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Hendrickson led the Bucs with 19 points

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Emily Hendrickson scored 19 points and Whitworth College withstood a furious George Fox comeback to upset the visiting Bruins 66-57 in a Northwest Conference women's basketball game on Friday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

George Fox, ranked 10th in the ESPN/USA Today Division III poll, fell to 15-3 overall and 6-3 in the NWC. Whitworth (11-6, 5-4) won its third straight game and pulled within a game of the Bruins and Lewis & Clark Pioneers for the third spot in the NWC post season tournament.

Hendrickson scored 12 of her 19 points in the first half to help the Pirates open up a 15 point lead. Whitworth shot 50% (14/28) in the first half and never trailed after a Hendrickson jumper gave the Pirates a 10-8 lead. Two Hendrickson free throws gave Whitworth a 37-22 lead with two minutes to play in the half. The Bucs eventually went to the locker room with a 39-25 edge.

After the Pirates opened the second half with a basket by Teresa Zeitler to open their largest lead of the game, George Fox went on a 14-2 run, lead by 2005 NWC Player of the Year Kim Leith. Leith scored eight of those points to spark the Bruins to within 45-41 with 13:36 to play in the game. Another basket by Leith got George Fox within one point (47-46) with 9:40 to play. But the Bruins never gained the lead, and Whitworth responded with an 11-2 run over the next five minutes to open up a 58-48 edge with 4:42 to go. Hendrickson scored seven of those points.

George Fox got back within 60-55 with 30 seconds to play on a basket by Erin Powers. But Holly Ridings was 6/6 from the line over the final 30 seconds to secure the victory for Whitworth.

Hendrickson made 7 of 11 shots and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds to lead Whitworth in both categories. Holly Ridings finished with 11 points and Amy Ridings made a pair of three pointers and finished with eight points. The Pirates got important contributions off of the bench from Chelsea Combs (9 points) and Meaghan Beauchamp (six points).

Leith nearly single-handedly sparked George Fox to the big comeback, scoring 21 of her game-high 29 points after halftime. She was 11 of 28 from the field, including 5/12 from three point range. She also grabbed a team-high nine boards. Tiffany Behary added 11 points for the Bruins.

George Fox will continue its Eastern Washington road trip with a game at Whitman on Saturday night at 6:00 pm. Whitworth will try to make it four wins in a row when the Pirates host Linfield College on Saturday, also at 6:00 PM