NEWBERG, Ore. – Led by Hannah Munger's 15 points and 14 rebounds, her 11th double-double of the season and 36th of her career, the third-ranked George Fox University Bruins cruised to a 62-35 win over the visiting Pacific University Boxers in Northwest Conference women's basketball action Saturday evening here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
Moving another step closer to what would be its sixth consecutive conference title, George Fox improved to 21-0 overall and 12-0 in the NWC, two-and-a-half games ahead of second-place Lewis & Clark College with four games left in the conference schedule. Pacific slipped to 10-9 overall and 3-8 in the league.
The Bruins built an early 9-0 lead on two layups by Keisha Gordon, a basket by Munger, and a three-pointer by Jami Roos while the Boxers were missing their first seven shot attempts. Pacific finally broke through on a jumper by Erica Schultz with 13:20 left in the half. A free throw by Paige Jensen made it 9-3 at the 11:22 mark, but that was as close as the Boxers would come.
A three by Gordon at the midpoint of the period got the Bruins going again, and Munger's layup at 7:51, making it 18-7, gave the Bruins a double-digit lead they would not relinquish. The Bruins closed the half with a three by Arianna Mohsenian and a layup by Megan Arnoldy to take their largest lead into halftime, ahead 30-11. Pacific shot only .227 (5-22) in the period while the Bruins made half their shots (13-26).
The Bruins remained comfortably ahead throughout the second half. Munger hit a free throw to open the half, giving the home team its first 20-point lead, and a layup by Gordon with 10:26 left made it a 30-point game at 47-16. The Bruins twice took 32-point leads, the last at 61-29 after a trey by Roos with 3:52 left.
In addition to Munger's big game, Gordon chipped in with 15 points, bringing her career total to 1,563 and moving her within 67 of becoming the Bruins' all-time leading scorer. The Bruins finished with a .481 shooting percentage (26-54) while holding the Boxers to a .213 mark (10-47). Arnoldy grabbed eight rebounds as the Bruins controlled the glass 43-29. Gordon passed out four assists, and Arnoldy had three of the Bruins' seven blocked shots.
No Boxer reached double figures in scoring; Schultz and Annette Highley were the team leaders with seven points apiece. Jensen and Brittany Anderson had four rebounds each, and Nani Ostrom handed out two assists.
NEXT: George Fox hits the road for three of its final four games, starting next Friday at the University of Puget Sound. Game time is 6:00 p.m. in Tacoma, Wash. ... Pacific goes home to host Willamette University Saturday, also at 6:00 p.m. ... Both games will be parts of NWC doubleheaders, with men's games following at 8:00 p.m.