NEWBERG, Ore. — The University of La Verne women's basketball team officially tipped off its 2014-15 season with a pair of games against Northwestern Conference powerhouses Linfield and George Fox at the George Fox Tip-Off Classic.
Saturday: Linfield 97, La Verne 68
La Verne and Linfield matched each other shot-for-shot in the first half, but the Leopards went cold from the field in the second and the Wildcats ran away to a 97-68 win.
The Leopards were down by eight points with 3:55 left in the first half, but got within 41-40 going into the halftime break aided by a three-pointer and a midrange jumper by Shannon Irwin.
La Verne briefly took a lead when Kayla Valentine hit a layup to start the second half but Linfield responded with a 12-0 run and never looked back.
After shooting .455 in the first half, the Leopards only managed make 12 of 41 shots in the second half—including 0 for 11 from beyond the arc.
Linfield shot a staggering .760 in the second half.
Newcomers Kayla Chism and Kayla Valentine led La Verne's scoring with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Irwin and Ashley Breshears also reached double digits, chipping in 10 points apiece.
Sunday: George Fox 74, La Verne 47
The Leopards could not going anything offensively against perennial contender George Fox in a 74-47 loss on Sunday.
La Verne shot just .260 while committing 29 turnovers.
The Bruins jumped out with a 14-2 run to start the game and never relinquished the lead.
The Leopards did attack the basket and drew fouls to stay afloat in the first half. La Verne closed the gap to 18-15 on seven consecutive made free throws and a couple of baskets by Valentine and Emily Myers to go into the break trailing, 37-27.
It was all George Fox in the second half as the Bruins opened with a 16-6 run to break the game open.
Myers scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to register her first double-double of the season and was named to the All-Tournament team.
Riki Murakami had eight points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Chism contributed four points and seven boards off the bench.
La Verne returns to action on Nov. 22 when it takes on Bethesda University in the home opener. The tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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