At George Fox 62, Pacific Lutheran 55 (ot)

Newberg, Ore. – (From Blair Cash, George Fox SID) Becky Thompson scored seven points in overtime, including a three-point play to open the extra period that put George Fox University ahead for good, and the 21st-ranked Bruins went on to a 62-55 win over the 22nd-ranked Pacific Lutheran University Lutes, moving into first place in the Northwest Conference women’s basketball race Friday night at the Wheeler Sports Center.

The two nationally-ranked teams entered the evening in a virtual deadlock for first place, although the Lutes had the edge in percentage points. With the victory, avenging a 51-45 setback in the teams’ first meeting on Jan. 5, the Bruins improved to 19-2 overall and 10-2 in the conference with their 5th straight win.  The Lutes saw their own four-game streak snapped and fell to 14-3 overall, 8-2 in the league.

Darby Cave got the Bruins off and running with eight points in the game’s first nine minutes, and George Fox was able to mount a 10-point lead at 17-7 on a Nicole Prazeau jumper with 7:59 left in the half.  The Bruins maintained the lead up to the halftime, going into the break with a 26-20 lead.

PLU, after shooting only .267 (8-30) in the first half, went on a 12-4 run to start the second half to go ahead 32-30 with 17:07 left.  The game seesawed back and forth thereafter, with six ties and 11 lead changes. 

Cave hit three straight baskets to put George Fox up 47-42 with 4:35 to go, only to have the Lutes respond with an 8-3 run to tie it at 50-50 and send it into overtime.  Jessica Iserman hit three shots in that run, her last one a hook that knotted the score at with 41 seconds left. 

Thompson broke the tie with her three-point play at 4:33 in the overtime and Prazeau hit a pair of free throws at 3:58, giving the Bruins a five-point lead at 55-50.  Prazeau made another free throw and Thompson two in the final 19 seconds to seal the win.

Cave and Prazeau led all scorers with 18 apiece, the only Bruins indouble figures.  Prazeau grabbed 9 rebounds and Amy Fitch 8 as the Bruins won the rebounding battle, 43-40.  George Fox hit 15-19 on free throws (.789), while the defense held the Lutes to only .319 shooting (22-69) from the field.

Iserman led the Lutes with 15 points, Jamie Keatts added 13, and Becky Franza scored 11.  Iserman and Courtney Johnson had 10 rebounds each, and Johnson, third in the nation in blocked shots, rejected 6.  PLU struggled from the charity stripe, hitting only 7-15 (.467).

The Bruins are off until next Friday (Feb. 8) when they visit the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma for a 6:00 p.m. contest. The Lutes are at Linfield College Saturday (Feb. 2), also at 6:00 p.m.  Both games will be followed by men’s games at 8:00 p.m.

At Whitworth 60, Willamette 45

Spokane, Wash. – (From Steve Flegel, Whitworth SID) On a night that neither team shot the ball well, Whitworth College made enough to hold off visiting Willamette University 60-45 on Friday night in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game.

Willamette made only 28% of its shots from the floor, 21% in the first half, to fall to 9-11 overall and 4-7 in the NWC. Whitworth shot only slightly better, making 33% from the field, to improve to 12-8, 7-4.

But Whitworth took advantage of 22 offensive rebounds and forced the Bearcats into 23 turnovers.

Four players scored in double figures for the Pirates, led by freshman Sarah Shogren's 14 points off of the bench. Chrissy Oneal scored 13 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, while Erica Ewart and Dani Bielec each added 10 points.

Willamette was led by Kasey Sorenson's game-high 21 points. She also added 11 boards. Rosie Contri added 10 points for the Bearcats.

Whitworth led 28-16 at halftime and increased the lead to 32-16 early in the second period on a basket by Ewart. But Willamette went on a 14-2 run to pull within 34-30 on put-back basket by Sorenson.

However the Pirates responded with a 9-0 run to pull ahead 43-30 on a basket by Oneal with nine minutes to play. Whitworth never led by less than double-figures the rest of the way.

Whitworth will host Lewis & Clark College on Saturday night, while Willamette will travel to Walla Walla to take on Whitman College.

At Linfield 73, Pacific 66

McMinnville, Ore. – (From Kelly Bird, Linfield SID) Linfield erased a bad memory, avenging a last-minute defeat to Pacific four weeks ago by beating the Boxers 73-66 at Ted Wilson Gym.

As in the first meeting, the Northwest Conference women's basketball game Friday night featured lead changes galore. In the end, it was the Wildcats who took control, outscoring the visitors 8-2 with the game on the line in the final minutes.

Linfield (9-11, 5-6 NWC) ended a two-game losing slide and pulled into a tie for fifth place with the Boxers (9-10, 5-6 NWC) in the NWC standings.

Linfield forward Monica Schwing shared top scoring honors with 18 points and center Shae Wright added 10 points and five rebounds. The Wildcats' depth proved too much for the Boxers as the Linfield reserves outscored the Pacific bench 29-6. Heidi Jurgens passed out a season-high nine assists for the Wildcats.

The Boxers built a five-point lead, 15-10, over the course of the first seven minutes. The Wildcats battled back to knot the game at 15 on Alicia Westley's bucket with 12:15 remaining in the period. The game remained nip and tuck until Schwing scored five straight points allowing Linfield to build a six-point cushion, 32-26. The Wildcats held a 40-33 advantage at the intermission. Both teams shot well in the first half, with Linfield hitting 18 of 30 shots (.600) and Pacific 11 of 21 (.524). But the Wildcats outrebounded the Boxers by a 17-10 count, including six boards at the offensive end.

The Boxers quickly erased the Wildcats' lead to begin the second half. But Linfield hung together and Wright's basket with 5:05 left put the 'Cats in front to stay, 58-57. Katie Gardner's three-pointer moments later salted the game away, giving Linfield a five-point lead with less than three minutes to go.

Boxers guard Kristine Callan connected on 6 of 12 shots to finish with 18 points. Mary Lindberg totaled 13 points to go with six assists and three steals.

Linfield enjoyed one of its best shooting nights of the season, netting 54 percent from the field. Pacific hit 51 percent, but turned the ball over 25 times.

Next, Linfield hosts conference leader Pacific Lutheran Saturday night at 6:00 p.m., while Pacific entertains Puget Sound.

At Whitman 61, Lewis & Clark 37

Walla Walla, Wash. – (From Dave Holden, Whitman SID) With seven players scoring points, the Whitman women's basketball team jumped in front 17-9 midway through the first half and rolled to a 61-37 Northwest Conference victory over Lewis & Clark Friday night in Sherwood Center.

Avenging a two-point loss at Lewis & Clark earlier in the season, Whitman improved to 6-13 on the season and 2-9 in NWC play. The visiting Pioneers fell to 7-12 and 1-9.

After Whitman's opening surge, Lewis & Clark pulled to within a point at 17-16 with 6:47 left in the first half. But the Missionaries closed out the half on a 12-2 run to lead 29-18 at the break.

Whitman kept its momentum rolling to start the second stanza, using a 12-6 spurt to take a 17-point lead with 9:04 left to play. The Missionaries extended their lead to as many as 29 points with a minute remaining.

Whitman's Sunny Gulberg scored a game-high 14 points while handing out four assists and grabbing three rebounds. Ashley Wright added 12 points, six boards and two blocked shots. Kim Evanger contributed 11 points and seven rebounds, which gives her an even 500 rebounds in four injury-plagued seasons.

The Missionaries crushed Lewis & Clark on both the backboards and at the free throw line. Darin Reynaud snared a dozen rebounds as Whitman outboarded the Pioneers 53-27. The difference was just as pronounced at the charity stripe. With Lewis & Clark committing 27 fouls and three players fouling out, the Missionaries went to the line 48 times and made 31 of those attempts.

Gulberg and Evanger shot 11 free throws each, converting their chances into 15 points. As a team, the Pioneers went to the line just 10 times, making five.

Whitman's 48 free throw opportunities is a new season high for NWC teams. The previous high was 42, which Willamette attempted a week ago against Linfield. By making 31 of its free throws, Whitman tied the number George Fox made against Evergreen State in December.

Lewis & Clark got 10 points and five rebounds from both Lindsay Sweetland and Deidra Wilson. Sweetland, who entered the game averaging 15.6 points (the same number as Whitman's Gulberg), did not score in the second half.