NEWBERG, Ore. – A strong start from the Puget Sound women's basketball team didn't quite hold up as it fell 68-55 to top-seeded George Fox in the NWC Semifinal on Thursday. Kelsey McKinnis had 18 points to lead the Loggers (13-13), 10 of which cam in the strong opening half.

The Loggers came out upset-minded against George Fox (26-0), who is ranked third in Division III. Amanda Forshay gave the Loggers an early 7-5 lead with a three-pointer just two and a half minutes into the game. It was part of an 8-0 run that saw the Loggers lead grow to 10-5 on a Sarah Stewart layup.

Back-to-back junpers from Ashley Agcaoili boosted the lead to 16-9 with 12:48 remaining in the opening frame. However, after tradiing the lead a couple times over the next few minutes Megan Arnoldy regained the lead for the Bruins for good.

The Loggers deployed a physical defensive strategy on the Bruins and limited them to just 37.5 percent shooting in the first half and also forced nine turnovers.

"We had a game plan coming into be more physical and aggressive on both ends of the floor. We executed that for the majority of the game," said head coach Loree Payne. "However, they capitalized on a few of our defensive mistakes. We fought hard all the way to end but, unfortunately, came up short."

The Bruins pushed their lead to 19 early in the first half as the Loggers struggled to score over the first 10 minutes. However, the Loggers refused to go away as McKinnis' jumper brought the lead back into single digits with 5:42 remaining.

The Bruins were able to turn away the comeback attempt and held on for the win. Keisha Gordon scored 23 points to become George Fox's all-time leading scorer. Hannah Munger added 15 points to the cause.

Amanda Forshay and Ashley Agcaoili each contributed eight points to the Logger cause.

The Loggers season comes to a close with loss and George Fox will host the NWC Final this Saturday against Lewis & Clark.