NEWBERG, Ore. (Interstat) — Hanne Hopkins totaled 20 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two blocks in 32 minutes as George Fox defeated visiting Howard Payne 62-52 in a women’s NCAA Division III basketball game Wednesday at Wheeler Sports Center. George Fox improved to 2-1, and Howard Payne dropped to 2-1 after the loss. Attendance was 187.

Hopkins opened the scoring with a driving layup at the 8:40 mark of the first quarter, and Reese Weygandt followed with a layup to give the Bruins a 4-0 lead. Howard Payne tied the score at 4 on Jerzie Bryant’s floating jumper with 6:50 left in the first, but Tara Ushiro answered with a 3-pointer. George Fox never trailed after Ushiro’s 3-pointer. Emma Boehm and Addison Dippel later hit 3-pointers as George Fox built an early advantage. The Yellow Jackets stayed close behind Bryant, Madison Clay and Caitlyn Parsons, who made two free throws late in the first quarter. Hopkins scored seven points during a second-quarter stretch that helped George Fox create separation, and Emma Burlison added a 3-pointer. Howard Payne answered with free throws from Parsons and Hope Hermesmeyer plus a Hermesmeyer layup, but Ushiro made a 3-pointer and Emma Boehm hit two free throws to help the Bruins take a 32-20 lead into halftime.

Howard Payne pushed back in the third quarter. Caitlyn Parsons made a jump shot, Gabriella Barrera hit a 3-pointer and Hermesmeyer scored on a turnaround jumper as the Yellow Jackets cut into the deficit. Jerzie Bryant made two free throws, Kaley Nicholson added two free throws and Taylor McAfee converted a three-point play. Finley Shockley also made a pullup jump shot during the rally. Nicholson’s 3-pointer with 28.6 seconds left in the third quarter brought Howard Payne within 45-43.

George Fox responded in the fourth. Emma Boehm made a pullup jumper, then added another jump shot, Emma Burlison hit a 3-pointer and Tara Ushiro made a pullup jumper as the Bruins kept Howard Payne at arm’s length. Jerzie Bryant’s layup with 1:36 remaining brought Howard Payne within 54-51, but Boehm answered with a turnaround jumper, Aiga Unutoa added a turnaround jumper and Addison Dippel made a free throw to push the lead to 59-51. Hopkins made three free throws in the final 13 seconds to close it out.

Emma Burlison had nine points, six rebounds and two blocks for George Fox. Caitlyn Parsons led Howard Payne on the glass with eight rebounds to go with six points and one block. Emma Boehm finished with 11 points and three assists. Jerzie Bryant scored 13 points. Tara Ushiro added eight points and five rebounds. Hope Hermesmeyer had eight points and seven rebounds. Howard Payne shot 15 of 64 from the floor, 2 of 19 from 3-point range and 20 of 28 from the free throw line. George Fox shot 22 of 52 overall, 7 of 18 from beyond the arc and 11 of 18 at the line. Howard Payne held a 16-8 advantage in offensive rebounds and an 8-5 edge in assists. George Fox had six blocks and committed 20 turnovers; Howard Payne had four blocks and nine turnovers. Howard Payne scored 52 points from 70 possessions for an offensive rating of 74.0. George Fox scored 62 points from 73 possessions for an offensive rating of 85.5.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of George Fox 61, Howard Payne 60. Interstat’s ELO system had projected George Fox with a 95 percent probability to win the game before it was played. The pregame projections favored George Fox to win by a narrow margin.