Bruins Go Unbeaten, Claim School's First National Basketball Title

It was the season no one saw coming. When the 2008-09 George Fox women's basketball campaign began, head coach Scott Rueck was simply hoping for a winning season. With 10 freshmen, only one senior and three juniors, the Bruins were picked to finish fifth in a poll of Northwest Conference coaches. Thirty-two games later, George Fox hadn't lost, and the Bruins were crowned the NCAA Div. III national champion - the first DIII basketball team west of the Rocky Mountains to earn the honor. 

Thirteen-year veteran coach Scott Rueck predicted his 2008-09 team would be good. He just never imagined they would be this good.

First, the Bruins shocked their league, going 16-0 to win the Northwest Conference by five games - and capping a perfect 27-0 regular season. Next came a blowout victory over Chapman in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, sending George Fox to the "Sweet 16" for the fourth time in the past decade. Double-digit victories over perennial national powers Oglethorpe and Hope University followed.

Making their first appearance in the Final Four, the Bruins continued their improbable run with a 67-52 defeat of The College of New Jersey, setting up a date with Washington University of St. Louis in the title game. Washington (26-5) had captured four straight national crowns from 1998 through 2001 and lost in the championship games in 1994 and 2007. Undaunted, George Fox withstood a late Washington surge to claim a 60-53 victory in the championship game on the campus of Hope University in Holland, Mich.

Following the season, D3hoops.com released its season awards, with Rueck earning National Coach of the Year honors, senior post Kristen Shielee making Second Team All-American, and Sage Indendi being recognized as the National Rookie of the Year. Shielee also was voted the Most Outstanding Player in the Final Four, and Indendi was named to the all-tournament team.

Upon their return to Newberg, the Bruins were greeted by a throng of fans at the airport and supporters along Highway 99W. Team members later got the opportunity to visit Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, and Monday, April 20, was designated "George Fox Women's Basketball Day" in Newberg by the city's mayor, Bob Andrews.