WHAT’S BRUIN: Women’s Basketball News & Notes 1/25

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

Multimedia: Live Stats / Video / KFOX Radio 

Overall Record: 17-0 (Home 7-0, Road 7-0, Neutral 3-0)

NWC Record: 8-0, 1st (Home 3-0, Road 5-0) 

HIGHLIGHTS:

* Coming Up: Bruins Begin 2nd Half of NWC Play with 3 Games in 5 Days

* Recent Games: Bruins Stay Unbeaten with Wins at Linfield, vs. PLU

* Arnoldy Captures Both BAA and Northwest Conference Weekly Awards

* Polls: Bruins Remain No. 3 in Both D3hoops and WBCA National Polls

* Bruins Secure 19th Straight Winning Record in Win over Willamette

* Bruins Stretch Home Streaks vs. NWC Opponents to 44 in a Row

* NCAA Stats: Munger No. 1 Nationally in FG Pct., 6th in Blocked Shots

* NWC Stats: Bruins Lead Conference in 9 Statistical Categories

* Career Lists: Munger Moves into Top 10 on All-Time Points List 

* Coming Up: Bruins Begin 2nd Half of NWC Play with 3 Games in 5 Days

- Fri., Jan. 27, 6:00 pm - vs. Whitworth University (8-9, NWC 4-4), Newberg, Ore.

- Sat., Jan. 28, 4:00 pm – vs. Whitman College (10-7, NWC 6-2), Newberg, Ore.

- Tue., Jan. 31, 6:00 pm - vs. Lewis & Clark College (16-1, NWC 7-1), Newberg, Ore. 

NEWBERG, Ore. – A stretch of three home games in five days, including a rematch with the nationally-ranked Lewis & Clark College Pioneers, awaits the third-ranked and unbeaten George Fox University Bruins as the second half of Northwest Conference play gets under way this week.

The Bruins, 17-0 overall and 8-0 through the first half of conference play, will host the Whitworth University Pirates on Friday, Jan. 27, at 6:00 p.m. and the Whitman College Missionaries on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 4:00 p.m.  The Whitman game is two hours earlier than normal to allow the visitors extra travel time for their return home.

The return engagement with the Pioneers, who at 16-1 are ranked seventh in the WBCA poll and eighth in the D3hoops.com poll, will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 6:00 p.m. The Bruins handed the Pios their only loss of the season 68-63 in Portland, Ore., on Jan. 3.

All of the upcoming games will be part of conference doubleheaders, with men’s games to follow at 8:00 p.m. on Friday and Tuesday and at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.

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.

Multimedia: George Fox will provide live audio internet coverage through campus station KFOX, live video through Stretch Internet, and live stats for all six upcoming games; see the George Fox links above. 

* Upcoming Opponents:

Whitworth (8-9, NWC 4-4, 5th): The Pirates from Spokane, Wash., were picked to finish 5th in the NWC coaches’ pre-season poll … Whitworth won its last game 88-46 at Willamette on Jan. 20 behind 15 points from Kendra Lahue, 14 from Kayla Johnson, 13 from Lauren Picha, and 11 from Jamie Lyons ... Series record (since 1981): George Fox leads 23-13 (13-3 home, 9-9 road, 1-1 neutral) ... The Bruins have won the last 9 meetings, including this season’s 81-69 win in Spokane on Dec. 3 ... Whitworth’s last win was 63-62 in Spokane on Feb. 2, 2007 ... Whitworth by the numbers: Scoring (71.4 ppg, 2nd in the NWC, 34th nationally), Defense (68.8 ppg, 8th), FG% (.401, 5th), 3-pt FG% (.329, 3rd), FT% (.715, 3rd), Reb Avg. (38.9, 6th) ... Whitworth leads the NWC in 3-pt field goals (131, 7.7 fgpg, 10th nationally) ... The Pirates have four double-figure scorers: F Lexi Belcher (16.1 ppg, 3rd), G Emily Guthrie (11.5 ppg, 13th), G Kayla Johnson (10.8 ppg, 17th), and G Lauren Picha (10.6 ppg, 18th) ... Guthrie is 39th nationally in 3-pt field goals per game (2.5) ... Johnson is the top rebounder (7.4 rpg, 5th) ... Guthrie is the assists leader (3.0 apg, 6th) ... Coach Helen Higgs (Oregon) is 260-187 to date in her 18th season at Whitworth ... Next game: Jan. 28 at Lewis & Clark, 4 p.m.

Whitman (10-7, NWC 6-2, 3rd): The Missionaries from Walla Walla, Wash., were picked to finish 4th in the NWC coaches’ pre-season poll … Whitman has won its last seven in a row, the latest a 66-49 win at Willamette on Jan. 21 behind 17 points from Jenele Peterson, 15 from Kelly Peterson, and 10 from Meghan White … The Missionaries play at Lewis & Clark Friday before meeting the Bruins ... Series record (since 1981): George Fox leads 28-8 (14-4 home, 14-4 road) ... The Bruins have won the last 12 meetings, including this season’s 54-53 win in Walla Walla on Dec. 2 ... Whitman’s last win was 62-58 in Walla Walla on Jan.28, 2006 ... Whitman by the numbers: Scoring (65.8 ppg, 5th in the NWC), Defense (57.6 ppg, 4th), FG% (.400, 6th), 3-pt FG% (.298, 6th), FT% (.749, 1st, 19th nationally), Reb Avg. (39.5, 4th) ... Whitman is 5th nationally in fewest turnovers per game (13.6) ... The Missionaries have one-double-figure scorer: G Jenele Peterson (12.7 ppg, 11th) .... P Meghan White is the top rebounder (7.4 rpg, 6th T) ... Peterson is the assists leaders (4.4 apg, 1st) and is 9th nationally in assis/turnover ratio (2.39) ... Coach Michelle Ferenz (Montana State-Billings ’91) is in her 11th season at Whitman ... Next game: Feb. 3 vs. Pacific Lutheran, 6 p.m.

Lewis & Clark (16-1, NWC 7-1, 2nd): The Pioneers from Portland, Ore., were picked to finish 2nd in the pre-season NWC coaches’ poll ... Lewis & Clark is 7th in the WBCA poll and 8th in the D3hoops.com poll ... The Pios have won their last five in a row, the latest a 70-64 win at Puget Sound on Jan. 21 behind 18 points from Sara Villanueva, 17 from Kristina Williams, and 10 from Megan Spence ... The Pios host Whitman Friday and Whitworth Saturday before meeting the Bruins ... Series record (since 1981): George Fox leads 56-11 (29-3 home, 25-8 road, 2-0 neutral) ... The Bruins took two of their three meetings last year.  L&C won 58-56 in Portland on Jan. 7, the Bruins won 77-58 in Newberg on Feb. 5, and the Bruins won in the NWC Tournament finale 76-68 in overtime in Portland on Feb. 26 to clinch an automatic berth in the NCAA National Tournament ... Lewis & Clark by the numbers: Scoring (68.2 ppg, 4th in the NWC), Defense (53.3 ppg, 2nd), FG% (.415, 3rd), 3-pt FG% (.329, 2nd), FT% (.726, 2nd), Reb Avg. (42.5 rpg, 1st) ... L&C leads the NWC in rebounding margin (+11.5, 8th nationally) ... The Pioneers have three double-figure scorers: G Kristina Williams (14.3 ppg, 6th T), G Sara Villanueva (12.5 ppg, 12th),  and P Megan Spence (11.2 ppg, 16th) .... Williams, the 2010-11 NWC Player of the Year, leads the NWC in 3-pt pct. (.438) ... Spence is the top rebounder (6.1 rpg, 9th) ... Villanueva is the assists leader (3.5 apg, 2nd) ... Coach Juli Fulks (Capital U), the 2010-11 NWC Coach of the Year, is in her 8th season at Lewis & Clark ... Next game: Feb. 4 at Linfield, 6:00 p.m.

* Recent Games: Bruins Stay Unbeaten with Wins at Linfield, vs. PLU

Jan. 21 - George Fox 75, at Linfield 52

Megan Arnoldy scored a career-high 23 points and the defense held the Linfield Wildcats without a field goal for nearly 16 minutes in the second half, leading the Bruins to a 75-52 win Saturday in McMinnville.  The game was nip-and-tuck through the first 10 minutes, neither team holding more than a three-point lead.  The Bruins began to pull away with a 10-0 run midway through the half, Arnoldy hitting two free throws and a rally-capping three that made it 27-18 with 9:19 left.  The Bruins took a 40-29 lead into the break, but Gretchen Owens, the NWC’s leading scorer, pulled the Wildcats within eight at 47-39 at the 17:40 mark.  It was the last field goal the ‘Cats would make until there were 44 seconds left in the game.  Over the next six minutes, the Bruins out-scored the ‘Cats 15-0, led by a pair of threes by Arianna Mohsenian, to build a 62-39 margin with 11:50 left, and salted the game away with another big run of 9-0 to take a 28-point lead of 71-43 with five minutes to play.  Arnoldy hit 10-15 from the floor and hauled down a team-high eight rebounds.  Mohsenian hit 6-9, including four threes, for 16 points, and Breezy Rinehart-Young added 10.  Hayley Cusick handed out four assists, and Dacia Heckendorf made six steals.

Jan. 22 - at George Fox 71, Pacific Lutheran 51

Keisha Gordon scored 11 consecutive points in a 14-0 run at the end of the first half, sparking the third-ranked Bruins to a 71-51 win over the hot-starting Pacific Lutheran Lutes Sunday in Newberg.  The Sunday game, a rarity for the Bruins, was the makeup of a postponement from Friday, when severe winter weather had prevented PLU from leaving the Puget Sound area.  The Bruins built an early 11-6 lead on a pair of three-pointers by Arianna Mohsenian and one by Megan Arnoldy, but the Lutes stormed back by hitting eight of their first 11 shots and taking a 23-17 lead with 8:30 to go.  PLU scored to take a 27-23 lead with 5:42 left, but it was the last points the visitors could muster as the Bruins strung together 14 unanswered points to close the period and take a 37-27 halftime lead.  Hayley Cusick extended the Bruins’ run to 16 in a row with a jumper to open the second half before PLU broke its scoreless streak, but the Bruins used a 9-0 run to stretch their lead to 19 at 52-33 with 10 minutes and cruised to victory.  Gordon finished with 18 points and Arnoldy added 11.  Hannah Munger had nine rebounds, four players had three assists apiece, and Gordon picked up five steals, running her career record total to 255 as the Bruins forced 23 PLU turnovers.

BRUIN BITS:

* Arnoldy Captures Both BAA and Northwest Conference Weekly Awards

A sharp shooting eye all week and a career high in points in one game have earned George Fox forward Megan Arnoldy both the Bruin Athletic Association Women’s Athlete of the Week and the Northwest Conference Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week awards for the week of Jan. 16-22.

Arnoldy, a sophomore from Wilsonville, scored a career-best 23 points on 10-15 field goals (1-2 on three-pointers) and 2-4 free throws, with 8 rebounds, an assist and a steal as she led the Bruins to a 75-52 win at Linfield on Jan. 21.  In the Bruins’ 71-51 win over Pacific Lutheran on Jan. 22, she scored 11 points on 4-5 field goals (again 1-2 on threes) and 2-2 from the line, with 5 rebounds.  For the week, she scored 34 points (17.0 ppg) on 14-20 field goals (.700), including 2-4 (.500) on threes, and 4-6 (.667) on free throws, with 13 rebounds (6.5 rpg), an assist and a steal.

Arnoldy is the second Bruin to earn NWC weekly honors this season.  Freshman guard Jami Roos also won the conference award the first week of the season for Nov. 14-20.

The George Fox 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.

2011-12 Bruin Athletic Association Women’s Athletes of the Week

Sept. 5-11 - Melanie Gaither (Soccer)

Sept. 12-18 - Kelsey Morrison (Golf)

Sept. 19-25 - Megan McGrew (Golf)

Sept. 26-Oct. 2 - Kate Freiheit (Cross Country)

Oct. 3-9 - Stephanie Kerr (Volleyball)

Oct. 10-16 - Courtney Hochstetler (Cross Country)

Oct. 17-23 - Megan McGrew (Golf)

Oct. 24-30 - Tiffany Burk (Volleyball)

Oct. 31-Nov. 6 - Patti Reeves (Volleyball)

Nov. 7-13 - Courtney Hochstetler (Cross Country)

Nov. 14-20 - Jami Roos (Basketball)

Nov. 21-27 - Keisha Gordon (Basketball)

Nov. 28-Dec. 4 - Keisha Gordon (Basketball)

Dec. 5-11 - Jami Roos (Basketball)

Dec. 12-25 - Keisha Gordon (Basketball)

Dec. 26-Jan. 8 - Hannah Munger (Basketball)

Jan. 9-15 - Jami Roos (Basketball)

Jan. 16-22 - Megan Arnoldy (Basketball)