WALLA WALLA, Wash. -
Korin Baker led the way with game highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds and the Whitman College women's basketball team threw a fourth quarter haymaker at the Bruins to take down George Fox 66-47 in Northwest Conference action on Friday night.
Carly Martin added 18 points for the Blues (17-5, 9-4 NWC) who kept pace with the pack for a spot in the NWC Tournament to be held later this month.Â
Alyssa Wells and Ella Roberts scored 16 and 14 points, respectively to lead the Bruins (5-15, 5-8 NWC).
It was a hot start for the Bruins as Wells opened the game with a three pointer then got to the hoop two possessions later to put her team up 8-3. Wells kept her hot shooting going with another three to put George Fox up 11-5 with 6:33 to play in the period. The Blues responded as a pair of Baker layups sandwiched around a Christiane Carlisle three pointer gave Whitman its first lead at 12-11.Â
The Blues led by a bucket as the second quarter got underway, but GFU scored seven unanswered points to start the period. Jordan Leith later scored and assisted on a Lindsay Drango basket but the Bruins continued to lead at 23-19. Fox extended the lead to six late in the quarter but an and-one three-point play from Baker made it a 28-27 game at the break.
Both teams had the hot hand as the second half got underway, but it was the Blues that extended their lead to four points on a Carlisle three pointer. The Bruins responded as Roberts converted an and-one three-point play, then Wells dialed long distance to put George Fox up 37-34 with 6:12 to play.Â
Whitman's defense then came alive and held the Bruins scoreless the remainder of the quarter. Carlisle tied the game with a three pointer and Martin added a triple of her own and the Blues ended the quarter on an 8-0 run to go up by five.
Whitman found something late in the third quarter and carried it into the fourth. Over a two-minute span early in the period, Martin drained a pair of threes then delivered a dime on a Baker layup to extend the Whitman lead to nine points. Martin later scored at the hoop and Leith did the same to put the Blues up 58-44 with 4:20 play. Whitman closed up shop and held the Bruins at bay to collect the win.
Whitman returns to the court on Saturday to take on Linfield for its home finale. Tipoff at the Sherwood Center is set for 4:00 p.m.
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