Press Release
1/20 - GEORGE FOX 77, LEWIS & CLARK 73: Bruins Hold Off Pioneers for 7th Win in a Row
PORTLAND, Ore. - Buoyed by a hot early hand that saw them hit eight of their first 10 three-point tries, the George Fox University Bruins took a 13-point first-half lead but had to fight off a feisty Lewis & Clark College team that would not go away to beat the Pioneers 77-73 in Northwest Conference women's basketball Saturday night here at the Pamplin Sports Center.
With their seventh straight win, the Bruins improved to 11-4 overall and 7-1 in the conference, remaining tied for first in the league with the University of Puget Sound, a 61-44 winner over Linfield College Saturday. The Pioneers dropped to 10-7 overall and 3-5 in league play. It was the 25th straight win for the Bruins over the Pios in the series.
George Fox came out blazing from long range as Katy Campbell, Jaime Hubka, and Campbell again hit the Bruins' first three shot attempts from downtown for a 9-0 lead three minutes into the game. Allison Farr's rebound basket got Lewis & Clark going, igniting a 16-7 run that pulled the Pios into a 16-16 tie when Samantha Jonasson scored on a fast break layup with 11:53 left. The Bruins responded with an 8-0 run on a basket by Robin Taylor and a pair of threes by Nicole Hudson, taking a 24-16 lead with 9:30 to go, and eventually stretched it to 13 at 36-23 on a jumper by Campbell with three minutes left. It was 42-32 Bruins at the half.
With five different players scoring, the Pioneers went on a 10-2 run and closed within two at 44-42 five minutes into the second half, and the game remained tight the rest of the way. Twice the Bruins took eight-point leads, the last at 71-63 with 5:06 left on a three by Tiffany Behary, but the Pios again closed within two at 73-71 on a three-point play by Farr with 1:19 to go.
Taylor hit a pair of free throws for a 75-71Bruin lead at 1:04, only to have Farr hit a drive in the lane to make it 75-73 with 56 seconds left. A backcourt violation gave the Pioneers the ball with 20 seconds left, but Crystal Castle missed a baseline drive and the Bruins recovered on a jump ball possession with 4.5 seconds left. Taylor iced the game with two more free throws with 3.4 seconds to go.
Taylor had 19 points to lead the Bruins, while Campbell added 17, Hudson had 12 on four three-pointers, and Melissa Marek-Farris had 11. Taylor had six rebounds and five assists, and Marek-Farris and Kristen Shielee blocked three shots each. The Bruins shot .500 (26-52) as a team, including .556 (10-18) from three-point range, and made .750 (15-20) on free throws.
Castle led all scorers with 20 for the Pioneers, Farr scored 16, Jonasson had 12, and Carrie Centlivre added 10. Jonasson made it a double-double with 11 rebounds as the Pios controlled the glass 37-32. Sarah Moon handed out eight assists. The Pios shot .387 (24-62) and were only .250 (3-12) from beyond the arc, but befitting the 8th-best free throw shooting team in the nation, they hit .880 (22-25) from the line.
George Fox begins the second half of the conference season Tuesday with a visit to Yamhill County rival Linfield College for a 6 p.m. game. Lewis & Clark hosts Whitman College Friday, also at 6 p.m. Both games will be followed by men's NWC games at 8 p.m.