NEWBERG, Ore. – Bouncing back from their first loss against Northwest Conference regular season competition in over two years on Friday, the George Fox University Bruins blew past the Pacific University Boxer 89-53 in their NWC women's basketball home opener Saturday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

George Fox, ranked 20th in the latest WBCA Division III poll and 21st by D3hoops.com, improved to 9-4 overall and 3-1 in the conference.  The Bruins' loss at Lewis & Clark the night before had ended a 37-game winning streak against the NWC in league play, and a 40-game streak including NWC Tournament and NCAA post-season games.  Pacific had its three-game winning streak snapped, falling to 5-7 overall and 1-3 in the NWC.

The Bruins took over the game immediately, scoring the game's first 15 points, highlighted by three-pointers from Arianna Mohsenian, Keisha Gordon, and Hayley Cusick.  Their first 13 points came in the first four minutes before the Boxers, committing six turnovers, could even get a shot off.  Pacific finally got on the board when Brittany Anderson hit a layup at the 14:35 mark, but 12 points was as close as the Boxers would get the rest of the game.

The Bruins led at the half 45-20 after shooting .516 (16-31) in the period while holding the Boxers to a .333 percentage (6-18) and forcing 17 turnovers.  Mohsenian led all scorers with 13 points, hitting a trio of threes, and Gordon added 12.  Alissa Nergaard off the bench led the Boxers with five points.

George Fox continued to extend its lead by scoring the first six points of the second half on two free throws by Megan Arnoldy and baskets by Hannah Munger and Gordon, making it 51-20 with 17 minutes to left.  The Bruins eventually built a 42-point lead which they hit three times, the last at 77-35 on a layup by Breezy Rinehart-Young with 6:34 remaining. 

The Boxers out-scored the Bruins 18-12 over the final six minutes, including a pair of threes by Ashley Jacobs and one by Erica Schultz.

Gordon led all scorers with 17 points for the Bruins, while Munger added 14, Mohsenian 13, and Rinehart-Young 12, tying her career high.  Jordin Ketelsen led the Bruins' bench players with eight points and seven rebounds, both career highs.  The Bruins shot .547 (35-64) as a team, including .556 (10-18) from beyond the arc.  Munger had eight rebounds as the Bruins controlled the backboards 39-24.  Kylee Parker had a career-high six assists as the Bruins piled up 26 in all.  Gordon had four steals out of the Bruins' total of 19, as Pacific made 29 turnovers to 20 for George Fox.

Schultz topped the Boxers with 14 points, all in the second half, and Jacobs chipped in with 12.  Pacific shot .370 (17-46) from the floor, .313 (5-16) from three-point range.  Paige Jensen had a team-high seven rebounds and three steals, and Jacobs made three assists. 

NEXT: George Fox hosts the eastern Washington NWC teams next weekend, starting with Whitworth University Friday at 6:00 p.m.  The game will be part of an NWC doubleheader, with the men's game to follow at 8:00 p.m. ... Pacific hosts Warner Pacific College Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. in the makeup of a game that was postponed from Nov. 23.