NEWBERG, Ore. -- The George Fox Women's basketball team put together a strong team performance on Friday night, surging past the Whitworth Pirates to claim their second win of the season, 73-64. 

How It Happened
The game opened with strong offense from the Bruins, with Kylie Ritter opening the scoring for Fox with a jumper before a three pointer for Wells saw them jump out to an early 8-4 lead. From there , the Bruins only continued to build momentum. The team shot at 60% from the field and went on a five point run to end the period, utilizing 12 free throw attempts to lead after one, 23-11.

The second quarter saw Whitworth's offense come alive, as the Pirates shot at 66% from the floor to outscore the Bruins 20-13 and tighten up the game. Fox created plenty of attacking opportunities but struggled to convert them into points. However, Claire Hinds impressed late in the period, putting up six points in the final three minutes to send Fox into halftime with the lead, 36-31.

Fox regained their attacking momentum in the second half, bouncing back out of the gates with an Ella Roberts jumper and early layups from Jenna Lacey and Mia Skoro. Skoro went on to make two more layups in what was an impressive team display from the Bruins, who made 7-14 shots to maintain their lead heading into the final quarter. 

Both teams continued to apply pressure in the fourth quarter, trading both three point shots and free throws to open the period. The Bruins shot at 50% for another quarter to finish with 48% on the night. Six Bruin players scored in this period alone, with Ella Roberts commanding the offensive presence. Lacey and Erin Yoshitake converted their free throws to end the game and give the Bruins their first win of the new year, 73-64. 

Top Performances
Alyssa Wells led the way for the Bruins offensively, dropping 15 points on the night on the way to the team's win. Ella Roberts continued what has been an impressive display of form, scoring 12 points and leading the team with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks. Mia Skoro and Jenna Lacey also finished with double digit games, notching 14 and 11 respectively. 

Defensively, the Bruins locked down Whitworth's leading scoring, holding Kimberly Dewey — who had been averaging 17 points per game — to a season-low seven points on 2-16 shooting.

Coach's Thoughts
"The girls played hard tonight and competed the whole game," Bruin head coach Lauren Howard, "We knew they would go on runs so we had to figure out how to get stops and keep possession of the ball. We had a lot of kids step up tonight and play big minutes for us. I'm super proud of the team effort."

What It Means
George Fox improves to 2-10 (2-3 NWC), while Whitworth falls to 4-10 (1-4 NWC).

What Comes Next
The Bruins will look to build on this momentum in their home game tomorrow against the nationally ranked Whitman Blues. The matchup is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.