NEWBERG, Ore. --- The George Fox women's basketball team has made regular trips to the NCAA Division III Championships since the turn of the millennium, but in 2020 they ran into an opponent they could not get past.

That year it was a new head coach but the same continuing story: following in the footsteps of Sherri Murrell, Scott Rueck, and Michael Meek, first-year Bruin head coach Michael Coppolino led GFU to another deep run in the NCAA Tournament until the season came to a premature end due to the COVID-19 pandemic, short of the Bruins' Sweet Sixteen matchup against Amherst College in Massachusetts.

After a short spring schedule with no fans in the stands in 2021, the Bruins look to pick up the torch again with one of the younger teams they have put on the floor during their recent decades of dominance, which includes 28 consecutive winning seasons. Excepting the 2020-21 season, during which a great many top Division III programs did not play a single game, the Bruins have an ongoing streak of seven consecutive 20-win seasons and NCAA tournament appearances.

"That first year feels like 15 years ago," said Coppolino, who in six years at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, New York, turned a 5-20 team his first year into a back-to-back Skyline Conference champion with 35 wins in his last 36 conference games. "Having five seniors who were great leaders and a great group of girls made the transition easier for me. We lost that first game and then got off to a 9-1 start, had some ups and downs in January and February, but were peaking at the correct time. I knew at that point if we can win on the road without playing our best--and we were sloppy in the round of 32--we could have gone on a deep run to the Final Four. We were clicking and gelling at the right time.

"With some scrimmages and practice games, we got to play 12 games total [in 2020-21] when at least half the country did absolutely nothing. We got in reps and experience with an extremely young team after having five seniors that played the majority of the minutes the year before."

Coppolino leaned on an all-senior starting lineup during his first season in Newberg. The roster in his third season is not completely devoid of experience. Cassidy Posey was a key reserve in the rotation during the Bruins 2020 run and made her starting debut in the spring. A total of four players lettered in 2019-20 (appearances in at least half of the Bruins' 29 games that year). 

Posey, a 5-11 senior forward, has played in all 65 games since joining the Bruins in 2018. A rock on defense, the Canby native has shot 42 percent from 3-point range over the last two seasons and was one of three Bruins to average over five rebounds a game during the seven-game spring slate. 

"She is by far the most experienced person that has played significant minutes in NCAA games and the NWC postseason," said Coppolino of his senior co-captain. "We will lean on that this year, but it will be great for her to give her wisdom and inform the underclassmen what it takes to get to the next level."

Two other Bruin seniors, Lillie Abrahamson and Kate Huguenin, have had limited roles off the bench in past seasons. All three have two years of athletic eligibility remaining. 

Also a captain, Huguenin is one of the hardest workers on the team. Abrahamson will attempt to overcome an injury setback in the offseason to make a senior year contribution 

A strong, physical post, Emily Stephens came off the bench in 16 games as a freshman in 2019-20 before a January knee injury took her out of action for the abbreviated spring campaign. The 6-foot forward from Medford returns in 2021-22 with three years of eligibility.

"If she is fully back, she'll be an issue around the rim," said Coppolino. "She plays with a lot of energy."

Senior point guard Rachel Parks played a handful of games at NAIA Westmont College in California in 2018-19. After a year off from basketball, she transferred to George Fox and started five games in the spring. Another senior captain and a vocal leader, Parks led the Bruins in scoring (11.0 ppg), while shooting 51 percent from the field and was second in rebounding (5.4 rpg). With her first chance at a full season of college basketball, the former small-school standout from Lost River, Oregon will be counted on heavily in 2021-22. 

"She makes us go," said Coppolino of Parks, who has two years of eligibility available. "Rachel is the quickest and fastest on the team and will run our offense. She can change the dynamic based on speed and athleticism."

Only one other Bruin player started all seven games in the spring. Sophomore wing Jenna Lacey is the fourth sibling in her family to play basketball at George Fox, with brothers Ryan and J.J. each in the top 25 in career scoring for the men's program. Jenna led the team in minutes played during the spring and was third in scoring at 8.1 points per game, while shooting a team-best .563 from the field. Coppolino says Lacey has worked hard to get stronger in the offseason and is prepared to step into an even bigger role this season.

"She was probably our best all-around player on both sides of the ball. Jenna can guard multiple positions and is one of the best at attacking and finishing around the rim."

No fewer than eight freshmen made their Bruin debuts in the spring and five more join the program for 2021-22. 

Mackenzie Lewis is a well-rounded player from Vancouver with a high ceiling. Lewis led the Bruins in rebounding (5.6) and was second in scoring (9.1) while sinking six of her ten three-point shot attempts. Ella Roberts was a stat sheet stuffer, pacing the Bruins in assists (16), steals (9) and blocks (10), while shooting 40 percent from three-point range, starting four of the Bruins seven games in spring. A similar player to Lacey, the two are roommates and best friends.

"Mackenzie is coming off a very solid freshman year and started half the games," said Coppolino. "She has a good stroke and has worked really hard on the inside game and finishing. She is tough to guard inside and out. When she is on, it makes us much more dynamic as a team because she can score and extend the defense from the perimeter.

"Ella grew into her body a little during summer. She's a swing player who can get to the rim and shoot it well, defend, and block. She could step into a bigger role as a sophomore."

Erin Yoshitake, Jaela Eggers, and Nicole Lindblom were all part of the spring rotation and each player started at least one game. While roles are still being formulated, all three will at a minimum add precious depth to the rotation.

Sophomore wing Jordan Ryan is the wild card in the deck. Limited to two games at the end of her freshman year after injuring her ACL in her final high school season, Ryan is a dynamic scorer with good size, who could be a major impact for the Bruins in 2021-22.

"Jordan is extremely athletic and gritty," said Coppolino of the 6-foot Vancouver native. "She definitely will be counted on to play significant minutes. She was not fully comfortable so we didn't push her last spring, but she could be one of our top players."

With the addition of five freshman newcomers, Coach Coppolino has a half dozen players on his roster listed at 6-0 or taller. 

"We'll know a lot more about the others by Halloween," said Coppolino about formulating his game rotation. "It will be close at several positions and we could potentially have a pretty deep rotation where we play multiple people."

Alyssa Wells is one freshman with a good chance of making an early impact. The Brighton, Colorado native averaged 15.5 points per game and an eye-popping five steals as a senior at Holy Family High School in 2020-21, leading the Tigers to three consecutive Final Four appearances and the last of their 14 consecutive league titles.

"Alyssa can guard multiple positions and is an excellent passer with an extremely good basketball IQ. She can shoot outside and get to the rim and finish. Really good court awareness for a freshman."

While Coppolino loves the depth and defensive flexibility of this team, they will have to overcome youth and a shortage of experience to compete in the rugged Northwest Conference, where the likes of Whitman, Puget Sound, and rising Pacific will try to end the Bruins six-game winning streak in the conference tournament.

"We need to have everyone gel and to be able to withstand a full season which we haven't experienced in two years. Thirteen of 18 players on our roster have never experienced a full college season. We must withstand the grind with a younger team."

The Bruins tip off the season north of the border when they face Camosun College on Saturday in Victoria, BC. After an alumni game on Sunday, Oct. 24, George Fox welcomes Bushnell University to Wheeler Sports Center on Thursday, Oct. 28, followed by an East Coast road swing that includes a matchup against Coppolino's former employer, Mount Saint Mary College on Nov. 11. The Bruins will get a tough NWC test right off the bat with back-to-back games at home against Pacific on December 3 and at Puget Sound the following night.