January 27, 2010

WBSK: WHAT’S BRUIN - No. 6 Bruins Meet No. 15 Loggers Friday in Key Conference Clash

* Upcoming Games:

- Fri., Jan. 29, 6:00 pm - at University of Puget Sound (NWC), Tacoma, Wash.

NEWBERG, Ore. - For the second weekend in a row, 6th-ranked George Fox University will play a Northwest Conference contest with first-place implications as the league-leading Bruins visit the 15th-ranked and second-place University of Puget Sound Loggers Friday in their only game of the week.

The key conference clash commences at 6:00 p.m., followed by the men's NWC game at 8:00 p.m. George Fox campus radio station KFOX will webcast both games while Puget Sound will provide live stats for each at the following links:

KFOX Radio:

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

Live Stats:

http://www2.ups.edu/athletics/live/basketball/xlive.htm

The defending NCAA Division III national champion Bruins, who are ranked 6th in the latest WBCA poll and 7th by D3hoops.com, are now 16-2 on the season, winning their last 12 in a row, and 9-0 in conference play, a game-and-a-half ahead of Puget Sound. Their last regular-season loss to an NWC team was a 45-35 setback at Lewis & Clark on Feb. 15, 2008; they have won 28 regular-season NWC games since. The last George Fox loss to a conference team of any kind was a 62-52 reversal at Puget Sound on Feb. 29, 2008, in the finals of the Northwest Conference Tournament; the Bruins have also won 28 straight against all NWC competition including tournament games since then.

George Fox is coming off a sweep of three games in five days, having defeated the Lewis & Clark College Pioneers 40-24 in Portland on Friday, the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes 67-47 at home on Saturday, and the Pacific University Boxers 73-50 in Forest Grove on Tuesday. The Bruins and Pioneers were tied for first in the NWC at 6-0 heading into their matchup, but the Bruins held the league's top scoring and best field goal percentage team 43 points under their season average and to a meager .123 shooting mark. Keisha Gordon led the way offensively with 14 points and Elise Kuenzi added 10. Gordon was again the top scorer with 14 points in the PLU win, Hannah Munger added a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds along with 6 blocked shots, and Arianna Mohsenian scored 12 points. At Pacific, Munger scored the Bruins' first 12 points of the game and finished with a career high of 21, hitting 9-11 from the field and grabbing 8 rebounds. Gordon added 14 points and Kuenzi 11.

Puget Sound (15-2, NWC 7-1, 2nd): The Loggers from Tacoma, Wash., were picked to finish second to the Bruins in the pre-season NWC coaches' poll ... UPS has won six straight since losing to the Bruins on Jan. 2, including a 74-49 thumping of Lewis & Clark on the road Saturday behind Claire Ely's 23 points, Jocelyn Riordan's 20, and Kelsey McKinnis's 14 ... The Loggers are ranked 15th in the WBCA poll and 16th in the D3hoops.com poll ... Series record (since 1982): George Fox leads 19-16 (13-5 home, 6-11 away) .. The Bruins have won the last five meetings, including a 65-62 overtime win in Newberg in both teams' conference opener on Jan. 2 ... The Loggers' last win in the series was 62-52 in Tacoma on Feb. 29, 2008, in the finals of the NWC Tournament ... UPS shared the NWC regular season title with George Fox in 2007 and 2008 and was runner-up in the conference last year ... UPS leads the NWC in free throw pct. (.810, 1st nationally) and turnover margin (+5.53) while ranking 2nd in scoring (64.4), defense (52.6, 19th nationally), and scoring margin (+11.8, 45th nationally), 3rd in steals (8.82), and 4th in field goal pct. (.389) and rebounding margin (+0.8) ... UPS is 4th nationally in turnovers (13.9) and 9th in fewest fouls (12.8) ... All-NWC guard Claire Ely, last week's NWC Player of the Week, leads the league in scoring (20.5, 16th nationally) and assist/turnover ratio (1.97, 12th nationally), and is 2nd in assists (4.18) and steals (2.47), 7th in field goal pct. (.420) ... G Jocelyn Riordan is 4th in 3-pt field goals (1.71), 8th in scoring (13.5) ... F Natasha Ludwig is 1st in free throw pct. (.857, 33rd nationally), 3rd in rebounding (8.6) ... G Kelsey McKinnis is 4th in 3-pt field goals (1.71), 22nd in scoring (9.3) ... Coach Suzy Barcomb is 228-84 to date in her 12th season at UPS ... Next game: Jan. 30 vs. Linfield, 6:00 p.m.

BRUIN BITS:

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

Continuing her outstanding rookie season, 6-5 center Hannah Munger has been named Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week for the third time and received honorable mention for Northwest Conference Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week of Jan. 18-24 as the Bruins went 2-0.

In a 40-24 win at Lewis & Clark on Jan. 22, Munger scored 6 points on 3-6 field goals with 8 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. In a 67-47 win over Pacific Lutheran on Jan. 23, she scored 12 points on 6-11 field goals with 14 rebounds and 6 blocked shots. For the week, she totaled 18 points (9.0 ppg) on 9-16 field goals (.563), with 22 rebounds (11.0 rpg) and 11 blocked shots (5.5 bspg).

Munger, a freshman from Newberg, Ore., has been honorable mention NWC Student-Athlete of the Week three times and has twice been named to the D3hoops.com National Team of the Week. She currently leads the league in blocked shots (3.28), and is 2nd in field goal pct. (.533), 5th in rebounding (7.4), and 13th in scoring (10.9).

* 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; Jan. 18-24

- 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; HM, Jan. 18-24

* National Champions to Be Honored at Oregon Sports Awards Sunday

Continuing to reap recognition for their 2008-09 NCAA Division III women's basketball national championship and perfect 32-0 season, the George Fox University Bruins, All-American center Kristen Shielee, and head coach Scott Rueck have been nominated for three of the 2009 Oregon Sports Awards which will be presented on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010.

The Bruins as a team have been nominated for the George Pasero Team of the Year Award, Shielee is a finalist for the Ad Rutschman Small College Female Athlete of the Year Award, and Rueck is a candidate for the Slats Gill Sportsperson of the Year Award.

All winners will be announced at the 2009 Oregon Sports Awards show at the Tiger Woods Center on the Nike World Campus in Beaverton, Ore. A reception with light refreshments opens the evening at 5:00 p.m. with Bill Schonely, former long-time radio voice and now public relations specialist for the Portland Trail Blazers, as host. The awards show takes place from 7:00-9:00 p.m., with Emmy award-winning sportscaster Ahmad Rashad as the master of ceremonies, and numerous sports celebrities as awards presenters. Coffee and desserts will be served after the show. Comcast SportsNet will televise the show on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 8:00 p.m.

* Polls: Bruins Remain 6th in WBCA Poll, 7th in D3hoops

With all of the teams above them also winning, the George Fox Bruins remained where they were in the NCAA Division III national polls after a 2-0 week. In the USA Today / ESPN / WBCA poll, the Bruins, now 16-2, remained 6th with 158 points. In the D3hoops.com poll, they remained 7th with 457 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 15th in the WBCA poll with 86 points and 16th in the D3hoops poll with 240. L&C was listed among "others receiving votes" in both polls with 3 points in D3hoops and 2 in the WBCA poll. Illinois Wesleyan University (17-0) remained No. 1 with 620 points in the D3hoops poll and 200 in the WBCA poll and collecting every first-place vote in both.

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

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

* Bruin Defense Almost Untouchable in Win at Lewis & Clark

In their 40-24 win at Lewis & Clark on Jan. 22, the Bruins' defense against the top-scoring and best-shooting team in the Northwest Conference bordered on the phenomenal. The Bruins held the high-scoring Pioneers 43 points below their season average, and a team shooting .412 from the field was limited to a mere .123 percentage, going 7-57 from the field and 0-17 from three-point range. It was the second-lowest field goal percentage the Bruins have held an opponent to, and the lowest ever against an NWC foe; the all-time low is .105 (4-38) against Multnomah Bible College on Nov. 16, 2007. The 24 points allowed by the Bruins was the lowest they have held a conference opponent to on the road; the all-time low against an NWC team came in a 62-23 home win over Pacific University on Feb. 22, 2005. The halftime score was 17-7; the Bruins have twice limited opponents to 6 points in a half. Lewis & Clark's first-half shooting percentage of .103 (3-29) approached the record low for a half of .095 (2-21) by Multnomah Bible in the first half of the 2007 game.

* 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. 24): Bruins Move Up in Defense and Blocked Shots

- George Fox is 6th in defense (48.8), 11th in blocked shots (5.9), 26th in 3-point field goals (6.7), 15th in won-lost pct. (.882), 26th in fewest fouls (14.1), 32nd in scoring margin (+13.8), 49th in rebounding margin (+6.3) ... 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 6th in blocked shots (3.4) ... 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) ...

* NWC Stats (thru Jan. 26): Munger in Blocks, Gordon in Steals Top NWC

- George Fox is 1st in defense (48.9), scoring margin (+14.3), field goal pct. defense (.333), rebounding defense (34.4), blocked shots (5.83), steals (10.83), 2nd in field goal pct. (.401), 3-pt field goals (6.78), 3-pt field goal pct. defense (.303), rebounding (40.6), rebound margin (+6.2), 3rd in 3-pt field goal pct. (.310), assists (13.28), turnover margin (+1.78), 4th in scoring (63.2), assist/TO ratio (0.69), 8th in free throw pct. (.633) ...

- Keisha Gordon is 1st in steals (2.83), 3rd in 3-pt field goals (2.06), 4th in scoring (15.2), 3-pt field goal pct. (.356), 5th in free throw pct. (.818), 6th in field goal pct. (.429), 10th in blocked shots (0.67), 15th in rebounding (5.6) ...

- Hannah Munger is 1st in blocked shots (3.28), 2nd in field goal pct. (.533), 5th in rebounding (7.4), 13th in scoring (10.9) ...

- Elise Kuenzi is 14th in assists (2.28), 15th in steals (1.44), 18th in rebounding (5.4) ...

- B.B. Gardner is 4th in assist/TO ratio (1.04), 6th in assists (3.00), 12th in steals (1.67) ...

- Breezy Rinehart-Young is 6th in blocked shots (0.82, T) ...

- Arianna Mohsenian is 14th in 3-pt field goals (1.11) ...

* Double-Doubles

- Hannah Munger: season 4, career 4 - 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; 12 pts, 14 reb vs. Pacific Lutheran, 1/23

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

* GFU Career Lists

- B.B. Gardner had 9 assists in the last three games and passed Kim Leith (235, 2002-06) for 8th on the all-time assists list. Ahead are Roxy Cate (254, 1979-82) and Amy Fitch (258, 2000-04) ...

- Keisha Gordon went 8-12 from the free throw line in the last three games and now ranks 3rd in career free throw pct. (.806, 137-170). Kim Leith is 1st (.8108, 210-259) and Christy Brock is 2nd (.8105, 77-95) ...

* Head Coach Scott Rueck

Head coach Scott Rueck (Oregon State ‘91), the winningest coach in GFU women's basketball history, is 276-87 (.760, 139-24 home, 101-52 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 Puget Sound, he is 19-14 (13-4 home, 6-10 away) ...