February 26, 2010

WBSK: WHAT’S BRUIN - Bruins and Loggers Familiar Foes in NWC Tournament Finals

* Upcoming Games:

- Sat., Feb. 27, 7:00 pm - vs. University of Puget Sound, Newberg, Ore. (NWC Tournament)

NEWBERG, Ore. - For the fourth consecutive season, the 5th-ranked George Fox University Bruins and 13th-ranked University of Puget Sound Loggers will square off in the championship game of the Northwest Conference women's basketball Tournament this Saturday, Feb. 27, at 7:00 p.m. here in the Wheeler Sports Center's Miller Gym.

The top-seeded Bruins are 24-2 overall and riding a 20-game winning streak, while the 2nd-seeded Loggers are 23-3 with an eight-game winning streak of their own. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament, which the Bruins earned last year with a 67-58 home victory over the Loggers that propelled them to a 32-0 record and the national championship.

Live stats, live internet audio from campus station KFOX radio, and live video streaming via Stretch Internet will be provided for the game by George Fox 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 are $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 George Fox and Puget Sound 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 36 in a row against NWC foes in all games including conference tournament and NCAA Tournament games.

Puget Sound advanced to this year's title game with a 68-55 home win over the 3rd-seeded Whitworth University Pirates Thursday. Kelsey McKinnis led the Loggers with 20 points, NWC Player of the Year Claire Ely scored 18, and Jocelyn Riordan posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. UPS led from start to finish and had as much as a 19-point lead in the second half.

George Fox used a three-point record-setting performance by Arianna Mohsenian as a catalyst for the Bruins' biggest point production of the season in a 98-57 rout of the Lewis & Clark College Pioneers in the other semifinal game. Mohsenian hit 6-of-6 from beyond the arc to establish a new single-game record for three-point percentage en route to a game-high 22 points, and the Bruins hit 15 treys as a team, one short of the single-game record. Hannah Munger added 16 points, Laura Silva 11, and Keisha Gordon and Breezy Rinehart-Young 10 each. The Bruins recorded 28 assists on 31 goals and shot .608 (31-51) for the game.

Since joining the NWC in 1995, George Fox has played in seven conference tournaments counting this season, going 5-4 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 (three-team tournament)

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

2009-10: 2/25 vs. Lewis & Clark (W 98-57); 2/27 vs. Puget Sound (???)

Puget Sound (23-3, NWC 14-2, 2nd): The Loggers from Tacoma, Wash., were picked to finish second to the Bruins in the pre-season NWC coaches' poll ... UPS has now made it to the NWC Tournament final game five years in a row ... The Loggers are ranked 13th in both the WBCA and D3hoops.com polls ... Series record (since 1982): George Fox leads 20-16 (13-5 home, 7-11 away) .. The Bruins have won the last six meetings, including a 65-62 overtime win in Newberg and a 60-51 victory in Tacoma this year ... 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. (.762, 7th nationally) and turnover margin (+4.54, 42nd nationally) while ranking 2nd in scoring (66.0), defense (53.7, 28th nationally), assist/TO ration (0.93, 25th nationally), and scoring margin (+12.2, 44th nationally), 3rd in field goal pct. (.403), steals (8.54), and rebounding margin (+2.4), 4th in assists (12.65) and 3-pt field goal pct. (.321), and 5th in 3-pt field goals (5.62) ... UPS is 3rd nationally in turnovers (13.5) and 8th in fewest fouls (12.8) ... PG Claire Ely leads the league in scoring (20.4, 16th nationally), steals (2.77), assists (4.69, 47th nationally), and assist/turnover ratio (1.94, 17th nationally), and is 3rd in free throw pct. (.828, 50th nationally), 6th in field goal pct. (.438) ... G Jocelyn Riordan is 4th in 3-pt field goals (1.96), 8th in scoring (13.7), 14th in field goal pct. (.393) ... F Natasha Ludwig is 1st in rebounding (8.2), 5th in free throw pct. (.809), 13th in blocked shots (0.50, T), 29th in scoring (8.5) ... G Kelsey McKinnis is 4th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.353), 6th in 3-pt field goals (1.81), 12th in assists (2.42), 21st in scoring (9.6) ... F Lindsay Layland is 11th in rebounding (6.1) ... Coach Suzy Barcomb is 236-85 to date in her 12th season at UPS.

BRUIN BITS:

* Bruins Get Top Coach, Two All-NWC 1st-Teamers, Two HM

NEWBERG, Ore. - After unprecedented back-to-back 16-0 conference seasons, the George Fox University Bruins have reached another high with five All-Northwest Conference women's basketball honorees - First Teamers Keisha Gordon and Hannah Munger, honorable mentions B.B. Gardner and Elise Kuenzi, and Coach of the Year Scott Rueck.

Gordon, a 5-10 sophomore wing from Vancouver, Wash., and Heritage High School, leads the Bruins in scoring (14.7 ppg), three-point field goals (53), free throw percentage (.832, 84-101), and steals (67), shoots .414 (115-278) from the field, and has 146 rebounds, 61 assists and 14 blocked shots. In the conference stats, she ranks 2nd in free throw pct. and steals (2.68), 3rd in scoring, 3-pt field goals (2.12), and 3-pt field goal pct. (.363), 9th in field goal pct., 11th in blocked shots (0.56) and assists (2.44, T), and 14th in rebounding (5.8). Her free throw mark ranks 46th nationally. Her career free throw percentage of .814 is currently the best in George Fox history.

A Second Team All-NWC selection last year, Gordon has been the Bruin Athletic Association Woemns' Athlete of the Week four times this season, was the NWC Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week for Nov. 16-22, and received honorable mention for the NWC award twice. She has scored in double figures 21 times, with highs of 22 at Corba, vs. Concordia (Ore.), and Whitworth, and grabbed nine rebounds four times. She had seven assists at Linfield, and seven steals at Pacific Lutheran.

Munger, a 6-5 freshman center from Newberg, Ore., and Newberg High School, moved into the starting lineup on the Bruins' trip to Hawai'i and quickly established herself as a formidable presence in the middle. While averaging 11.6 ppg, she leads the team in field goal percentage (.550, 132-240), rebounding (7.8 rpg), and blocked shots (88), the second-best total in one season in Bruin history. She leads the league in blocked shots (3.52) and field goal pct. (.550), and is 3rd in rebounding and 11th in scoring (11.6). She is 7th nationally in blocks and 31st in field goal pct.

Already being noticed on a national scale, Munger was twice named as the center on the D3hoops.com National Team of the Week. She has been the Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week six times, the NWC Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week for Jan. 25-31, and received honorable mention for the NWC award six times.

Gardner, a 5-4 senior point guard from Zigzag, Ore., may not have the biggest statistics but carries a huge load as the director of the Bruins' offense and the team's key on-the-ball defender. She leads the Bruins in assists (74) while averaging 5.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.52 steals per game, shooting .440 (51-116) from the field, including 22 three-pointers, and .600 (18-30) from the line. In the NWC stats, she ranks 6th in assists (2.96) and 13th in steals. She currently ranks 6th on the Bruins' all-time assists list with 261.

An outstanding student as well as an athlete, Gardner was named to the ESPN The Magazine / CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII Women's Basketball College Division First Team this season with a 3.84 grade point average as a psychology major.

Kuenzi, a 5-10 senior forward from Silverton, Ore., is an all-around talent who averages 8.7 ppg and 5.6 rpg, shooting .395 (75-190) from the floor wth 20 three-pointer and .635 (47-74) from the line. She also has 63 assists and 32 steals. In conference stats, she ranks 9th in assists (2.52, T), 13th in field goal pct., 15th in rebounding, and 27th in scoring (8.7, T).

Kuenzi is a two-time Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week and two-time honorable mention NWC Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week this season. She holds the George Fox record most consecutive free throws made, sinking 30 in a row at one stretch of her junior year, and set a new Bruin record for free throw percentage in a game when she hit 13-of-13 at Whitman on Jan. 3, 2009.

Rueck is the NWC Coach of the Year for the fourth straight season, fifth time in six years, and seventh time overall in 14 seasons at George Fox (he also won in '00, '01, '05, '07, '08, and '09). While the Bruins were expected to be good again in 2009-10, being picked to win the conference, the team had lost Second Team All-America center and NWC Player of the Year Kristen Shielee, as well as National Rookie of the Year and leading scorer Sage Indendi, from last year's 32-0 and NCAA Division III national championship team.

After starting the season 4-0, the Bruins dropped games to California Lutheran and Lewis-Clark State, ending a 36-game winning streak. With Munger stepping in at center and feisty Lindsay Keener inserted at a wing, however, the Bruins caught fire and reeled off 19 consecutive wins, going 16-0 in the conference for the second straight season, something no other team in the league has ever done (only one other conference team had ever gone undefeated anyway). George Fox is currently ranked No. 5 in both the WBCA and D3hoops national polls, and No. 1 in the West Region by the NCAA National Tournament Selection Committee.

* 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

- All-Northwest Conference First Team

- 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

- All-Northwest Conference Honorable Mention

- 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

- All-Northwest Conference First Team

- 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

- All-Northwest Conference Honorable Mention

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

Scott Rueck

- Northwest Conference Coach of the Year

* '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 fourth NCAA Division III regional rankings released on Feb. 24 by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, George Fox remained No. 1 in the West Region (23-2 overall, 17-1 vs. regional competition). Following the Bruins were Puget Sound (22-3, 17-2), Redlands (20-5, 19-4), Gustavus Adolphus (20-5, 20-4), Coe (18-7, 17-7), and St. Benedict (20-5, 20-5). 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)

- Best 3-Pt Field Goal Pct., Game - 1.000 (6-6) by Arianna Mohsenian vs. Lewis & Clark, 2/25/10 (previous record was 5-5 by Traci Blair vs. Lewis & Clark, 11/28/90; and by Tabitha Dawson (Greller) vs. Hamline, 11/22/97

* Bruins Stretch Winning Streaks vs. NWC Teams to 35 and 36

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. With the Bruins' win over Lewis & Clark in the NWC Tournament on Feb. 25, they have also won 36 straight against all NWC competition including conference tournament and post-season games.

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

George Fox finished the 2009-10 season 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 Bruins were 16-0 in league play in 2008-09 on the way to a 32-0 season and NCAA national championship. 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 24-2 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. 25): Bruins Lead League in 10 Different Stats

- George Fox is 1st in defense (48.2), scoring margin (+17.5), field goal pct. (.418), field goal pct. defense (.325), 3-pt field goals (7.35), 3-pt field goal pct. (.340), 3-pt field goal pct. defense (.289), rebounding defense (34.0), rebound margin (+6.8), blocked shots (5.77), steals (10.19), 2nd in rebounding (40.8), assists (14.81), 3rd in scoring (65.7), turnover margin (+1.69), 4th in assist/TO ratio (0.83), 8th in free throw pct. (.649) ...

- Keisha Gordon is 2nd in free throw pct. (.835), steals (2.69), 3rd in 3-pt field goals (2.08), 3-pt field goal pct. (.367), 4th in scoring (14.4), 9th in field goal pct. (.416), 11th in blocked shots (0.54), 12th in assists (2.42, T), 13th in rebounding (5.9) ...

- Hannah Munger is 1st in blocked shots (3.54), field goal pct. (.552), 3rd in rebounding (7.5), 11th in scoring (11.8) ...

- Elise Kuenzi is 10th in assists (2.50), 12th in field goal pct. (.400), 18th in rebounding (5.4), 27th in scoring (8.7) ...

- B.B. Gardner is 3rd in assist/TO ratio (1.14), 6th in assists (3.04), 13th in steals (1.50) ...

- Breezy Rinehart-Young is 9th in blocked shots (0.80) ...

- Arianna Mohsenian is 6th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.339), 10th in 3-pt field goals (1.42) ...

* 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 5 assists vs. Lewis & Clark, Gardner has 266 in her career, 6th on the all-time assists list. Ahead is Tiffany Behary (271, 2004-08) ...

- Keisha Gordon: Going 2-2 from the line vs. Lewis & Clark, Gordon ranks 1st in career free throw pct. (.816, 160-196). 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 4 blocked shots vs. Lewis & Clark, Munger has 92 on the season, 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 284-87 (.765, 143-24 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 and West Region Coach of the Year by both D3hoops.com and the WBCA ... He is a seven-time Northwest Conference Coach of the Year ('00, '01, '05, '07, '08, '09, and ‘10) ... 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 Puget Sound, he is 20-14 (13-4 home, 7-10 away) ...