a .274 shooting percentage (17-62).
Farrer scored 13 points to pace the Bearcats, including 9-12 from the free throw line, while Brooks added 11 and Bell 10. Brooks and Bell had 6 rebounds apiece.
George Fox, ranked 4th in both the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA and the D3hoops.com polls, improved to 15-2 overall and 6-2 in the conference, while Willamette tumbled to 5-11 overall and 0-8 in the league. The Bruins head to eastern Washington next weekend, playing at Whitworth College Friday, while the Bearcats remain home to take on Lewis & Clark College Tuesday. Both NWC games tip off at 6 p.m., followed by men's games at 8 p.m.