Photo Taken By: Shelby Byerly 

NEWBERG, Ore. --- The No. 2-ranked George Fox women's basketball team hosted the Pirates of Whitworth University in the Northwest Conference Tournament semifinal, Thursday night, as the Bruins cruised to a 95-64 victory.

Recap:
The Bruins got off to a wonderful start in the opening minutes of the first quarter, as they blitzed the Pirates and went on a 7-0 run. The Bruins didn't stop there as they expanded their lead to eight, 13-5, after Kaitlin Jamieson made a nice move in the paint at the 2:29 mark. Moments later, Nicole Blizzard improved the Bruins' lead to 11, 18-7, with a huge three to get the crowd on its feet. Tavin Headings entered into the game with just under a minute to play and drained another three for the Bruins to erupt the crowd, 21-7. George Fox ended the quarter with a steal from their press and Kimberly Frost went on to make the fast break layup, 23-7.

With momentum on their side, the Bruins continued their efforts well into the second quarter, expanding on their lead, 27-9. At the 7:20 mark, Justine Benner found Jamieson under the basket to push the Bruins' lead to 17, 31-14. The Pirates tried to cut the deficit, but the press proved to be too tough, as the Bruins added on to their already large lead. The margin grew to 24 with 3:05 on the game clock after Benner made another nice move in the paint.

George Fox went into the break with an 18 point edge, 43-25. The Bruins held the Pirates to 35.7 percent from the field, while the top-ranked Bruins shot 53.1 percent from the field. Jamieson was the leader at half with 15 points and three blocks.

The Bruins opened up the scoring with three straight threes from Blizzard (1) and Frost (2) to push the lead to 24, 52-28. The Pirates managed to make back-to-back baskets to start some momentum, but Frost hit her third three of the quarter at the 5:53 mark to keep the lead at 24, 57-33. Despite the best efforts by the Pirates, the Bruins continued to keep them lost at sea. The Bruins out-scored the Pirates, 34-21, in the third quarter to take a 31 point edge, 77-46.

The Bruins went to their bench for the fourth quarter, and held the Pirates to a comfortable margin.

Top Performers:
Jamieson led the way with 18 points on 7-8 shooting from the field. She added seven rebounds and three blocks to her 25 minutes of play. Benner and Frost both finished with 16, while Benner recorded a career-high seven assists and Frost recorded five steals. KC McConnell finished her career for the Pirates with 24 points in her final game and eclipsed the 1,600 mark for Whitworth.

What It Means:
With the win, the Bruins advance to the Northwest Conference Tournament Championship on Saturday, Feb. 27. The Bruins improve to 26-0 on the season. This is the second-straight season that the Bruins will host the Northwest Conference Tournament Championship.

What Comes Next:
The Bruins will host the No. 2-seed in Puget Sound on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 7:00 p.m.