NEWBERG, Ore. -- The George Fox women's basketball team opened up their home slate in style, never letting the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets see the lead in a 62-52 victory.
How It Happened
A minute into the game,
Hanne Hopkins earned a defensive rebound, taking the ball all the way home for a driving layup — a sign of things to come. Shortly after, Hopkins earned an assist with a solid ball to
Reese Weygandt, who hit the transition layup. Howard Payne brought the score to 4-2 with two good free throws. Hopkins picked up a second rebound, but the Yellow Jackets grabbed another two points, briefly tying the score. Then, Hopkins passed to
Tara Ushiro, who shot a triple, lending Fox a 7-4 advantage.
Nearly four minutes passed without a basket; instead, the two teams rushed back-and-forth along the court, with a block and steal by
Emma Boehm that helped set up a pair of Weygandt free throws to put the Bruins up, 9-5. Boehm and
Addi Dippel knocked in consecutive three-pointers, but HPU snatched the next four points, closing the gap to 15-11 in favor of the Bruins.
Howard Payne brought the score to 15-13 with a driving layup, but Hopkins responded with a rare triple to keep Fox in front. Two minutes of back-and-forth action passed before a Burlison steal eventually culminated in a layup by Hopkins. After a Yellow Jacket bucket, Burlison fired back with a trey on the swing of Weygandt as the score hit 23-16. Hopkins,
Rylee Stupnik, and Boehm all recorded rebounds and Stupnik blocked before Hopkins accomplished a driving layup. The second quarter on Boehm free throws and a lead for Fox, 32-20.
Fox came out hot in quarter three, with
Aiga Unutoa securing a steal and a layup. Hopkins executed a driving layup, but Howard Payne sank a three. Unutoa passed to Hopkins, who scored another two points. Hopkins got another rebound before and missed the ensuing shot, but Stupnik was there for the and-one putback. Fox led 42-30 before Howard Payne took the next four points. Hopkins found the bottom of the net on a pair of free throws, and Howard Payne did the same. With three minutes left in the third quarter, Hopkins picked up her tenth rebound, already securing a double-double, but Howard Payne started to crawl back with a layup, free throw, and three-pointer making the score a tight 45-43 to end the quarter.
To start the final quarter, Boehm hauled in an offensive rebound and later hit a pull-up shot to help Fox stay ahead. Hopkins continued to fill the stat sheet with a rebound and an assist, sending the ball to Boehm who put two on the board for Fox. The Yellow Jackets kept the scores close with a turn around jumper. The two teams fought for possession, with Hopkins seeing another rebound. Then, Burlison hit a shot that buried the hopes of the Yellow Jackets, nailing a triple on the swing pass from Boehm. Howard Payne scored two before Ushiro hit a jumper, bringing the score to 54-48. Boehm, Unutoa, and Dippel all scored on consecutive possessions to widen the game, and Hopkins fittingly closed the game with three from the charity stripe as Fox took the game, 62-52.
Top Performances
Hanne Hopkins notched her second double-double of the season, ending with 20 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks.
Emma Boehm followed with 11 points — six of which came in the fourth — two rebounds, and three assists.
Emma Burlison set the bar defensively with two steals and blocks and two blocks apiece, also hitting both of her triples. Defensively, the Bruins impressed as well, holding HPU to 15-64 (23.4%) from the field and 2-19 (10.5%) shooting from deep.
Coach's Thoughts
"This team continues to impress me with their work ethic and ability to adjust on the fly," Bruin head coach
Lauren Howard said, "We knew going into the game that it was going to be physical, we matched their physicality and didn't allow Howard Payne's runs to slow us down or get us discouraged."
What It Means
Fox wins their second game of the season, improving to a 2-1 record while Howard Payne slips to 2-1. The Jackets had previously beaten Pacific Lutheran and Lewis & Clark on their PNW road trip.
What Happens Next
Fox will face Warner Pacific in Newberg, Ore. on Tuesday, November 17. The game starts at 6:00 pm.
