STEVENS POINT, Wis. -- The UW-Stevens Point women's basketball team saw its school-record 20 game winning streak snapped by the Bruins of George Fox University Friday night at the Berg Gymnasium in the NCAA Sweet 16, 71-63.
The Bruins 56.3 percent shooting was a key difference in a game in which the Pointers never had a lead.
In the game's opening half the Pointers fell down by eight early as the Bruins started the game with a 14-6 lead with 12:50 to play in the opening half.
The Pointers would chip away at the lead as they cut it to two points with 6:01 to go in the half at 24-22.
George Fox went back up by 9 with 3:39 to go, but the Pointers had another answer as they went on a 11-2 run to tie things up at 36-36 with 1:05 left in the half.
The Bruins then scored the final four points of the half to take a 40-36 edge into the break.
Senior Britta Petersen scored 14 of her team-high 19 points in the game's first 20 minutes.
The second half was much of the same as the Bruins built their lead up to as many as nine a couple of different times and the Pointers kept chipping away at the lead.
The Pointers would bring the lead down to four points with 1:34 left at 67-63, but that would be the last of the Pointers scoring the rest of the way as the Bruins hit four free throws to escape with the victory.
The Bruins were led by Keisha Gordon and Hannah Munger in the game. Gordon had a game-high 22 points, while Munger finished with a double-double, scoring 17 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
Cassie Bandow and Christin Coles each finished in double figures for the Pointers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The season was one of many positives for the Pointers as they finished with a 27-3 record, including the school record winning streak. The Pointers also became just the sixth team to go 16-0 in the WIAC and won their fourth straight WIAC Championship.
The game wrapped up impressive careers for the three Pointer seniors, as Andrea Flease, Coles, and Petersen played their final games in a Pointer uniform. The class won four WIAC tournaments and racked up 101 wins in their four years compared to just 19 losses.
The seniors also made four trips to the NCAA Tournament, with three trips to the Sweet 16 and one trip to the Elite Eight.
George Fox (25-5) will advance to play Illinois Wesleyan who won the first game of the Sweet 16 round over Coe College, 77-74. That Elite 8 matchup will be at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow night at the Berg Gymnasium.