Press Release
1/28 - WHITMAN 62, GEORGE FOX 58: Missionaries Bump Bruins on Higgins' Four Freebies in Final Seconds
WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Megan Higgins sank four throws in the final 19 seconds, two that broke a tie and two that sealed the game, as the Whitman College Missionaries knocked off the George Fox University Bruins 62-58 in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game Saturday night here at the Sherwood Center.
The game was a nail-biter throughout, as neither team ever had a double-digit lead. Whitman held the advantage for most of the first half, three times going up by as many as seven. Kate Patneaude's three-point basket gave the Missionaries a 28-21 lead with 1:15 left in the half, but the Bruins closed with an 8-2 rush, Robin Taylor's three-pointer at the buzzer cutting it to 30-29 Whitman at the break. After the Missionaries took a 34-31 lead early in the second half on a pair of free throws by Lizzy Washburn, Tiffany Behary started a 9-0 run for the Bruins with a three-pointer and capped it with jumper for a 40-34 George Fox lead with 16:04 to play. They upped the lead to as much as eight on a free throw by Erin Powers for a 50-42 margin with 8:37 left before the Missionaries began a methodical comeback. A free throw by Washburn with 1:54 left produced a 56-56 tie, and after Powers put the Bruins back up with a pair of free throws, Higgins hit a jumper to make it 58-58 with 1:20 remaining.
The Bruins victimized themselves with three turnovers in the final minute that proved fatal. Laura Vertatschitsch gave the Bruins hope by missing two free throws after the first turnover, but the Missionaries capitalized on the other two. Patneaude missed a three with 25 seconds left, but Higgins collared the offensive rebound, was fouled, and hit the winning charity tosses with 19 seconds to go. Her final two with 0:03 left iced the win after the third Bruin miscue of the final 65 seconds.
The Bruins were paced by a trio of 12-point scorers in Taylor, Behary, and Katy Campbell, the latter recording the first double-double of her career by hauling down a game-high 10 rebounds. Behary had 4 assists and made 3 steals. The Bruins shot well, connecting on 52.4% (22-42) from the field, including 45.5% (5-11) from three-point range, while holding the Missionaries to only 36.8% (21-57) and 35.3% (6-17) from beyond the arc. George Fox also owned the boards 35-28, but twice as many turnovers (24-12) were costly.
Higgins led the Missionaries with 13 points, Washburn and Patneaude had 11, and Sarah Laird scored 10. Washburn had a team-high 8 rebounds and 4 steals, while Vertatschitsch passed out 4 assists.
George Fox, ranked 10th in the latest WBCA poll and 14th in the D3hoops.com poll, dropped its third game in the last four and fell to 15-4 overall and 6-4 in the conference, three game behind first-place Pacific Lutheran University. If the Bruins are to successfully defend their 2005 NWC crown, they will need to have a successful run through their final six games, five of which are at home, while getting help from others in their pursuit of PLU and second-place University of Puget Sound. Whitman is now 9-9 overall and 5-5 in the league.
The Bruins host Puget Sound Friday at 6 p.m. as Homecoming weekend gets under way at the university, while Whitman travels to Lewis & Clark College Friday at 6 p.m. Both will be followed by men's NWC contests at 8 p.m.