NEWBERG, Ore. - In a matchup of the teams picked to finish 1-2 in the Northwest Conference women's basketball coaches poll, the George Fox University Bruins won a seesaw overtime battle with the University of Puget Sound Loggers 65-62 in the league opener for both teams Saturday afternoon here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

The Bruins, ranked 12th in WBCA national poll and 16th in the D3hoops.com poll, improved to 8-2 overall while winning their 20th straight regular-season conference game.  The Loggers, listed among "others receiving votes" in both polls, had their seven-game winning streak snapped and slipped to 8-2.

George Fox jumped out to a 7-2 lead four-and-a-half minutes into the game on two layups by Hannah Munger and a three-pointer by Keisha Gordon.  Puget Sound, after missing seven of its first eight shots, got going with threes by Claire Ely and Jocelyn Riordan and went on a 16-7 tear, capped by a pair of Lindsay Layland free throws, to build an 18-14 lead with 7:17 left.  After the Bruins' Lindsay Keener and Ely traded two free throws each, Laura Silva came off the Bruins' bench to sink a trio of threes in the final 3:07, including one with four seconds left, to put the home team up 27-25 at the break.

Three free throws by Kelsey McKinnis gave the Loggers an early second-half lead, and the visitors twice built it to six points, the last at 45-39 on a Sha'Ran Lowe layup with 9:20 left.  The Bruins regained the lead with an 8-0 run over the next four minutes, capped by two free throws and a layup by Elise Kuenzi for a 48-45 advantage.  In the final three-and-a-half minutes of regulation, there were four ties and four lead changes.  The Bruins took a 56-55 lead with 51 seconds left on two charity tosses by Keener, only to have the Loggers tie it with 10 ticks left as Layland made the second of two free throws.  Keener missed a three from the right corner as time expired to send it into overtime at 56-all.

After Ely opened the extra period with a steal and layup, Gordon put the Bruins on top with a three, and the teams swapped leads three more times before Munger gave the Bruins the lead for good 63-62 with a power move off a lob from Gordon with 19 seconds left.  Ely, maneuvering inside for the potential go-ahead basket, instead was stripped of the ball with five seconds left by Kuenzi, who sank two free throws after a desperation foul for the final margin.

Gordon led the Bruins with 13 points, Munger had her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and B.B. Gardner added 10 points.  Silva and Kuenzi chipped in with nine points apiece.  George Fox shot .407 (22-54) from the field and controlled the glass 37-30, including 18 on the offensive end.  Gardner handed out eight assists, Munger blocked three shots, and Gordon made three steals.

Ely, the conference's leading scorer, topped all scorers with 20 points for the Loggers, and Riordan added 13.  Puget Sound shot .396 (21-53) from the floor and .842 (16-19) from the line.  Ludwig had a team-high nine rebounds, while Ely contributed four assists and made five steals.

NOTES: The Bruins' last overtime game was a 76-71 win over Lewis & Clark College in the semi-finals of the NWC Tournament on Feb. 27, 2008 ... The last regular-season NWC setback for George Fox was a 45-35 loss at Lewis & Clark on Feb. 15, 2008.  The Bruins won their last three conference games that season before going 16-0 against the league last year en route to a 32-0 record and the NCAA Division III national championship ... George Fox hosts Pacific University Monday at 6:00 p.m. in conference action, with the GFU-Pacific men's game to follow at 8:00 p.m. ... Puget Sound visits Linfield College Sunday for a 4:00 p.m. NWC contest, followed by the men's game at 6:00 p.m.