By: Jake Bienvenue

NEWBERG, Ore. --- The No. 1-seed and No. 14-ranked George Fox women's basketball team kicked off the Northwest Conference tournament with an exciting home win against Lewis & Clark, 80-41.

Recap:

Emily Spencer got it going early in the first quarter, rattling off five points in the opening minutes to boost the Bruins to an early 9-4 lead. Emily Holder took the torch after that, putting up six points of her own on the back end of the quarter, pushing the lead to double-digits, 16-6.

Five points from Hailey Hartney at the very end of the period gave the Bruins a big lead heading into quarter two, 24-8.

The Bruin defense came up huge in quarter two, holding the Pios to just nine points in the period (and just eight in the first). The offense was clicking on all cylinders as well, as a host of George Fox players showed out in front of the home crowd, leading the team to a 43-17 lead heading into the break.

The Bruins kept their foot on the gas pedal in the second half, going on a 9-2 run right off the bat, fueled by four points from Spencer. George Fox outscored Lewis & Clark 27-12 in the third quarter, jumping out to a huge 70-29 lead heading into the final period of play.

The lead was too much to overcome for the Pios in the fourth as the Bruins took an easy win, 80-41.

Top Performers:

Three Bruins found their ways into double-digits on Thursday. Spencer paced the team in scoring with 16 points to go along with four assists and three steals. Holder and Haylee Hutzler each contributed with 11 points to spearhead the scoring effort.

Kaitlin Jamieson did it all tonight, finishing with nine points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

What It Means:

The Bruins win a huge one in the playoff semifinals, earning a ticket to the championship game of the Northwest Conference tournament.

What Comes Next:

The Bruins will host No. 3-seed Willamette Saturday, Feb. 24, at 7pm in Wheeler Sports Center. The Bearcats upset the No. 2-seed Whitman Blues, 55-52.