WBSK: WHAT’S BRUIN - Bruins Head for Eastern Washington for First NWC Road Tests

* Upcoming Games:

- Fri., Jan. 8, 6:00 pm - at Whitman College (NWC), Walla Walla, Wash.

- Sat., Jan. 9, 6:00 pm - at Whitworth University (NWC), Spokane, Wash.

NEWBERG, Ore. - Off to a 2-0 start with two home wins as they begin defense of their Northwest Conference crown, the George Fox University Bruins (9-2) head for eastern Washington this weekend for their first two NWC road games at Whitman College (6-5, NWC 1-1) and Whitworth University (5-6, NWC 1-1).

The defending NCAA Division III national champion Bruins, who are ranked 10th in the latest WBCA poll and 12th by D3hoops.com, will meet Whitman's Missionaries Friday and Whitworth's Pirates Saturday, both tipping off at 6:00 p.m. and followed by conference men's games at 8:00 p.m.  KFOX radio will webcast both games, while the host schools will provide live stats and video streaming.

George Fox went 7-2 in the non-conference portion of its schedule, going 3-0 vs. NAIA Division II teams, 1-1 vs. NAIA Division I, 2-0 vs. NCAA Division II, and 1-1 vs. NCAA Division III.  The Bruins opened NWC play with a thrilling 65-62 overtime win over the Puget Sound Loggers Saturday and a 67-46 win over Pacific Boxers Monday.  Keisha Gordon scored 13 points, Hannah Munger 12 with 13 rebounds, and B.B. Gardner 10 with eight assists in the UPS win.  Against Pacific, Gordon had 14 points, Munger 12, and Gardner 10.   

Whitman (6-5, NWC 1-1): The Missionaries from Walla Walla, Wash., are coming off a 75-40 romp at Williamette on Sunday in which they hit a school-record 14 three-point field goals ... Whitman was picked to finish third in the pre-season NWC coaches' poll, George Fox first ... Series record (since 1982): George Fox leads 23-8 (12-4 home, 11-4 away) ... The Bruins have won the last seven meetings, including a three-game sweep last year (62-51 in Walla Walla on Jan. 3, 67-36 in Newberg on Jan. 31, and 85-47 in Newberg in the NWC Tournament semifinals on Feb. 26) ... The Missionaries' last win in the series was 62-58 in Walla Walla on Jan. 28, 2006 ... Whitman leads the NWC in 3-point field goal pct. (.323), assists (14.64), and assist/TO ratio (0.87, 36th nationally) while ranking 2nd in field goal pct. (.403), 6th in scoring (61.7) and 3rd in defense (56.0) ... G Hilary White is 10th in scoring (11.5), 4th in 3-point field goals (1.73) ... C Rebecca Sexton is 25th in scoring (8.1), 3rd in field goal pct. (.545) ... F Jessica Brice is 10th in assists (2.64) ... Coach Michelle Ferenz is in her 9th season at Whitman ... Next game: Jan. 9 vs. Pacific, 6 p.m.

Whitworth (5-6, NWC 1-1): The Pirates from Spokane, Wash., are coming off a 67-63 loss at Lewis & Clark on Sunday in which Cassie Pilkinton and Lauren Picha each scored 13 points ... Whitworth was picked to tie for fourth in the conference with Pacific in the pre-season coaches' poll ... Series record (since 1982): George Fox leads 18-13 (11-3 home, 6-9 away, 1-1 neutral) ... The Bruins have won the last four meetings, sweeping last year 68-50 in Spokane on Jan. 2 and 77-46 in Newberg on Jan. 30 ... The Pirates' last win in the series was 62-62 in Spokane on Feb. 2, 2007 ... Whitworth is 1st in the NWC in scoring (66.3) and 3-point field goals (7.27, 17th nationally), 2nd in steals (10.27) and turnover margin (+3.91), and 7th in defense (66.7) ... F Cassie Pilkinton is 12th in scoring (10.9), 9th in rebounding (6.2) ... C Liz Horiatis is 18th in scoring (9.5) ... G Kim Bluff is 21st in scoring (8.8) ... G Leah Pomante is 28th in scoring (7.5), 2nd in assist/TO ratio (1.42), 5th in assists (3.36) ... Coach Helen Hicks is 232-158 to date in her 16th season at Whitworth ... Whitworth hosts Pacific Friday before meeting the Bruins ... Next game: Jan. 15 at Puget Sound, 8 p.m.

BRUIN BITS:

* Munger Again BAA, D3hoops National Team of the Week Honoree

For the second straight time, Hannah Munger has been named the Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week and has been selected as the center on the D3hoops.com National Team of the Week after leading the nationally-ranked Bruins to a 2-0 record during the week of Dec. 28-Jan. 3.  She also received honorable mention for the Northwest Conference Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week.

In the Bruins' final non-conference game on Dec. 29 at Western Oregon, she posted her second double-double of the season with 18 points on 7-11 from the field and 4-6 from the line and 10 rebounds, along with three blocked shots.  In a 65-62 overtime over Puget Sound in the NWC opener on Jan. 2, she had her second double-double in a row and third of the season with 12 points on 6-11 field goals and 13 rebounds, with three more blocked shots and two steals.  She scored the basket that put the Bruins ahead for good 63-62 with 19 seconds left in overtime.  For the week, she scored 30 points (15.0 ppg) on 13-22 field goals (.591) and 4-9 free throws (.444), with 23 rebounds (11.5 rpg), six blocked shots (3.0 bspg), and two steals. 

Munger, a 6-5 freshman center from Newberg, Ore., leads the conference in blocked shots (3.09) and field goal pct. (.553), and is 6th in rebounding (7.4, T) and 13th in scoring (10.8, T).

* 2009-10 Honors

Keisha Gordon

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Nov. 16-22; Nov. 30-Dec. 6

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - Nov. 16-22; HM, Nov. 30-Dec. 6

Elise Kuenzi

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Nov. 23-29

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - HM, Nov. 23-29

Hannah Munger

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Dec. 14-20; Dec. 28-Jan. 3

- D3hoops.com National Team of the Week - Dec. 14-20; Dec. 28-Jan. 3 

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - HM, Dec. 14-27; Dec. 28-Jan. 3

* Polls: Bruins Climb to 10th in WBCA Poll, 12th in D3hoops

A successful 2-0 week with wins at NCAA Division II Western Oregon and a Northwest Conference-opening victory over a tough Puget Sound team has enabled George Fox to rise in both NCAA Division III national polls.  The Bruins, who are 9-2 after a Monday night win over Pacific (which was not taken into consideration by the polls' voters), climbed from 12th to 10th with 122 points in the USA Today / ESPN / WBCA poll of Jan. 5.  In te D3hoops.com poll, they moved from 16th to 12th 290 points.  Coming off a 32-0 season and the D-III national championship, George Fox was ranked 4th in the D3hoops.com pre-season poll and 5th in the WBCA pre-season poll.

The University of Puget Sound and Lewis & Clark College were other Northwest Conference schools among "others receiving votes", UPS with 19 points in the WBCA poll and 40 in D3hoops, and L&C with 9 in the WBCA and 19 in D3hoops.  Illinois Wesleyan University (8-0) remained No. 1 with 618 points in the D3hoops poll, and took over the top spot in the D3hoops.com poll with 200 points after previous No. 1 Hope College lost for the first time.

D3hoops.com Poll: http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/

USA Today / ESPN / WBCA Poll: http://www.wbca.org/DIIICoachesPoll.asp

* NCAA Stats (thru Jan. 3): Bruins, Munger Listed Nationally in Seven Stats

- George Fox is 15th in blocked shots (5.5), 18th in defense (51.0), 30th in 3-point field goals (6.9), 48th in rebound margin (+6.7), fewest fouls (14.7), 50th in won-lost pct. (.800, T) ...

- Hannah Munger is 9th in blocked shots (3.3) ...

* NWC Stats (thru Jan. 4): Gordon, Munger Lead NWC in Four Categories

- George Fox is 1st in defense (50.5), scoring margin (+11.4), field goal pct. defense (.353), rebounding defense (33.7), blocked shots (5.45), steals (10.55), 2nd in 3-pt field goals (6.64), rebound margin (+6.1), 3rd in field goal pct. (.392), assists (12.55), 4th in rebounding (39.8), turnover margin (+0.91), assist/TO ratio (0.62), 5th in scoring (61.9), 3-pt field goal pct. (.287), 6th in 3-pt field goal pct. defense (.327), 8th in free throw pct. (.634) ...

- Keisha Gordon is 1st in steals (3.09), 3-pt field goals (2.36, T), 4th in scoring (15.6), free throw pct. (.851), 5th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.377), 9th in blocked shots (0.73, T), 12th in rebounding (5.8), field goal pct. (.411) ...

- Hannah Munger is 1st in blocked shots (3.09), field goal pct. (.553), 6th in rebounding (7.4, T), 13th in scoring (10.8, T) ...

- Elise Kuenzi is 14th in rebounding (5.5, T), 30th in scoring (7.5, T) ...

- B.B. Gardner is 4th in assist/TO ratio (1.06), 6th in assists (3.18, T) ...

- Laura Silva is 4th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.385), 10th in 3-pt field goals (1.11, T) ...

- Breezy Rinehart-Young is 7th in blocked shots (0.82, T) ...

* Double-Doubles

- Hannah Munger: season 3, career 3 - 16 pts, 11 reb vs. Concordia-Portland, 11/20; 18 pts, 10 reb at Western Oregon, 12/29; 12 pts, 13 reb vs. Puget Sound, 1/2

- Elise Kuenzi: season 1, career 2 - 14 pts, 10 reb vs. Chaminade in Honolulu, Hawai'i, 12/20

* Head Coach Scott Rueck

Head coach Scott Rueck (Oregon State ‘91), the winningest coach in GFU women's basketball history, is 269-87 (.756, 136-24 home, 97-52 road, 36-11 neutral) to date in his 14th season at George Fox ... He was named the 2008-09 NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year for leading the Bruins to the national championship by D3hoops.com and the WBCA, West Region Coach of the Year by both, and Northwest Conference Coach of the Year for the sixth time (also in '00, '01, '05, '07, and '08) ... Against Whitman, he is 21-6 (11-3 home, 10-3 away) ... Against Whitworth, he is 15-12 (10-3 home, 5-9 away) ...