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SPOKANE, Wash. - The top defensive team in the Northwest Conference held Whitworth to its lowest point total of the season as visiting George Fox defeated the Pirates 68-50 in a women’s basketball contest on Friday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse in the NWC opener for both teams.

Elise Kuenzi led the 19th-ranked Bruins (10-0 overall, 1-0 NWC) with 18 points, while Keisha Gordon added 17 points and a team-high six rebounds. Kristen Shielee added 12 points and four blocks and Sage Indendi totaled 10 points and tied for team high with five assists.

Kuenzi nailed a three-pointer to open the game and the Bruins never trailed. A three by Gordon gave George Fox an early 10 point lead (14-4) before the Pirates began to chip away. Ren Mallory hit a jumper in the paint complete Whitworth’s first half comeback to within 21-19, but a layup just before the buzzer by Kuenzi gave George Fox a 30-25 halftime lead.

Whitworth stayed within reach of the Bruins early in the second half and a pair of free throws by Cassie Pilkinton pulled the Pirates within 41-34 and Mallory hit another jumper to get Whitworth within 48-43 with just under 10 minutes to play. But GFU went on an 11-3 run to stretch the lead to 59-46 with five minutes left and the Bruins never led by less than 11 points the rest of the way.

George Fox held Whitworth to only 34% shooting from the field. The Pirates previous season low was 58 points in a win over Cal Lutheran in early December.

No Whitworth player reached double figures in scoring. Tiffany Corigliano, Liz Horiatis and Leah Pomante all had eight points and six assists to lead the Bucs in each category.

Whitworth will try to get its first NWC win of the season on Saturday when the Pirates host Pacific (Ore.) at 6:00 p.m. in the Fieldhouse. George Fox travels to Walla Walla for a meeting of nationally-ranked teams when the Bruins take on 23rd-ranked Whitman.