NEWBERG, Ore. --- The Pacific Lutheran Women's Basketball team (10-11, 2-10 NWC) fell to the Bruins of George Fox University (5-14, 5-7 NWC) on Saturday in a 58-50 battle. The Lutes once again made a run in the fourth quarter, but the deficit proved to be too much for a comeback.
 
The Bruins attacked the basket early, starting the game with three straight buckets inside the arc in their first three possessions. The early run for the Bruins ended at 8-0 as senior Ava Edmonds drained the Lutes first jumper of the game with 5:15 left in the first. The two squads would trade lay-ins before Jaida Wood executed both free throws to make it a 12-6 game. Neither team was able to score for the remaining 2:43 of the first quarter.
 
The scoring drought leaked into the second quarter, with Brandie Tobin scoring the first point on a free throw a minute and a half into the second. Tobin's free throw was the only point for the Lutes for nearly five minutes, allowing a 7-0 run from the Bruins to take a 19-7 lead. An 8-3 run in favor of the Lutes ended the second quarter, making it a 22-15 game heading into the half.
 
George Fox added to their lead coming out of the locker room, hitting yet another three pointer after gathering an offensive rebound. Raylie Wardenaar and Sydeny Reisner found their stride midway through the third, scoring six points over the course of a minute between the pair. Although the Bruins couldn't be stopped on the offensive side of the ball, Kasidy Javernick came off the bench and drained a three to cut the deficit to just six with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter. George Fox would cash in on a three pointer in the final 30 seconds to take a 43-33 lead into the final quarter of play.
 
Similar to the first three quarters, the Bruins would strike first with a jumper at 8:55. But from there, it was a battle from the free throw line with the Lutes attacking the rim. A 5-0 run from Akamine and Edmonds, carried the Lutes to a seven-point deficit into the media timeout. The Lutes found themselves getting too aggressive and putting the Bruins on the free throw line to which they would sink four-straight.
 
One last push for the Lutes put them within four after Brandie Tobin scored after grabbing an offensive rebound with 2:06 left in the game. The Bruins got their next basket with 28 seconds left in the game, but Edmonds matched it with a lay-in of her own on the ensuing possession. Down one possession late in the game, Edmonds was called for an intentional foul that would lead to three made free throws and proving to be the dagger in a 58-50 defeat for the Lutes.
 
Three Lutes scored nine points on Saturday, Akamine, Reisner, and Edmonds. Edmonds came up
Just one point shy of a double-double as she grabbed 10 rebounds in the game. In the defensive showcase, the Lutes shot 31% from the field and 18% from beyond the arc. Meanwhile the Bruins shot 39.5% from the field and 23% from three. With the Lutes in foul trouble, the Bruins made a total of 21 points from the charity stripe.
 
The Lutes hit the road once again next weekend, set to face Pacific on Friday at 6 p.m. in Forest Grove, Ore before heading to Portland, Ore. to take on Lewis & Clark at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
 
To follow Lutes coverage all season long, please follow us on social media; PLU Athletics on Facebook, @GoLutes on X.com and Instagram.