Box
Score
NEWBERG, Ore. - Beginning a stretch of five home games out of
their final six to close the regular season in fine fashion, the
18th-ranked George Fox University Bruins cruised to a 78-34 win
over the Willamette University Bearcats in Northwest Conference
women's basketball action Friday evening here at the Wheeler Sports
Center's Miller Gym.
The game was tied only once, at 2-2, after two Tiffany Behary
free throws for the Bruins followed by a layup by the Bearcats'
Tracie Nygaard. A layup by Melissa Marek-Farris gave the Bruins the
lead for good two minutes in and started a 20-2 run that put the
home team ahead 22-4 midway through the first half. The Bearcats
got no closer than 13 the rest of the way, and trailed 34-12 at the
half.
After shooting .400 (12-30) in the first half, the Bruins
continued to build their lead by connecting on .556 (15-27) in the
second half and going on two runs of eight unanswered points and
another of 11. The Bruins took their largest lead of 44 points at
71-27 with 4:14 remaining on a rebound basket by Kristen Shielee, a
mark they equaled with 24 seconds left on a three-point play by
Mandee Spotts that closed out the scoring.
Twelve of the 14 Bruins who played scored, with Marek-Farris
leading all scorers with 16 points. Jaime Hubka added 13, including
a trio of three-pointers, Katy Campbell added 11 while shooting 5-6
from the field, and Kristen Sheilee came off the bench to score 10.
Marek-Farris was the top rebounder with eight, leading the Bruins
to a 40-27 advantage on the boards. Behary passed out four assists.
The Bruins forced 28 turnovers while committing only 12, and Hubka
had five of their 13 steals. George Fox shot .474 (27-57) for the
game while holding Willamette to .302 (13-43). The Bruins also held
a decided edge at the free throw line, making 18-29 (.621) to only
3-6 (.500) for the visitors.
Alex Zenna came off the bench to lead the Bearcats with 11
points and three assists, while leading scorer Molly Fillion was
limited to nine points, hitting 3-3 from three-point range. Nicki
Clowdsley was the leading rebounder with seven.
George Fox (18-2, NWC 10-1), which had its record 12-game
winning streak snapped last Saturday at the University of Puget
Sound, stayed a half-game behind the first-place Loggers, who were
62-52 winners at Linfield College. The Bruins host Linfield
Saturday at 6:00 p.m. on Homecoming Night. Willamette (4-16, NWC
2-9) hosts Pacific Lutheran University Saturday at 6:00 p.m. Both
games will be followed by NWC men's contests at 8:00 p.m.
