NEWBERG, Ore. -- The George Fox women's basketball team fought hard thanks to a career effort from Kylie Ritter, but the Bruins fell to the Puget Sound Loggers, 77-56.

How It Happened
After a Logger triple, the Bruins fought back to make it a competitive first half of the opening stanza. Hanne Hopkins knocked in two free throws before Sophia Hardy made a layup to give Fox a 4-3 lead. The teams traded buckets, with Kylie Ritter scoring five quick points. A Hardy jumper gave the Bruins an 11-7 lead.

After a Tara Ushiro free throw gave GFU a 12-10 lead, the Loggers took control of the game. PS finished the first on a 12-0 run, Hailey Quigley capped off the run with a step-back triple at the buzzer to give the Loggers a 22-12 lead.

Puget Sound extended that run to an 18-0 one by scoring the first six points of the second quarter. Kylie Ritter broke the Bruin drought with a pair of free throws, but the Bruins were unable to make a shot in the second until Hardy hit a layup with 3:28 remaining. 

Ritter, Hardy, and Hopkins were the only three players to score in the period, and it seemed that the Loggers were going to go into the halftime break with a 35-23 lead. But then, Ritter decided to try for an early entry for shot of the year. The senior let the ball fly from just beyond half court with three seconds on the clock, and nailed the shot with one of the loudest swishes you'll ever hear to cut the deficit at the break to 35-26 and give the Bruin faithful something to cheer for.

The deficit continued to hover around 10 points for the opening parts of the period, with Ritter hitting another triple to keep the score close at 41-31. The Loggers put together another run, though, going on an 8-0 rampage to take control of the game. While Addison Dippel hit her first career trey to try to stop the bleeding, PS scored the next six points to pull away by 20. Hopkins hit the third buzzer beater of the game with a triple of her own to end the third, but Fox trailed by 17, 60-43.

Puget Sound extended its lead to 23, but the Bruins — and especially Kylie Ritter — continued to fight hard. With 4:56 remaining in the game, the senior hit a jumper to score 25 points, the most by a Bruin since Tavin Headings' 28-point performance in the First Round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament against Greenville. With the game out of reach with 3:32 to go, Ritter checked out of the game for the final time.

The Bruins finished with an and-one bucket from Maddie Schumacher and a breakaway layup from Dippel, but when all was said and done, the Puget Sound Loggers downed the Bruins, 77-56 — thanks in part to a 28-point performance from Quiggle and a staggering nine blocks from the PS team as a whole.

Top Performances
Kylie Ritter had the most points by a Bruin women's basketball player since 2019 with 25, including a half-court heave to end the half. In addition, the senior led the team with six rebounds. Sophia Hardy was the lone other Bruin in double figures, finishing the night with 12 points and finished with a team-high three assists and two steals. Mia Skoro and Tara Ushiro each recorded a block for Fox.

What It Means
George Fox falls to 10-9 (6-4 NWC), while Puget Sound rises to 14-4 (7-2 NWC). 

What Happens Next
The Bruins will stay in Newberg for their third game of the week with a contest against the Pacific Lutheran Lutes (2-16, 1-11 NWC). Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 pm.