January 20, 2010

WBSK: WHAT’S BRUIN - Battle for First in NWC Leads 6th-Ranked Bruins’ Busy Week

* Upcoming Games:

- Fri., Jan. 22, 6:00 pm - at Lewis & Clark College (NWC), Portland, Ore.

- Sat., Jan. 23, 6:00 pm - vs. Pacific Lutheran University (NWC), Newberg, Ore. (*** Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2010 to be introduced at halftime ***)

- Tue., Jan. 26, 6:00 pm - at Pacific University (NWC), Forest Grove, Ore.

NEWBERG, Ore. - A showdown for first place in the Northwest Conference looms Friday at Lewis & Clark College as the 6th-ranked George Fox University Bruins face a busy week with three games in five days, including a home match with Pacific Lutheran University Saturday and a road game at Pacific University Tuesday. 

All three games tip off at 6:00 p.m., followed by men's conference games at 8:00 p.m. KFOX radio will webcast every Bruin game this week, with live stats and live video from Stretch Internet also provided for the home games vs. PLU at the following links:

KFOX Radio:

http://www.georgefox.edu/offices/asc/kfoxradio/

Live Video: http://secure.stretchinternet.com/demo/games.php?user=georgefox&o=cal_stamp&sd=today

Live Stats:

http://athletics.georgefox.edu/livestats/index

The defending NCAA Division III national champion Bruins, who are ranked 6th in the latest WBCA poll and 7th by D3hoops.com, are now 13-2 on the season, winning their last nine in a row, and 6-0 in conference play, tied with Lewis & Clark.  Their last regular-season loss to an NWC team was a 45-35 setback at Lewis & Clark on Feb. 15, 2008; they have won 25 regular-season NWC games since.  The last George Fox loss to a conference team at any time was a 62-52 reversal at the University of Puget Sound on Feb. 29, 2008, in the finals of the Northwest Conference Tournament; the Bruins have also won 25 straight against NWC competition including tournament games since then.

George Fox is coming off a home weekend sweep, defeating the Willamette University Bearcats 74-54 and the Linfield College Wildcats 83-49.  Keisha Gordon scored 21 and Hannah Munger 14 to lead the Bruins in the Willamette win, and nine players came off the bench to contribute 36 points.  Samantha Simmons had a team-high eight rebounds and five steals.  Gordon and Arianna Mohsenian with 12 points and Elise Kuenzi and Simmons with 10 points each sparked the Bruins past Linfield.  Munger nearly had a triple-double with eight points, nine rebounds, and nine blocked shots.  The Bruins connected on 15 of 29 three-point shots against the Wildcats.

Lewis & Clark (12-3, NWC 6-0, 1st T): The Pioneers from Portland, Ore., were picked to finish 6th in the pre-season NWC coaches' poll, George Fox 1st ... Lewis & Clark has won six in a row, the latest an 81-67 win at Pacific Saturday in which Kristina Williams scored 25, points, Margaret Dowling 17, and Christina Herring 16, and coach Juli Fulks became the winningest coach in Pioneer women's basketball history with her 70th win ... Series record (since 1981): George Fox leads 51-10 (26-3 home, 23-7 away, 2-0 neutral) ... The Bruins have won the last three meetings and 30 of the last 31, including 59-39 in Portland on Jan. 9 and 78-56 in Newberg on Feb. 6 last year ... The Pioneers' last win in the series was 45-35 in Portland on Feb. 15, 2008, the last time the Bruins lost a regular season conference game ... Lewis & Clark is 1st in the NWC in scoring (67.7), field goal pct. (.412), 3-pt field goal pct. (.325), rebounding (41.2), rebound margin (+7.6, 35th nationally), 2nd in free throw pct. (.708), 3rd in scoring margin (+6.1), 4th in defense (61.6) ... G Kristina Williams is 2nd in scoring (16.7), 3rd in free throw pct. (.843, 48th nationally), steals (2.20), 11th in rebounding (5.9) ... G Christina Herring is 1st in assists (4.53, 41st nationally), 7th in steals (2.07), 13th in scoring (10.9) ... F Margaret Dowling is 1st in rebounding (8.9), 29th in scoring (8.3) ... F Neva Hauser is 3rd in field goal pct. (.517), 22nd in scoring (9.2) ... C Megan Spence is 5th in field goal pct. (.495), 25th in scoring (8.8) ... Coach Fulks is in her 6th season at Lewis & Clark ... Next game: Jan. 23 vs. Puget Sound, 6 p.m.

Pacific Lutheran (5-10, NWC 3-3, 4th): The Lutes from Tacoma, Wash., were picked to finish 7th in the pre-season NWC coaches' poll, George Fox 1st ... PLU swept the "Whits" last weekend, with a 57-55 win over Whitworth Saturday in which Tracy Goehri scored 15 points, former Bruin Jordan Westering 11, and Meghan Dowling and Melissa Pixler 10 each, and Dowling had 10 rebounds ... Series record (since 1981): George Fox leads 19-15 (12-5 home, 7-10 away) ... The Bruins have won the last six meetings, sweeping last year 61-55 in Tacoma on Jan. 24 and 73-51 in Newberg on Feb. 21 ... The Lutes' last win in the series was 75-57 in Tacoma on Feb. 17, 2006 ... PLU is 2nd in the NWC in assists (14.87), 4th in free throw pct. (.688), 3-pt field goals (5.00), 5th in field goal pct. (.383), 6th in defense (65.8), 8th in scoring (58.1) ... G Sarah Backstrom is 3rd in assists (3.67), 16th in scoring (10.3) ... G Jordan Westering is 2nd in 3-pt field goal pct. (.394), 4th in 3-pt field goals (1.87), 17th in scoring (10.2) ... P Tracy Goehri is 7th in field goal pct. (.456), 13th in rebounding (5.7), 19th in scoring (9.9) ... P Meghan Dowling is 14th in rebounding (5.6) ... Coach Kelly Robinson (Warnke) is 33-32 to date in her 3rd season at PLU ... PLU visits Willamette Friday before meeting the Bruins ... Next game: Jan. 29 vs. Linfield, 6 p.m.

Pacific (5-8, NWC 2-4, 64th T): The Boxers from Forest Grove, Ore., were picked to tie for 4th in the conference in the pre-season coaches' poll, George Fox 1st ... Pacific has dropped its last two, including an 81-67 setback to Lewis & Clark Saturday in which Rochelle Reeves-Howe scored 22 points, Julianne Erbe 19, and Kayla Akers 13 ...  Series record (since 1981): George Fox leads 36-24 (20-10 home, 16-14 away) ... The Bruins have won the last 13 meetings and 26 of the last 27, including a 67-46 win in Newberg on Jan. 4 this season ... The Boxers' last win in the series was 59-54 in Forest Grove on Feb. 8, 2003 ... Pacific is 3rd in the NWC in free throw pct. (.704), 5th in scoring (63.3), rebounding (38.8), 7th in field goal pct. (.377), 9th in defense (69.2) ... G Rochelle Reeves-Howe is 4th in scoring (15.3), 5th in 3-pt field goals (1.69) ... F Julianne Erbe is 7th in scoring (14.5), 2nd in field goal pct. (.537, 45th nationally), 10th in rebounding (6.1) ... F Erica Schultz is 21st in scoring (9.3) ... F Paige Jensen is 5th in rebounding (7.3) ... G Mallory Goldammer is 10th in assists (2.69) ... Coach Sharon Rissmiller is 20-42 to date in her 3rd season at Pacific ... The Boxers host Puget Sound Friday and Willamette Saturday before meeting the Bruins ... Next game: Jan. 30 at Pacific Lutheran, 6 p.m.

BRUIN BITS:

* Gordon BAA Athlete of the Week, HM for NWC Honors

After leading the nationally-ranked Bruins in scoring in both games in a 2-0 home week, Keisha Gordon has been named the Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week for the third time and received honorable mention for the Northwest Conference Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week of Jan. 11-17.

In a 74-54 win over Willamette on Jan. 15, Gordon scored 21 points on 7-11 field goals (2-5 on threes) and 5-6 free throws, with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 steals in only 17 minutes of playing time.  In an 83-49 win over Linfield on Jan. 16, she had 12 points on 4-7 field goals (3-5 on threes) and 1-2 free throws, with 4 rebounds, 4 steals, and an assist and a blocked shot in 18 minutes.  For the week, she totaled 33 points (16.5 ppg) on 11-18 field goals (.611), including 5-10 (.500) on threes, and 6-8 free throws (.750), with 7 rebounds (3.5 rpg), 8 steals (4.0 spg), 3 assists and a block. 

Gordon, a sophomore wing from Vancouver, Wash., was the NWC Student-Athlete of the Week for Nov. 16-22 and has been honorable mention twice.  She currently leads the league in steals (3.00), and is 2nd in 3-pt field goals (2.20), free throw pct. (.846, 44th nationally), 3rd in scoring (15.5), 4th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.375), 7th in blocked shots (0.80), 8th in field goal pct. (.436), 16th in rebounding (5.5, T).

* 2009-10 Honors

Keisha Gordon

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Nov. 16-22; Nov. 30-Dec. 6; Jan. 11-17

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - Nov. 16-22; HM, Nov. 30-Dec. 6; HM, Jan. 11-17

Elise Kuenzi

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Nov. 23-29; Jan. 4-10

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - HM, Nov. 23-29; HM, Jan. 4-10

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 6th in WBCA Poll, 7th in D3hoops

A 2-0 week against conference opponents has enabled the George Fox Bruins to rise again in both NCAA Division III national polls.  In the USA Today / ESPN / WBCA poll, the Bruins (13-2) moved from 7th to 6th with 135 points.  In the D3hoops.com poll, they climbed from 10th to 7th with 440 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.

Puget Sound and Lewis & Clark were other Northwest Conference schools mentioned in the polls.  UPS was 16th in the WBCA poll with 60 points and 18th in the D3hoops poll with 202.  L&C was the top vote-getter among "others receiving votes" in both polls with 32 points in D3hoops and 15 in the WBCA poll.  Illinois Wesleyan University (15-0) remained No. 1 with 620 points in the D3hoops poll and 175 in the WBCA poll.

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

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

* Bruins Tie Team Blocks Record, Miss Two Marks by One

In their 83-49 win over Linfield on Jan. 16, the Bruins tied the team record for blocked shots in a game with 13, equaling the mark set at the University of Dallas last season on Nov. 22, 2008.  Freshman center Hannah Munger had nine of the blocks, while Elise Kuenzi, Keisha Gordon, MJ Samples, and Carrie Myers had one each ... Munger's nine blocks were one off the individual record of 10 set by Shawna Chandler vs. Western Oregon on Jan. 11, 1983, and tied last year by Kristen Shielee vs. Bridgewater on Dec. 19, 2008, in Las Vegas, Nev. ... Munger came close to the third triple-double in team history with eight points, nine rebounds, and nine blocks ... The Bruins also connected on 15 three-pointers in the game, one short of the 16 made vs. Lewis & Clark on Feb. 8, 2000, and tied vs. Western Oregon on Dec. 9, 2005.  Arianna Mohsenian made the 15th one with 9:27 left in the game, but the Bruins missed their final six attempts to equal or surpass the record ...

* Bruins Went 7-2 Against Toughest Non-Conference Schedule Ever

Playing perhaps its toughest non-conference schedule ever, and certainly as a D-III team, George Fox was very successful, going 7-2 before Northwest Conference play started.  The Bruins were 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. 

* NCAA Stats (thru Jan. 17): Munger Among Leaders in Blocks, Gordon in FT Pct.

- George Fox is 12th in defense (50.6), 15th in blocked shots (5.5), 17th in 3-point field goals (7.1), 19th in won-lost pct. (.867), 34th in fewest fouls (14.4), 39th in scoring margin (+13.3) ... The Bruins' 15 3-pt field goals vs. Linfield are tied for the 2nd-most threes in a game this season in D-III (Sewanee had 16 in a game vs. Rhodes)

- Hannah Munger is 8th in blocked shots (3.1) ... Her 9 blocks vs. Linfield are tied for the 3rd-most in a game in D-III this season, and her 8 vs. California Lutheran are tied for 8th (Sharon Dennis of Rochester Tech and Lyndsay Sydness of Principia each had 11 in a game) ...

- Keisha Gordon is 44th in free throw pct. (846) ...

* NWC Stats (thru Jan. 19): Bruins Hold Top Spot in Seven Team Stats

- George Fox is 1st in defense (50.6), scoring margin (+13.3), 3-pt field goals (7.07), field goal pct. defense (.349), rebounding defense (34.3), blocked shots (5.53), steals (11.20), 2nd in rebound margin (+5.4), 3rd in scoring (63.9), field goal pct. (.397), assists (13.20), turnover margin (+2.27), 4th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.309), 3-pt field goal pct. defense (.311), rebounding (39.7), assist/TO ratio (0.70), 8th in free throw pct. (.635) ...

- Keisha Gordon is 1st in steals (3.00), 2nd in 3-pt field goals (2.20), free throw pct. (.846), 3rd in scoring (15.5), 4th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.375), 7th in blocked shots (0.80), 8th in field goal pct. (.436), 16th in rebounding (5.5, T) ...

- Hannah Munger is 1st in blocked shots (3.13), 4th in field goal pct. (.511), 6th in rebounding (6.9,T), 15th in scoring (10.5) ...

- Elise Kuenzi is 19th in rebounding (5.3) ...

- B.B. Gardner is 4th in assist/TO ratio (1.05), 6th in assists (3.00), 10th in steals (1.80) ...

- Breezy Rinehart-Young is 9th in blocked shots (0.71) ...

* 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

* GFU Career Lists

- B.B. Gardner has moved into 9th in career assists with 232.  Ahead is Kim Leith (235, 2002-06) ...  

- Keisha Gordon is 1st in career free throw pct. (.816, 129-158).  Kim Leith is 2nd (.810, 210-259) ...

* Head Coach Scott Rueck

Head coach Scott Rueck (Oregon State ‘91), the winningest coach in GFU women's basketball history, is 273-87 (.758, 138-24 home, 99-52 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 Lewis & Clark, he is 26-1 (14-0 home, 12-1 away) ... Against Pacific Lutheran, he is 17-11 (10-4 home, 7-7 away) ... Against Pacific, he is 26-1 (14-0 home, 12-1 away) ...