NEWBERG, Ore. - When it mattered the most, the 5th-ranked George Fox University Bruins came up with just enough to earn a hard-fought 50-46 victory over the Whitman College Missionaries in Northwest Conference women's basketball action Friday evening here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

The Bruins used several key stops in the last two minutes, including two huge blocks by Hannah Munger, who finished with a game-high 15 points, 15 rebounds, and five blocks. On top of her two stops, Munger chipped in the final points of the game on a layup at 1:45 that gave George Fox the four-point cushion it needed to hold on for the win.

Munger got the game going on a put-back before Rebecca Sexton countered by putting back her own miss. The teams traded baskets until the 12:29 mark, when Kelly Peterson and Dawna Mello hit back-to-back three-pointers to put the Missionaries up 17-12.  Arianna Mohsenian scored the next four points for the Bruins on a free throw and a trey to bring the home team within one.

Elise Kuenzi, who finished with 13 points, added two more layups over the next minute, but the Bruins went cold at the six-minute mark, shooting .230 (3-13) from the field the reset of the half. Whitman shot .544 (6-11) during that span, but only opened a four-point lead going into halftime, 30-26.

Both teams continued to battle at the beginning of the second period, trading baskets for the first seven minutes. At 12:16, Keisha Gordon scored on a post move, B.B. Gardner had a coast-to-coast lay-in, Munger scored on a put-back, and Gordon added two free throws, as the Bruins went on an 8-0 run to take the lead 41-39 with 8:16 to play.

Jennifer Keyes and Michelle Krall hit consecutive layups as Whitman retook the lead, but Mohsenian sank a key three-pointer to put the Bruins back up 44-43 with 4:37 to play. Gardner stole the ensuing inbounds pass and Munger was fouled on an attempted put-back, converting both attempts from the charity stripe.

Hilary White drained a deep three-pointer on the next possession to tie the game 46-46 with 3:49 remaining, but the Bruin defense took over and held the Missionaries scoreless until the end.  Gordon hit two free throws to make the score 48-46, then the George Fox defense forced a bad pass by White and Munger made a tough lay-in at 1:45.  She got her first big block at 1:25, then her second key rejection with eight seconds left, grabbed the rebound, and watched time expire. 

Both teams shot just over .320 from the field - Whitman .328 (20-61), George Fox .327 (17-52). GFU connected on only .650 (13-20) free throws, but the Missionaries hit only .600 (3-5) themselves.

Gordon finished with nine points on only 2-for-7 shooting, but added a clutch 5-5 performance from the foul line.  She added eight rebounds and Kuenzi had five as the Bruins held a 44-36 advantage on the boards. Gardner led the team with five assists.

White had team highs in points and rebounds with 12 and eight respectively. Sexton added nine points, all in the first half, and six rebounds. Krall also had six boards.

NOTES: George Fox (18-2, NWC 11-0) has won 14 in a row ... Against NWC opponents, the Bruins have won 30 straight, both in regular season only and in all game including post-season play ... Whitman (9-11, NWC 4-7) had a three-game winning streak snapped ... George Fox hosts Whitworth University Saturday, with tipoff set for 6:00 p.m. ... The GFU men will play the following game at 8:00 p.m. ... The Whitman women and men will head over to Forest Grove to take on Pacific University at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.