NEWBERG, Ore. - In what has become an annual tradition in the Northwest Conference, the 13th-ranked Puget Sound Loggers took on the fifth-ranked George Fox Bruins in the NWC women's basketball tournament final for the fourth-straight season but it was the Bruins that collected the win, 77-51, on Saturday night at Miller Gymnasium in Newberg, Ore.

George Fox took the early lead on a lay-up by freshman Hannah Munger and the Bruins wouldn't look back.  Puget Sound managed to hit a few shots early to keep it close in the opening minutes but the defending national champions pushed their lead into double-digits with 11:43 left to go as they continued to use hot shooting to take a 44-20 lead into the halftime break.

In the second half, the Bruins built the lead to 30 but an 11-0 run by the Loggers got them within 19 once again with 8:34 left to play.  George Fox got hot again, pushing the advantage back into the 20s as they won their second-straight NWC tournament final by a final of 77-51.

Puget Sound was led by 13 points from sophomore Jocelyn Riordan (Lake Forest Park, Wash./Shorecrest).  Freshman Kelsey McKinnis (Ashland, Ore.) added 11 points as the Loggers struggled mightily from the field, making just 25.4% of their shots.  The Loggers were solid from the charity stripe, making 16 of 18 attempts for 88.9%.

George Fox was led by 17 points from Elise Kuenzi.  Munger collected the double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Keisha Gordon chipped in 13 points in the win.  The Bruins used 59.1% shooting to beat the Loggers, including an incredible 70.8% in the first half.

The Loggers, ranked second all season in the NCAA Division III West Region rankings, will wait until Monday morning to see if their season will continue when the NCAA announces the 2010 tournament field.  The bracket is expected to be released at 9:30 a.m. PST at NCAA.com.