SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Raising their record to 10-0 in head coach Michael Meek's 100th college game, the nationally-ranked George Fox University Bruins broke open a tight game in the second half and defeated the host Trinity University Tigers 82-58 in the Trinity Women's Basketball Christmas Classic Monday afternoon here at the Sam Gym.
With their second win in as many all-time meetings with Trinity, the Bruins, who are 10th in the D3hoops.com poll and 15th in the WBCA poll, improved their record under Meek, now in his fourth season, to 86-14. The Tigers, who were listed among "others receiving votes" in the latest polls, slipped to 9-3 on the season.
The Bruins jumped out to a 6-0 lead on a Justine Benner layup, a Megan Arnoldy free throw, and a three-point basket by center Jordyn Peacock and never trailed, but they could not shake the Tigers in the opening period. Benner gave the Bruins their first double-digit lead when she completed a three-point play at 11:52 to make it 18-7, and Jami Roos drained a three a minute-and-a-half later for a 23-11 lead.
The Bruins were still up by 12 at 29-17 following a Roos layup with 7:37 left, but went cold over the next three minutes as the Tigers heated up. Murphy Burns hit a three, two free throws, and a jumper to finish off an 11-0 Trinity run that got the home team back in the game, trailing 29-28 with 4:49 to go. A layup by McKenzie Wolfe halted the Trinity rally, but the Tigers finally tied it at 35-35 on a three by Allison Staley with 1:09 left. A jumper by Roos and an Arnoldy free throw with half a second showing gave the Bruins a 38-35 halftime advantage.
Benner hit back-to-back buckets to give the Bruins a seven-point lead two minutes into the second stanza, and a pair of treys by Dacia Heckendorf enabled them to maintain a slim margin over the next four minutes. Hayley Cusick, the Bruins' usual starting point guard who had played only seven minutes the day before after falling on previously-injured shoulder and did not start on Monday, came in to hit consecutive layups as the Bruins rebuilt a double-figure lead of 54-43 with 12:57 to play.
Leading by nine at 56-47, the Bruins exploded for a 13-2 burst to take a comfortable 20-point lead of 69-49 with 6:49 remaining. Cusick hit a tip-in, a three, and a jumper to spark the rally, and Roos added another three as the Bruins pulled away. A layup by Sydney Beadle with 13 seconds left gave the Bruins their largest lead and the final 82-58 score.
Cusick finished with 17 points, 13 in the second half, while hitting 8-11 from the field. Roos added 15, Benner 14, and Arnoldy 10. Lauren Codling grabbed 10 rebounds as the Bruins controlled the glass 47-35. Roos also handed out seven assists and made three steals, and Peacock blocked a pair of shots. The Bruins shot .492 (32-65) for the game while holding the Tigers to .344 (21-61)
The Tigers got 18 points from Burns and 12 from Hannah Coley. Libby Kruse pulled down 12 boards. Kruse, Grace Horn, and Randi Reinhardt had two assists apiece, and Anecia Richardson made three steals.
NEXT: George Fox, its non-conference schedule completed, returns to Northwest Conference play Friday at Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland, Wash. Game time is 6:00 p.m., to be followed by the men's game at 8:00 p.m. The Bruins are 1-0 in the NWC after defeating Linfield College 86-36 at home on Dec. 7 … Trinity is off until Friday, Jan. 10, hosting Texas Lutheran University at 8:00 p.m. in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference game.