Box Score
NEWBERG, Ore. – Earning a third straight appearance
in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball National
Tournament, the unbeaten and No. 2-ranked George Fox University
Bruins claimed a 67-58 win over the University of Puget Sound
Loggers in the Northwest Conference Tournament championship game
Saturday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller
Gym.
By defeating the Loggers, whom they were meeting for the third
consecutive year in the NWC Tournament finals, the Bruins earned
the league's automatic berth, while Puget Sound (18-9) can
only hope for an at-large bid. George Fox,
ranked No. 2 in the WBCA poll and No. 3 by D3hoops.com, improved to
27-0, remaining one of two unbeatens in D-III women's hoops
(No. 1 Illinois Wesleyan University is the
other).
The Bruins and Loggers battled on even terms for the first 12
minutes of the game, forging five ties with neither taking more
than a three-point lead at any time. The Bruins
finally gained a bit of daylight when Carrie Myers broke a 15-15
tie with a layup with 7:54 left in the half and Sage Indendi
followed with a three-pointer for a 20-15 lead with 7:34 to
go. A rebound basket by Myers gave the Bruins
their largest lead of 11 at 30-19 with 1:26 remaining before
Courtney Blume's jumper cut the gap to 30-21 at the break.
The Loggers turned to point guard Claire Ely to get them back in
the game, and she responded by canning three straight buckets as
UPS pulled within five at 34-29 four minutes into the second
half. After Kristen Shielee got a putback to
make it 36-29, the Loggers got a three from Chelsi Shaw and jumpers
by Blume and Karen Chase to tie it 36-36 with 13:16 left.
Challenged by the UPS rally, the Bruins regained control on a
driving layup and free throw by Keisha Gordon.
Ely hit another jumper to make it 39-38 Bruins at the 12:15 mark,
but the home team would not be denied, ripping off 14 unanswered
points over the next four-plus minutes and surging to a 53-38 lead
with 7:55 to play. Three-pointers by Shaw,
Jocelyn Riordan, and Ely sparked one final effort by the Loggers to
come back as they climbed within seven at 55-48 with 4:44 left, but
the Bruins iced the game with a 9-2 run for a 64-50 lead with only
two minutes left.
George Fox shot .460 (23-50) from the field for the game while
Puget Sound hit .364 (20-55), although the Loggers did produce the
most points scored against the Bruins in a game this
season. The Bruins held a 39-33 advantage on the
boards, while the turnovers were even at 15 apiece.
Indendi and Shielee led all scorers with 20 points for the Bruins,
and Gordon added 10. It was a career high for
Shielee, who also notched her ninth double-double of the season
with 10 rebounds and blocked four shots, boosting her Bruin season
record total to 103. Elise Kuenzi added nine
rebounds, while Indendi had four assists and four steals.
Ely led the Loggers with 17 points and Shaw chimed in with
11. Chase had a team-high 10 rebounds, and Ely
passed out five assists.
The Bruins now await word on their destination in the national
tournament. All teams for the 63-team playoffs
and the brackets will be announced by the NCAA around 8:00 a.m.
Pacific time Monday.
