WBSK: Bruins’ Team, Shielee, Rueck Nominated for Three Oregon Sports Awards

NEWBERG, Ore. - Continuing to reap recognition for their 2008-09 NCAA Division III women's basketball national championship, 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 the following evening on Monday, Feb. 1, at 8:00 p.m.

Anyone wishing to purchase a ticket for $50 to the Oregon Sports Awards show should contact Chelsea Corrado of SportsOne Inc. by phone at 503-721-7477 x 24, or by e-mail at ccorrado@sports1inc.com.

George Fox was an unlikely national champion last year as the Bruins entered the season having to replace seven seniors and all five starters from the 2007-08 team that had reached the NCAA's "Sweet 16".  Picked to finish fifth in the Northwest Conference, the Bruins, after going 9-0 in non-conference play, swept through the league with a 16-0 record, winning their fourth straight NWC regular season crown.  After earning an automatic berth into the national tournament by winning the NWC Tournament, the Bruins went 5-0 in the post-season, completing a perfect 32-0 season with a 60-53 win over the storied Washington University-St. Louis program in the title game in Holland, Mich.

Shielee, a 6-5 senior from Gresham, Ore., was a surprise story herself.  A Bruin reserve for three seasons, she moved into the starting lineup in her final season and went on to earn Northwest Conference Player of the Year and NCAA Division III West Region Player of the Year honors.  She was named a Second Team All-American by D3hoops.com and honorable mention All-American by the Rawlings Athletics / Women's Basketball Coaches Association.  She was named the Most Outstanding Player at the "Final Four".

Shielee averaged 12.2 points and 9.6 rebounds a game while leading the conference in field goal percentage (.626) and blocked shots (122, 3.81 bspg).  She was second nationally in field goal percentage and sixth in blocked shots while leading the conference and setting George Fox records in both categories.  Her .599 career field goal percentage is also a Bruin record.

Rueck captured the Northwest Conference Coach of the Year Award for the sixth time, then was named West Region Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year by both D3hoops and the WBCA for guiding the Bruins to the national championship.  A native of Hillsboro, Ore., and a 1991 graduate of Oregon State University, he has compiled a record (through Jan. 9) of 271-87 (.757) in his 14-plus seasons with the Bruins.  He entered the season ranked 15th among active D-III coaches in winning percentage, and has never had a losing season at George Fox.

The Oregon Sports Awards, which are voted on by a state-wide media panel, annually honor the state's top athletes, coaches, and teams from the high school, college, and professional ranks.  Nike is the official host, with sponsors including the Portland Tribune, Comcast SportsNet, Les Schwab Tire Centers, JELD-WEN, Dick's Sporting Goods, SportsOne, and the Portland Trail Blazers.