By Josh Nutter

NEWBERG --- George Fox played host to the No. 8 Blues of Whitman College on Saturday night at Miller Gym in an NWC clash of top-25 squads as the No. 16-ranked Bruins looked to build on a monster comeback win against Whitman on Friday night. Unfortunately, the Blues stole that opportunity as the Bruins fell 62-54 in an intense conference affair between two strong teams.

Recap

Following Friday's comeback win the Bruins entered the contest led by their starting five seniors, including forward Emily Holder who came in averaging 11 points per game, followed closely by point guard Emily Spencer at 10.6 per game. Spencer leads the Bruins with her intensity and relentless effort like a true floor general, willing the Bruins attack with her aggressive pace while displaying intense effort on the defensive side of the ball, including four steals on Friday night.

Both teams came out looking focused and locked in for a battle. The Bruins came out a bit sharper, jumping out ahead to a 10-8 lead before the shots really started to fall, they went on an 8-0 run to take a 10-point lead. Neither squad was particularly sharp from outside the arc in the early going but Spencer and the Bruins backcourt attacked the paint and got good looks to gain a solid lead. George Fox was up 23-13 after the first quarter. Kaylee Bishop came off the bench scorching and provided nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from three-point range to lead the Bruins.

The second quarter started off with both squads exchanging buckets, with the Bruins maintaining their lead, holding a 29-22 advantage at the five-minute mark.  Whitman narrowed the lead just a bit more as the quarter went on but the Bruins held a 36-31 lead going into the locker room. Bishop and Kylin Collman each had nine points in the first half to lead the Bruins on offense. Spencer had three steals in the first half as she pressured the Blues guards and created points off turnovers.

The Bruins and Blues continued to battle as the third quarter got underway; Haley Strowbridge opened the period with a wide-open three and Whitman responded with one of its own. George Fox extended their lead to 47-36 with three minutes left in the quarter behind some stellar defense and Spencer making a pair of three-point plays after getting fouled. Strowbridge nailed another deep three to put the Bruins ahead by 12 with less than a minute to go in the quarter. George Fox closed out the quarter with a solid 50-40 lead. The third was a relatively messy period for both squads, the Bruins shot 30% from the field but were aided with a 6-for-6 showing at the line while Whitman shot an abysmal 12% in the third quarter. Collman led the Bruins with 13 points after the frame.

Though the Bruins had a 10-point advantage, the game looked poised to go down to the wire as Whitman was not inclined to go down quietly. The Blues came out on a 10-0 run tie up the game with five minutes to go. Suddenly, the Blues were shooting 75% from the field to the Bruins' 0% in five minutes. The Bruins could not find a basket, and Whitman had taken a 55-50 lead with 2:15 remaining. The Bruins finally got their first basket of the quarter with 55 seconds remaining in the game, down 52-58, it looked like it would not be enough, a nine-minute scoring drought had put the Blues up two possessions. George Fox was unable to find enough baskets to pull off the win, and Whitman escaped with a win, final score; Whitman 62, George Fox 54.

Top Performers

Collman led the Bruins with 13 points followed by Strowbridge with 11. Emily Spencer had six steals in the game to go along with six assists and seven points for the Bruins. Whitman's Mady Burdett led all scorers with 22 in the game.

What It Means

George Fox did not score a basket for nine minutes in the final period of play, and Whitman capitalized on the Bruins drought to steal the game away with a 22-4 final frame. The Bruins fall to 3-3 in NWC play and 11-4 overall and will likely still remain fourth in the NWC standings.

What Happens Next

George Fox will host the Loggers of Puget Sound on Friday, Jan. 24, beginning at 6 p.m.