WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- The George Fox women's lacrosse team beat the Whitman Blues by three points in a back-and-forth 16-13 game, claiming another win on the young season.

How It Happened
The first goal was sharp as Sasha Thayer threw the ball at the back of the net, coming from the center of the field—giving Fox a 1-0 advantage in the very first minute. Roughly seven minutes later, Whitman tied the score, and eventually gained momentum with another goal to pass Fox up. However, the lead wasn't for long as Merrick Gibson scored on a tense free-position shot, tying up the score once again, 2-2. 

Once again, the Blues tried to step ahead of them when they scored a goal coming from the opposite side, but Fox took the control back with four minutes remaining—Alli Stilp won the draw control and immediately got into their offensive set, as the ball was passed all around the goal; the ball finally ended up with Lana Davis, and she spun around multiple times, weaving through the thick defense and finishing to tie the score, 3-3. 

A couple of minutes later, the Blues passed the ball wide and were able to score a goal, but—just like other times throughout the game—Fox responded, as Davis quickly scored on a free-position opportunity. 

In the second period, Davis scored instantly, marking a 5-4 lead, but the Blues tied the score four minutes later, and managed to pass them at 6-5 with another goal following. With seven minutes left in the quarter, Fox tied the score again as Davis connected on her shot, 6-6. 

Fox was gaining traction as the Bruins notched two goals, one from Stilip and one from Ava Blum. Finally, with 38 seconds left, Whitman scored the final goal of the period, giving Fox a narrow 8-7 lead after the back-and-forth first half. 

Fox was quick to move to start the third as Bluhm and Junior Claire Abraham scored back-to-back—10-7.  The Blues tried to catch up with a goal minutes later, but Davis came in clutch making a free-position shot—that same three-point advantage, 11-8. Once again, Whitman slowly worked their way back in the game with two goals to cut the GFU lead to one, but Abraham quelled their run quickly scoring a goal with a fierce throw right. Whitman scored one more goal to end the period, and the teams entered the final frame neck-and-neck, 12-11.

The final quarter began rocky, but as the ball was passed wide on the right, it circled back to Davis, who scored from far center. Thayer and Davis scored consecutively in the next few minutes, bumping the overall score to 15-11, now on a clearer path to victory. Then, a free-position shot was in action, as Davis scored a solid shot—16-11. But with eight minutes left, the Blues gave their all to try and catch up, scoring two more goals—but they still couldn't match Fox's strong 16-13 win.

Top Performances
Lana Davis scored a number of eight goals with two assists and five won draw-controls, while Claire Abraham scored two goals and two draw-controls, and Sasha Thayer scored two goals with one assist. Ava Bluhm scored two goals as well, marking seven draw-controls for the day, as Alli Stilp scored one goal and five draw-controls—Merrick Gibson also scored one goal with one draw-control total. Kat Ellet played a full game for the first time in her career, notching five saves in 60 minutes and earning the win as goalie.

What It Means
With the win, the Bruins rise to 3-1 on the early season, while the Blues fall to 1-2.

What Comes Next
The Bruins will make their way back down to Newberg on Thursday, March 12 to compete against Occidental. The game is scheduled to start at 12:00 pm.