NEWBERG, Ore. – The No. 22 Bushnell women's basketball team was missing a few key pieces to the puzzle on Thursday evening, but still claimed a major exhibition victory over Division III power George Fox, 83-52.
 
The Beacons picked up right where they left off last season, playing stellar defense, applying pressure, and running in transition to set up a lethal offense. Bushnell finished the night shooting 50.7% from the field and committed just 11 fouls in the game.
 
The Bushnell press forced the Bruins into 26 turnovers, which translated into 34 points. Head Coach Chad Meadors said, "It is always exciting to see our first action, and I am really pleased with our performance. Our group really stepped up tonight. We were playing from behind early but our press was very effective tonight."
 
George Fox jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead and held the advantage for the first seven minutes, but by the end of the first quarter, Bushnell was up 20-14. They expanded the margin to 42-25 at the intermission.
 
With Bushnell switching to a man defense in the third, George Fox offense woke up with four three-pointers in the quarter and climbed back to within eight points on two occasions. "We were a little slow there," said Meadors. "I wanted to see us get some stops man-to-man, and we were able to find some areas to definitely grow in and get better."
 
The Beacons responded with a 27-7 fourth quarter to put the game away as they forced five turnovers and 18% shooting for the Bruins.
 
Aspen Slifka led the way for the Beacons with 20 points, shooting 8-for-14 from the floor along with six steals. Sarah Reinecker (pictured) hit four three-pointers and collected 19 points and five steals.
 
Libby Mathis came off the bench to score 14 points and tied with Kalina Rojas, collecting a team-best six rebounds. Morgan McKinney added 12 points and Aly Mirabile nearly had a double-double with ten points and nine assists.
 
The Beacons will see the start of the official season in one week when they play host to No. 1-ranked and defending NAIA National Champion Westmont College at 6:00 pm. The team should have more bodies available for that game including All-CCC guard Kaylen Kamelamela and Division I transfer Bella Pedrojetti who did not play on Thursday.
 
"We are looking forward to having our reinforcements back. Our seven that played tonight played great," said Meadors. "The adrenaline of getting started was a lot and the fatigue was real. The shots were falling, we had some great runs. Aly Mirable had an outstanding game running the court for us tonight. She really set the table for everyone and set the tone for our team for the year."