WHAT’S BRUIN: Women’s Basketball News & Notes 2/3

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 Overall Record: 14-5 (Home 9-0, Road 2-3, Neutral 2-2)

NWC Record: 8-2, 2nd T (Home 6-0, Road 2-2) 

HIGHLIGHTS:

* Coming Up: Bruins to Visit Pacific, Host Lewis & Clark in Crucial Contest

* Recent Games: Bruins Avoid Upset by Pacific Lutheran in Overtime

* Munger Earns 5th BAA Weekly Award, HM Again for NWC Honors

* Bruins’ Win Over Lutes Secures 18th Consecutive Winning Season

* Bruins Add Another Game to NWC Home Winning Streaks

* NCAA Stats: Munger Among Best in Blocks, FG Pct., Double-Doubles

* NWC Stats: Bruins Leading Conference in Five Categories

* Career Lists: Munger Closing In on 4th in Blocked Shots 

* Coming Up: Bruins to Visit Pacific, Host Lewis & Clark in Crucial Contest 

- Fri., Feb. 4, 6:00 pm – at Pacific University (6-13, NWC 2-8), Forest Grove, Ore.

- Sat., Feb. 5, 6:00 pm – vs. Lewis & Clark College (16-4, NWC 10-1), Newberg, Ore. 

NEWBERG, Ore. – Entering the weekend a game-and-a-half behind the Northwest Conference-leading Lewis & Clark Pioneers, the George Fox Bruins face two crucial contests as they visit the Pacific Boxers Friday before hosting the Pios Saturday in what could be a battle for at least a share of the top spot in the league. 

George Fox (14-5, NWC 8-2) is currently tied for second place with the Puget Sound Loggers (15-4, NWC 8-2), while the streaking Pios (16-4, NWC 10-1) have won 10 in a row.  Lewis & Clark is idle Friday before meeting the Bruins, while UPS hosts fourth-place Whitworth Friday and fifth-place Whitman Saturday.  While the L&C game looms large, the Bruins cannot afford to overlook the Boxers on the road Friday. 

Both George Fox games this weekend will be a part of conference doubleheaders, with men’s games following at 8:00 p.m. 

Pacific (6-13, NWC 2-8, 7th T4-6, 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 ... Last game: The Boxers ended a seven-game losing streak with a 78-57 win over Pacific Lutheran on Saturday as Paige Jensen scored 31 points and grabbed 17 rebounds and Erica Schultz added 14 points ... Series record (since 1981): George Fox leads 38-24 (21-10 home, 17-14 road) ... The Bruins have won the last 15 meetings and 28 of the last 29, including an 89-53 win in Newberg in their first match this season on Jan. 8 as the Bruins shot .547 from the field and got 17 points from Keisha Gordon, 14 from Hannah Munger, 13 from Arianna Mohsenian, and 12 from Breezy Rinehart-Young ... The Boxers’ last win in the series was 59-54 in Forest Grove on Feb. 8, 2003 ...  Pacific by the numbers: Scoring (57.9, 8th in the NWC), Defense (70.1, 8th), Rebounding (38.4, 5th), FG % (.393, 7th), 3-pt % (.298, 7th), FT % (.622,7th) ... The Boxers have one double-figure scorer: F Paige Jensen (10.7, 14th in the NWC) ... Jensen is the top rebounder (10.2, 1st, 48th nationally) and assists leader (1.95, 12th) ... Coach Sharon Rissmiller, whose sister Nancy was a track and basketball All-American at George Fox, is 28-63 to date in her 4th year ... Next: Feb. 5 at Willamette, 6 pm. 

Lewis & Clark (16-4, NWC 10-1, 1st): The Pioneers from Portland, Ore., were picked to finish 2nd in the NWC pre-season poll, the Bruins 1st ... The Pios were listed among “others receiving votes” in the latest WBCA and D3hoops.com national polls … Last game: The Pios extended their winning streak to 10 in a row with a 70-62 win at Linfield Tuesday behind 18 points from NWC Player of the Week Megan Spence, 13 from Kristina Williams and Tayler Wang, and 10 from Margaret Dowling … Series record (since 1981): George Fox leads 54-11 (28-3 home, 24-8 road, 2-0 neutral) ... The Pios snapped a six-game losing streak to the Bruins with a 58-56 win in Portland on Jan. 7 this season, ending the Bruins’ 37-game winning streak vs. NWC opponents in the regular season and 40-game streak vs. the NWC in all games including NWC Tournament and NCAA post-season contests … The Bruins’ last win in the series was 98-57 in Newberg on Feb. 25, 2010, in the NWC Tournament semifinals ... Lewis & Clark by the numbers: Scoring (68.2, 1st in the NWC), Defense (60.8, 4th), Rebounding (42.2, 3rd), FG % (.439, 3rd, 33rd nationally), 3-pt % (.294, 8th), FT % (.689, 4th) ... The Pios lead the NWC in rebound margin (+10.4, 16th nationally) ... The Pios have two double-figure scorers: G Kristina Williams (16.8, 2nd in the NWC) and C Megan Spence (12.9, 8th) ... F Margaret Dowling (7.1, 8th) is the top rebounder ... G Christina Herring is the assists leader (4.15, 1st) ... G Sara Villanueava leads the NWC in free throw pct. (.895, 5th nationally), and Williams (.844) is 46th nationally ... Coach Juli Fulks is 91-81 to date in her 7th season ... Next: Feb. 11 vs. Pacific, 6 pm. 

Multimedia: Pacific will provide live stats at http://www.goboxers.com/live/ and live audio streaming via Stretch Internet at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/pacific.portal# for both games on Friday.  George Fox will provide live audio streaming of all four games this weekend via campus radio station KFOX, and live stats and live video streaming via Stretch Internet for both of Saturday’s games; see the GFU links above. 

Tickets:  Ticket prices for basketball games at the Wheeler Sports Center / Miller Gym are $6 for adults and $3 for non-GFU students and seniors 55 and over.  Children 6 and under who are not in school are free.  George Fox faculty, staff, and students are admitted free with valid GFU ID; the ID covers immediate family members for George Fox employees. 

* Recent Games: Bruins Avoid Upset by Pacific Lutheran in Overtime 

Jan. 28 - at George Fox 68, Pacific Lutheran 65 (OT) 

Avoiding what could have been a devastating loss, the Bruins stayed perfect at home with a 68-65 overtime win over the upset-minded Lutes.  Playing without All-Conference wing Keisha Gordon, who suffered a concussion in Tuesday’s win over Willamette, the Bruins got two clutch free throws from Hayley Cusick with 1.9 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime, then led throughout the extra period.  Hannah Munger posted her eighth double-double of the season and 19th of her career with 14 points and 14 rebounds and added four blocked shots, Arianna Mohsenian chipped in with 13 points, and Cusick and Carrie Myers scored 12 points each.  Breezy Rinehart-Young just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 boards, and Cusick passed out four assists.

BRUIN BITS:

 * Munger Earns 5th BAA Weekly Award, HM Again for NWC Honors 

With two games that included her eighth double-double of the season and 19th of her career, 6-5 sophomore center Hannah Munger of Newberg, Ore., has been named the Bruin Athletic Association Women’s Athlete of the Week for the fifth time, and was honorable mention for the Northwest Conference Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week, for games of Jan. 24-30. 

In an 87-46 win over Willamette on Jan. 25, Munger scored 8 points on 4-7 field goals with 8 rebounds, 2 blocked shots and a steal.  In a 68-65 overtime win over Pacific Lutheran on Jan. 28, she scored a game-high 14 points on 4-7 field goals and 6-6 free throws, with 14 rebounds, 4 blocked shots, a steal and an assist.  For the week, she scored 22 points (11.0 ppg) on 8-14 field goals (.571) and 6-6 free throws (1.000), with 22 rebounds (11.0 rpg), 6 blocked shots (3.0 bspg), 2 steals and an assist.  

Munger, an All-Conference and Second Team All-West Region performer last year, currently leads the NWC in field goal pct. (.576, 12th nationally) and blocked shots (3.26, 13th nationally), is 2nd in rebounding (10.2) and 5th in scoring (15.2), and is 44th nationally in double-doubles (8).  

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; Jan. 10-16; Jan. 17-23; Jan. 24-30

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - Nov. 15-21; Nov. 29-Dec. 5; Jan. 10-16; HM, Jan. 17-23; HM, Jan. 24-30 

Keisha Gordon

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Nov. 22-28; Dec. 23-Jan. 2; Jan. 3-9

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - HM, Nov. 22-28; Dec. 23-Jan. 2; HM, Jan. 3-9 

* 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’ Win Over Lutes Secures 18th Consecutive Winning Season

With their 68-65 overtime win over Pacific Lutheran on Jan. 28, the Bruins are guaranteed an 18th consecutive winning season under first-year coach Michael Meek in 2010-11.  Now 14-5, the Bruins have six more regular season games, with the possibilities of a game in the Northwest Conference Tournament and one in the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament.  Even if they were to lose all remaining games (which would almost certainly keep them from any post-season play), the worst the Bruins could finish would be 14-13.  The Bruins’ string of winning seasons began 1993-94 in their first year under Sherri Murrell, now the women’s basketball coach at Portland State.  Following three winning seasons with Murrell, the Bruins added 14 more winnings season under Scott Rueck, who left this past summer for the women’s basketball position at his alma mater, Oregon State.  George Fox is 343-125 (.733) during that span.

* Bruins Narrowly Miss Free Throw Records in Willamette Win

In their 87-46 win over the visiting Willamette Bearcats on Jan. 25, the Bruins fell just short of two free throws records.  The Bruins connected on 32 of their 46 free throw attempts in the game, with nine different players sinking shots, falling one made free throw and one attempt short of tying their single-game records.  George Fox made a record 33 charity tosses against Chapman University on Dec. 13, 2008, and attempted 47 shots from the line against Central Washington on Nov. 19, 1993.

* Bruins Add Another Game to NWC Home Winning Streaks

With a win over Pacific Lutheran Jan. 28, George Fox extended its two home court winning streaks against Northwest Conference opponents.  The Bruins have now won 39 straight regular season games vs. the NWC in Newberg since a 55-51 setback to Linfield on Nov. 28, 2006.  Including post-season games in the NWC and NCAA Division III Tournaments, the Bruins have won 38 in a row over conference teams at the Wheeler Sports Center’s Miller Gym since falling at home to Puget Sound 51-48 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on March 3, 2007.

* NCAA Stats: Munger Among Best in Blocks, FG Pct., Double-Doubles 

In the latest NCAA Division III national statistics (thru Jan. 30), George Fox was ranked 11th in blocked shots per game (5.8), 24th in field goal pct. (.443), 34th in rebound margin (+7.8), 50th in assists per game (15.9)... Center Hannah Munger ranked 12th in field goal percentage (.576), 13th in blocked shots per game (3.3), and and 44th in double-doubles (8) ...

* NWC Stats: Bruins Leading Conference in Five Categories

- Thru NWC stats of Feb. 1, George Fox is 1st in scoring margin (+11.2), field goal pct. defense (.340), blocked shots (5.79), assists (15.89), steals (10.53), 2nd in scoring (67.5), defense (56.3), field goal pct. (.443), 3-pt field goal pct. defense (.273), rebounding (42.6), rebounding defense (34.8), rebound margin (+7.8), assist/TO ratio (0.74), 6th in 3-pt field goals (4.42, T), 3-pt field goal pct. (.307), 7th in turnover margin (-1.32), 9th in free throw pct. (.603)...

- Keisha Gordon is 1st in steals (2.94), assist/TO ratio (1.50), 3rd in assists (3.50), 6th in scoring (15.0), rebounding (7.4), 7th in free throw pct. (.767), 8th in 3-pt field goals (1.56), 12th in field goal pct. (.454), 15th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.315) …

- Hannah Munger is 1st in field goal pct. (.576), blocked shots (3.26), 2nd in rebounding (10.2), 5th in scoring (15.2 …

- Arianna Mohsenian is 4th in 3-pt field goals (1.89), 5th in steals (1.84), 10th in assists (2.00, T), 12th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.343), 23rd in scoring (8.4) …

- Hayley Cusick is 4th in blocked shots (1.11), steals (2.11), 7th in assists (2.78), 27th in scoring (8.1) ...

- Breezy Rinehart-Young is 7th in blocked shots (0.76) ...

- Carly Towne is 12th in assists (1.95, T) ...

* Double-Doubles

- Hannah Munger: season 8, career 19 - 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; 21 pts/11 reb vs. Whitman; 13 pts, 10 reb at Puget Sound, 1/21; 16 pts, 14 reb vs. Linfield, 1/22; 14 pts, 14 reb vs. Pacific Lutheran, 1/28

- 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: Munger Closing In on 4th in Blocked Shots

- Keisha Gordon: Gordon missed the only game of the week vs. Pacific Lutheran with a mild concussion, so her numbers did not change ... With 1,095 career points, she is 9th on the all-time scoring list.  Ahead is Nicole Prazeau (1,133, 1998-2002) … Her career free throw pct. of .805 (223-277) is 3rd behind Kim Leith (.8108, 210-259, 2002-06) and Christy Brock (.8105, 77-95, 1997-98) ... With 186 career steals, she is tied for 6th on the all-time list with Melody Groeneveld-McMaster (186, 1981-85).  Ahead are Tiffany Behary (187, 2004-08), and Tracy Nelson (192, 1988-92) ... With 203 assists in her career, she needs 17 to tie Melinda Day (220, 1981-85) for 10th on the all-time list ...

- Hanna Munger: With 4 blocked shots vs. Pacific Lutheran, Munger has 169 career blocked shots, 5th on the all-time list at George Fox.  She needs 6 to tie Kristen Shielee (175, 2005-09) for 4th on the all-time list ... After going 4-7 from the field vs. PLU, she has a career field goal pct. of .562 (289-514), 2nd to Kristen Shielee (.599, 223-372, 2005-09) ...

- Breezy Rinehart-Young: Rinehart-Young had 2 blocked shots vs. Pacific Lutheran, giving her 62 in her career.  She needs 10 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 14-5 (.737) 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 1-0 (1-0 home) vs. Pacific, and 0-1 (0-1 road) vs. Lewis & Clark.