SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- The George Fox women's basketball team played their last game for the weekend in California in an impressive game against the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs, keeping the lead throughout in a successful 64-58 win.
How It Happened
Freshman
Emma Burlison brought the first points for the Bruins and for the whole match, a jumper, 2-0. It was a series of back-and-forth competition, and scoring was stagnant; four minutes later,
Emma Boehm bumped Fox up, but Santa Cruz was on their backs, 4-4.
Boehm stayed active and received an assist from
Hanne Hopkins for a quick two-pointer, giving the Bruins a 12-8 lead. The Slugs stayed close and hit both their free throws off a Fox foul, but Burlison answered with a mid-range jumper, 14-10. Santa Cruz snagged a point at the line in to end the period, but Fox led, 16-13
Kicking off the second quarter was
Reese Weygandt with a clean jumper, 18-13. In the seventh minute, Hopkins went up for a shot and got fouled along the way, slotting both free throws in the net, 20-13.
UCSC started to creep a bit closer, 22-19, but
Addi Dippel nailed a shot from deep, 25-19.
Tara Ushiro put the Bruins in the 30s with two successful free-throw attempts (30-22). With a minute and a half remaining, Burlison tracked two more free throws, and one last jumper from UC Santa Cruz put the score at 32-25.
The Bruins kept up their success in the second half. Weygandt claimed a defensive rebound and got it to Hopkins for a lay-in. (34-27). Boehm was good on a trey, with Dippel getting the assist in the fifth minute. Fox continued to draw fouls; this time
Aiga Unutoa went to the line, both successful, 39-33.
UC Santa Cruz almost got their opportunity to take the lead for the first time, 39-37, but couldn't follow through after Boehm scored a layup. Boehm, who was nearing her previous career high of 18, stayed on the gas, giving Fox their close lead with two good foul shots, 44-41.
Hopkins was ready to close out the game, starting the last quarter with a bang, letting one fly from behind the arc, 47-41. Fox stayed a bit still as the Banana Slugs got it within three, but the Bruins weren't done; Hopkins was around again, this time tracking a close layup, followed by more foul attempts. Boehm, who had been efficient all night long, found two more, putting the Bruins up seven, 53-46.
Santa Cruz responded with a floater, but Dippel hit a counter, tracking three more points for the night (56-48). Unutoa kept it up, grabbing the Bruins' next points to put them up 62-53. Weygandt totaled one more point at the line yet again in the last 10 seconds, and Santa Cruz got one more three-pointer. The Bruins earned their first win of the season, 64-58.
Top Performances
Emma Boehm led with a career-high 21 points, and also tracked 10 rebounds for her first career double-double — as well as going 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.
Hanne Hopkins finished with 14 points and a team high of 12 rebounds. Aig Unutoa tracked 9 points,
Emma Burlison with 8, and Addison Dippel with 6.
Reese Weygandt completed two assists.
Coach's Thoughts
"Emma stepped up for us in a big way, as well as some freshmen who contributed down the stretch," Bruin head coach
Lauren Howard said, "UCSC did a great job of knowing what to expect and I thought we did a good job adjusting and finding a way to grind out the win."
What It Means
Fox goes for a balanced record at 1-1, while the Banana Slugs fall to 0-2.
What Happens Next
The Bruins will play their first game at home on Wednesday, November 11th at 6 p.m. against Howard Payne.
