NEWBERG, Ore. – Led by Justine Benner's hot first half and an all-around performance by Hayley Cusick, the nationally-ranked George Fox University Bruins brought down the Simpson University Red Hawks 86-46 in a non-conference women's basketball game Sunday afternoon here at the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

The Bruins, ranked 10th in the latest in the NCAA Division III D3hoops.com poll and 15th in the USA Today Sports / Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll, improved to 8-0 with the win, the sixth time in their history that they have won that many to start a season.  The Red Hawks of the NAIA fell to 6-9.

Forcing six Red Hawk turnovers in the first six minutes of the game, the Bruins jumped out to a 14-6 lead, Benner scoring five points on two layups and a free throw.  A three-pointer by Jami Roos boosted the Bruin lead to nine at 19-10 with 12:10 to go in the half, but the Hawks answered with seven points in a row on jumpers by Katie Ratfield and Madison Cox around a three by Kaity Hahn to make it 19-17 midway through the period.

Layups by Cusick and Megan Arnoldy and a three from the right corner by Nicole Blizzard got the Bruins going again and upped the lead back to nine at 26-17 with 6:27 left.  A conventional three-point play by Benner, who scored 13 in the first half, gave the Bruins their first double-digit lead of 31-19 with 5:21 to go, and she completed another one 25 seconds later to make it 34-19.  A steal and layup by Cusick gave the Bruins their largest lead of 40-20 with 1:47 left, and they were up 44-25 at the break.

Cusick took over for the Bruins to start the second half, scoring eight points in the first five minutes as the home team extended its lead to 30 at 56-26.  A fast-break layup by Lauren Codling capped an 18-0 George Fox run that made it 64-26 before the Red Hawks finally got their first field goal of the half on a rebound basket by Kayla Shubin at the 11:28 mark.

The Bruins made it a 40-point game at 71-30 on Kylee Parker's layup with 9:12 to go.  They eventually led by as many as 46 following a jumper in the middle by Sydney Beadle that made it 83-37 with 4:20  left.

Benner paced the Bruins with 15 points, making 6-10 from the field, while Cusick scored 14 on 7-10 shooting, along with four assists, four steals, and blocked three shots.  Roos and McKenzie Wolfe scored 10 points apiece, Codling had five rebounds as the Bruins held a 41-38 edge on the glass, and Dacia Heckendorf handed out five assists.

Shubin was the only Red Hawk in double figures with 13 points, while Cox had a team-high seven rebounds.  The Red Hawks finished with a .326 shooting percentage (15-46), including only .227 (5-22) in the second half, and made 30 turnovers as the Bruins picked up 15 steals while making only 12 miscues themselves.

NEXT: George Fox will complete its non-conference slate in the Trinity University Christmas Classic in San Antonio, Texas, taking on Howard Payne University on Sunday, Dec. 29, at 2:00 p.m. Central Standard Time (12:00 noon PST), and host Trinity on Monday, Dec. 30, at 3:00 p.m. CST (1:00 p.m. PST) … Simpson visits Concordia University-Irvine (Calif.) next Sunday, Dec. 29, at 6:00 p.m.