Box Score NAMPA, Idaho - The Northwest Nazarene women's basketball team cruised to an 85-70 victory over Dixie State College on Friday night in the second game of the NNU GNAC/PacWest Classic, hosted by the Crusaders at the Johnson Sports Center in Nampa.
The classic features four NCAA D.II West Region opponents, with Grand Canyon University (AZ) defeating Seattle Pacific 69-55 in the opener, as Samantha Murphy scored a game-high 26 points to lead the 'Lopes. Grand Canyon and Dixie State each play in the Pacific West Conference, while NNU and Seattle Pacific are members of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
The Red Storm (2-3) playing without leading scorer Johnna Brown (Las Vegas, NV/Centennial ) and Vajae Robinson (Henderson, NV/Green Valley) who did not travel due to a coaches decision. DSC was outmatched in the paint, where NNU score 46 points to 28 points.
The Crusaders (4-1), who led by only two at 25-23 with 9:20 to play in the first half, used a 17-2 run to open up the game and pull out to a 42-25 lead with just under four minutes to play in the half, holding the Red Storm scoreless for over five minutes.
DSC would also struggle taking care of the ball, commiting 20 turnovers and allowing 30 points off of those.
NNU held a 52-39 halftime lead and would lead by as many as 26 in the second half.
Jessie Ingraham (Tuscon. AZ/Canyon Del Oro) led the Red Storm with 13 points and Amber Scruggs (Los Angeles, CA/Narbonne) scored 11. # Tanya Clark (Beaumont. CA/Beaumont) and (Harrisburg, PA/McDevitt)Deanna Daniels# each added 10, with Clark pulling down a game-high nine rebounds as DSC out-rebounded NNU 39-38.
Lindsay Brady scored a game-high 19 points and led four Crusaders in double-digits as Kristin Hein added 15, Janee Olds netted 13, and Jen Williams finished with 10.
The Crusaders shot 50-percent (35-70) from the floor and 84.6-percent (11-13) from the line, while the Red Storm shot 37.7-percent (26-69) from the field and were 15-of-18 (83.3-percent) from the free throw stripe.
Dixie State will play again tomorrow in the GNAC/PacWest Classic at 2:00 PM against Seattle Pacific. You can follow all the live action via the web at www.dixieathletics.com.
