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Jan. 24, 2009
George Fox Remains Unbeaten With 61-55 Win Over Lutes
PARKLAND, Wash. - George Fox, ranked No. 10 in NCAA Division III women's basketball, remained unbeaten this season with an exciting 61-55 Northwest Conference victory over the host Pacific Lutheran Lutes in Olson Auditorium.
The Bruins overcame a seven-point second half deficit to improve their record to 17-0, including a perfect 8-0 mark through the first half of the conference season. The Lutes, meanwhile, lost in Olson Auditorium for the first time in 10 games this season and are now 10-6 overall and 4-3 in the conference.
George Fox raced out to an 11-3 lead in the first four minutes and took a 17-8 advantage on a layup by Kristen Shielee with 9:13 left in the first half. Pacific Lutheran responded with a barrage of three-point shots to pull within two points, 28-26, at the intermission.
The Lutes came out on fire in the opening minutes of the second half, parlaying an 11-2 scoring binge to take a 37-30 lead with 17:26 left on the clock. Trinity Gibbons opened the half with a three-point basket, Amy Spieker followed with consecutive treys, and Jordan Westering finished the flurry with a jumper as the Lutes momentarily gained control.
George Fox, with 10 freshmen on its 14-player roster, responded to the adversity by scoring the next nine points, five by Sage Indendi, to take a 39-37 lead. Melissa Richardson hit a jumper on the other end of the floor to tie the game with 13:01 to play, but Elise Kuenzi hit a pair of free throws with 12:15 left to put the Bruins back on top and they would not trail again.
The Bruins finished the game off with accurate foul shooting, hitting 15-of-18 from the charity stripe in the final half. The visitors from Newberg, Oregon, ended up hitting 17-of-24 from the foul line while Pacific Lutheran took only four free throws during the game, making one.
Indendi scored 16 points to lead the Bruins, who also got 14 points from Keisha Gordon. Shielee, the Bruins' 6-4 center, finished the game with 12 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Spieker finished with a season-high 19 points, including five "treys," to lead the Lutes in scoring. Jen Sorensen came off the bench to tally 12 points, including three long balls.
- PLU -
