The Pioneer women's basketball took a huge step toward earning a playoff berth Friday night when they upset the NWC leading George Fox Bruins 45-35 (box score) on L&C's senior night. Shawna Castle led the Pioneers with 12 points.

After the 12th ranked Bruins opened the game on an 8-0 run, keeping the Pioneers off the scoreboard for the first four minutes of the game, the Pioneers answered by scoring nine straight points of their own, taking a 9-8 lead on a three-pointer by Allison Farr (senior, Lakeport, Calif.) with 10:45 left in the first half. In a very physical, defensive showdown, the Pioneers managed to extend the lead to five, 17-12, on a basket by Talerra Rich (sophomore, Los Alamos, New Mexico) with 6:12 remaining in the first. The Bruins twice managed to cut the lead down to two, including with 23 seconds remaining in the half on a three by MaryAnne Samples, but the Pioneers closed out the period with Shawna Castle (senior, Rocklin, Calif.) getting fouled on a made layup with :01 left on the clock. After hitting her freethrow, she sent the Pioneers into the locker room with a 25-20 lead.

The Conference-leading Bruins flexed their defensive muscle in the second half, keeping the Pioneers off the scoreboard for the first 3:35 of the half, but the Pioneers played equally tough D, allowing just one Bruins basket over that span. With the Pioneers back up by five, 27-22, Shawna Castle hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to 30-22. The Bruins finally managed to penetrate the Pioneer defense, scoring seven straight points, including five by Melissa Marek-Farris to make it a 30-29 game with 13:25 remaining.

After trading baskets, the Pioneers used another three-pointer by Shawna Castle to go up 37-33 with 8:20 remaining. It was the Pioneer defense's turn to shut down the Bruins, with George Fox not making another basket until the 2:07 mark, while the Pioneers put up six points of their own, to hold a 41-35 lead. A penetrating drive by Kim Kittell (sophomore, Tillamook, Ore.), gave the Pioneers a 43-35 lead with 1:41 remaining. Allison Farr (senior, Lakeport, Calif.) sealed the game for the Pioneers with a layup of her own with 1:30 remaining to give the Pioneers a 45-35 lead. They held on for the final minute to end the game with that same score.

The victory for the Pioneers ends a strong of 27 straight losses to the Bruins. The last victory over George Fox was February 15, 1994. The Bruins came into the game ranked 12th in the latest DIII Coaches Poll and are currently tied for first place with the Puget Sound Loggers, who also lost on Friday night at Whitman.

For the Bruins, Katy Campbell had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Melissa Marek-Farris scored six points with seven rebounds and five blocks.

For the Pioneers, Shawna Castle scored 12 points with six rebounds. Kelly Vega (sophomore, Beaverton, Ore.) scored ten points with four rebounds. Allison Farr logged the 500th rebound of her career. She had nine points and four boards in the game.

With the loss, just the third of the season for the Bruins, their record is 19-3 and 11-2 in the NWC. The Pioneers hang on to sole possession of third place, improving to 13-9 and 9-4 in the Northwest Conference.

The Pioneers play on the road Saturday night at Willamette. Game time is at 6pm. Live play-by-play will be available through sportsjuice.com. 

Before the game, the five Pioneer seniors were honored at center court. All five have been four-year players for the Pioneers. Allison Farr, Shawna Castle, Sara Kettler, Crystal Castle, and Laura Snider were joined by their parents while they were recognized in front of the home crowd. Click on the photo below to see a complete gallery of photos from the event.