McMINVILLE, Ore. — The George Fox women's basketball team faced their rivals Linfield Wildcats in a close game, losing 69-74.

How It Happened
The Wildcats, who are receiving votes in both the WBCA and D3Hoops.com polls, claimed the first six points of the game, but the Bruins fought back—Paige Macduff made two free-throws to get the scoring started before Mia Skoro scored in the paint a minute later, putting the score at 4-8. Hanne Hopkins kept GFU within shouting distance with two free-throws and a jump-shot within the last couple minutes to help Fox stay close. 

Tara Ushiro advanced the scoreboard to 12-14 with a strong layup, and suddenly, the Bruins had a change at the lead. With 22 seconds remaining in the first period, Kylie Ritter scored a driving layup, a free-throw and finished the quarter with another charging layup—giving the Bruins their first lead of the game at 17-16.

For the first five minutes of the second quarter, Linfield took control of the game, as the Bruins failed to score for the first four and a half minutes . Eventually, Skoro made a corner three-pointer to break the cold stretch; though the shot was followed by a Linfield triple, Skoro scored a clean layup to stay down by two. 

Ritter was then able to tie the score, 24-24 — before following with a three-pointer at 27-29. With 40 seconds left, Hopkins made two free-throws, and Skoro finished off the half with a solid hook shot, cutting the deficit to 32-35.

Fox began the third quarter strong when Bella Arrisgado made a hook shot in the first ten seconds. From that moment, though, the Bruins fell cold again, scoring just two points over the next six minutes, but the Bruins were able to get back in the game with Hopkins with a layup and a free-throw. Down 48-42, the Bruins stormed back on an 8-2 run, ending on an Arrisgado steal and layup to cut the deficit to 50-48.

The Bruins fell cold again as the Wildcats came in with a layup and a three-pointer right off the bat. However Hopkins countered with a layup—but Linfield improved their lead to 12 with a 12-0 run. Ritter knocked in two from the charity stripe, and Hopkins came in strong with two layups, cutting the Linfield lead to eight, 72-64. The 'Cats made their free throws though, and although Ushiro hit a triple as the buzzer sounded, the Bruins fell, 74-69.

Top Performances
Hanne Hopkins scored 18 points total with six assists, six rebounds, and a triple made. Mia Skoro totaled 17 points and one rebound, while Kylie Ritter had14 points overall with two blocks and a team-high nine rebounds. Sophia Hardy led the team with two steals.

What It Means
George Fox falls to 9-8 (5-3 NWC), and Linfield rises to 14-2 (7-0 NWC). 

What Happens Next
The Lady Bruins will travel to Salem to play against the Willamette Bearcats on Tuesday, January 27. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 pm.