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WBSK: WHAT'S BRUIN - Munger Named Center on D3hoops Team of the Week
* Upcoming Games:
- Tue., Dec. 29, 7:00 pm - at Western Oregon University, Monmouth, Ore.
NEWBERG, Ore. - To complete the non-conference portion of their 2009-10 schedule, the George Fox University Bruins will visit Western Oregon University on Tuesday, Dec. 29, for a 7:00 p.m. game against the Wolves of the Cascade Collegiate Conference and the NCAA Division II.
The Bruins, now 6-2 after wins over William Carey College and Chaminade University Dec. 19-20 in the Hoop N Surf Classic in Honolulu, Hawai'i, are ranked 12th in the WBCA poll and 18th in the D3hoops poll. The Wolves are 5-6 on the season and coming off a 69-47 victory over California State University-Los Angeles on Dec. 19 in the GNAC/CCAA Challenge in Nampa, Idaho.
Series Record: George Fox trails 9-28 (5-11 home, 4-17 away), but the Bruins won the last two meetings in December of 2005, 100-72 in Newberg on Dec. 9 and 47-34 in Monmouth on Dec. 17. The Wolves last defeated the Bruins 65-47 in Monmouth on Dec. 2, 1997.
Katie Torland is the Wolves' top player, averaging 18.7 points and 6.9 rebounds a game. Nine different players have gotten starts for the Wolves, who average 63.5 points a game while allowing 59.7. Western Oregon makes just under seven three-pointers a game and is a fine free-throw shooting team at .794.
In what has been probably the toughest non-conference schedule ever for the Bruins, they have gone 3-0 vs. NAIA Division II teams, 1-1 vs. NAIA Division I, 1-0 vs. NCAA Division II, and 1-1 vs. NCAA Division III.
Northwest Conference play gets under way Saturday, Jan. 2, when the Bruins host the University of Puget Sound, currently 7-1, at 4:00 p.m.
BRUIN BITS:
* Munger BAA Athlete of the Week, On D3hoops Team of the Week
After moving into the starting lineup, Hannah Munger made her presence felt both offensively and defensively as the Bruins went 2-0 in the Hoop N Surf Classic in Honolulu, Hawai'i, and earned the Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week award for Dec. 14-20. She was also named to the D3hoops.com National Team of the Week, which honors the top player at each of the five positions from around the nation for the week.
In a 61-41 win over William Carey on Dec. 19, the 6-5 freshman center from Newberg, Ore., scored 11 points on 3-7 from the field and 5-6 from the line, with a game-high 7 rebounds, 6 blocked shots, and a steal. In a 57-39 win over Chaminade on Dec. 20, she again scored 11 points on 5-6 from the field and 1-2 from the line, with 5 rebounds, 6 more blocks, and another steal. For the week, she scored 22 points (11.0 ppg) on 8-13 field goals (.615) and 6-8 free throws (.750), with 12 rebounds (6.0 rpg), 12 blocked shots (6.0 bspg), and 2 steals.
Munger, who will be nominated for Northwest Conference Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week for the two-week holiday period which will cover games of Dec. 14-27, leads the conference in blocks shots and ranks 5th in field goal pct. (.532), 8th in rebounding (6.5), and 24th in scoring (9.6).
* 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
- D3hoops.com National Team of the Week - Dec. 14-20
* Polls: Bruins Up to 12th in WBCA Poll, Still 18th in D3hoops
Despite not playing at all during the week of Dec. 7-13, George Fox climbed two spots from 14th to 12th with 98 points in the USA Today / ESPN / WBCA Coaches' Poll of Dec. 15. The Bruins, who are now 6-2, remained 18th in the D3hoops.com poll with 147 points. The Bruins, coming off a 32-0 season and the D-III national championship, were 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 7 points in the WBCA poll and 34 in D3hoops, and L&C with 5 in the WBCA and 7 in D3hoops. Illinois Wesleyan University (8-0) remained No. 1 with 611 points in the D3hoops poll, and Hope College (7-0) stayed No. 1 in the WBCA poll with 196 points. The next polls will be out on Dec. 28.
D3hoops.com Poll: http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/
USA Today / ESPN / WBCA Poll: http://www.wbca.org/DIIICoachesPoll.asp
* NWC Stats (thru Dec. 21): Bruins Top NWC in Four Defensive Stats
- George Fox is 1st in defense (49.4), field goal pct. defense (.348), blocked shots (5.63), steals (11.25), 2nd in scoring margin (+11.8), 3-pt field goals (7.50), rebounding defense (34.8), 3rd in rebound margin (+6.1), assists (12.88), assist/TO ratio (0.63), 4th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.293), rebounding (40.9), turnover margin (+1.50), 6th in scoring (61.2), field goal pct. (.382), 3-pt field goal pct. defense (.320), 8th in free throw pct. (.594) ...
- Keisha Gordon is 1st in steals (3.63), 3-pt field goals (2.63, T), 2nd in 3-pt field goal pct. (.389), 4th in scoring (15.6), 7th in free throw pct. (.839), 9th in blocked shots (0.75, T) ...
- Hannah Munger is 1st in blocked shots (3.25), 4th in field goal pct. (.532), 8th in rebounding (6.5), 21st in scoring (9.6) ...
- Elise Kuenzi is 7th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.357), 10th in 3-pt field goals (1.25), 13th in rebounding (5.9), 28th in scoring (8.1) ...
- B.B. Gardner is 9th in assists (2.63) ...
- Laura Silva is 9th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.350), 13th in 3-pt field goals (1.17) ...
- Breezy Rinehart-Young is 13th in blocked shots (0.63, T) ...
* Double-Doubles
- Hannah Munger: season 1, career 1 - 16 pts, 11 reb vs. Concordia-Portland, 11/20
- 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 266-87 (.754, 134-24 home, 96-52 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 Western Oregon, he is 2-2 (1-1 home, 1-1 away) ...
