McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Megan Arnoldy scored a career-high 23 points and the George Fox University defense held the Linfield College Wildcats without a field goal for nearly 16 minutes in the second half, leading the third-ranked Bruins to a 75-52 win in Northwest Conference women's basketball action Saturday evening here at Ted Wilson Gym.
The Bruins remained unbeaten at 16-0 with their ninth consecutive victory over their Yamhill County rivals, and maintained sole possession of the top spot in the conference at 7-0. The Wildcats slipped under .500 at 8-9 overall and to 2-6 in the league.
The game was nip-and-tuck through the first 10 minutes, neither team holding more than a three-point lead. Linfield hit its first five shots and seven of its first nine, off-setting six offensive rebounds by the Bruins. The Wildcats held an early 5-2 lead following a turnaround jumper by Gretchen Owens, the conference's leading scorer, while the Bruins came back to take a 10-7 lead on a jumper by Arnoldy.
The Bruins began to pull away with a 10-0 run midway through the half, Arnoldy hitting two free throws and a rally-capping three that made it 27-18 with 9:19 left. The Wildcats got within six on a jumper in the lane by Katelyn Henson that cut the home team's deficit to 35-29 with 1:08 to go, but the Bruins answered with a three-pointer from the left corner by Jami Roos and a rebound basket by Breezy Rinehart-Young to take a 40-29 lead into the break. Arnoldy led all scorers with 13 points in the period for the Bruins, while Owens paced the 'Cats with 12.
The teams swapped baskets through the first two-and-a-half minutes of the second half, Owens pulling the Wildcats within eight at 47-39 at the 17:40 mark. It was the last field goal the 'Cats would make until there were 44 seconds left in the game. Over the next six minutes, the Bruins out-scored the 'Cats 15-0, led by a pair of threes by Arianna Mohsenian, to build a 62-39 margin with 11:50 left. Linfield scored four straight points on free throws, three by Kaely Maltman, but the Bruins salted the game away with another big run of 9-0 to take a 28-point lead of 71-43 with five minutes to play.
Kelsey Khaw gave George Fox its largest lead of 29 at 75-46 with two free throws with 1:27 left. Linfield finally ended its field goal drought after a span of 15:56 on a baseline jumper by Lauren Sherrard with 44 ticks remaining.
The Bruins shot .405 (30-74) from the field, getting 30 more shots than the Wildcats, who hit .409 (18-44). A 45-36 rebound advantage, with 20 on the offensive glass, and a margin of 11 turnovers to 23 for the Wildcats, led to the huge shot discrepancy.
With top scorers Hannah Munger and Keisha Gordon having off-nights with only 10 points combined, Arnoldy came through by hitting 10-15 from the floor and hauling down a team-high eight rebounds. Mohsenian hit 6-9, including four threes, for 16 points, and Rinehart-Young added 10. Hayley Cusick handed out four assists, and Dacia Heckendorf made six steals.
Owens was the only Wildcat in double figures with 24 points, along with seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Henson had a game-high 11 rebounds.
NEXT: George Fox returns to action Sunday with a home match at 6:00 p.m. against Pacific Lutheran University in a game that was postponed from Friday due to severe winter weather conditions that prevented the Lutes from leaving the Puget Sound area … Linfield hosts Pacific University Tuesday, also at 6:00 p.m. … Both games are part of NWC doubleheaders, with the men's games following at 8:00 p.m.