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Feb 19, 2009
WHAT’S BRUIN: Weekly News & Notes
Overall Record: 23-0 (Home
10-0, Road 10-0, Neutral 3-0)
Northwest Conference: 14-0, 1st (Home 6-0, Road 8-0)
Internet Links For:
Quick Facts / Roster / Schedule / Results / Statistics / Box Scores / Press Releases
HIGHLIGHTS:
* Coming Up: Homecoming Weekend vs. Willamette and PLU
* Bruins Have Home-Court Advantage for NWC Tournament
* Recent Games: Bruins Drop Wildcats to Stay Unbeaten
* Shielee Earns BAA Award, HM for NWC Weekly Honors
* Polls: Bruins Tied for 2nd in WBCA, 3rd in D3hoops Poll
* NCAA Stats: Bruins Still No. 2 in Defense (Barely)
* NWC Stats: Three Bruins Lead in Four Categories.
* Career Lists: Shielee Adds to 4th-Most Blocks
* COMING UP: Homecoming Weekend vs. Willamette and
PLU
Fri., Feb. 20, 6:00 pm - vs. Willamette University, in
Newberg, Ore.
Sat, Feb. 21, 6:00 pm - vs. Pacific Lutheran University, in Newberg, Ore.
The 2008-09 regular season comes to a close for the Bruins with a
pair of games on Homecoming weekend as they try to remain
undefeated. Two wins would enable the Bruins to
tie their record for the most wins in a season, set during last
year’s 25-5 campaign. Friday’s
festivities include the Sports Hall of Fame ceremonies at 4:00 p.m.
in the Klages Dining Hall, when the Class of 2009 - baseball
All-American Nate Barnett, women’s soccer star Gegi (Bonera)
Ward, four-sport athlete Howard Crow, track and field coach Randy
Winston, the 1999 Bruin baseball team, and Nike College Basketball
Sports Marketing Director Eric Lautenbach for meritorious service -
will be inducted. They will be introduced at
halftime of the men’s game at 8:00 p.m.
The largest crowd of the season is expected for the season finale
on Saturday, when the Homecoming Court will be presented at
halftime of the men’s game at 8:00 p.m.
Campus station KFOX Radio will webcast all games, and LiveStats
and live video streaming will also be available.
Links to George Fox multimedia coverage when provided:
KFOX radio webcasts - http://www.georgefox.edu/offices/asc/kfoxradio/
LiveStats - http://academic.georgefox.edu/~sports/xlive.htm
Live video streaming - http://media.georgefox.edu/bruinsports.html
Willamette (4-16, NWC 3-11, 8th): The Willamette
Bearcats from Salem, Ore., were picked 9th in the Northwest
Conference pre-season coaches’ poll, the Bruins 5th …
The Bearcats have lost their last three games after a three-game
winning streak, including a 68-59 loss at home to Lewis & Clark
in their last game on Feb. 14 … Series record: George Fox
leads 42-12 since 1982 (24-3 home, 17-9 road, 1-0 neutral) …
The Bruins have won the last 13 meetings, including this
season’s 70-55 win in Salem on Jan. 23 … The
Bearcats’ last win in the series was 53-51 in Salem on Feb.
9, 2002 … Willamette averages 58.2 ppg (6th in the NWC) and
allows 69.0 ppg (9th) … The Bearcats have two double-figure
scorers: Molly Fillion (14.5, 1st), Alex Zennan (13.0, 4th)
… Fillion is the top rebounder (10.6, 1st, 48th nationally)
… Jenny Fillion is the assists leader (2.90, 9th) …
Zennan leads the NWC in 3-pt field goals (2.10) … Coach
Sarah Brooks is 3-12 at Willamette since taking over for Bruce
Henderson when the head coach passed away suddenly on Dec. 8
… Next game: Feb. 21 vs. Puget Sound, 6:00 p.m.
Pacific Lutheran (13-10, NWC 7-7, 5th): The
Pacific Lutheran Lutes from Tacoma, Wash., were picked 6th in the
Northwest Conference pre-season coaches’ poll, the Bruins 5th
… The Lutes have alternated wins and losses in their last
six games, taking a 71-58 decision over Whitworth in their last
game on Feb. 14 … Series record: George Fox leads 18-15
since 1982 (11-5 home, 7-10 road) … The Bruins have won the
last five meetings, including a 61-55 win in Tacoma in their first
meeting on Jan. 24 … The Lutes’ last win in the series
was 75-57 in Tacoma on Feb. 17, 2006 … PLU averages 59.6 ppg
(5th in the NWC) and allows 56.6 ppg (3rd) … PLU leads the
NWC in assists (15.87, 37th nationally), and is 2nd in
assist/turnover ratio (0.94, 27th nationally) … The Lutes
have two double-figure scorers: Emily Voorhies (12.0, 9th), Trinity
Gibbons (10.0, 20th) … Voorhies is the top rebounder (7.7,
7th) … Nikki Scott and Gibbons are the assists leaders
(3.78, 2nd) … Voorhies is 41st nationally in field goal pct.
(.517) … Coach Kelly Warnke is 27-21 to date in her 2nd
season at PLU … Pacific Lutheran visits Linfield Friday
before ending the season against the Bruins.
* Bruins Have Home-Court Advantage for NWC
Tournament
By virtue of winning the Northwest Conference championship, the
Bruins have locked up home court for all games they play in the
upcoming NWC Tournament. The Bruins will host
the 4th-place team while the 2nd-place team will host the 3rd-place
team on Thursday, Feb. 26, both games at 7:00
p.m. The winners will play Saturday, Feb. 28, at
7:00 p.m. at the site of the higher-seeded team.
Puget Sound has sewed up the No. 2 slot, while Whitman has a
half-game lead over Pacific for the No. 3
position.
Because the NWC Tournament is a post-season event, regular season
passes are not valid for the games. Ticket
prices are $6 for adults and $3 for students 18 and under and
seniors 55 and up. Students from the
participating schools in each game will be admitted free with a
current student ID card.
* Recent Games (1-0): Bruins Drop Wildcats to Stay
Unbeaten
Feb. 14 - George Fox 69, at Linfield 34
Jumping out to an early 22-2 lead and ahead at the half 41-8, the
Bruins ran their record to 23-0 by completing a sweep of their
Yamhill County rivals, the Linfield Wildcats, with a 69-34
win. Kristen Shielee hit 8-10 field goals en
route to 16 points, Keisha Gordon had 13 (10 in the first half when
she out-scored Linfield all by herself), and Elise Kuenzi pulled
down 10 rebounds. It was the final regular
season road game for the Bruins this season.
COACH SCOTT RUECK:
Scott Rueck (Oregon State '91), the 2007-08
Northwest Conference and NCAA Division III West Region Coach of the
Year, is 251-85 (.747) to date in his 13th season as a college head
coach, all at George Fox. He picked up his 250th
win on Feb. 10 when the Bruins defeated Pacific 73-52 in Forest
Grove, Ore. He also received NWC Coach of the
Year honors in 1999-2000, 2000-01 (Co-Coach), 2004-05, and 2006-07.
He has guided the Bruins to six NWC titles
(including this season), five NCAA Tournament appearances and a 7-5
playoff record in the last nine years. Click here for the complete
bio on Coach
Rueck.
Rueck vs. upcoming opponents:
Willamette - 22-3 (12-0 home, 10-3 road)
Pacific Lutheran - 16-11 (9-4 home, 7-7 road)
BRUIN BITS:
* Shielee Earns BAA Award, HM for NWC Weekly
Honors
Senior center Kristen Shielee was named the Bruin
Athletic Association Women’s Athlete of the Week and received
honorable mention for the Northwest Conference Women’s
Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week for Feb. 9-15 as she set a
new George Fox single-season record for blocked
shots. In a 73-52 win at Pacific on Feb. 10, she
scored 13 points on 6-8 field goals and 1-2 free throws, with 10
rebounds for her 7th double-double of the season and 6 blocked
shots. In a 69-34 win at Linfield on Feb. 14,
she scored 16 points on 8-10 field goals, with 4 and 3 blocked
shots. For the week, she totaled 29 points (14.5
pg) on 14-18 field goals (.778) and 1-2 free throws (.500), with 14
rebounds (7.0 pg) and 9 blocked shots (4.5 pg).
She now has 91 blocks on the season, surpassing the previous Bruin
record of 86 by Tammy Lewis in 1986-87. Shielee
ranks 1st in the NWC in blocked shots (3.96, 5th nationally), field
goal pct. (.612, 5th nationally), 3rd in rebounding (9.5), 10th in
scoring (11.7) …
* 2008-09 Honors:
Elise Kuenzi ---
- Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week
(Nov. 17-23; Dec. 29-Jan. 4)
- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week (HM, Nov.
17-23)
Keisha Gordon ---
- Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week (Nov.
24-30; Jan. 5-11; Feb. 2-8)
- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week (Nov. 24-30;
HM, Jan. 5-11; Feb. 2-8)
Sage Indendi ---
- Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week (Dec.
8-14; Jan. 26-Feb. 1)
- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week (HM, Dec. 8-14;
HM, Jan. 26-Feb. 1)
Kristen Shielee ---
- Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week
(Dec. 15-21; Jan. 12-18; Jan. 19-25; Feb. 9-15)
- Northwest Conference
Student-Athlete of the Week (Dec. 15-Jan. 4; HM, Jan. 12-18; HM,
Jan. 19-25; HM, Feb. 9-15)
* Polls: Bruins Tied for 2nd in WBCA, 3rd in D3hoops
Poll
After another 2-0 week, the George Fox Bruins (23-0) rose from 4th
to a tie for 2nd with 210 points in the USA Today / ESPN NCAA
Division III Women’s Basketball Coaches Association poll of
Feb. 17, and from 4th to 3rd with 582 points in the D3hoops.com
poll of Feb. 16. No other Northwest Conference
teams are listed in the voting. Illinois
Wesleyan (22-0), the only other undefeated team in D-III, sits atop
both polls for the fourth week in a row. Hope
(20-1) is tied with George Fox for 2nd in the WBCA poll and is 2nd
in the D3hoop poll. George Fox has been ranked
in the top 25 at some point eight of the past 10 years (‘00,
‘01, ‘02, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08,
‘09), finishing last season 15th in the WBCA poll and 16th in
the D3hoops poll after a 25-5 season and a trip to the “Sweet
16”. The Bruins’ highest ranking
ever was No. 1, a spot they held for two weeks in February of 2001.
George Fox also sat atop the first West Region rankings which came
out two weeks ago from the NCAA Division III Selection
Committee. At the time, the Bruins were 21-0
overall, 16-0 in the region. The rest of the
West included St. Benedict (18-3, 18-3), Concordia-Moorhead (15-6,
14-4), Simpson IA (19-3, 15-3), La Verne (16-4, 14-3), and Chapman
(16-7, 13-6). The Bruins have already met
Chapman this season and knocked off the Panthers 82-52 in Newberg
on Dec. 13.
* Bruins Have Posted 16 Straight Winning Seasons
With their 23-0 record, the Bruins have guaranteed themselves a
16th straight winning season, three under Sherri Murrell (1992-96)
and the last 13 under Scott Rueck. George Fox
has posted a record of 302-116 (.723) during that time, with six
NWC championships or co-championships (including this season) and
five NCAA post-season appearances.
* Bruins Extend Marks for Best Start, Longest Winning
Streak
With their win at Linfield this past weekend, the 23-0 Bruins
continued to extend two new records they set this season for the
most wins at the start of a season and the most wins at any point
in a season. By defeating Lewis & Clark
59-39 on Jan. 9 in Portland, the Bruins set a new mark for best
start to a season with their 12th straight win.
The 2001-02 and 2005-06 teams had opened the seasons with 11-0 runs
before faltering in their 12th games. The next
night, their 52-47 win over Puget Sound gave them 13 consecutive
wins, topping the previous best streak at any point in a season of
12 in a row from Dec. 18-Feb. 1 in 2007-08. The
Bruins have accomplished all this with only one senior, four
upperclassmen in all, and nine freshmen who have played on the
roster.
* Shielee Extends Record for Blocks to 91
With three blocked shots in the Bruins’ 69-34 win at
Linfield on Feb. 14, Kristen Shielee pushed her season total to 91,
extended her new George Fox single-season
record. She surpassed the previous record of 86
set by Tammy Lewis in 1986-87. Shielee’s
per-game average is 3.96, which would surpass Lewis’s season
record of 3.44 blocks per game in 1986-87 (86 blocks in 25 games).
* Seven Records Set or Tied in 2008-09:
The Bruins have set or tied seven records thus far in 2008-09:
- Most Blocked Shots, Game, Team - 13 at Dallas
in U of Dallas Tip-Off Tournament, 11/22 (previous record was 12
vs. Lewis & Clark, 1/19/1985, and vs. Eastern Oregon,
2/18/1989)
- Most Free Throws Made, Game, Team - 33 (45 fta) vs. Chapman, 12/13 (previous record was 32 vs. Central Washington, 11/19/1993)
- Most Blocked Shots, Game, Player - 10 by Kristen Shielee vs. Bridgewater in Las Vegas Hoopla, 11/20 (tied record set by Shawna Chandler vs. Western Oregon, 1/11/1983)
- Best Free Throw Pct., Game, Player - 1.000 (13-13) by Elise Kuenzi at Whitman, 1/3 (previous record was 11-11 by Nancy Rissmiller vs. Hamline, 11/22/1997)
- Most Blocked Shots, Season, Player - 91 by Kristen Shielee (previous record was 86 by Tammy Lewis, 1986-87)
- Most Wins at Start of Season, Team - 23, Nov. 21-Feb. 14, 2008-09 (previous record was 11 by 2001-02 and 2005-06 teams)
- Longest Winning Streak, Team - 23, Nov. 21-Feb. 14, 2008-09 (previous record was 12, Dec. 18-Feb. 1, 2007-08)
* NCAA Stats: Bruins Still No. 2 in Defense
(Barely)
In the latest NCAA Division III national statistics release (thru
Feb. 15), George Fox as a team ranked 1st in
won-lost pct. (1.000, tied with unbeaten Illinois Wesleyan), 2nd in
defense (48.391 ppg, behind St. Elizabeth’s 48.385), 9th in
blocked shots (5.6 pg), fouls (12.9 pg), 13th in scoring margin
(+19.3), 18th in field goal pct. defense (.327), 22nd in turnovers
(15.7 pg), 38th in rebound margin (+6.9) … There are 3 other
unbeaten women’s teams left at other levels: Connecticut in
D-I, and Morningside (Iowa) and Shawnee State (Ohio) in the NAIA
Division II … Kristen
Shielee was 5th in blocked shots (4.0 pg), and in field
goal pct. (.612) … B.B. Gardner was 45th in
assist/turnover ration (1.69) …
* NWC Stats: Three Bruins Lead in Four Categories
Where the Bruins rank in the latest Northwest Conference stats
(thru Feb. 17):
Scoring Offense – 2nd (67.7)
Scoring Defense – 1st (48.4)
Scoring Margin – 1st (+19.3)
Field Goal Pct. - 1st (.425)
Field Goal Pct. Defense – 1st (.327)
3-Pt Field Goals – 2nd (6.09)
3-Pt Field Goal Pct. – 1st (.332)
3-Pt Field Goal Pct. Defense – 1st (.277)
Free Throw Pct. – 6th (.665)
Rebounding Offense – 2nd (40.1)
Rebounding Defense – 1st (33.2)
Rebounding Margin – 1st (+6.9)
Assists – 3rd (13.74)
Blocked Shots - 1st (5.61)
Steals – 1st (10.48)
Turnover Margin – 2nd (+3.74)
Assist/Turnover Ratio – 3rd (0.88)
- Kristen Shielee
is 1st in blocked shots (3.96), field goal pct. (.612), 3rd in
rebounding (9.5), 10th in scoring (11.7) …
- Elise Kuenzi is 6th in free throw pct. (.778),
18th in scoring (10.0, T), 19th in rebounding (5.3) ...
- B.B. Gardner is
1st in assist/turnover ratio (1.69), 7th in assists (3.09)
…
- Keisha Gordon is 1st in free throw pct. (.877),
4th in 3-pt field goals (1.64), 5th in steals (2.09), 6th in
scoring (12.4), 3-pt field goal pct. (.353), 9th in field goal pct.
(.421) …
- Sage Indendi is 4th in steals (2.17), 7th in free throw pct. (.765), 10th in 3-pt field goals (1.09, T), assists (2.87), 11th in scoring (11.7), 12th in field goal pct. (.405), 3-pt pct. (.298) ...
- Arianna Mohsenian is 7th in 3-pt field goals (1.43), 3-pt field goal pct. (.330) …
- Breezy Rinehart-Young is 6th in blocked shots (0.87) ...
* Double-Doubles:
- Elise Kuenzi: career 1, season 1 - 18 pts/11
reb at Dallas, 11/22
- Kristen Shielee: career 7, season 7 - 11 pts/15 reb vs. Virginia Wesleyan at Las Vegas, Nev., 12/19; 12 pts/21 reb/10 blocks vs. Bridgewater at Las Vegas, Nev., 12/20; 16 pts/19 reb at Whitman, 1/3; 12 pts/13 reb at Pacific Lutheran, 1/24; 16 pts/11 reb vs. Whitworth, 1/30; 13 pts/10 reb vs. Lewis & Clark, 2/6; 13 pts/10 reb at Pacific, 2/10
* Triple-Doubles:
- Kristen Shielee: career 1, season 1 - 12 pts/21
reb/10 blocks vs. Bridgewater at Las Vegas, Nev., 12/20 (2nd one in
Bruin history)
* Career Lists: Shielee Adds to 4th-Most Blocks
- Kristen Shielee: With 3
blocked shots at Linfield, Shielee has 144 in her career, 4th on
the all-time list. Ahead is Melissa Marek-Farris
(182, 2004-08) …
