George Fox Remains Undefeated at 20-0 with Win over Bearcats

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

NEWBERG, ORE. -- George Fox University upped its record to 20-0 on the season with an 80-41 victory over Willamette University on Friday, Feb. 6 in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game at the Wheeler Sports Center. The Bruins moved to 11-0 in the NWC.

GFU is ranked #4 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 and is #5 in the USA Today Sports Coaches Poll. Willamette fell to 6-14 overall and to 1-10 in the NWC.

Justine Benner of George Fox led all players with 18 points. Lauren Codling added a double-double with 14 ponts and 15 rebounds, while earning seven assists, five steals and two blocked shots. Jami Morris contributed 11 points and four steals.

Jojo DeLong (Sr., PG, Santa Clarita, CA/Canyon HS) of Willamette achieved 17 points and connected on four 3-point shots. Kelsey Walker (Fr., G, Westerville, OH/Westerville North HS) provided nine points. Katie Kalugin (Sr., G, Woodburn, OR/Woodburn HS) grabbed nine rebounds for the Bearcats.

George Fox surged out to an 8-2 lead in the first 4:30 of the game. Kalugin cut the lead to 10-6 a bit later on a jumper for the Bearcats.

The Bruins responded with a 10-0 run to take an 20-6 lead with 11:15 left in the half. Benner and Codling each tallied four points during the run. GFU extended the margin to 24-10 at the 8:41 mark following a driving layup by Sammy Naluai.

Willamette rallied to pull within six points, 24-18, with 4:16 on the clock. The Bearcats' 8-0 outburst started and ended with 3-pointers by DeLong. In between,Marisa Hamilton (So./Fr., C, Beaverton, OR/Southridge HS) put 14-foot jumper near the baseline.

The half ended with GFU scoring 14 of the final 20 points to take a 38-24 lead into the break. Benner earned 15 points in the first half on 6-for-12 shooting. DeLong topped Willamette with 11 points in the first half, while hitting 4 of 8 field goal attempts, including a trio of 3-point baskets.

GFU started the second half with a 10-3 run, as the Bruins' lead expanded to 48-27 with 16:56 remaining. WU cut the margin to 49-31 just under two minutes later on a driving layup and foul shot by DeLong.

After the Bruins registered seven of the next nine points, DeLong sank a 3-pointer for Willamette. The Bruins tacked on eight unanswered points for a 63-35 advantage with 6:58 to go.

George Fox shot 48.4% for the game (30 of 62), including 17 of 33 (51.5%) in the first half. The Bruins made just 2 of 12 three-pointers (16.7%), but sank 18 of 21 free throws (85.7%). Willamette hit 10 of 24 field goals in the first half (41.7%), but finished the game at 27.3% overall (15 of 55).

The Bearcats put through 5 of 26 three-pointers and 6 of 11 free throws. GFU achieved a 41-37 rebounding margin, with WU gaining a 13-10 edge in offensive boards.

Willamette will play at home on Saturday, Feb. 7 against the University of Puget Sound. Game time at Gordie James Court in Cone Field House is set for 4 p.m. (PST).