WHAT’S BRUIN: Women’s Basketball News & Notes 1/5

Links: Quick Facts / Roster / Schedule & Results / Statistics / Press Releases

Multimedia: Live Stats / Video / KFOX Radio 

Overall Record: 8-3 (Home 3-0, Road 2-1, Neutral 2-2)

NWC Record: 2-0, 1st T (Home 0-0, Road 2-0)

HIGHLIGHTS:

* Coming Up: Non-Conference Games Done, Bruins Return to NWC Play

* Recent Games: Bruins Go 2-1 in Surf ‘n Slam in Final Non-NWC Games

* Gordon Wins BAA Award, NWC Player of the Week Honors

* Polls: Bruins Slip to 20th in WBCA Poll, 21st in D3hoops.com Poll

* NCAA Stats: Munger, Gordon Among National Leaders in 4 Stats

* NWC Stats: Munger, Gordon Each Lead NWC in Two Categories

* Career Lists: Gordon Joins Ranks of Career 1,000-Point Scorers

* Coming Up:

- Fri., Jan. 7, 6:00 pm - at Lewis & Clark College (8-4, NWC 2-1), Portland, Ore.

- Sat., Jan. 8, 6:00 pm - vs. Pacific University (4-6, NWC 0-2), Newberg, Ore.

NEWBERG, Ore. – A 2-1 record in the Surf ‘n Slam Classic in San Diego, Calif., Dec. 27-30 marked an end to the non-conference games for George Fox, and now the nationally-ranked Bruins turn their attention back to successfully defending their string of four straight Northwest Conference championships with two league games this weekend.

The Bruins, who at 8-3 are 20th in the latest WBCA poll and 21st in the D3hoops.com poll, take a 2-0 conference record into their game against the Lewis & Clark Pioneers Friday in Portland, Ore.  The Bruins are currently tied for first in the NWC with Puget Sound.  They will follow that with their first conference game at home Saturday against the Pacific Boxers.  Both games tip off at 6:00 p.m., followed by men’s NWC games at 8:00 p.m. against the same teams.

Campus station KFOX will have live internet webcasts of both games this weekend (as well as the men’s games), while George Fox will provide live video and live stats of the home games vs. Pacific.  Links for all the home multi-media events are provided above.  For fans who can’t make it to the Lewis & Clark game, the Pioneers will provide live video on their website at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/lclark.portal?mode=link#.

Lewis & Clark (8-4, NWC 2-1, 3rd): The Pioneers from Portland, Ore., were picked to finish 2nd in the NWC pre-season poll, the Bruins 1st ... The Pios have won their last four in a row, including a 58-53 win over Linfield Tuesday in which Neva Hauser scored 13 points, Kristina Williams 12, and Megan Spence had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds ... Series record (since 1981): George Fox leads 54-10 (28-3 home, 24-7 road, 2-0 neutral) ... The Bruins have won the last six meetings and 33 of the last 34, including 40-24 in Portland on Jan. 22, 63-39 in Newberg on Feb. 19, and 98-57 in Newberg on Feb. 25 in the NWC Tournament semifinals last year ... The Pios were the last team to defeat the Bruins in a regular-season conference game with a 45-35 win in Portland on Feb. 25, 2008 ... Lewis & Clark by the numbers: Scoring (68.7, 1st in the NWC), Defense (61.8, 5th), Rebounding (43.9, 2nd), FG % (.426, 3rd), 3-pt % (.296, 8th), FT % (.700, 3rd) ... The Pios lead the NWC in rebound margin (+10.1, 20th nationally) ... The Pios have two double-figure scorers: G Kristina Williams (18.0, 2nd in the NWC, 46th nationally) and C Megan Spence (13.2, 7th) ... Spence (7.7, 6th) and F Margaret Dowling (7.4, 8th) are the top rebounders ... G Christina Herring is the assists leader (5.00, 1st, 34th nationally) ... G Sara Villanueava is 2nd in the NWC and 14th nationally in free throw pct. (.914) ... Coach Juli Fulks is 83-81 to date in her 7th season ... Next: Jan. 14 at Pacific Lutheran, 6 pm.

Pacific (4-6, NWC 0-2, 8th T): The Boxers from Forest Grove, Ore., were picked to finish 8th in the NWC pre-season poll, the Bruins 1st ... The Boxers have won their last two games, including a 55-54 win at Northwest Christian Tuesday in which Erica Schultz scored 19 and Paige Jensen had a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds ... Series record (since 1981): George Fox leads 37-24 (20-10 home, 17-14 road) ... The Bruins have won the last 14 meetings and 27 of the last 28, including 67-46 in Forest Grove on Jan. 4 and 73-50 in Newberg on Jan. 26 last year ... The Boxers’ last win in the series was 59-54 in Forest Grove on Feb. 8, 2003 ...  Pacific by the numbers: Scoring (60.8, 8th in the NWC), Defense (71.6, 8th), Rebounding (40.9, 4th), FG % (.408, 4th), 3-pt % (.359, 3rd), FT % (.598,9th) ... Pacific is 3rd in the NWC and 17th nationally in 3-pt field goal pct. (.359) ... The Boxers have two double-figure scorers: F Paige Jensen (12.0, 11th in the NWC), G Kristen Corrales (10.6, 17th) ... Corrales is 8th in the NWC and 39th nationally in 3-pt field goal pct. (.421) ... Jensen is the top rebounder (9.8, 2nd) and assists leader (2.40, 9th) ... Coach Sharon Rissmiller, whose sister Nancy was a track and basketball All-American at George Fox, is 26-56 to date in her 4th year ... The Boxers host Willamette Friday before meeting the Bruins ... Next: Jan. 11 vs. Warner Pacific, 6 pm (rescheduled from Nov. 23).

* Recent Games: Bruins Go 2-1 in Surf ‘n Slam in Final Non-NWC Games

Dec. 27 - George Fox 77, Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham 48

Keisha Gordon posted a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Bruins opened the Surf ‘n Slam Classic with a 77-48 win over the Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham Devils at Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego, Calif.  The Bruins scored the first six points of the game, never trailed, and held FDU without a field goal for the final 9:10 as they built 29-point leads three times.  Gordon added six assists and five steals, while Hayley Cusick had 15 points, hitting 5-7 from the field and 5-6 from the line, along with six steals and three blocked shots.  Megan Arnoldy finished with 10 points.  Hannah Munger just missed a double-double with nine points and nine boards and passed out a career-high six assists.

Dec. 28 - George Fox 74, St. Mary’s (Ind.) 64

Led by double-doubles from Hannah Munger and Keisha Gordon, the Bruins rang up their second straight win in the Surf ‘n Slam Classic 74-64 over the St. Mary’s (Ind.) Belles.  A 15-0 run enabled the Bruins to build a 22-6 lead early, and though the Belles managed to get within two later in the first half, they were never able to pull ahead.  A three-pointer by Arianna Mohsenian with 9:01 left in the game gave the Bruins a 10-point margin of 57-47, and the Belles got no closer than five points thereafter. Munger led all scorers with 22 points and had 10 rebounds for the Bruins, while Gordon had 17 points and 10 boards, her second double-double in as many days.  Mohsenian added 16 points and Hayley Cusick 10.  Carrie Myers came off the bench to contribute a career-high seven assists.

Dec. 30 - Wisconsin-Whitewater 73, George Fox 56

Despite Keisha Gordon’s 1,000th career point, the Bruins fell behind early and lost a 73-56 decision to the 17th-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks in the title game of the Surf ‘n Slam Classic.   Committing five turnovers and hitting only one of their first seven shot attempts, the Bruins fell behind 13-3 in the game’s first five minutes and spent the rest of the game playing catch-up.  Gordon drained a three-pointer with 2:01 left in the game for her 1,000th point, becoming the 12th Bruin to reach that total, and finished with 1,003 career points, 11th on the all-time scoring list.  She led the Bruins with 18 points and was named to the All-Tournament Team.  Arianna Mohsenian added 12 points, Carrie Myers had a team-high six rebounds, and Hannah Munger blocked three shots. 

BRUIN BITS:

* Gordon Wins BAA Award, NWC Player of the Week Honors

Earning All-Tournament honors as the Bruins went 2-1 in Surf ‘n Slam Classic at Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego, Calif., junior wing Keisha Gordon of Vancouver, Wash., has been named the Bruin Athletic Association Women’s Athlete of the Week and the Northwest Conference Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week for Dec. 23-Jan. 2.

In a 77-48 win over Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham on Dec. 27, Gordon led the Bruins with 22 points on 8-16 field goals (2-5 on threes) and 4-5 free throws, with 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, and a blocked shot.  In a 74-64 win over St. Mary’s (Ind.) on Dec. 28, she had 17 points on 6-15 field goals (2-7 on threes) and 3-4 free throws, with 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.  She now has three double-doubles this season and four in her career.  She finished with a team-high 18 points on 8-13 field goals (2-3 on threes) with 4 rebounds, 3 steals and an assist in a 73-56 loss to Wisconsin-Whitewater on Dec. 30.  In three games, she totaled 57 points (19.0 ppg) on 22-44 field goals (.500), including 6-15 on threes (.400), and 7-10 free throws (.700), with 25 rebounds (8.3 rpg), 11 assists (3.67 apg), 11 steals (3.67 spg), and a blocked shot.

Gordon, a two-time All-Conference performer, currently leads the NWC in steals (3.45) and assist/TO ratio (1.67), and is 2nd in assists (3.64), 3rd in scoring (16.2), 5th in rebounding (8.2), 6th in 3-pt field goals (2.00, T), 10th in free throw pct. (.684, T), and 15th in field goal pct. (.464) and 3-pt field goal pct.  She became the 12th Bruin to reach 1,000 career points, hitting a three-pointer with 2:01 left in the game vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater(.338), and now ranks 11th on the all-time scoring list with 1,003 points.

The Athlete of the Week Award for both men and women is presented throughout the Bruin sports seasons by the Bruin Athletic Association, whose mission is to provide George Fox student-athletes with an outstanding athletic and academic experience and to strengthen the overall competitiveness of the Bruin athletics program.  For more information about the organization or to become a member, visit the Bruin Athletic Association website.

* 2010-11 Honors

Hannah Munger 

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Nov. 15-21; Nov. 29-Dec. 5

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - Nov. 15-21; Nov. 29-Dec. 5

Keisha Gordon

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Nov. 22-28; Dec. 23-Jan. 2

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - HM, Nov. 22-28; Dec. 23-Jan. 2

* Polls: Bruins Slip to 20th in WBCA Poll, 21st in D3hoops.com Poll

After going 2-1 in the Surf ‘n Slam Classic in San Diego, Calif., Dec. 27-30, George Fox (8-3) slipped from 13th with 86 points to 20th with 38 points in the latest poll by the USA Today / ESPN / Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, released on Jan. 4.  In the D3hoops.com poll of Jan. 3, the Bruins slid from 14th with 248 points to 21st with 143 points ... Amherst College, (11-0), which won last year’s Final Four consolation game and finished 32-1, remained No. 1 in both polls, as they have been all season ... Among other NWC teams, Puget Sound was 24th in the D3hoops.com poll with 72 points, and was listed among “others receiving votes” in the WBCA poll with 5 points.

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

USA Today / ESPN / WBCA Poll: http://www.wbca.org/news/top-25-polls/usa-today-espn-division-iii-top-25-coaches-poll/

* Records Set or Tied in 2010-11

- Best FG Pct. in a Game (with a miss) - .900 (9-10), Keisha Gordon at Pacific Lutheran, 12/4 (ties record set by Katie Lacey vs. Menlo, 11/27/1999)

* Bruins Extend Winning Streaks vs. NWC Foes with PLU Win

With their win over Pacific Lutheran on Dec. 4, the Bruins extended their winning streaks vs. NWC opponents to 37 in a row in regular-season games, and to 40 in a row in all games including conference tournament and post-season action.  The Bruins’ last loss to an NWC team in regular-season games only was a 45-35 setback at Lewis & Clark on Feb. 15, 2008.  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 shared NWC championships with Puget Sound in 2007 and 2008, then won outright titles in 2009 and 2010 with perfect 16-0 conference records.

* Bruins Look to Stretch String of Winning Seasons in a Row to 18

Last year’s 28-3 overall record 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, went 16-12 in the first of her three years at George Fox.  The last 14 came under Scott Rueck, who is now the coach at Oregon State.  To make it 18 in a row, the Bruins need 13 wins to guarantee no worse than a .500 record, and 14 wins to be assured of a winning record.

* NCAA Stats: Munger, Gordon Among National Leaders in 4 Stats

In the latest NCAA Division III national statistics (thru Jan. 2) , George Fox was ranked 5th nationally in blocked shots per game (6.4), 19th in assists per game (17.6), 30th in field goal percentage (.443), 34th in rebound margin (+8.3), and 44th in field goal percentage defense (.333) ... Center Hannah Munger ranked 8th in blocked shots per game (3.6), 32nd in field goal percentage (.552), and 44th in rebounds per game (10.7) ... Wing Keisha Gordon ranked 38th in steals per game (3.5) and 43rd in assist/turnover ration (1.77) ...

* NWC Stats: Munger, Gordon Each Lead NWC in Two Categories

- Thru NWC stats of Jan. 4, George Fox is 1st in 3-pt field goal pct. defense (.271), blocked shots (6.09), assists (16.82), 2nd in scoring (68.0), defense (58.1), scoring margin (+9.9), field goal pct. (.442), field goal pct. defense (.340), steals (10.27), assist/TO ratio (0.75), 3rd in rebounding (42.8), rebound margin (+6.8), rebounding defense (36.0), 5th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.331), 6th in 3-pt field goals (4.91), 7th in free throw pct. (.603), turnover margin (-2.18) ...

- Keisha Gordon is 1st in steals (3.45), assist/TO ratio (1.67), 2nd in assists (3.64), 3rd in scoring (16.2), 5th in rebounding (8.2), 6th in 3-pt field goals (2.00, T), 10th in free throw pct. (.684, T), 15th in field goal pct. (.464), 3-pt field goal pct. (.338) …

- Hannah Munger is 1st in rebounding (10.1), blocked shots (3.55), 4th in field goal pct. (.538), 5th in scoring (15.5) …

- Arianna Mohsenian is 4th in 3-pt field goals (2.27), 9th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.397), 12th in steal (1.55), 25th in scoring (8.8) …

- Megan Arnoldy is 6th in field goal pct. (.493) ...

- Hayley Cusick is 3rd in steals (2.30), 4th in blocked shots (1.20), 6th in assists (3.00), assist/TO ratio (0.77), 11th in field goal pct. (.479), 22nd in scoring (9.3) ...

- Breezy Rinehart-Young is 6th in blocked shots (0.89) ...

- Carly Towne is 13th in assists (2.18) ...

* Double-Doubles

- Hannah Munger: season 4, career 15 - 20 pts, 13 reb vs. Corban, 11/16; 11 pts, 14 reb vs. Chapman, 11/21; 25 pts, 19 reb at Willamette, 11/30; 22 pts, 10 reb vs. St. Mary’s (Ind.) at San Diego, Calif., 12/28

- Megan Arnoldy: season 1, career 1 - 17 pts, 12 reb vs. Southern Oregon, 11/19

- Keisha Gordon: season 3, career 4 - 27 pts, 10 reb at Pacific Lutheran, 12/4; 22 pts, 11 reb vs. Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham at San Diego, Calif., 12/27; 17 pts, 10 reb vs. St. Mary’s (Ind.) at San Diego, Calif., 12/28

* Career Lists: Gordon Joins Ranks of Career 1,000-Point Scorers

- Keisha Gordon: With 57 points in three games at the Surf ‘n Slam Classic, Gordon pushed her career points total to 1,003, becoming the 12th player in Bruins’ history to reach 1,000 for a career.  She passed Tracy Nelson (1,001, 1988-92) to move into 11th on the all-time list.  Ahead is Robin Taylor (1,006, 2003-07) … She went 7-10 from the free throw line in the three games, putting her career free throw pct. at .797 (203-255), which is 3rd behind Kim Leith (.8108, 210-259, 2002-06) and Christy Brock (.8105, 77-95, 1997-98) ... With 11 steals in the San Diego tournament, she has 171 career steals, and needs 2 to tie Heather Gurney (173, 1987-91) for 10th on the all-time list.  Also just ahead are Liz Clark (175, 2001-05), Robin Taylor (177, 2003-07), and Heid Rueck (177, 1991-95)  ...

- Hanna Munger: With 8 blocked shots in three games at the Surf ‘n Slam Classic, Munger has 146 career blocked shots, 5th on the all-time list at George Fox.  She needs 29 to tie Kristen Shielee (175, 2005-09) for 4th on the all-time list ... After going 15-31 from the field in San Diego, she has a career field goal pct. of .548 (239-436), 2nd to Kristen Shielee (.599, 223-372, 2005-09) ...

- Breezy Rinehart-Young: Rinehart-Young had 1 blocked shot in three games at the Surf ‘n Slam Classic, giving her 57 in her career.  She needs 15 more to tie Melody Groeneveld-McMaster (72, 1981-85) for 10th on the all-time list ...

* Head Coach Michael Meek

Head coach Michael Meek (Eastern Oregon ‘99) is 8-3 (.727) to date in his first season at George Fox after replacing Scott Rueck, who took the women’s basketball head coaching job at his alma mater, Oregon State.  Meek composed a record of 264-79 (.769) in 13 years of high school coaching in Oregon, three at La Grande (1997-2000) and 10 at Beaverton Southridge (2000-10).  He led Southridge to five large-school state championships in his last six years, received 12 league or state Coach of the Year awards during his career, and was the 2006 MaxPrep National Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year ... He is 0-0 vs. Lewis & Clark and Pacific.