WHAT’S BRUIN: Women’s Basketball News & Notes 12/28

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Multimedia: Live Stats / Video / KFOX Radio

Overall Record: 11-0 (Home 4-0, Road 4-0, Neutral 3-0)

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

HIGHLIGHTS:

* Coming Up: Bruins Return to NWC Play with Showdown at Lewis & Clark

* Recent Games: Bruins Win 2 in Hawai’i, Beat Cavs in Final Non-NWC Game

* Gordon Wins BAA Award for Third Time, HM for NWC Weekly Honors

* Polls: Bruins Still No. 3 in D3hoops Rankings as Top Teams Stay Perfect

* Bruins Set Steals, Blocked Shots Records in Win over Concordia

* NCAA Stats: Bruins Among Early-Season National Leaders in 6 Statistics

* NWC Stats: Bruins Move to Top of NWC in 9 Statistical Categories

* Career Lists: Gordon Sets Steals Record, Munger Gets 1,000th Point

* Coming Up: Bruins Return to NWC Play with Showdown at Lewis & Clark

- Tue., Jan. 3, 6:00 pm – at Lewis & Clark College (11-0, NWC 2-0), Portland, Ore.

NEWBERG, Ore. – Off to a 11-0 start and riding a string of five straight wins by 24 or more points, the George Fox University Bruins, ranked No. 3 in the NCAA Division III, return to Northwest Conference play with a showdown at Lewis & Clark College, which is also 11-0 and ranked No. 12, on Tuesday, Jan. 3, at 6:00 p.m. in Portland.

George Fox and Lewis & Clark shared last year’s regular-season NWC title before the Bruins won a 76-68 overtime game in Portland to capture the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA National Tournament.  The Bruins went on to advance to the ‘Elite 8’ of the tournament, while the Pioneers received an at-large bid but lost in the first round.

Tuesday’s action will be a doubleheader, with the George Fox-Lewis & Clark men’s NWC game to follow at 8:00 p.m.

Multimedia: George Fox will provide audio coverage of both games at Lewis & Clark via campus radio station KFOX; see the quick link above.  Lewis & Clark will provide a live video feed of both games at the following link: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/lclark.portal#.

* Upcoming Opponents:

Lewis & Clark (11-0, NWC 2-0, 1st T): The Pioneers from Portland, Ore., were picked to finish 2nd to the Bruins in the pre-season NWC coaches’ poll ... The Pios’ latest win was 78-53 at La Sierra on Dec. 20 behind Megan Spence’s 20 points, 13 each from Neva Hauser and Kristina Williams, and 10 from Katie Anderson ... 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 (69.7 ppg), Defense (55.6 ppg), FG% (.415), 3-pt FG% (.368), FT% (.726), Reb Avg. (42.1 rpg) ... The Pioneers have three double-figure scorers: G Kristina Williams (15.0 ppg), G Sara Villanueva (13.5 ppg),  and P Megan Spence (12.8 ppg) .... Spence is the top rebounder (6.6 rpg) ... Villanueva is the assists leader (3.6 apg) ... Williams was the 2010-11 NWC Player of the Year ... Coach Juli Fulks (Capital U), the 2010-11 NWC Coach of the Year, is in her 8th season at Lewis & Clark ... Next game: Jan. 6 at Linfield, 6:00 p.m.

* Recent Games: Bruins Win 2 in Hawai’i, Beat Cavs in Final Non-NWC Game

Dec. 19 - George Fox 58, Spalding 34

Hannah Munger and Keisha Gordon both reached scoring milestones on the George Fox career points list as the Bruins cruised to a 58-34 win over the Spalding Lady Golden Eagles in the Hoop n Surf Classic at the McKinley High School Gym in Honolulu, Hawai’i.  Munger scored 10 points to become the 13th player in Bruin history to reach the 1,000 mark in career points, and moved into 11th place on the all-time scoring list with 1,007.  Gordon tallied 12 points, giving her 1,407 for her career and moving her past Nancy Rissmiller (1,403, 1994-98) into third on the Bruins’ scoring chart.  The Bruins opened fast, taking a 14-3 lead with 12:35 left in the first half, , building it to 22-5 with 9:35 left, and leading at the break 35-16.  The lead reached as much as 35 points at 54-19 with 11:35 left in the game.  In addition to the points by Munger and Gordon, Jami Roos chimed in with 11.  George Fox held Spalding to a .229 (11-58) mark from the field.  Munger just missed a double-double with nine rebounds, blocked five shots and had four assists.

Dec. 20 - George Fox 70, Worcester State 42

Posting their fourth straight victory by 24 or more points, the Bruins completed a sweep of their two-game trip to the Hoop n Surf Classic with a decisive 70-42 win over the Worcester State Lancers at the McKinley High School Gym in Honolulu, Hawai’i.  Carrie Myers, starting at forward in place of an injured Megan Arnoldy, hit a jumper 12 seconds into the game to get George Fox off to a quick start.  Following a WSU basket, Hannah Munger hit a pair of free throws to give the Bruins a 4-2 lead at the 19:14 mark of the first half, and they never trailed again.  The Bruins gradually pulled away by holding the Lancers to a .273 mark (6-22) from the floor and forcing 12 turnovers in the first half, building a halftime score of 31-20.  The Bruins blew the game open by shooting a red-hot .552 (16-29) in the second half, eventually taking a 30-point lead of 70-40 with 3:08 to play.  Keisha Gordon led all scorers with 19 points, while Munger added 18 and Jami Roos 11, including three three-pointers.  Myers and Arianna Mohsenian hauled down nine rebounds apiece, and Gordon and Roos had four assists each.

Dec. 27 - George Fox 72, at Concordia-Portland 42

Keisha Gordon became the all-time George Fox steals leader with 245 and the Bruins’ defense posted a single-game record of 14 blocked shots as the Bruins cruised past the Concordia-Portland Cavaliers 72-42 Tuesday in Portland.  Gordon picked up seven steals in the game, lifting her past Linda Funderhide, who recorded 243 steals from 1987-91.  Contributing to the new blocks record, which broke the old mark of 13, were Hannah Munger with eight, Breezy Rinehart-Young with three, Carrie Myers with two, and Megan Arnoldy with one.  With four different players scoring baskets and Munger blocking three shots in the first three minutes, the Bruins jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead.  An 11-0 run featuring goals by five different players, including a three by Jami Roos, extended the Bruins’ lead to 26-9 with 11:25 left, and they 38-22 halftime lead.  The Bruins continued to pull away over the second half, with the largest lead being the final score.  Munger led all players with 25 points, hitting 11-15 from the floor, and nine rebounds, while Gordon scored 12.  Roos finished with nine points, all on threes.  Arianna Mohsenian passed out five assists and Gordon had four.

* Gordon Wins BAA Award for Third Time, HM for NWC Weekly Honors

After leading George Fox in scoring both games in the Hoop n Surf Classic in Honolulu, Hawai’i, on Dec. 19-20, wing Keisha Gordon has been named the Bruin Athletic Association Women’s Athlete of the Week for the two-week period of Dec. 12-25 and honorable mention for the Northwest Conference Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week award.

Gordon, a senior from Vancouver, Wash., scored 12 points on 6-11 field goals, with 7 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal in a 58-34 win over Spalding on Dec. 19.  The next day, in a 70-42 win over Worcester State, she had 19 points on 7-13 field goals (1-3 on threes) and 4-6 on free throws, with 4 assists and a steal.  For the week, she scored 31 points (15.5 ppg) on 13-24 field goals (.542), including 1-5 (.200) on threes, and 4-6 free throws (.667), with 7 rebounds (3.5 rpg), 7 assists (3.5 spg), and 2 steals.

In NWC stats, Gordon ranks 1st in steals (3.1 spg), 2nd in field goal pct. (.598), 7th in scoring (14.2 ppg), 10th in assists (2.7 apg), and 14th in rebounding (5.9 rpg).  In NCAA stats thru Dec. 18, she was 4th in field goal pct. (.618), and 29th in steals (3.6 spg).  She was the BAA Athlete of the Week for Nov. 21-27 and Nov. 28-Dec. 4, and has been honorable mention for NWC Student-Athlete of the Week three times.

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

Aug. 29-Sept. 4 - Patti Reeves (Volleyball)

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)

BRUIN BITS:

* 2011-12 Honors

Jami Roos

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Nov. 14-20; Dec. 5-11

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - Nov. 14-20; (HM) Dec. 5-11

Keisha Gordon

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Nov. 21-27; Nov. 28-Dec. 4; Dec. 12-25

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - Nov. 21-27 (HM); Nov. 28-Dec. 4 (HM); Dec. 12-25 (HM)

- Posada Royale Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team (MVP)

Hannah Munger

- Posada Royale Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team

* Polls: Bruins Still No. 3 in D3hoops Rankings as Top Teams Stay Perfect

With no games during the week of Dec. 12-18, the George Fox Bruins remained at 8-0 and maintained their No. 3 ranking in the NCAA Division III national poll of Dec. 20 by D3hoops.com. After receiving one vote for first and 579 points the week before, the Bruins got one first and 577 points in the latest poll.  The top three teams all held their places as defending national champion Amherst College (8-0) was first with 21 firsts and 619 points, followed by the University of Chicago (8-0) with three firsts and 598 points. Fellow Northwest Conference member Lewis & Clark College (9-0) moved up from 13th to 12th with 322 points.  The next D3hoops.com poll will be released after Jan. 1.

In the USA Today / ESPN / Women’s Basketball Coaches Association pre-season poll, the Bruins received 156 points. Amherst was first with four votes for the top spot and 172 points, followed narrowly by Chicago with three firsts and 171 points. The first WBCA in-season poll is not due out until after the holidays.

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

D3hoops.com poll: http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/index

* Bruins Set Steals, Blocked Shots Records in Win over Concordia

- Most Steals, Career - 245 by Keisha Gordon, 2008-present (broke previous record of 243 by Linda Funderhide, 1987-91, with career high-tying 7 steals at Concordia-Portland, 12/27/2011)

- Most Blocked Shots, Team, Single Game - 14 at Concordia-Portland, 12/27/11: Hannah Munger 8, Breezy Rinehart-Young 3, Carrie Myers 2, Megan Arnoldy 1 (broke previous record of 13 at Dallas, 11/28/2008, and tied vs. Linfield, 1/16/2010)

* Bruins Aiming for 19th Consecutive Winning Season

Under first-year coach Michael Meek, the 2010-11 Bruins finished 25-6, their 18th straight winning season, and will be out to make it 19 in a row in 2011-12. The Bruins’ string began in 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 winning seasons under Scott Rueck, who left in the summer of 2010 for the women’s basketball position at his alma mater, Oregon State. George Fox went 364-127 (.738) during that 18-year span from 1993-2011.

* Bruins Take Home Streaks of 41 in a Row vs. NWC into New Season

Entering the 2011-12 season, the Bruins have a home court winning streak against Northwest Conference opponents in all games, including post-season NWC and NCAA Division III Tournament games, of 41 in a row at the Wheeler Sports Center’s Miller Gym. The last time the Bruins lost at home to a conference team was 51-48 to Puget Sound in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on March 3, 2007. The Bruins have also won 41 straight regular season-only games vs. the NWC in Newberg since a 55-51 setback to Linfield on Nov. 28, 2006. 

NWC Poll: Bruins Favored to Win 6th Straight League Title

After winning or sharing each of the last five Northwest Conference championships, and with five starters returning, it is perhaps little wonder that the George Fox Bruins are favored to win their sixth straight NWC title as predicted in a pre-season poll of the league’s nine coaches The Bruins picked up seven of nine first-place votes and tallied 70 of 72 possible points in the poll. Lewis & Clark, which shared last year’s regular-season conference crown with George Fox, was second in the poll with 59 points and picked up the other two first-place votes.

(First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis).

* NCAA Stats: Bruins Among Early-Season National Leaders in 6 Statistics

- In NCAA Division III national statistics thru games of Dec. 18, George Fox ranked 1st in won-lost pct. (1.000, tied with 17 others), 14th in field goal pct. (.451), 19th in scoring margin (+19.9), 21st in rebound margin (+10.6), 26th in steals (14.1 spg), 38th in scoring (72.8 ppg) ...

- Keisha Gordon was 4th in field goal pct. (.618), 29th in steals (3.6 spg) ...

- Hannah Munger was 5th in field goal pct. (.615), blocked shots (4.3 bspg), 14th in double-doubles (5,T), 48th in rebounding (10.4 rpg) ... Her 8 blocked shots vs. Northwest on Nov. 19 are tied for the 9th-most in a game this season ...

* NWC Stats: Bruins Move to Top of NWC in 9 Statistical Categories

- Thru NWC stats of Dec. 27, George Fox is 1st in scoring (71.1 ppg), defense (49.2 ppg), scoring margin (+21.9), field goal pct. (.449), field goal pct. defense (.344), rebounding (42.6 rpg), rebounding margin (+11.4), steals (13.1 spg), blocked shots (6.7 bspg), 2nd in 3-pt field goals (63, T), 3-pt field goal pct. (.332), assists (15.1 apg), 4th in 3-pt pct. defense (.300), 8th in fewest turnovers (19.8 topg), 9th in free throw pct. (.599) ...

- Keisha Gordon is 1st in steals (3.5 spg), 3rd in field goal pct. (.592), 5th in assist/turnover ratio (1.8), 7th in assists (2.8 apg), 9th in scoring (14.0 ppg), 13th in rebounding (5.9 rpg) …

- Hannah Munger is 1st in blocked shots (4.3 bspg), 2nd in rebounding (9.8 rpg), field goal pct. (.606), 3rd in scoring (15.1 ppg) …

- Arianna Mohsenian is 6th in 3-pt pct. (.364), 5th in 3-pt field goals (16, T), 8th in assist/turnover ratio (1.5) ...

- Jami Roos is 2nd in 3-pt field goals (27), 3-pt pct. (.392), 17th in scoring (11.4 ppg) ...

- Breezy Rinehart-Young is 4th in blocked shots (1.1 bspg) ...

- Carrie Myers is 11th in rebounding (6.1) ...

* Double-Doubles

- Hannah Munger: season 5, career 30 - 10 pts, 10 reb vs. Corban, 11/15; 14 pts, 18 reb vs. Northwest (Wash.), 11/19; 24 pts, 13 reb vs. Chapman at Thousand Oaks, Calif., 11/26; 19 pts, 10 reb at Whitworth, 12/3; 12 pts, 11 reb vs. Chapman, 12/10

- Keisha Gordon: season 2, career 9 - 12 pts, 12 reb vs. Northwest (Wash.), 11/19; 21 pts, 10 reb at California Lutheran, 11/27

- Megan Arnoldy: season 0, career 1

* Career Lists: Gordon Sets Steals Record, Munger Gets 1,000th Point

- Keisha Gordon: With 43 points in the last three games, Gordon raised her career points total to 1,438 and passed Nancy Rissmiller (1,403, 1994-98) for 3rd on the all-time scoring list.  Ahead are Katie (Greller) Lacey (1,524, 1997-2001) and Melody Groeneveld-McMaster (1,629, 1981-85) … By going 4-8 at the free throw line in the last three games, her career free throw pct. is .766 (308-402), 7th-best all-time ... With 13 rebounds in the last two games, she has 609 in her career, 10th on the all-time list. Ahead is Angela Pettit (613, 1993-97) ... She had 9 steals in the last three games, giving her 245 in her career and moving her past Becky Thompson (236, 1998-2002) and Linda Funderhide (243, 1987-91) for No. 1 in career steals ... She had 11 assists in the last three games, giving her 270 in her career, 7th all-time.  Ahead are Tiffany Behary (271, 2004-08) and B.B. Gardner (279, 2006-10) ...

- Hanna Munger: With 53 points in the last three games, Munger become the 13th player in Bruin history to reach 1,000 for her career and now has 1,050.  She passed Traci Nelson (1,001, 1988-92) and Robin Taylor (1,006, 2002-05) and now stands 11th on the all-time list.  Ahead are Katy Campbell (1,093, 2005-08) and Nicole Prazeau (1,133, 1998-2002) ... With 13 blocked shots in the last three games, she has 247 in her career, 2nd on the all-time list. No. 1 is Tammy Lewis (287, 1985-89) ... After going 23-39 from the field in the last three games, she has a career field goal pct. of .563 (437-776), 2nd to Kristen Shielee (.599, 223-372, 2005-09) ... With 25 rebounds in the last three games, she has 674 in her career, 8th on the all-time list. Ahead are Liz Clark (743, 2001-05), Katy Campbell (747, 2004-08), and Susie Davis (753, 1983-87) …

- Breezy Rinehart-Young: With 4 blocked shots in the last three games, Rinehart-Young has 80 career blocks, breaking a tie with Kristy Fleming (76, 1992-94) for 8th on the all-time list.  Ahead are Angela Pettit (85, 1993-97) and Darby Cave (92, 2000-04) ...

* Head Coach Michael Meek

Head coach Michael Meek (Eastern Oregon ‘99) is 36-6 (.857, 16-0 home, 13-3 road, 7-3 neutral) to date in his second season at George Fox. Prior to joining the Bruins, he 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 ...

Meek vs. upcoming opponents: 2-1 vs. Lewis & Clark (1-0 home, 1-1 away)