MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – Looking to upset the No. 9 ranked George Fox Bruins, the Linfield Wildcats fell just short, losing 76-66 to the Bruins, who outscored the Wildcats 48-33 in the second half.
 
The Bruins, who have won the last 26 meetings in the battle betweeen the two Yamhill County teams, got off to a fast 20-7 start with four minutes left in the first quarter.
 
The Wildcats defense settled into the game, allowing zero points for the next 10 minutes. Outscoring George Fox 19-8, Linfield took a 33-28 lead into halftime, behind 12 points from Kory Oleson, who had 24 in the game, which led both teams. Oleson improved her season average to 17.8, which is third in the Northwest Conference.
 
A senior forward from West Linn, Oregon, Oleson was 4 for 4 from the free-throw line to improve her season free-throw percentage to 88.1, which is best in the NWC and top-25 nationally.
 
Maggie Smith scored just five points off the bench, but she provided an instant spark on defense for Linfield, as George Fox did not score for the six-minute stretch that she was into the game towards the end of the first quarter and three minutes into the second quarter.
 
The Wildcats led by as much as eight in the third quarter, but the Bruins closed out the quarter leading 52-50. George Fox was sparked by Emily Spencer in the second half, who had just one point in the first and 13 in the second.
 
Emily Holder and Kaylee Bishop were the leading scorers for the Bruins with 15 points each. During a stretch in the third quarter, Holder scored eight straight points, which helped George Fox take its first lead of the second half.
 
All 15 of Bishop's points came from the three-point line shooting 5 for 6 from the distance. Bishop is shooting 52.2 percent from the three-point line this season which leads the Northwest Conference.
 
Linfield's Molly Danielson continued her strong stretch among the league leaders in points and rebounds, scoring 16 points and grabbing eight rebounds. She is second in the Northwest Conference in both those categories.
 
Off the bench, Shasta Lofgren added 10 points for the Wildcats, shooting 4 for 8, while Smith added five. The Wildcats scored 66 points against a Bruins team, that allowed just 57.7 points coming into this weekend, which was lowest in the conference.
 
Linfield falls to 0-2 in Northwest Conference play after the first weekend, while the Bruins improve to 1-1.
 
UP NEXT
Linfield heads to Tacoma, Washington to take on Pacific Lutheran on Friday night at 6 p.m. and Puget Sound on Saturday at 4 p.m.