Women's Basketball: George Fox 57, ChaminadeE 39 - Hot-and-Cold Bruins Fend Off Silverswords

Fox visits Western Oregon University, an NCAA Division II team, on Tuesday, Dec. 29, at 7:00 p.m

Salem-News.com Sports

HONOLULU, Hawai’i - After opening the game with a 16-0 run, the George Fox University Bruins went ice-cold and allowed Chaminade University to come all the way back before rallying in the second half to defeat the Silverswords 57-39 in the Hoop N Surf Women’s Basketball Classic Sunday night here at the Kilauea Rec Center.

George Fox, ranked 12th in the WBCA’s NCAA Division III poll and 18th in the D3hoops.com poll, improved to 6-2 on the season, while Chaminade, an NCAA Division II team, dropped to 1-4.

The Bruins hit six of their first 11 shots in building a 16-0 lead while holding the Silverswords to an 0-5 shooting start, forcing six turnovers, and out-rebounding the Honolulu-based team 7-2 in the game’s first five-and-a-half minutes. Elise Kuenzi and Keisha Gordon fueled the opening run with five points apiece.

Chaminade finally got on the board at the 14:18 mark on a basket by Lynnette Dalle, and the ‘Swords eventually scored 17 unanswered points to take a 17-16 halftime lead as the Bruins missed their final 22 shots of the half and went scoreless over the final 14-plus minutes of the period. Jasmine Dulan’s jumper with two minutes left in the half put the ‘Swords in front for the first time.

George Fox shot .182 (6-33) from the field in the period, with their bench players going 0-16, while Chaminade recovered to hit .333 (6-18). The Bruins out-rebounded the Silverswords 25-16, but both teams had trouble holding onto the ball, Chaminade committing 15 turnovers and George Fox 13.

The Bruins missed their first three shots of the second half before Hannah Munger sank a layup to break the scoreless string and give them an 18-17 lead at the 19:12 mark. Gordon added a three-pointer a minute later and Kuenzi hit a layup with 16:20 left while the Silverswords were missing their first seven shots of the half, boosting the Bruin lead to 23-17. Munger added five more points and Gordon hit two more threes in the next four minutes as the Bruins extended the lead to 14 points at 37-23 with 12:06 to play.

The Silverswords got back within nine when a Dulan free throw with 7:58 left made it 39-30 Bruins, but Kuenzi answered with a three-pointer, a layup, and a jumper in a minute-and-a-half span that kept George Fox safely ahead, making it 46-32 with 6:27 to go. Threes by B.B. Gardner and MJ Samples upped the margin to 18 at 52-34 with 3:08 remaining and effectively sealed the Bruins’ hot-cold-hot victory.

The Bruins sizzled with a .571 shooting percentage (16-28) in the second half to finish at .361 (22-61). The ‘Swords ended up at .304 (14-46). George Fox also controlled the boards 43-32, including 18 on the offensive end, and cut down on their second-half turnovers, making only seven more.

Gordon and Kuenzi led the Bruins with 14 points each, and Kuenzi had her second career double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds. Munger added 11 points, hitting 5-6 from the field, and blocked six shots, while Gardner and Carly Towne had three assists each.

Kayci Will was the only Silversword in double figures with a game-high 15 points. Will, Dalle, Brittany Copp and Samantha Saito had five rebounds apiece, and Saito had two assists and three steals.

NOTES: George Fox visits Western Oregon University, an NCAA Division II team, on Tuesday, Dec. 29, at 7:00 p.m., for the Bruins’ final non-conference game before Northwest Conference play begins on Jan. 2 vs. the University of Puget Sound … Chaminade hosts Cornell College of Iowa on Dec. 29 at 7:00 p.m.

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