SALEM, Ore. – Alyssa Wells scored a game-high 20 points and the Bruins ended the game on a 15-4 run that closed out the win for the George Fox women's basketball team on the road against the Willamette Bearcats. 

How It Happened
Willamette jumped out of the gate, scoring 6 straight to open the first quarter. Mia Skoro ended the run and got the Bruins on the board with a triple, and the Bruins took an 8-6 lead minutes later after scoring eight straight to lead 8-6 with five minutes left in the half. The rest of the quarter was back-and-forth, with Fox and Willamette trading punches, neither team could grab a steady lead. The end of the first frame saw the Bruins take the lead on a last-second layup from Kylie Ritter off the assist from Skoro. 

A quick GFU bucket took the lead to 20-17 to open up the second quarter, before both teams were tied at 22 a piece two minutes into the frame. Neither team held more than a three-point lead the entire rest of the quarter, as the two sides were dead-locked in a defensive battle. Willamette hit a three with 33 seconds left in the half to go up, 35-32, but Alyssa Wells hit a buzzer-beating three with two seconds remaining to tie it all up at 35 heading into the break. 

The third quarter continued the defensive-minded battle, as neither team was able to score more than 13 points in the 10-minute frame. The Bruins were held to just three made field goals in the third, while the Bearcats only managed five made shots. Fox did manage to go 4-6 from the free throw line, while not sending Willamette to the charity stripe at all – a difference that would become even more apparent in the fourth. At the end of the third quarter, the Bearcats held a slim 48-47 lead over GFU. 

In the fourth quarter, The Bruins' offense came alive. Led by ten points in the frame from Wells, who hit a pair of threes, the Bruins outscored the Bearcats 24-10 in the fourth quarter. The Bruins went 9-10 from the free throw line while Willamette managed just one point from the line in the game's final ten minutes. The floodgates came open with 4:30 left in the game after a Wells' three sparked a 15-4 stretch of domination by GFU that closed out the contest. After being down by a point to start the quarter, Fox ended the game with a 13-point, 71-58 win over their NWC rivals. 

Top Performances
Alyssa Wells went 5-8 from beyond the arc while on her way to a 20-point outing. The senior added four steals and four assists as well, and Alexa Borter scored 18 while grabbing six rebounds.

Coach's Thoughts
"The team locked in and worked hard the entire 40 minutes," Bruin head coach Lauren Howard said, "I'm proud of how we were able to bounce back tonight."

What It Means
Fox improves to 14-5 (6-4 NWC), and Willamette falls to 7-12 (4-6 NWC). 

What Comes Next
GFU returns to the Wheeler Sports Center in Newberg, Ore. to play the Pacific Boxers at home on Tuesday, February 4th at 8 pm.