By: Jake Bienvenue

NEWBERG --- The George Fox women's lacrosse team won its third straight Northwest Conference Championship Sunday, as the Bruins beat the Blues of Whitman College, 18-4.

Recap:

The Bruins came out hot, scoring their first goal in under forty seconds of play. Lois Ray drew control, and then Madison Strickland found Jennifer Burke who flipped the ball into the goal, 1-0.

Whitman responded with a goal just thirty seconds later, but Jess Hanson came right back with a goal of her own at the 27:58 mark to take back the lead, 2-1.

The opening minutes were highly competitive, as Whitman tied the game once more at the 26:56 mark.

Jocelyn Welberg scored a pair of goals on assists by Ray with around 24 minutes left in the half, and Hanson scored one shortly after to take a 5-2 lead.

Burke kept it going for the Bruins, finding the back of the net at the 19:40 mark to widen the gap between the teams.

After some back-and-forth play between the two teams, Burke found the back of the net once again at the 12:04 mark, setting the score at 7-2.

Strickland rattled off a pair of goals in less than sixty seconds around the 10-minute mark in the first half, pushing the Bruin lead to 9-2.

The Bruins scored three more goals in the final five minutes of the first half. Ray scored on a free position shot, and then Meredith Teel and Welberg both found the back of the net to set the score at 12-2 heading into the break.

The Blues came out of halftime with gusto, rattling off two goals in the opening five minutes to cut the Bruins' lead to eight.

Madison Stratton converted on a free position attempt at the 21:50 mark to begin the Bruins' scoring in the second half, setting the score at 13-4.

Ray found the back of the net at the 11:08 mark to keep the Blues at bay, and then Teel scored a pair of goals five minutes later, widening the gap even further.

Two more goals from the Bruins sealed the game at 18-4.

Top Performers:

Five Bruins finished the game with a hat trick: Teel, Welberg, Strickland, Ray and Burke all contributed three goals to the winning effort. Ray was excellent as a facilitator as well, tallying six assists. Hanson got it done as well, finishing with two goals and an assist.

What It Means:

The Bruins remain a perfect 7-0 in conference play and with the win clinch the NWC Championship.

What Comes Next:

The Bruins host conference rival Linfield Saturday, April 21 with the last game of the season set for 1:00 pm.