By Jared Beilby, Student Intern

McMINNVILLE, Ore. – After a slow first half, the nationally-ranked George Fox University Bruins put away a pesky Linfield College squad with a 30-13 run over the last 11 minutes to pull out a 64-57 win over the Wildcats in a Northwest Conference women's basketball contest on Tuesday night here in the Ted Wilson Gym.

Ranked 7th in the county by D3hoops.com and 10th by the WBCA, the Bruins (17-1, 8-1 NWC) had to rally past the Wildcats (6-12, 2-7 NWC) in a victory that starkly contrasted with December's earlier season matchup, won 86-36 by the Bruins.

The Wildcats started hot and led 12-6 with 12 minutes left in the first half. The Bruin shots eventually began falling and sophomore Nicole Blizzard hit a corner three-pointer at the 7:46 mark to put the Bruins up 19-16. However, the Wildcats managed to stay competitive and the margin stood at 29-27 Linfield entering halftime.

The second half began bright with George Fox building an early lead before Linfield climbed to a 44-34 advantage.  Then the Bruins really got going and went on a 22-6 run. Blizzard's second trey gave George Fox a 51-50 advantage with 6:26 left. Junior Jami Roos also hit twice from downtown during the run and George Fox was up 56-50 at the 4:52 mark. Roos later hit a pair of free throws with 20.5 seconds left to ice the game.

Roos and sophomore Jordyn Peacock led the Bruins with 12 points apiece while Blizzard (11 points) and Megan Arnoldy (10) also scored in double figures. Lauren Codling grabbed 10 boards for her fourth straight game with double-digit rebounds. As a team, the Bruins out-rebounded the Wildcats 52-35 and stole the ball nine times to the Wildcats' four. The Bruins shot 22-65 (33.8%) from the field.

Lone Wildcat senior Kaely Maltman led her team in all aspects, scoring 13 points, rebounding seven and dishing out six assists.

NEXT: George Fox returns home to face Pacific Lutheran University on Saturday for a 6 p.m. tip-off in Newberg. The men play afterward at 8 p.m. … Linfield will host the University of Puget Sound on Friday at 6 p.m. The men take to the hardwood at 8 p.m. …