Concordia's Danielle Clausonscored a team-high 14 points against the Bruins on Friday night.
Bruins, Defending DIII Champs, Hand Cavaliers First Loss of Year
NEWBERG, Ore. – In a matchup of defending champions from two different northwestern conferences, the George Fox Bruins captured their home opener with a 58-46 win over Concordia in women’s basketball action Friday night at the Wheeler Sports Center’s Miller Gym.
The Bruins won the Northwest Conference and the NCAA Division III national championship last year, while the Cavaliers were the Cascade Collegiate Conference co-champs and reached the “Sweet 16” of the NAIA Tournament. George Fox, ranked 4th and 5th in the D3hoops and WBCA pre-season polls, went to 2-0 on the season and stretched its two-season winning streak to 34 after last year’s 32-0 record. Concordia, No. 21 in the NAIA Division II pre-season poll, suffered its first loss after winning its first three.
The Bruins jumped out to an 8-2 lead on three-pointer and layup by Keisha Gordon and a trey by Arianna Mohsenian. Another three by Mohsenian gave the Bruins their largest lead of the half at 20-13 before the Cavaliers went on a 10-2 run, led by two Ann Snodderly layups, to take their first lead of the game at 23-22. Two free throws by Danielle Clauson boosted the Cavs to a 27-24 edge before Gordon hit another three to forge a 27-27 tie at the half.
Two baskets by Clauson and a layin by Sarah Eischen put the Cavs up 33-29 early in the second half before the Bruins rallied. A trio of treys, one by Mohsenian and two by Gordon, went unanswered as the Bruins regained the lead at 38-33, and they never trailed again. Elise Kuenzi’s three gave the Bruins their first double-digit lead at 49-37 with nine minutes left, and they stretched it to 14 twice in the final three minutes before settling for the final 12-point margin.
Clauson with 14 points and Eischen with 13 topped the Cavaliers in scoring, and Clauson had a team-high seven rebounds. Leilanie Lewis passed out four assists, and Eischen made three steals.
“We lost to a really good team,” CU head coach Aaron Christian said. “We played with a lot of effort and forced them into shots we wanted them to take, but they were able to get second and third-chance opportunities where they hit huge threes which were hard to overcome. We worked hard and kept our composure on the road against a tough team which will help us prepare for our conference season.”
Gordon finished with a game-high 22 points, sinking six three-pointers, one short of the George Fox record of seven by . Hannah Munger had a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, and Mohsenian added 10 points and seven boards.
Concordia plays at home Saturday at 5:30 p.m. against Pacific Lutheran University of the Northwest Conference.