NEWBERG, Ore. --- Senior guard Jami Morris put up a career-high 31 points Thursday night, as the No. 1 seed and No. 3-ranked Bruins defeated the fourth seeded Missionaries of Whitman College, 78-64, in the semi-finals of the Northwest Conference Tournament.

George Fox improves to 26-0 on the season, while Whitman falls to 16-10 overall.

The Bruins scored in the first 11 seconds of the game as Morris hit her first three to ignite the packed crowd inside of Miller Gymnasium. George Fox wasted no time after that to flex its muscles jumping out to a nine point lead at the 16:40 mark, 11-2.

"The past few games we have had a tough time getting on a roll in the early minutes," said Morris. "Tonight I felt like we came out with a ton of energy and forced the other team to play at a pace they weren't comfortable with."

The Bruins increased their lead to 17 with just under 10 minutes left in the half after Lauren Codling completed the and-one on the free throw line. The lead didn't' stop there as the Bruins continued to pour it on from both sides of the court. The Bruins were vicious on the defensive end forcing 10 Whitman turnovers at the half.

"Jami has had a fantastic season and is clearly one of the better players in this league, and has been so efficient this year," said head coach Michael Meek. "One of the things that makes her so great is that she prides herself on the team. She helps set the tone for doing whatever it takes to make this team successful. I thought Kim Frost had a great game of the bench and gave us a ton of energy. This is the type of team that any one of our players can step up on any given night."

George Fox went into intermission up, 45-23. The Bruins held Northwest Conference Player of the Year Heather Johns to zero points at the half.  

In the start of the second, the Bruins grew their lead to 26 when Morris hit her fifth and final three of the game at the 16:09 mark, 60-33. George Fox put it in cruise control for the next 10 minutes, as the lead never got under 17 points.

The Missionaries did in fact make a tiny run at the Bruins cutting the lead to 14, but with 1:47 left on the game clock the Bruins finished the game on the free throw line ensuring the victory.

Morris finished the game going 7-for-18 from the field, 5-for-10 from the 3-point line and 12-for-14 from the free throw line. She added three assists to her career night. Justine Benner recorded 17 points on the night with 10 rebounds recording her second double-double of the season. Codling finished her night with 13 points and three steals.

Whitman had four players score in double-digits, and Johns finished her night with 14 points.

The Bruins will host Puget Sound Saturday, February 28 at 7:00 p.m. in Miller Gymnasium.