NEWBERG, Ore. – Whitman College's women's basketball team took to the court at Wheeler Sports Center in hopes of an upset of third-ranked George Fox University, and early on it looked as if the Whitties might pull it off, only to see the host Bruins pour in nine 3-pointers to beat back Whitman in what would prove to be a 66-50 Northwest Conference loss for the Whitties.

The defeat is the first conference loss of the season for Whitman (11-2, 4-1 NWC) while Fox (14-0, 5-0) maintained its unbeaten record and spot at the top of the league standings.

George Fox scored the opening basket of the game but Whitman would score the next six points to pull ahead, a position it would maintain into the final minute of the first quarter. An Emily Rommel free throw would lift the Whitties to an 11-9 lead with under two minutes to play only to have the final 53 seconds of the quarter turn into the pivot point of the contest.

A pair of free throws from Fox's Justine Benner knotted things at 11-11 and then Benner drained a 3-pointer following a Whitman turnover to push Fox back in front for a 14-11 advantage after a quarter.

Fox opened the second with possession and knocked down another trey which continued what would become an 18-4 run, rolling back to Benner's free throws, that would prove fatal to Whitman.

Maegen Martin's layup with 2:39 in the quarter would draw Whitman to within eight, 31-23, but Fox rebuilt the lead it had enjoyed after its big run and toted a 53-40 lead into the halftime break.

It was Whitman that came out of the intermission the stronger team, however. Hailey McDonald dropped in a short jumper to kick start the quarter and by the time Casey Poe hit a jumper at the 7:25 mark the Fox lead had dwindled to just seven, 40-33.

Unfortunately that would be the closest the Whitties would get over the remaining quarter and a half.

Take away that fateful second quarter and Whitman finishes just seven points down.

What proved to be a prime factor in the final 16-point difference was the long-range shooting of the Bruins, especially in comparison to the dreadful night Whitman had from beyond the arc. Fox finished 9-for-23 from downtown while the Whitties suffered through a 1-for-12 evening.

Though the differences between the teams in rebounds and turnovers weren't large, the results from those factors also proved noteworthy. 

Fox won the battle on the glass by only a 34-29 count, but it also allowed Whitman just five offensive rebounds that resulted in just two second-chance points. Likewise, the difference in total turnovers was just three more by Whitman, but the Bruins tallied 17 points off those miscues while the Whitties were only able to net six points with their turnover/transition chances.

Hailey Ann Maeda and Alysse Ketner led Whitman in scoring, each registering eight-point nights in the loss. Four teammates ended with six points apiece. Maeda, Pie and Sierra McGarity pulled down five rebounds apiece with Rommel adding four boards herself.

Kim Frost hit three treys for Fox on her way to a career-best 17-point evening. Benner added in 16 more points and came away with six rebounds.

Whitman will try to get back on the winning track Saturday when it faces host Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, in a 4 p.m. Northwest Conference match-up.