PARKLAND, Wash. – All-Conference players Keisha Gordon and Hannah Munger combined for 44 points and hit 17 of 19 shots from the field, leading the George Fox University Bruins to a wire-to-wire 83-45 win over the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes in Northwest Conference women's basketball Saturday night here at Olson Auditorium.
George Fox, ranked 15th in the WBCA NCAA Division III national poll and 17th by D3hoops.com, improved to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference with its ninth straight win over Pacific Lutheran. The Bruins have won 37 consecutive regular-season games against NWC competition, and 40 in a row counting conference tournament and post-season play. Pacific Lutheran fell to 3-2 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
The Bruins hit .560 (14-25) from the field while holding the Lutes to .276 (8-29) from the floor in building a big first-half lead. A layup by Haley Cusick at the 12:04 mark gave the Bruins their first double-digit lead of the game at 16-6, and they extended to as much as 20 points four times before the period ended. A steal and fast-break layup by Keisha Gordon, who led all scorers with 11 first-half points, with a minute-and-a-half left made it 39-19 Bruins, which was the halftime score as neither team could add any more points.
A three-pointer by Shelly Kilcup brought the Lutes within 17 at 41-24 early in the second half, but that was as close as the home team would get. Hitting nine of their first 12 shots in the half, the Bruins immediately answered with a 7-0 run for a 48-24 lead, and later went on a 10-0 run that stretched the margin to 33 points at 61-28 on a fast-break bucket by Cusick with 11 minutes remaining. A three by Crystal Blair gave the Bruins their largest advantage of 40 points at 79-39 with four minutes left.
Gordon hit 9-10 field goals, including 4-5 three-pointers, and 5-5 from the line en route to 27 points, the second-most in a game in her career. She also posted the second double-double of her career with a game-high 10 rebounds, along with seven steals and five assists. Munger sank 8-9 shots and a free throw for 17 points, and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds while blocking three shots. The Bruins shot even better in the second half (.586, 17-29) to finish with a .574 mark (31-54).
Jordan Westering, who played for the Bruins as a freshman three years ago, led the Lutes with eight points. Samantha Potter, Melissa Pixler, and Kilcup had five rebounds apiece, Ayla Mull passed out five assists, and Mahlet Tingley made four steals. The Lutes were held to a .271 shooting percentage (16-59).
NEXT: George Fox is off until Jan. 27, when the Bruins will begin play in the Surf 'n Slam Classic at Pt. Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, Calif. Their first-round opponent will be Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham at 5:00 p.m. ... Pacific Lutheran visits St. Martin's University Monday at 7:00 p.m.