George Fox, Ranked #3, Pulls Away in Fourth Quarter to Defeat Bearcats, 76-55

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, Ore. -- George Fox University, ranked #3 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, pulled away from Willamette University in the final six minutes to defeat the Bearcats, 76-55, in Northwest Conference women's basketball action on Tuesday, Jan. 19. Justine Benner led the Bruins with 27 points and 12 rebounds. She also earned four asssits and two steals.

GFU, which holds the #2 national ranking from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), remained undefeated at 16-0, including 7-0 in the NWC. Willamette dropped to 10-6 on the season, 2-5 in the NWC.

Benner provided much of GFU's offense. Kaitlin Jamieson added 10 points, six boards and three blocked shots for the Bruins. Anjenae Torregano also scored 10 points and led all players with five steals.

Willamette's top scorer was Kylie Towry (Jr./So., G, Medford, OR/South Medford HS) with 12 points on four 3-pointers to go along with five assists and four rebounds. Kelsey Walker (So., G, Westerville, OH/Westerville North HS) and Marisa Hamilton each scored 10 points for the Bearcats. Hamilton also contributed six rebounds.

The Bearcats trailed the Bruins 54-44 after three quarters and trailed 58-48 at the 6:02 mark in the final period. GFU ended the game with an 18-7 run.

During the game, George Fox earned 14 steals while forcing Willamette into 27 turnovers. The Bruins scored 30 points off turnovers/

The first quarter included a scoring run for each team. GFU tallied the game's first nine points, including one 3-pointer each by Kaycee Creech and Torregano. Willamette countered with an 8-0 run, leaving the Bruins with a one-point lead at the end of the quarter. Mary Eckenrode (So., PG, Higley, AZ/Highland HS) and Towry each sank a 3-pointer for Willamette.

A free throw by Madi Andresen (So., F, Forest Grove, OR/Forest Grove HS) of WU tied the game 10 seconds into the second quarter. The Bruins recorded the next seven points for a 16-9 advantage with 7:48 left in the half.

Willamette pulled within 18-17 on a 3-pointer by Towry at the 5:05 mark, but GFU responded with six unanswered points to start a 12-2 run. Benner scored seven points during the run, including a layup and a foul shot to complete the offensive outburst with 2:43 remaining.

The Bruins led 35-24 at halftime. Benner registered 15 points in the first half.

WU scored the first five points of the second half and later cut the deficit to a single point at 39-38 on a jumper by Hamilton with 5:07 to go in the third quarter. After each team added a basket, the Bruins went on a 13-4 run in the final 3:55 of the quarter.

Walker reduced the margin to 54-46 by starting the fourth period with a jumper for Willamette. GFU earned the next four points, but Willamette added a jumper by Whitney Anderson (So., G, Willamina, OR/Willamina HS) with 6:02 remaining.

The Bruins followed with six unanswered points over the next 1:24 to increase their lead to 64-48 with 4:38 left. A 3-pointer by Towry 16 seconds later stopped the Bruins for a moment, but George Fox continued to pull away.

For the game, GFU shot 44.3% from the field (31 of 70), including 51.4% (18 of 35) in the second half. The Bruins put in 7 of 25 three-point shots and made 7 of 10 free throws.

The Bearcats finished at 43.4% on overall field goal shooting (23 of 53) and connected on 56.0% of their shots in the second half (14 of 25). Towry hit 4 of 7 three-pointers to help the Bearcats go 7 of 16 from behind the arc. WU sank 2 of 4 free throw attempts.

Willamette will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 23 with a Northwest Conference game at Lewis & Clark College. Game time in Portland, Oregon, is set for 4 p.m. (PST).