Bruins Bite Bearcats, 72-35

Keilyn Fujioka and Kari Woody led the Bearcats with nine points and seven rebounds apiece.

Photo: George Fox Athletics

NEWBERG - Keyed by a 23-0 run midway through the first half, the George Fox University Bruins guaranteed themselves part of a three-way share of first place in the Northwest Conference with a 72-35 victory over the Willamette University Bearcats in women’s basketball action Friday night at the Wheeler Sports Center’s Miller Gym.

George Fox improved to 8-4 overall with its fourth straight win and 4-1 in the conference, while Willamette dropped to 3-11 overall and 1-4 in the league.

Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Puget Sound were at Whitman College and Whitworth College respectively Friday, and all four were also 3-1 before the night, so the Bruins will be tied with the winners of those two games for the league lead.

After two early ties, Willamette took its only lead four minutes into the game at 6-4 on a jumper by Maggie Wilkens.

Robin Taylor tied it with a basket and Tiffany Behary hit a three-pointer to put the Bruins ahead for good, igniting a 23-0 run over the next nine minutes.

Jaime Hubka’s three capped the rally and made it 27-6 with 6:45 remaining.

The Bruins took a 40-12 lead into the break after holding the Bearcats to a .227 shooting percentage (5-22) in the half.

A three-pointer by Hubka and a pair of goals by Taylor to open the second half stretched the Bruin lead to 35 points at 47-12, and the Bearcats got no closer than 31 the rest of the way.

The largest lead for the Bruins was 40 points at 69-29 when Mellisa Eastwold sank a pair of free throws with 4:59 to play.

Thirteen of the 15 Bruins who played scored, led by Behary’s 12, all on three-pointers, and 10 by Melissa Marek-Farris.

Katy Campbell hauled in 10 rebounds as the Bruins held the edge on the boards 38-37.

B.B. Gardner passed out five assists, and Behary had three steals.

The Bruins shot .463 (25-54) from the field, and were especially hot from outside, sinking 10-21 from three-point range.

Keilyn Fujioka led the Bearcats with nine points and pulled down seven rebounds, as did Kari Woody.

The Bearcats managed only a .271 shooting percentage (13-48) and struggled even more from long range, making only 1-12 from beyond the arc.

George Fox hits the road Saturday to Forest Grove, to take on Pacific University, while Willamette returns home to host Linfield College.

Both games are at 6:00 PM, followed by men’s NWC games at 8:00 Pm.

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