The Bruins’ top two scorers this season led the way in the first half, Thomas with 15 and Leith with 13, as the Bruins gradually pulled away from the pesky Bearcats. Willamette hung with the Bruins for the first 11 minutes of the game and was within two at 19-17 after a three-point basket by Julia Short with nine minutes left, but the Bruins out-scored the visitors 17-3 to close out the half and led 36-20 at the intermission.
Willamette was never able to get closer than 15 the rest of the way as Leith was the sparkplug with 13 second-half points. The Bruins’ largest lead was the final score and came at 1:56 on a pair of free throws by Mandee Spotts.
Leith had a game-high 26 points and Thomas finished with 16 in only 22 minutes. Leith and Erin Powers led the Bruins with 6 rebounds each, Tiffany Behary had 4 assists, and Leith and Liz Clark had 3 steals apiece. The Bruins forced 23 turnovers and held the Bearcats to a .266 shooting percentage (17-64).
Short paced the Bearcats with 12 points, Laura Payne had 11, and Vanessa Wyffels, the national leader in field percentage at .764, had 10 on 4-6 shooting. Wyffels and Kari Woody had 7 rebounds apiece as Willamette held a 47-37 edge on the boards. Laura Payne handed out 4 assists, and Short had 3 steals.
George Fox improved to 15-5 overall and 9-2 in the conference with its 6th straight win over the Bearcats, maintaining a share of first place in the league with Whitworth College, which won at home over the University of Puget Sound. Willamette dropped to 6-14 overall and 3-8 in the NWC.
The Bruins head down Highway 99 to visit Yamhill County rival Linfield College while the Bearcats go to Lewis & Clark College Saturday, both games at 6:00 p.m. followed by men’s games at 8:00 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Willamette vs George Fox 02/11/05 6:00 pm at Newberg, Ore. - Wheeler SC/Miller Gym At Newberg, Ore. - Wheeler SC/Miller Gym GEORGE FOX 70, WILLAMETTE 46 WILLAMETTE (6-14, NWC 3-8) Short, Julia 4-10 0-0 12; Payne, Laura 4-11 1-1 11; Wyffels, Vanessa 4-6 2-2 10; Woody, Kari 4-12 0-0 9; Bell, Jennifer 1-12 0-0 3; Schneider, Veronica 0-4 1-2 1; Andrus, Caitlin 0-1 0-0 0; Nygaard, Tracie 0-5 0-0 0; Mollet, Ashley 0-2 0-0 0; Wells, Rebekah 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-64 4-5 46. GEORGE FOX (15-5, NWC 9-2) Leith, Kim 10-19 3-3 26; Thomas, Kellie 6-12 1-3 16; Behary, Tiffany 3-5 0-0 8; Clark, Liz 2-8 2-2 7; Powers, Erin 2-3 0-0 4; Boyd, Karissa 0-1 3-4 3; Marek-Farris, Meliss 1-2 0-0 2; Taylor, Robin 1-2 0-0 2; Spotts, Mandee 0-1 2-2 2; Campbell, Katy 0-4 0-0 0; Ramey, Kaleigha 0-1 0-0 0; Tangonan, Jordan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-59 11-14 70. Willamette.................... 20 26 - 46 George Fox.................... 36 34 - 70 3-point goals-Willamette 8-32 (Short, Julia 4-7; Payne, Laura 2-7; Woody, Kari 1-2; Bell, Jennifer 1-9; Mollet, Ashley 0-1; Wells, Rebekah 0-1; Schneider, Veronica 0-4; Wyffels, Vanessa 0-1), George Fox 9-23 (Thomas, Kellie 3-4; Leith, Kim 3-8; Behary, Tiffany 2-4; Clark, Liz 1-4; Spotts, Mandee 0-1; Campbell, Katy 0-1; Boyd, Karissa 0-1). Fouled out--Willamette-None, George Fox-None. Rebounds-Willamette 47 (Wyffels, Vanessa 7; Woody, Kari 7), George Fox 37 (Leith, Kim 6; Powers, Erin 6). Assists-Willamette 12 (Payne, Laura 4), George Fox 16 (Behary, Tiffany 4). Total fouls-Willamette 12, George Fox 9. A-300