Press Release
11/25 - GEORGE FOX 69, ST. MARY'S 58: Bruins Snare Trinity Tournament Title over Ravens
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Forward Katy Campbell and point guard Tiffany Behary combined for 42 points, 33 of them in the second half, as the George Fox University Bruins rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit to defeat the St. Mary's College Ravens 69-58 and claim the Trinity University Thanksgiving Classic women's basketball tournament title Sunday afternoon here at Sams Gymnasium.
The first half was close through the first 11 minutes, MaryAnne Samples' three-pointer with 9:42 left bringing the Bruins within two points of the Ravens at 16-14. A 12-2 outburst, capped by a three from Megan Conaty, gave the team from Notre Dame, Indiana, a 28-16 lead with 5:42 to go, but the Bruins bounced back behind a pair of threes by Jamie Hubka and one from Behary to close within one at 28-27 with 1:44 remaining. St. Mary's got a basket by Alison Kessler at 1:33 to take a 30-27 lead into halftime.
Behary canned another three 30 seconds into the second half to tie it 30-30, and the teams battled on even terms for the next 12 minutes, with four leads changes and two more ties. Back-to-back baskets by Anna Kammrath secured a 43-43 tie for the Ravens with 7:40 to play, but Campbell sank two free throws with 7:16 remaining to break the deadlock, and the Bruins never trailed again. Over the next five minutes, Campbell scored eight points and Behary seven in a 15-6 Bruin run that raised the score to 60-49 with 2:45 to play. A basket by Melissa Marek-Farris and 7-of-8 free throw shooting by the Bruins in the final 1:20 kept the Ravens at bay.
Campbell finished with 23 points and Behary 19 for the Bruins, who scorched the nets in the second half, hitting .571 (12-21) from the field. Campbell and Marek-Farris had seven rebounds each as the Bruins held a slight edge on the glass, 29-28. Marek-Farris also had a team-high four assists and three blocked shots. Behary and Campbell had three steals apiece.
Kessler, who set a St. Mary's single-season scoring record last year, had 19 points to pace the Ravens, while Erin Newsom added 17 and Kammrath 12. Newsom had nine rebounds, Katie Rashid passed out four assists, and Kammrath had four steals and three blocks.
The pairings for all four games of the tournament were pre-set, but with George Fox defeating Trinity 55-53 and St. Mary's hammering the College of Notre Dame (Md.) 92-44 on Saturday, the second day's matchups featured the two 1-0 teams in the first game and the two 0-1 teams in the second. Trinity knocked off Notre Dame 98-51 in the consolation game.
Campbell was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, while Behary was also an All-Tournament selection, along with Kessler, Krista Prato Matthews and Megan Scholbe of Trinity, and Sasha Matthew of Notre Dame.
George Fox (4-0) is off until Saturday, Dec. 8, when the Bruins will play their home opener against Warner Pacific College at 6:00 p.m. St. Mary's is now 2-3, Trinity 4-1, and Notre Dame 2-3.