February 24, 2010

WBSK: WHAT’S BRUIN - No. 5 Bruins to Host Lewis & Clark in NWC Tournament Opener

* Upcoming Games:

- Thur., Feb. 25, 7:00 pm - vs. Lewis & Clark College, Newberg, Ore. (NWC Tournament)

- Sat., Feb. 27, 7:00 pm - vs. TBA (Puget Sound or Whitworth), Newberg, Ore. (NWC Tournament - tentative)

NEWBERG, Ore. - In what they hope will be the first step toward another deep run in the NCAA Division III National Tournament, the George Fox University Bruins will host the Lewis & Clark College Pioneers in a Northwest Conference Tournament semi-final game Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

The Bruins, who are 23-2 overall, are the No. 1 seed in the four-team tournament by virtue of their 16-0 conference record, the second straight unbeaten NWC season for them. The Pioneers are 16-9 overall and finished 10-6 in the league, tied with the Whitworth University Pirates (14-11 overall) for third place. Whitworth got the No. 3 seed by sweeping its series with fifth-place Whitman College while Lewis & Clark was splitting with the Missionaries, so the Pirates will travel to the No. 2 seed University of Puget Sound (22-3, NWC 14-2) Thursday, also at 7:00 p.m.

The championship game is set for Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at the site of the highest-remaining seed after Thursday's games. The NWC Tournament champion receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament, which the Bruins earned last year with a 67-58 victory over Puget Sound that propelled them to a 32-0 record and the D-III national championship.

Live stats, live internet audio from campus station KFOX radio, and live video streaming via Stretch Internet will be provided for all George Fox home tournament games at the following links:

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

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

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

Tickets for all tournament games at George Fox will be $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for students, children 12 and under, and seniors 55 and up. NWC passes are the only passes which are valid for this tournament; regular season passes will not be accepted. Students who attend the schools which are participating in each particular tournament game will be admitted free with a valid college ID; faculty and staff will need to purchases tickets. For more ticket information, contact the Bruin athletics department at 503-554-2910.

George Fox is ranked No. 5 in both the WBCA and D3hoops national polls after winning their fourth straight conference crown and seventh overall (the Bruins have been outright champions in 20001, 2005, 2009, and 2010, and shared titles in 2000, 2007, and 2008). The Bruins have won 35 straight games against NWC teams in the regular season, and 35 in a row against NWC foes in all games including conference tournament and NCAA Tournament games.

Since joining the NWC in 1995, George Fox has played in six conference tournaments, going 4-4 and winning it twice. Here is the Bruins' NWC Tournament history (there was no tournament from 2000-05):

1995-96: 2/21 at Pacific (L 51-68)

1996-97: 2/26 at Pacific Lutheran (L 50-65)

1997-98: 2/25 at Puget Sound (L 52-63)

2006-07: 2/24 vs. Puget Sound (W 58-51) - Champions

2007-08: 2/27 vs. Lewis & Clark (W 76-71, OT); 2/29 at Puget Sound (L 52-62)

2008-09: 2/26 vs. Whitman (W 85-47); 2/28 vs. Puget Sound (W 67-58) - Champions

Lewis & Clark (16-9, NWC 10-6, 3rd T): The Pioneers from Portland, Ore., were picked to finish 6th in the pre-season NWC coaches' poll, the Bruins 1st ... The streaky Pioneers won their first six NWC games, lost four straight, won four, then dropped their last two at George Fox and at Puget Sound to end up tied for third ... Series record (since 1981): George Fox leads 53-10 (27-3 home, 24-7 away, 2-0 neutral) ... The Bruins have won the last five meetings and 32 of the last 33, sweeping this year's games 40-24 in Portland on Jan. 22 and 63-39 in Newberg on Feb. 19 ... 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 ... In the NWC, Lewis & Clark is 1st in rebounding (41.9), 2nd in rebound margin (+6.2, 44th nationally), 3rd in free throw pct. (.711), 4th in defense (60.9), 5th in scoring (62.2), 6th in field goal pct. (.374) ... G Kristina Williams is 7th in scoring (13.8), 3rd in free throw pct. (.830, 47th nationally), 8th in steals (1.80), 13th in rebounding (5.9) ... G Christina Herring is 2nd in assists (4.48), 6th in steals (1.84, T), 21st in scoring (9.5) ... F Margaret Dowling was 1st in rebounding (8.8), but has an injured knee and is out for the season ... C Megan Spence is 5th in field goal pct. (.487), 8th in rebounding (6.4), 12th in blocked shots (0.52, T), 14th in steals (1.44) ... F Talerra Rich is 20th in rebounding (5.3) ... Coach Juli Fulks is in her 6th season at Lewis & Clark.

BRUIN BITS:

* Munger Receives Honorable Mention for NWC Honors

For the sixth this season, 6-5 center Hannah Munger has received honorable mention for the Northwest Conference Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week for Feb. 15-21 after helping the Bruins win two games that completed a second straight perfect 16-0 conference record.

In the Bruins' 63-39 win over Lewis & Clark on Feb. 19, Munger scored 6 points on 3-5 field goals, with 11 rebounds and 8 blocked shots. In a 60-41 win at Pacific Lutheran on Feb. 20, she scored 15 points on 7-13 field goals and 1-1 free throw, with 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocked shots. For the week, she totaled 21 points (10.5 ppg) on 10-18 field goals (.556) and 1-1 free throw (1.000), with 16 rebounds (8.0 rpg), 10 blocked shots (5.0 bspg), and 2 steals.

Munger, a freshman from Newberg, Ore., has been Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week six times, won the NWC Student-Athlete of the Week award once (Jan. 25-31), and has twice been named to the D3hoops.com National Team of the Week. She currently leads the league in blocked shots (3.52, 7th nationally) and field goal pct. (.550, 31st nationally), and is 3rd in rebounding (7.8) and 11th in scoring (11.6).

* 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; Jan. 25-31; Feb. 1-7; Feb. 8-14

- 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; HM, Dec. 28-Jan. 3; HM, Jan. 18-24; Jan. 25-31; HM, Feb. 1-7; HM, Feb. 8-14; HM, Feb. 15-21

B.B. Gardner

- ESPN The Magazine / CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII Women's Basketball College Division First Team

* '09 Champions, All-American Shielee Get Top Honors at Oregon Sports Awards

Former George Fox All-American center Kristen Shielee was named the Ad Rutschman Small College Female Athlete of the Year, and the 2008-09 Bruins' team which she led to the NCAA Division III national title was cited as a George Pasero Team of the Year at the 2009 Oregon Sports Awards presented Sunday night, Jan. 31, at the Tiger Woods Center on the Nike World Campus in Beaverton, Ore. ... Bruins' head coach Scott Rueck was a finalist for the Slats Gill Sportsperson of the Year, which was won by Chip Kelly, head coach of the Pacific 10 Conference champion University of Oregon football team.

* Polls: Bruins Stay 5th in Both National Polls, 1st in West Region

With their winning streak now at 19, the George Fox Bruins are still 5th in both NCAA Division III national polls. In the USA Today / ESPN / WBCA poll, the Bruins, now 23-2, received 173 points, while in the D3hoops.com poll, they were 5th with 513 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 (22-3) was the only other Northwest Conference team mentioned in the polls, standing 13th in both with 102 points in the WBCA poll and 321 points in the D3hoops poll. Amherst College (25-0) remained as the No. 1 team in both polls with 21 first-places votes and 617 points in the D3hoops poll, and 7 firsts and 199 points in the WBCA poll.

In the third NCAA Division III regional rankings released on Feb. 17 by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, George Fox remained No. 1 in the West Region (21-2 overall, 15-1 vs. regional competition). Following the Bruins were Puget Sound (20-3, 15-2), Occidental (19-4, 18-3), Gustavus Adolphus (19-4, 19-3), California Lutheran (18-5, 18-4), and Coe (16-7, 15-7). Selections for the national tournament will be webcast on NCAA.com on Monday, March 1, at 9:30 a.m. Pacific time.

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

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

West Regional Rankings: http://www.ncaa.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/021710aab.html

* Records Set or Tied in 2009-10:

- Most Blocked Shots, Team, Game - 13 vs. Linfield, 1/16/2010 (tied record set at U of Dallas, 11/22/2008)

- Most Conference Wins, Season - 16 (tied record set in 2008-09)

* Bruins Stretch Winning Streaks vs. NWC Teams to 35

The Bruins' last loss to a Northwest Conference team in regular-season games was a 45-35 setback at Lewis & Clark on Feb. 15, 2008; they have won 35 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 35 straight against all NWC competition including conference tournament and post-season games since then.

* Bruins Set Precedent with Back-to-Back Perfect NWC Seasons

With wins over Lewis & Clark and at Pacific Lutheran Feb. 19-20, the George Fox Bruins finished with a 16-0 record in Northwest Conference play and accomplished something no other team in NWC history has ever done - post back-to-back perfect conference seasons. The only other team to go unbeaten in league play was Willamette in 1985-86, with a 10-0 record in the NWC's predecessor, the Women's Conference of Independent Colleges. Only one other conference team has ever won more than 15 games, Pacific Lutheran going 17-1 in 1998-99 when Seattle University was a member and there were ten teams in the NWC instead of the current nine.

* Bruins Have Posted 17 Consecutive Winning Seasons

This year's 23-2 overall record has extended the Bruins' string of winning seasons to 17 in a row. The streak began in 1993-94 when Sherri Murrell, now the coach at Portland State University, went 16-12 in the first of her three years at George Fox. The last 14 have all come under coach Scott Rueck.

* NCAA Stats (thru Feb. 21): Munger, Gordon Among National Leaders

- George Fox is 4th in defense (47.8), 8th in field goal pct. defense (.323), 9th in won-lost pct. (.920), 13th in blocked shots (5.8), 15th in fewest fouls (13.4), 19th in 3-point field goals (7.0), scoring margin (+16.6), 35th in rebounding margin (+7.0) ... The Bruins' 15 3-pt field goals vs. Linfield on Jan. 16 and at Willamette on Feb. 12 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 7th in blocked shots (3.5), 31st in field goal pct. (.550) ... Her 9 blocks vs. Linfield are tied for the 6th-most in a game in D-III this season ...

- Keisha Gordon is 46th in free throw pct. (.832) ...

* NWC Stats (thru Feb. 21): Bruins Lead League in 10 Different Stats

- George Fox is 1st in defense (47.8), scoring margin (+16.6), field goal pct. (.411), field goal pct. defense (.323), 3-pt field goal pct. (.327), 3-pt field goal pct. defense (.288), rebounding defense (34.1), rebound margin (+7.0), blocked shots (5.80), steals (10.08), 2nd in 3-pt field goals (7.04), rebounding (41.1), assists (14.28), 3rd in scoring (64.4), turnover margin (+1.48), 4th in assist/TO ratio (0.79), 8th in free throw pct. (.642) ...

- Keisha Gordon is 2nd in free throw pct. (.832), steals (2.68), 3rd in scoring (14.7), 3-pt field goals (2.12), 3-pt field goal pct. (.363), 9th in field goal pct. (.414), 11th in blocked shots (0.56), assists (2.44, T), 14th in rebounding (5.8) ...

- Hannah Munger is 1st in blocked shots (3.52), field goal pct. (.550), 3rd in rebounding (7.8), 11th in scoring (11.6) ...

- Elise Kuenzi is 9th in assists (2.52, T), 13th in field goal pct. (.395), 15th in rebounding (5.6, T), 27th in scoring (8.7, T) ...

- B.B. Gardner is 6th in assists (2.96), 13th in steals (1.52) ...

- Breezy Rinehart-Young is 9th in blocked shots (0.79) ...

- Arianna Mohsenian is 11th in 3-pt field goals (1.24), 13th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.301) ...

* Double-Doubles

- Hannah Munger: season 6, career 6 - 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; 10 pts, 11 reb at Puget Sound, 1/29; 15 pts, 15 reb vs. Whitman, 2/5

- Elise Kuenzi: season 2, career 3 - 14 pts, 10 reb vs. Chaminade in Honolulu, Hawai'i, 12/20; 13 pts, 12 reb at Linfield, 2/13

* GFU Career Lists: Gordon Takes Over as Best in All-Time FT Pct.

- B.B. Gardner: With 3 assists in the last two games, Gardner has 261 in her career, 6th on the all-time assists list after breaking a tie with Amy Fitch (258, 2000-04). Ahead is Tiffany Behary (271, 2004-08) ...

- Keisha Gordon: Going 10-11 from the line in the last two games, Gordon has moved back into 1st in career free throw pct. (.814, 158-194). Kim Leith is 2nd (.8108, 210-259) and Christy Brock is 3rd (.8105, 77-95) ...

* GFU Season Lists: Munger Now 2nd in Season Blocked Shots

- Hannah Munger: With 10 blocks shots in the last two games, Munger has 88 on the season, surpassing Tammy Lewis's 85 in 1988-89 and 86 in 1986-87 for the second-most in one season. The record is 122 by All-American Kristen Shielee during the 2008-09 national championship season ...

* Head Coach Scott Rueck

Head coach Scott Rueck (Oregon State ‘91), the winningest coach in GFU women's basketball history, is 283-87 (.765, 142-24 home, 105-52 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) ... He was a finalist for the Slats Gill Sportsperson of the Year which was presented at the 2009 Oregon Sports Awards show on Jan. 31 ... Against Lewis & Clark, he is 28-1 (15-0 home, 13-1 away) ...