Press Release
2/3 - PUGET SOUND 59, GEORGE FOX 44: Loggers Defeat Slumping Bruins to Maintain Share of NWC Lead
NEWBERG, Ore. - In a defensive battle in which both teams struggled all night to find their shooting touch, the University of Puget Sound Loggers hung on long enough to down the slumping George Fox University Bruins 59-44 in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game Friday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
Both teams missed their first three shots before Sarah Carnahan's three-pointer put Puget Sound on the scoreboard, and the Loggers maintained a slim lead for most of the half. George Fox went ahead for the first time at 13-12 on a jumper by Tiffany Schmidt with 8:49 to play, and a layup by Kim Leith boosted the margin to 18-15 with 6:46 left. The Loggers regained the lead for good 24-22 on pair of free throws by Karen Chase with 2:43 to go, and the Loggers led 28-24 at the break.
A seven-minute scoreless drought struck the Bruins to open the second half, during which they missed nine shots while the Loggers were building a 36-24 lead. The Bruins finally got on the board in the half on Robin Taylor's two free throws with 12:54 to play, and Katy Campbell's jumper with 10:33 left gave the Bruins their first basket in over 12 minutes, cutting the deficit to 36-28. It was as close as the Bruins would get, however. Despite holding UPS to only 25% shooting (7-28) in the half, the Bruins did exactly the same thing, and could never close the gap.
For the game, George Fox shot 27.8% (15-54), and were even more futile from three-point range, hitting only 14.3% (3-21). Puget Sound was not much better, making 32.7% (18-55) on all their shots and 34.8% (8-23) from beyond the arc.
Leith led the Bruins with 11 points and Kaleigha Ramey came off the bench to score 10. Schmidt just missed a double-double with 9 points and 9 rebounds. Ramey and Schmidt were a combined 8-11 from the field.
Carnahan did manage a double-double for the Loggers with game highs of 14 points and 10 rebounds, and nearly made it a triple-double with 8 assists. Chase and Laua Hirsh chipped in with 12 points each. Kilty Keaton, who had 31 points in the Loggers' 85-61 win over the Bruins in Tacoma earlier in the season, was held to only 7 points this time.
The Bruins dropped their third in a row in falling to 15-5 overall and 6-5 in the conference. The Loggers posted their 9th straight win to improve to 18-3 overall, and maintained at least a share of first place in the league at 10-2.
George Fox hosts Pacific University Saturday at 6 p.m. on Homecoming night, while Puget Sound is off until next Friday when they visit Whitworth College, also at 6 p.m. Both games will be followed by men's NWC contests at 8 p.m.