NEWBERG, Ore. -- Facing one of the premier teams in the country, the George Fox women's basketball team fought hard against the No. 14 Hardin-Simmons Cowgirls, putting up their highest point total of the season before ultimately falling, 69-93.
How It Happened
The two teams were neck-and-neck for the opening five minutes of the game, with the Bruins trailing by just three, 9-12, at the first media timeout. However, a stout Hardin-Simmons press and four straight scoring possessions for home Cowgirls had the three-point advantage balloon to 12 in just three minutes as Fox trailed after one quarter, 12-26.
Jenna Lacey was the main source of offense for the Bruins in the first half, scoring eight of the women's first 16 points, but an extended 26-7 run from Hardin-Simmons gave Fox a hearty deficit heading into halftime. As a team, the Cowgirls shot 52% from the field in the second quarter, taking a 48-26 lead into the break.
The persistent offensive continued into the second half, with the Cowgirls extending their lead to 39 midway through the third. Rather than run with their heads down, though, the Bruin women chipped away at the lead, working hard despite the score.
Ella Roberts led the team with six points in the quarter as the Bruins scored five points in the final seconds of the third to trail 75-41 heading to the fourth.
Fox's offense put together one of their best quarters of the season in the final frame, scoring 28 points and shooting 10-14 from the field. Roberts continued her hot streak from the third, scoring the five first points of the period. Then, the senior turned over the scoring to a litany of other players; in total, eight different Bruins scored in the fourth quarter as the team finished the day with a 69-93 loss.
Top Performers
Ella Roberts led the team with 14 points in the afternoon on an efficient 5-7 performance, while
Erin Yoshitake and
Jenna Lacey ended the day with similar stat lines; both seniors put up 10 points and a team-high five rebounds.
Katie Brown entered the game with one point in her college career but exited Tuesday's game with seven thanks to an impressive six-point performance in her first game of the season. Also making her debut was
Kylie Ritter, who finished with eight points and two treys.
Coach's Thoughts
"The team battled until the end," Bruin head coach
Lauren Howard said, "Hardin-Simmons is one of the best teams in the country and I thought we had great spurts where we competed well with them. These types of games are really good for us to learn from and clean things up before we head back into the conference."
What It Means
The Bruins fall to 1-6 (1-1 NWC) on the season, while the No. 14 Cowgirls improve to 10-1 (4-1 American Southwest).
What Happens Next
Fox will continue their murderer's row of a nonconference schedule — in seven games to start the season, the Bruins have played two Division II teams and one nationally ranked team — with a game against 9-1 McMurry. The game is scheduled to tip off at 10:00 a.m.
