By: Jake Bienvenue

WALLA WALLA, Wash. --- The No. 25 George Fox women's basketball team played a riveting game on Friday, traveling to No. 6 Whitman for a tough conference matchup, falling in a close one, 77-71.

Recap:

A competitive first couple minutes saw the two teams tied at eight, but an 11-2 run by Whitman at the back end of the first quarter gave the Blues an early lead.

Whitman kept the pressure on the Bruins' shooters in the second quarter, holding George Fox scoreless from beyond the three-point line until under a minute remaining in the first half.

Four late points by Haley Strowbridge trimmed the Whitman lead heading into the break, trailing 35-30 after a competitive half.

The Bruin offense played solid in the second quarter, outscoring Whitman 18-14 to try to retake the momentum.

Strowbridge opened up the second half hot, helping to carry the Bruin offense early in the third quarter by getting to the charity stripe at will. She tallied seven points in the period.

The Bruins hung around in the fourth quarter until a deep ball from Kylin Collman around the three-minute mark cut the Whitman lead to just four. Another long-range bomb – this time from Hailey Hartney – along with a pair of layups from Kaitlin Jamieson set the score at 69-67 in favor of the Blues.

With just minutes left in the game, Haylee Hutzler and Jamieson were each able to find the back of the net, cutting the lead to just one and giving the storming Bruins the chance to steal a tough win on the road.

With only twenty seconds left and down by just two, Jamieson blocked a would-be dagger giving the Bruins a fighting chance, but they were unable to score late as Whitman took a nail-biter, 77-71.

Top Performers:

Jamieson paced the Bruins' offense tonight, tallying 16 points on 7-10 shooting to go along with six rebounds and five blocks. Hartney and Strowbridge found their way into double figures as well, racking up 14 points and 11, respectively. Strowbridge also registered four rebounds, four assists and four steals on the night.

What It Means:

The Bruins move to 4-1 in conference play after tonight's tough loss and 11-3 on the season.

What Comes Next:

The Bruins continue their conference road trip with a game against Whitworth set for Saturday at 4:00 pm.