Central Washington led by as many as 11 points in the second half before the Bruins rallied, led by Leith, whose big night included four 3-point field goals. She was the Northwest Conference leader in that category last year, hitting 1.96 per game. George Fox broke a 65-65 tie and forged ahead 70-65 with 4:48 left on a layup by Kellie Thomas and a Leith three, but the Wildcats battled back to tie it 74-74 on Kelly Quinn’s two free throws with 16 seconds left, sending the game into an extra period.
Hanna Hull, who had a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 18 rebounds, scored half the Wildcats’ points in overtime as Central overpowered the Bruins 8-2 to avoid the upset. Laura Wright also had a double-double for the Wildcats with 15 points and 14 boards, Jamie Corwin scored 19, Quinn had 15, and Ashley Blake tallied 12. Corwin had 7 assists and 5 steals. The Wildcats dominated the backboards 55-33 and got 21 offensive rebounds.
In addition to Leith’s outpouring, Liz Clark scored 16 and Thomas finished with 10 for George Fox. Clark was the Bruins’ top rebounder with 9. Tiffany Behary, starting at the point in her first college game, had a game-high 8 assists and 5 steals. The Bruins shot .431 from the field (28-65), including 12-21 (.571) from 3-point range.
In Saturday’s matchups, Central Washington takes on Warner Pacific College at 1:00 p.m., and George Fox meets host Seattle Pacific at 5:00 p.m. A men’s tournament is intermingled with the women’s tournament, hence the four-hour break between women’s games.
Newspaper Box Score Central Washington vs George Fox 11/19/04 1:00 pm at SPU Brougham Pavilion At SPU Brougham Pavilion CENTRAL WASHINGTON 82, GEORGE FOX 76 CENTRAL WASHINGTON (1-0) Corwin,Jamie 7-11 2-2 19; Quinn,Kelly 4-12 5-6 15; Wright,Laura 7-14 1-2 15; Hull,Hanna 6-16 2-2 15; Blake,Ashley 2-9 6-6 12; Klapperich,Kristina 1-2 0-0 2; Hover,Moriah 1-2 0-2 2; Short,Lauren 1-5 0-0 2; Pipkin,Kaci 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 29-75 16-20 82. GEORGE FOX (0-1) Leith, Kim 10-21 3-4 27; Clark, Liz 6-10 2-2 16; Thomas, Kellie 4-9 0-0 10; Taylor, Robin 3-5 1-1 7; Behary, Tiffany 2-8 0-0 6; Boyd, Karissa 2-3 0-1 5; Campbell, Katy 1-6 2-5 5; Powers, Erin 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 28-65 8-13 76. Central Washington............ 42 32 8 - 82 George Fox.................... 34 40 2 - 76 3-point goals-Central Washington 8-26 (Corwin,Jamie 3-5; Quinn,Kelly 2-7; Blake,Ashley 2-7; Hull,Hanna 1-4; Pipkin,Kaci 0-2; Hover,Moriah 0-1), George Fox 12-21 (Leith, Kim 4-8; Clark, Liz 2-3; Behary, Tiffany 2-3; Thomas, Kellie 2-2; Boyd, Karissa 1-1; Campbell, Katy 1-3; Powers, Erin 0-1). Fouled out--Central Washington-None, George Fox-None. Rebounds-Central Washington 55 (Hull,Hanna 18), George Fox 33 (Clark, Liz 9). Assists-Central Washington 24 (Corwin,Jamie 7), George Fox 20 (Behary, Tiffany 8). Total fouls-Central Washington 14, George Fox 15. A-144 Sodexho Tipoff Classic Game 1