PORTLAND, Ore. – Christina Herring drained a game-winning three-pointer with 18 seconds left as the Lewis & Clark College Pioneers ended the George Fox University Bruins' long winning streaks against Northwest Conference teams with 58-56 upset in women's basketball action Friday night here at the Pamplin Sports Center.
The Bruins had won 37 in a row against NWC opponents in regular season games, and had a 40-game streak against conference teams counting NWC Tournament and NCAA post-season games. Lewis & Clark had been the last team to defeat George Fox in a regular season game with a 45-35 win in Portland on Feb. 16, 2008. George Fox, ranked 20th in the WBCA poll and 21st in the D3hoops.com poll, fell to 8-4 overall and 2-1 in the conference, while Lewis & Clark improved to 8-4 overall and 3-1 in the league.
After four ties and two lead changes in the first eight minutes of the game, the Bruins broke an 11-11 tie with back-to-back three-pointers by Hayley Cusick and Carly Towne for a 17-11 lead with 9:16 left in the half. A layup and free throw by Breezy Rinehart-Young kept the Bruins in front by six at 24-18 with 7:31 to go, but the Bruins went cold the rest of the half.
An 11-2 run, keyed by two rebound baskets by Neva Hauser and a jumper and three-pointer by Herring, enabled the Pioneers to take a 29-26 lead with 27 seconds left. Kylee Parker's last-second jumper brought the Bruins within one at 29-28 at halftime.
A baseline drive by Keisha Gordon to open the second half put the Bruins back on top, and the teams traded leads three times over the next three minutes. Another drive by Gordon gave the Bruins a 34-33 lead and ignited a 12-0 run that made it 44-33 with 12 minutes remaining. The Bruins took their largest lead of 12 points at 50-38 on a Carrie Myers basket with 9:11 left before the Pios rallied.
With Kristina Williams scoring two baskets and two free throws, L&C reeled off eight unanswered points over the next three minutes to get back in the game, cutting the Bruin lead to 50-46. Baskets by Megan Arnoldy and a putback by Hannah Munger for the Bruins around two free throws by Hauser made it 54-48 George Fox with 5:07 left, but then the Bruins went cold again, going scoreless for over four minutes.
Consecutive rebound goals by Margaret Dowling and the first of two free throws by Herring made it a one-point game at 54-53 with 3:04 left, but neither team could score over the next two minutes until Arianna Mohsenian hit two free tosses with 59 seconds left to give the Bruins a 56-53 lead. Herring hit a jumper in the lane to make a one-point game with 49 ticks left, then the Bruins lost possession on a tieup in the lane with 30 seconds to go, and Herring hit the game-winner from the left wing 12 seconds later. The Bruins had two close-in shots in the waning seconds go astray.
Gordon was the only Bruin in double figures with 12 points, giving her 1,015 for her career and moving her past Robin Taylor (1,006, 2003-07) into 10th on the all-time scoring list. Gordon, Munger, and Myers had eight rebounds apiece as the Bruins owned the glass 45-35. Mohsenian handed out three assists, and Munger blocked four shots.
Herring paced the Pios with 17 points, Hauser added 15, and Williams tallied 11. Herring also had a team-high seven rebounds, while Williams passed out three assists.
The Bruins out-shot the Pioneers from the field .431 (25-58) to .386 (22-57), but lost it at the line, hitting only .333 (3-9) to .625 (10-16) for the Pios. George Fox also committed 21 turnovers to 15 for L&C.
NEXT: George Fox returns home Saturday for its first conference home game at 6:00 p.m. vs. Pacific University … Lewis & Clark visits Pacific Lutheran University next Friday, also at 6:00 p.m. … Both games will be NWC doubleheaders, with men's games to follow at 8:00 p.m.