SPOKANE, Wash. -- The George Fox women's basketball team faced the Whitworth Pirates, claiming the 75-62 win after bouncing back from a rocky start.

How It Happened
In the first quarter, the Bruins were neck-and-neck with the Pirates as Alexa Borter and Tara Ushiro scored the opening points for Fox. Ushiro gave the Bruins the lead with a three-pointer, but Whitworth tied the score again 10-10. Towards the end of the quarter, the Pirates shot ahead of Fox with a 9-0 run—taking a 19-15 lead after one.

Luckily, the Bruins bounced back quickly as Mia Skoro came in with a powerful driving layup, before completing the and-one free throw. Clara Hinds made two free-throws, surpassing the Pirates, while Hanne Hopkins made her way to the middle with a driving layup—24-21. From there, Fox advanced point by point, slowly making their way ahead of Whitworth. Madeline Shoemaker made a free-throw before the Pirates made the last points of the period—though Fox led at the break, 34-32.

The third quarter was slow, as neither team scored until three minutes in, with Alyssa Wells making a shot from the right wing, 36-32. With five minutes left, Sophia Hardy made a three-pointer on a pass from Wells to extend Fox's lead to eight. The rest of the period continued the slow pace, as each team went back and forth with few points. Ushiro made a layup, keeping the eight-point lead with thirty seconds left. However, the quarter ended at 48-42 as the Pirates nailed a shot in the last second.

The final quarter started out strong, with Borter making a strong driving layup, and then converting the three-point play to extend the lead to nine. The Bruins continued to advance, as Wells made a three-pointer from Hopkins at 62-48. Wells came back with a driving layup at 71-55 with a minute left in the game — the senior went on to score 11 points in the final frame. Finally, with seven seconds left, Bella Arrisgado made two punctuation free-throws, finalizing the score 75-62. 

Top Performances
Senior Alyssa Wells locked in 15 points, 11 of which came in the fourth, nine rebounds, and three assists, while Alexa Borter had 13 points, and eight rebounds. Tara Ushiro and Mia Skoro each had 11 points for the night.

Coach's Thoughts
I'm proud of how this team responds to adversity," Bruin head coach Lauren Howard said, "We can always count on everyone to bring the energy and work hard. We have to keep getting better each day. "

What It Means
The Bruins will rise to 17-6 overall (9-5 NWC), while the Pirates drop to 8-15 total (5-9 NWC). With the win, the Bruins clinched a spot in the NWC Tournament, their first since 2022.

What Comes Next
The Bruins will play against Lewis & Clark (5-18, 2-12 NWC) in their hometown Newberg, Ore. on Friday, February 21st. The game is scheduled to start at 8:00 pm, with Senior Night festivities before the game.