Box Score
Photos Courtesy of Scott Presley, d3photography.com.
NEWBERG, Ore. --- The largest crowd this season piled into Miller Gymnasium Saturday night, as the No. 3-ranked Bruins of George Fox hosted No. 18 Puget Sound for the Northwest Conference Tournament Championship in what would be a thrilling finish.
The game didn't get off to the normal start George Fox has become accustom to this season, as the Loggers jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the opening minutes. The pace of play was fast and hectic, but the score didn't reflect the effort that was being put forth by both teams. In fact, the score was tied for the second time at 9-9 after nearly seven minutes ran off the clock. From 17:30 to 14:35 the score stood still, as turnovers and missed shots plagued both teams.
The Bruins took their first lead of the game at the 12:18 mark after Jami Morris knocked down a 12 footer to give the Bruins an 11-9 edge. George Fox then found its stride increasing its margin to seven during the next three minutes after Lauren Codling found Sammy Naluai in the corner for the deep three, 20-13.
The remainder of the first half was controlled by the Bruins, as their lead fluctuated from nine to 13 points in the last six minutes of play.
George Fox went into the break with an 11-point lead, 33-22.
"This team showed a ton of fight and determination tonight," said head coach Michael Meek, who was named 2014-15 Northwest Conference Coach of the Year. "We played with a lot of heart and kept our poise in some tough situations."
In the start of the second, the Loggers got off to a great start cutting the deficit to four after an 8-3 run in the first three minutes. The Bruins battled back, though, and pushed their lead back up to nine relying on the shoulders of Morris and Codling.
Fouls started to play a factor for each team, as they continued to pile up as time ran off the clock. The game clock moved in slow motion as each possession was met with a whistle causing the pressure of the game to be felt by everyone on and off the court.
The Bruins traded baskets back and forth with the Loggers, keeping their margin at a comfortable distance, but the game was far from over. The Loggers continued to chip away at the Bruin' lead, and made it a two possession game at the 1:04 mark when Ashley Agcaoili made her first free throw, 62-57. Agcaoili missed her second attempt and Naluai grabbed the board, but a Bruin foul was called giving the Loggers a chance to make it interesting. On the next possession, Logger' Emily Sheldon gave UPS its closest margin since the first half, making a big jumper to cut the lead to 62-59.
Both teams combined to take 48 free throw attempts in the game, as the Bruins were sent 28 times completing 22 of them for a 78.6 percent shooting clip. In the last eight minutes of the game the Bruins went 9-of-11 from the stripe with the two biggest coming from Naluai with 23 seconds left.
After Naluai splashed both free throw attempts giving the Bruins a 64-59 lead, Sheldon struck again for the Loggers hitting another jumper causing déjà vu for the same exact situation seconds earlier. The Bruins would have the last word, though, as freshman Kaitlin Jamieson delivered the dagger catching a beautiful pass from Morris to finish with the right ending the game, 66-61.
Junior Justine Benner led all scorers with 19 points on the night, going 11-for-15 from the free throw line. She was just two rebounds shy of her third double-double of the season.
"Winning this game meant a lot to our team because it shows how much we can overcome adversity," said Benner. "Even though we didn't shoot very well from the field, got out-rebounded, and were in foul trouble, we still found a way to overcome it and keep fighting to get the win. Being able to cut down those nets was an amazing feeling, something I've never gotten to experience before, and I'm glad I got to do it with this team. I can't wait to start the road to fight our way to a national championship."
Morris finished with 13 points and is currently 9th on the All-Time Career Scoring list with 1,225 points. She is 49 points away from claiming 8th. She also added four assists and three steals in her 29 minutes of play. Nicole Blizzard was the third Bruin in double digits, going for 11 points in 25 minutes.
"I'm so proud of the way this team found a way to get it done tonight," mentioned Morris. "It feels great to have earned the automatic bid and not letting that decision being in anyone else's hands. We are excited to move on, but we're going to stay focused on taking it one game at a time."
The Bruins improve to 27-0 on the season, while the Loggers fall to 23-4 overall.
"Kaitlin's finish at the end was fun to watch and it was great to see," added Meek. "It's pretty exciting what this team has accomplished this season and I couldn't be more proud of this team, but our focus will now be on the NCAA Tournament."
The Bruins will see where their fate lies on Monday, March 2 when selection day is aired at 11:30 a.m. To view the live showing click here.
