By Josh Nutter

NEWBERG --- The No. 20-ranked George Fox Women's basketball team played host to Northwest Conference foe Puget Sound on Friday night at Miller Gym in a battle of teams looking to bounce back after a tight loss last weekend. The Bruins came away with a nail-biting 59-58 victory in the final seconds of the game after a thrilling second half to defend their home court and return to their winning ways.

Recap

The Bruins entered the game coming off of a tough loss to then-No. 8 Whitman in heartbreaking fashion and were looking to return to form as one of the conference's elite. Seniors Emily Holder and Emily Spencer continue to lead the charge for the Bruins with consistency and smart leadership. Holder leads the team in points and shooting percentage at 10.8 points per game and shooting 55% from the field. Spencer scores 10.4 per game and has a team-high 4.7 assist and 2.7 steals per game, grabbing 10 steals in her last two games.

Both teams came out to a slow start, the Bruins were able to take an early 10-7 lead at the five-minute mark. George Fox scored seven of those points at the free-throw line as the Loggers committed five shooting fouls in the early going. The Loggers went on a 7-2 run to take a 14-12 lead going into the second quarter. The Bruins had three players with three points each in the quarter. 

The second quarter was just as slow as the first for both squads. The Bruins found the basket sparingly but made a run to take a 22-19 lead with 3:45 remaining in the half. Kylin Collman made a pair of strong drives to the bucket to help the Bruins run. The Loggers surged ahead on a 6-0 run before Collman and Spencer hit back-to-back treys to put the Bruins back in front to close out the half with a 30-25 George Fox lead. The Bruins shot 50% from outside the arc in the first half to propel them to the lead. Collman led all scorers with 11 points going into the locker room.

The Bruins came out of the locker room intent upon speeding up the game, darting out on a 6-0 run, using quick drives by Spencer and Hailey Hartney to find the net and extend their lead. The Bruins run did not relent as they held a 42-29 lead at the five-minute mark. Holder and Spencer each scored four points over that stretch to power the Bruins attack. The scoring did not let u as the quarter wore on and the Bruins held a 51-44 lead going into the final frame. Collman led all scorers with 17 points.

The Loggers came out looking for a comeback in the fourth quarter as they narrowed the Bruins lead to 51-48 within the first two minutes of the period. Both teams went ice cold for the next three minutes and the Loggers knotted the score up at 51 with 4:56 remaining, prompting a George Fox timeout. The timeout worked, Haley Strowbridge came out of the huddle and nailed a three to get the Bruins their first bucket in over five minutes to retake a small lead. The score was knotted up at 54 with 2:42 remaining and both squads put their starters on the floor and buckled down to battle to the buzzer. Hartney hit a deep corner three to give the Bruins another slim lead with two minutes to go. The pressure was mounting and both sides were jockeying for the lead.

Collman, the leading scorer all night, followed an empty Loggers possession with two free throws to put the Bruins up five with a minute and a half to go. The Loggers then got a bucket to make it 59-56 Bruins with 38 seconds left. Puget Sound called a timeout with 12 seconds remaining while down three and looking to tie the game and force overtime. Jamie Lange got a layup to bring it down to 59-58 Bruins with seven seconds left on the clock. The Loggers fouled Spencer on the inbound pass to send her to the line. Spencer missed both free throws and the Loggers got a rebound with four seconds remaining. UPS used its final timeout to draw up a play while the Bruins looked to prevent that from happening. The Loggers passed the ball in and then, rapidly, an offensive foul was called to the roaring delight of the home crowd, sending Emily Holder to the line with one second remaining to seal the game. Holder missed both but the Loggers were unable to get a shot off and George Fox held on for a 59-58 win.

Top Performers

Kylin Collman had one of her best offensive performances of the season with 19 points on 60% shooting and went 6-for-6 from the line. Holder and Spencer both added 11 for the Bruins to compose the rest of the George Fox scorers in double-figures. Holder had a game-high 7 steals, which was as many as Puget Sound had as a team. Spencer had a game-high five assists.

What It Means

The Bruins didn't shoot at the level they typically do in victories, which typically hovers in the 40-42% range from the field and around 38% from three while against Puget sound they were 35% from the field but 37% from three-point range, but they pulled off the victory in spite of those numbers. The win can in large part be attributed to George Fox's relative dominance in the second and third quarters where they outscored the Loggers 39-30, while being outscored 28-20 in the first and final frames. The Bruins also dominated the turnover battle, turning the ball over 13 times compared to the Loggers' 22 turnovers which gave the Bruins 15 points off of those turnovers. George Fox improves to 12-4 and 4-3 in NWC play in the season.

What Happens Next

The Bruins will visit NWC foe Lewis & Clark on Saturday at 4 p.m. on the road in Portland, Ore.