Box
Score
PORTLAND, Ore. – A stout defensive effort that held
Lewis & Clark College to only eight second-half points enabled
the visiting George Fox University Bruins to set a new record for
best start to a season with their 12th straight win, a 59-39
victory over the Pioneers in a Northwest Conference women's
basketball game Friday evening here at the Pamplin Sports Center.
With the win, the Bruins (12-0) eclipsed the previous mark of 11
wins to open a season accomplished by the 2001-02 and 2005-06
teams. They also equaled their record for the
most consecutive wins at any point in a season, last year's
team having won 12 in a row at mid-season. The
Bruins will try for a record 13th straight win Saturday when they
host the University of Puget Sound at 6:00 p.m.
With Keisha Gordon hitting two layups and a three-pointer, the
Bruins exploded to a 16-6 lead six minutes into the
game. After the Pios' Megan Spence and the
Bruins' Breezy Rinehart-Young traded baskets, leaving the
score 18-8 with 13:30 left in the half, the Bruins went ice-cold
while the Pios turned red-hot. Fueled by a pair
of Kimberly Kittell threes and one by Talerra Rich, the home team
went on a 17-2 tear over a seven-and-a-half minute span to jump
ahead 25-20.
A driving basket by Sage Indendi brought the Bruins out of their
doldrums, and they managed to tie the game 29-29 on two free throws
by Gordon with 2:06 to go. Margaret
Dowling's backdoor layup at 1:47 gave the Pios a 31-29 lead,
a slim advantage they took into the break as neither team could
score the rest of the period.
The Bruins scored the first nine points of the second half to
regain the lead at 38-31, Gordon and Kristen Shielee getting two
layups apiece, and held the Pios scoreless for over eight
minutes. Christina Herring's three with
11:58 to play ended the Pios' scoreless streak, and the home
team closed within three at 42-39 on a jumper by Rich with 7:48
left. Those were the last points the Pios would
score, however, as the Bruins went on a 17-0 closing run to turn
the game into a rout.
Gordon led all scorers with 17 points and Shielee added 11 for the
Bruins, who shot .420 (21-50) from the field while holding the Pios
to a.286 shooting percentage (16-56) for the game, and a mere .103
(3-29) in the second half. The Bruins held a big
advantage at the foul line, hitting 16-24 to only 2-6 for the
Pios. Elise Kuenzi led all rebounders with 11,
and B.B. Gardner passed out five assists. The
Bruins also forced 22 turnovers with 12 steals, four by Gordon.
Herring was the only Pioneer in double figures with 10 points,
Dowling grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, and Kittell had four
assists before fouling out.
George Fox is now 3-0 in the conference, while Lewis & Clark
is 6-6 overall and 0-3 in league play. The
Pioneers host Pacific University Saturday at 6:00 p.m. while the
Bruins welcome Puget Sound, both games to be followed by NWC
men's games at 8:00 p.m.
