George Fox vs Bethel 11-25-17

Made my way over to Bethel's Robertson Center on the sunny and pleasant Thanksgiving holiday Saturday to take in the highly-anticipated non-conference clash between visiting and 12th-ranked George Fox out of the Northwest Conference and host Bethel.  Even though it was the Thanksgiving holiday, this game definitely had an NCAA Tournament-feel to it and you just never know if this game could be a little preview of things to come in March.  And this game was played like you would expect an NCAA Tournament game to be played - with a close, tight, hard-fought battle with each team seemingly fighting for its very life.

The Bruins showed a 2-3 "match-up" zone defense from the outset but that didn't seem to faze Bethel; at least in the early going anyway.  A short shot off the glass by lanky junior post Hannah Johnson at the 8:36 mark got the Royals on the board first and when sophomore forward Taite Anderson connected with a lay-up and was fouled in the process at the 8:25 mark, her ensuing "and one" had the home team up early 5-0.  But George Fox was able to slowly but surely wipe that early deficit away.  Junior guard/forward Haylee Hutzler knocked down the front-end of a "one-and-one" situation at the 8:04 mark and when her back-end attempt wasn't true, Bruin teammate junior guard/forward Tavin Headings was able to sneak through to grab the rebound and her putback cut the deficit down to two points at 5-3 at the 8:01 mark.  Bethel pushed the lead back up to four points at 7-3 on another short shot off the glass by Johnson at the 6:36 mark but the Bruins were able to forge a tie as senior forward/post Kaitlin Jamieson got into the paint for one score at the 6:12 mark and followed that up with a lay-up at the 5:38 mark.  George Fox would tie the score again at 9-all when reserve sophomore forward Emily Holder got into the paint for a score with 3:38 left and when Royal senior point guard Abby Miller put her squad ahead 11-9 on her short jumper with 3:26 left, the Bruins responded again.  Sophomore reserve guard Kylin Collman dropped one free throw with 3:16 left and then sophomore guard/forward Hailey Hartney drained a "3" from the left corner with 2:31 left in the opening period that pushed George Fox ahead 13-11.  Jamieson's lay-up with :31 left pushed the Bruin lead to 15-11 as George Fox not only weathered the opening minutes in a hostile environment but now had a bit of an advantage as well.

Now it was Bethel's turn to respond to a challenge.  Senior guard Angie Kirchoff connected with a jumper from the right elbow area at the 9:40 mark of the second period and a three-point bomb by fellow senior guard and sharpshooter Jasmin Bretoi at the 8:57 mark had the Royals back out in front 16-15.  Freshman reserve forward Lainie Cox added to that lead with one free throw at the 6:53 mark but George Fox's Jamieson's short, turnaround jumper off the glass at the 6:03 mark forged another tie at 17 a piece.  But Bethel would push ahead again as one Johnson free throw at the 5:36 mark and two more by freshman reserve forward Makenna Pearson with 4:27 left made it a 20-17 ballgame.  Then it was the diminutive Miller making a drive into traffic and finishing in grand style that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" now had the Royals in good shape up 23-17.  But that six-point cushion didn't last too long as George Fox's sophomore reserve guard Haley Strowbridge had a few things to say about that.  The Stanwood, Washington native drilled a "3" from the left top area off of the glass that cut the deficit in half at 23-20 and a Strowbridge score in the paint with 2:30 left drew the Bruins closer trailing 23-22.  Strowbridge would knock one freebie down after getting fouled with 1:55 left and then it would be Strowbridge unleashing another three-point dagger - this one coming from the left wing area with 1:36 left - that now pushed George Fox back out in front by a 26-25 count.  In the midst of a Royals dry spell, the Bruins took further advantage as sophomore point guard Emily Spencer drained a "3" from the top of the key with :27 left before the half as George Fox built its lead to 29-25.  The Royals refused to break out the panic button and instead responded in calm, cool fashion.  Bretoi uncorked her second "3" of the afternoon - this one from the left wing area with :09 left and then the wily Miller snared a steal on the ensuing Bruin inbounds pass and drew a foul in the process and got one free throw out of it with :03.9 left as both teams trotted to their respective locker rooms embroiled in a 29-29 tie at the intermission.  A quick check of the first half box score shows that both teams were solid on the rebounding front (Bethel with 22 and George Fox with 20) although the Bruins were guilty of nine first half turnovers compared to just four for Bethel.  Probably even more encouraging for Royals Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff was that Bethel withstood a pretty torrid three-point shooting effort from George Fox as the Bruins went 4-6 from behind the arc for 66.7%.

A "3" from the right wing by Headings at the 9:35 mark of the third period got George Fox out in front by a count of 32-29 but that particular lead was short-lived as Kirchoff connected with a short jumper from the right side at the 9:03 mark and two Anderson free throws after a steal now had the Royals back out in front 33-32.  Both squads would trade one-point leads over the next minute and a half before the Bruins could make another push.  Jamieson connected with a lay-up at the 7:22 mark and one Jamieson freebie at the 7:02 mark had George Fox out in front 37-35.  Hutzler got into the paint for a score at the 6:35 mark that now had the Bruins up four at 39-35 but now Bethel had to answer.  Bretoi banged home her third trey of the game - this one coming from the left corner at the 6:22 mark - that cut the deficit to a single point at 39-38 and a Johnson lay-up with 4:48 left kept the Royals in that single-point range trailing 41-40.  George Fox would establish a five-point advantage as Jamieson got into the paint for a score with 3:42 left and a Holder lay-up with 2:20 left now had the Bruins ahead 45-40.  Again, a calm but assured response from Bethel.  Miller drained a "3" from the right top area with 1:51 left and followed that up with a lay-up with 1:51 left that drew a foul and the ensuing "and one" by the former Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted standout cut that deficit down to one point again at 47-46.  A Johnson score in the paint with :49 left knotted the issue at 48 a piece but Jamieson was able to give the Bruins the lead again as she got into the paint for a score that drew a foul and her obligatory free throw pushed George Fox ahead 51-48.  The Royals would have the last laugh of the third period, however, as two Kirchoff free throws with :35.4 left and a Kirchoff pull-up jumper in transition with :13 left pushed Bethel ahead 52-51 going into the fourth period.

The Bruins looked to put their hosts in another hole in the opening minutes of the fourth period.  Jamieson got into the paint for yet another score at the 9:42 mark and one Strowbridge free throw at the 8:37 mark had George Fox up 54-52.  Then Jamieson got into the paint for a score off of an inbounds pass at the 7:54 mark that pushed the lead up to 56-52 and there were probably some in the stands that wondered if the home team might have found itself in too big of a jam.  But this Bethel team had something to prove to not only those who watch the game but maybe something to themselves as well as this was a huge opportunity for them at home.  Johnson connected with a short, turnaround jumper in the lane at the 6:12 mark and an Anderson score in the paint with 4:56 left tied the contest again at 56 a piece.  Jamieson's score in the paint with 3:43 left pushed the Bruins ahead again at 58-56 although two missed freebies by Jamieson a bit earlier with 4:39 left would prove costly down the stretch.  As such, Bethel's experienced squad took the lead when they needed to.  Kirchoff was fouled with 3:10 left and promptly dropped two free throws that not only tied the game at 58 but now Jamieson was saddled with her fourth foul as well.  Kirchoff would strike again from the charity stripe with 2:49 left after getting fouled and two more free throws by the Barrington, Illinois native now had the Royals back out in front by a 60-58 count.  Perhaps just as important, Bethel's stellar defense which is their trademark, came through when they needed to get stops.  Miller was able to snare a steal a short time later and although George Fox had plenty of time left, Jamieson was covered by a swarming Royals defense when her lay-up attempt went awry with 2:19 left.  Kirchoff was unable to connect with a three-point shot with just under two minutes left but Hutzler missed a three-point shot for the Bruins with 1:35 left and although George Fox was able to come away with the long rebound, Bethel's Johnson came up with a huge defensive play as she swatted away what appeared to be an easy lay-up by the Bruins' Spencer with just a little over a minute left.  George Fox Head Coach Michael Meek called a thirty-second timeout to try and set up a play but a three-point attempt by Headings missed its mark as well with a minute left and now Bethel had a chance to put just enough cushion between itself and its opponent to bag a huge win over a ranked in-region opponent.  With :35 left, Anderson slithered into the paint for a lay-up that had Robertson Center exploding and, more importantly, gave the Royals a 62-58 lead.  Spencer would drop two free throws with :27 left that drew George Fox back to within a single possession trailing 62-60 but Kirchoff would be fouled with :24.1 left and she got both free throw attempts to go down for a 64-60 Royal lead.  Meek would call another timeout as George Fox was now in desperation mode.  Headings would miss a jumper with :15 left and when Johnson was fouled after the rebound, her two free throws with :13.4 left appeared to all but seal the deal for Bethel which was now up 66-60.  The Bruins, however, would attempt to throw one last scare into their host.  Hutzler was able to get one free throw to go down after she was fouled with :06.3 left and, after an untimely Bethel turnover, senior reserve guard Julie Litchfield's "3" from the top of the key with just :00.7 left suddenly had the Bruins back within a single possession trailing 66-64.  But Bethel would not make the same mistake twice.  Bretoi was fouled with just :00.4 left and the former Centennial standout put the daisy on this game with her two free throws as the Royals got a huge signature victory by a final score of 68-64.

I was able to catch up with Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer afterward and congratulated him on the win.  I asked him specifically about his squad's defensive effort; particularly coming down the stretch, as the key to victory in this game.  Herbrechtsmeyer felt that this was the first time this season that his squad played defense the way he wanted to see it done.  He noted that in the previous three games, his squad's defense had been inconsistent at best but today he finally saw what he wanted to see from his team on that front.  Certainly if they can maintain this level of defense throughout the season, this is going to be a very tough team to beat.  All five of Bethel's starters were in double figures scoring-wise on this afternoon.  Johnson led the way with a "double-double"; 17 points and 16 rebounds while Kirchoff had 14 points followed by Miller with 12 points and both Bretoi and Anderson tallied 11 points.  Jamieson led all scorers on this day with her 22 points and Strowbridge was the only other player for George Fox in double figures with 10 points.  Both team had 41 rebounds although Meeker will undoubtedly look at his squad's 17 turnovers on this day and going only 10-19 from the charity stripe as well with those two missed free throws by Jamieson with 4:39 left proving very costly.