SPOKANE, Wash. --- The No. 3-ranked George Fox women's basketball team had a nail biter Friday night, as the Bruins played their first overtime game of the season, beating No. 19 Whitworth University, 53-52.

The win tonight marks the first win at Whitworth in the past two seasons. The Bruins improve to 22-0 overall and 13-0 in the Northwest Conference, while the Pirates fall to 19-3 overall and 10-3 in conference play.

The first half was nothing short of what you would expect with two top-ranked teams facing off against each other. The physical play proved to cause a lot of havoc for both teams, as they each had multiple turnovers early on.

The Bruins largest lead came in the first three minutes after scoring three quick baskets to provide a 6-2 margin. The Pirates then found a way to battle back and retake the lead at the 13:42 mark, 10-9. In the next seven minutes the crowd witnessed just three baskets, as play was slowed down due to lock down defense from both sides.

The Bruins sparked some momentum at the 3:09 mark when senior Jami Morris made a nice move in the paint for an easy layup, and followed that play up with a deep ball for a 23-20 lead.

George Fox went into the break up just by one, 23-22. Justine Benner led all scorers with nine, going 4-for-7 from the field.   

In the start of the second, George Fox increased its lead to seven after an 8-2 run in the first five minutes, 31-24. The Bruins took their largest lead of the game one minute later when Sammy Naluai made a pair at the free throw line, 33-24.

The Pirates started to chip away at the lead and went on a run of their own forcing the first tie of the second half at the 9:44 mark, 35-35.

After the 35-35 tie, both teams traded points back and forth to keep the crowd cheering louder and louder. Momentum continued to show no favoritism, as each team would exchange leads.

With the game clock showing just under a minute, the Bruins drew up a play and found Nicole Blizzard in the corner who hit one of the biggest threes in her career to take a 51-48 lead. The Pirates came down on the other end and found Katara Belton-Sharp in the corner, who responded with a three of her own to force the eighth tie of the game, 51-51.

The Bruins had one more look with the final seconds winding down, but a shot would fall short to force an overtime.

With every shot starting to mean a little more and every possession needing a score, both teams used all of their efforts to make the most out of the five minute overtime. The score continued to go back and forth, and the Bruins managed a one-point lead with 35.9 seconds left in the game, 53-52.

The Pirates would have one more possession to topple the top-ranked and undefeated Bruins, but Lauren Codling held her ground and delivered a massive block to end the game.

Morris led all scorers with 16 points, while Benner was right behind her with 14 points. She was one rebound shy of a double-double (9).

George Fox will have to rest up fast, as they will head to Whitman College tomorrow afternoon with tip-off at 4:00 p.m.