NEWBERG, Ore. – With 17 players seeing action and all but two of them scoring, the 24th-ranked George Fox University Bruins opened their 2013-14 women's basketball season with an 88-59 win over the California Lutheran University Regals in the second game of the George Fox Classic Friday night here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
The Regals' Chelsea Jacoby, a transfer from the NCAA Division I University of California-Riverside, hit a three-pointer to open the game and the visitors were able to stay in the game by breaking the Bruins' full-court pressure and scoring on fast breaks early. Cal Lu took its final lead on a jumper Jacoby at the 13:09 mark for a 15-14 edge.
From that point on, it was all Bruins as the tournament hosts were not so hospitable, running off 40-9 outburst to close the period in front 54-24. George Fox blistered the net at a .607 clip (17-28) while holding Cal Lu to .320 (8-25), made 18 of 23 free throws, and picked up 14 steals while forcing 22 Regal turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
Senior point guard Hayley Cusick led the way for the Bruins in the first half with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting with a three-pointer. Junior post Megan Hays scored eight, including 6-for-6 from the line, and juco transfer Lauren Codling also scored eight. Jacoby had half of the Regals' points with 12 at the break.
The Bruins scored the first six points of the second half on baskets by senior forward Megan Arnoldy, sophomore post Jordyn Peacock (also a D-I transfer from the University of New Mexico), and Cusick, and eventually built a 43-point margin at 75-32 on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Nicole Blizzard with 13:40 left in the game. The Regals scored the next 14 points in a row as the Bruins finally went cold, the last six by Keeley Anderson, to trim the deficit to 29 at 75-46. A free throw by sophomore wing Justine Benner at the 7:49 mark ended the Bruins' drought, and the teams traded points the rest of the way.
Cusick finished with a game-high 17 on 7-of-11 shooting and Hays added 10, going 8-for-8 from the line, to lead the Bruins. Codling, Blizzard, and freshman Kylie Dummer scored eight apiece. Codling's nine rebounds led the Bruins to a 43-36 advantage on the boards, and Cusick made six of the Bruins' 20 steals as they pressured the Regals into 31 turnovers. Junior Dacia Heckendorf had four assists. The Bruins wound up 30-62 (.484) from the field, 7-21 (.333) from three-point range, and 21-30 (.700) from the line.
Jacoby scored 16 and Haley Hodgson 10 to pace the Regals, while Sofia Cruz added nine points and Anderson eight. Anderson and Kay Lindor grabbed eight boards each, and Cruz handed out four assists. Natalie Stone made three steals as the Regals forced 26 turnovers out of the Bruins. The Regals shot 18-55 (.327) on field goals, 3-10 (.300) on three, and 20-33 (.606) on free throws.
In the tournament's first game, the Wheaton College Thunder from Illinois took down the Linfield College Wildcats 74-57 behind14 points from Lauren Graham and 10 points and nine rebounds from Maris Hovee. Linfield got 21 points from Kaely Maltman and 10 rebounds from Katelyn Henson. A complete story on the Wheaton-Linfield game is available on the George Fox Classic tournament home page at http://athletics.georgefox.edu/sports/wbkb/2013-14/releases/linwheat.
Saturday's schedule has Linfield (0-1) and California Lutheran (0-1) at 4:00 p.m., with George Fox (1-0) and Wheaton (1-0) at 6:00 p.m.