NEWBERG, Ore. – For the second night in a row, George Fox University knocked off a team that played in last year's NCAA Division III National Women's Basketball Tournament, but it was a tougher test the second time as the Bruins survived the Wheaton College (Ill.) Thunder 53-50 in the George Fox Classic Saturday here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.
After coasting to an 88-59 win Friday over California Lutheran University, the Bruins, who are ranked 24th in the D3hoops.com pre-season poll, improved to 2-0 by holding off the Thunder's comeback efforts that erased most a 16-point George Fox first-half lead. Wheaton fell to 1-1 on the season.
Wheaton took a pair of two-point leads at 2-0 and 5-3 on jumpers by Maris Hovee and Hannah Considine, but that was the only times the Thunder led. Megan Arnoldy hit a three-pointer to put the Bruins ahead with 16:39 left in the half, igniting an 11-0 run, and they never trailed again. A layup by Jordyn Peacock capped the outburst and made it 14-5 with 11:38 to go.
The Bruins used another 11-0 run, begun by a Hayley Cusick jumper and ended with another Peacock basket, to build a 27-11 advantage, their largest lead of the game, with 6:05 left. The Bruins made only one of their last nine shots in the period, however, as the Thunder trimmed the margin 27-15 at the break.
The teams more or less traded points over the first 10 minutes of the second half. Wheaton finally got the deficit under double digits for good with 9:57 to go on a pair of Katie McDaniels free throws, and the Bruins were never able to rebuild a comfortable lead. The Thunder finally trimmed the lead to four at 48-44 on a Maria Panaggio charity toss with 1:55 left.
Arnoldy's conventional three-point play with 1:42 left gave the Bruins some breathing room, but baskets by Hovee and Considine offset a free throw each by Cusick and Peacock, leaving the Bruins with a 53-48 lead with 22 seconds left. McDaniels drove for a layup with 16 seconds left, and the Thunder forced a George Fox turnover with 10 seconds to go, setting up a chance to tie. Chantal Meacham twice had three-point open looks, but missed both as time expired.
Both teams struggled offensively, George Fox shooting only .305 (18-59) from the field and .211 (4-19) from beyond the arc, while Wheaton hit .254 (16-63) from the floor and missed all 11 of its three-point tries. The Bruins held a 51-48 rebound edge but committed 21 turnovers to 16 for the Thunder.
Arnoldy led all scorers with 14 points and Cusick added 11 for the Bruins. Peacock just missed a double-double with nine points and a game-high 11 boards. She also had three assists, as did Cusick and Dacia Heckendorf. Peacock blocked three shots, and Cusick and McKenzie Wolfe had two steals apiece.
Considine and McDaniels paced the Thunder with 13 and 12 points respectively, with Considine grabbing a team-high nine rebounds. Meacham and Ellie Zeller each had three assists, and Hovee made three steals while blocking four shots.
In the earlier game of the day, California Lutheran (1-1) picked up its first victory with a 69-61 win over Linfield College (0-2). Chelsea Jacoby had 17 points, Keeley Anderson 15, and Sofia Cruz 10 for the victorious Regals, while the Wildcats got 23 points and nine rebounds from Katelyn Henson and 14 points and nine boards from Kaely Maltman.
Anderson of CLU, Maltman of Linfield, Hovee of Wheaton, and Peacock and Cusick of George Fox were named to the All-Tournament Team.
NEXT: George Fox visits Chapman University next Saturday for a 6:00 p.m. game in Orange, Calif. … Wheaton hosts Aurora University Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Central time.