by Jared Beilby, Student Intern

SALEM, Ore. – Junior Lauren Codling grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds and the George Fox University Bruins defeated the host Willamette University Bearcats 71-42 in a Northwest Conference women's basketball clash on Friday night here at Willamette's Cone Field House.

Ranked 8th nationally by D3hoops.com and 12th in the WBCA poll, the Bruins (15-1, 6-1 NWC) showed a strong response after last Saturday's loss against 3rd-ranked Whitman College by outclassing the Bearcats (3-13, 1-6 NWC) with a deep bench as 11 Bruins scored at least one point.

George Fox built an early lead and went up 21-9 when sophomore Jordyn Peacock sank a jumper with 11 minutes left in the first half. They had to stave off an 8-0 Willamette run immediately after, but finished the first half strong to take a 40-25 lead at the break. Peacock paced George Fox with nine first half points.

The Bruins faced a more competitive Bearcat team at the start of the second half, but by the 13:07 mark, the Bruin lead had stretched to 21. A pair of Bearcat three-pointers within the next minute, however, cut the margin to 52-35. Despite the long-range threat, the Bruin defense stayed strong and limited the Bearcats to seven points the rest of the way.

Senior Megan Arnoldy led George Fox in scoring with 12 points and Justine Brenner joined her in double digits with 10. Codling's 17 boards is a season high for the Bruins and easily surpassed her team-leading average of 6.5 rebounds per game.  Collectively, the Bruins shot 31-73 (42.5%) and out-rebounded the Bearcats 43-29. The Bruins also dominated the paint, outscoring the Bearcats 42-8 under the rim.

Willamette was guided by junior Katie Kalugin with 15 in the scoring department while senior Alexa Beeson pulled down a team-high six rebounds. As a team, Willamette shot 14-40 (35.0%) from the field.

NEXT: George Fox comes back to Newberg Saturday to face the University of Puget Sound at 6 p.m. The men play afterwards at 8 p.m. … Willamette stays home Saturday as they'll host Pacific Lutheran University at 6 p.m. The men's game follows at 8 p.m.