GEORGE FOX WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Overall 11-6: Home 3-2, Road 6-3, Neutral 2-1 / NWC 6-2: Home 2-1, Road 4-1)
HIGHLIGHTS:
* Bruins Win Pair of Road Games to Stay Close to NWC Lead
* Bruins Set New Record with 18-18 Free Throws at Linfield
* Most Points in a Minute? PLU May Hold Women's Record vs. GFU, but Not Men's
* GFU in NCAA, NWC Stats: Bruins 28th in the Nation in Free Throw Pct.
* Upcoming Previews: vs. Whitman, Whitworth (Homecoming)
THIS WEEK:
Fri., Jan. 31, 6:00 pm - vs. Whitman College (5-11, NWC 3-5), Newberg, Ore.
Sat., Feb. 1, 6:00 pm - vs. Whitworth College (12-5, NWC 6-2), Newberg, Ore. (Homecoming)
LAST WEEK - 2-0:
Jan. 21 - George Fox 64, at Linfield 61
Jan. 24 - George Fox 60, at Willamette 39
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE: George Fox (11-6, NWC 6-2) won two NWC road games last week and is dealocked with Whitworth for 2nd place in the conference, one game behind league-leading Pacific Lutheran. The Bruins face Whitworth in their Homecoming game this Saturday, but must first get past upset-minded Whitman on Friday. For the latest NWC standings and stats, go to www.nwcsports.com.
COACH SCOTT RUECK (Oregon State '91) has a record of 126-45 (.737) through Jan. 30 in his 7th season as a head coach, all at George Fox. He notched his 100th career win last season when the Bruins defeated Northwest 78-68 on Dec. 1 in the PLU Parkland Chevrolet Classic in Tacoma, Wash. He was Northwest Conference "Coach of the Year" in 1999-2000 and "Co-Coach of the Year" in 2000-01. Against this week's opponents, he is 12-1 vs. Whitman (6-0 in Newberg, 6-1 in Walla Walla), and 8-6 vs. Whitworth (5-1 in Newberg, 3-5 in Spokane).
BRUIN BITS:
* Bruins Set New Free Throw Record at Linfield:
Making a perfect 18-18 from the free throw line, and needing them all to pull out a hard-fought 64-61 win over their Yamhill County rivals, the Linfield Wildcats, on Jan. 21 in McMinnville, the George Fox Bruins set a new school record for best free throw percentage in a game (1.000). Contributing to the new record were Kellie Thomas (6-6), Liz Clark (4-4), Sarah Myhre (4-4), Amy Fitch (2-2), and Laura Koval (2-2). The previous best game without a miss for the Bruins was a 4-4 performance vs. Western Baptist on Feb. 13, 1992. The record for best free throw pct. with a miss is .961 (25-26) vs. Willamette on Jan. 23, 1987.
The Bruins' 18-18 night at the line is also the 3rd-highest total of free throws in a perfect game this season in D-III. The only better games were St. Benedict (22-22) vs. Coe on Dec. 14, and Savannah Arts & Design (20-20) vs. Huntingdon on Nov. 30.
* Double Trouble:
Liz Clark posted her 2nd straight double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in the Bruins' 64-61 win at Linfield on Jan. 21. In her previous game on Jan. 18 in a 57-55 win over Pacific Lutheran, she had 15 points and 10 rebounds ... Darby Cave has 3 double-doubles in points and rebounds for the Bruins this season (14-12 at Albertson, 11/30; 18-11 vs. Rowan in the Surf 'n' Slam Tournament in San Diego, Calif., 12/27; and 18-12 at Whitman, 1/3) ...
* Injury Report:
Jessica Baynes is out for the season after having knee surgery in December to repair a torn ACL ... Melissa Alexander is out indefinitely due to stress fractures in her legs. In her place, Heidi Collier, normally a wing, has been serving as a backup point guard behind Kim Leith ...
* Followup on PLU's 'Miracle Minute' vs. Bruins on Jan. 18:
Fans who witnessed Pacific Lutheran's stunning 17 points in the final 55 seconds of the George Fox Bruins' 57-55 win in Newberg on Jan. 18 certainly saw one of the most amazing shooting performances in college cage history. Research by the George Fox sports information staff has not turned up a more prolific minute than that in a women's game, so the Lutes may hold the women's record for most points scored in a minute. Responses from other schools around the country have revealed the following unusual moments in men's games, however:
--- St. Joseph's (Pa.) scored 20 points in the final 57 seconds of a 91-90 loss to La Salle on March 3, 2001, and the Hawks' Marvin O'Connor scored 18 of those 20!
--- In a game between California-San Diego and Menlo on Jan. 16, 1988, the Menlo team was assessed 12 bench technicals at one time, and UCSD's Rob Rittgers proceeded to hit 24 consecutive free throws with no time running off the clock!
* Bruins in NCAA National Stats (thru Jan. 19):
In the latest NCAA Division III national statistics release, the George Fox Bruins as a team ranked 28th in free throw pct. (.726) ...
* Where Bruins Rank in NWC Stats (thru Jan. 26):
Scoring Offense - 3rd (63.2)
Scoring Defense - 4th (58.8)
Scoring Margin - 4th (+4.5)
Field Goal Pct. - 3rd (.409)
3-Pt FG Made - 2nd (4.59)
3-Pt FG Pct. - 4th (.315)
Free Throw Pct. - 1st (.743)
FG Pct. Defense - 3rd (.359)
3-Pt FG Defense - 3rd (.266)
Rebound Offense - 1st (42.1)
Rebound Defense - 2nd (34.9)
Rebound Margin - 1st (+7.2)
Assists - 2nd (14.24, T)
Turnover Margin - 9th (-3.24)
Assist/TO Ratio - 3rd (0.74)
Steals - 8th (7.47)
Blocks - 3rd (2.82)
Kellie Thomas - 8th in scoring (12.1), 4th in FT% (.787), 12th in 3-pt FG% (.320), 5th in 3-pt FG (1.41), 11th in assists (2.59, T), 14th in steals (1.65), 10th in blocks (0.47, T)
Darby Cave - 10th in scoring (11.6), 8th in rebounds (6.4), 1st in FG% (.554), 11th in FT% (.739), 9th in blocks (0.59)
Kim Leith - 18th in scoring (10.0, T), 10th in 3-pt FG% (.350), 7th in 3-pt FG (1.24, T), 9th in assists (2.71)
Liz Clark - 22nd in scoring (9.1), 5th in rebounds (7.2, T), 15th in FG% (.400), 11th in 3-pt FG (1.06), 5th in 3-pt FG% (.400), 12th in steals (1.76, T)
Amy Fitch - 13th in assists (2.53), 12th in blocks (0.41, T)
Sarah Myhre - 14th in rebounds (5.6)
Emily Ruggles - 6th in blocks (0.65, T)
* Bruin Honors This Season:
Lady 'Yote Classic All-Tournament Team - Liz Clark, Kim Leith
THIS WEEK (Previews):
Fri., Jan. 31, 6:00 pm - vs. Whitman College (5-11, NWC 3-5), Newberg, Ore.
Northwest Conference game .... The Missionaries are located in Walla Walla, Wash. ... George Fox leads the all-time series with Whitman 14-3... The Missionaries' 58-50 win over the Bruins on Jan. 3 in Walla Walla ended a string of 13 straight wins by the Bruins in the series ... The Missionaries are 4th in the NWC in scoring (61.9), 9th in defense (63.7), 4th in FG% (.377), 4th in FT% (.717), 9th in rebound margin (-5.3), 1st in 3-pt FG (5.75), 5th in assists (13.31), 6th in steals (9.94), and 5th in blocks (2.19) ... Whitman is 26th nationally in 3-pt FG and 5th in 3-pt FG% (.409) ... Miryia Libbey is 12th in the NWC in scoring (11.4), 12th in FG% (.420), 1st in 3-pt FG (2.44), 1st in 3-pt FG% (.506, 7th nationally) ... Megan Higgins is 21st in scoring (9.5), 10th in 3-pt FG (1.12), 3rd in 3-pt FG% (.432), 2nd in assists (3.94), 10th in steals (1.81) ... Denise Kirstein is 16th in rebounds (5.2), 5th in steals (2.00) ... Leyla Khastou is 20th in rebounds (4.9), 8th in blocks (0.62) ... Mandee Romero is 2nd in 3-pt FG% (.432) ...
Sat., Feb. 1, 6:00 pm - vs. Whitworth College (12-5, NWC 6-2), Newberg, Ore. (Homecoming)
Northwest Conference game .... The Pirates are located in Spokane, Wash. ... George Fox leads the all-time series with Whitworth 11-7, including a 67-66 win over the Pirates in Spokane on Jan. 4, snapping a 3-game losing streak in the series ... Whitworth's win over the Bruins in last year's Homecoming game in Newberg on Feb. 16 ended a streak of 30 straight home wins by the Bruins in conference play, 31 straight vs. NWC opponents if the Bruins' win over Pacific Lutheran in the NWC Tournament two years ago is also counted ... The Pirates are 2nd in the NWC in scoring (64.6), 5th in defense (59.9), 5th in FG% (.377), 3rd in FT% (.725), 3rd in rebound margin (+2.6), 3rd in 3-pt FG (4.53), 2nd in assists (14.24, T), 7th in steals (9.71), and 9th in blocks (0.71) ... Tiffany Speer is 1st in the NWC in scoring (15.5), 4th in rebounds (7.5), 7th in FG% (.444), 6th in FT% (.770), 6th in assists (2.82) ... Chrissy Oneal is 6th in scoring (12.3), 13th in rebounds (5.7) ... Sarah Shogren is 9th in scoring (11.8), 2nd in rebounds (7.9), 10th in FG% (.431), 7th in FT% (.763) ... Dani Bielec is 5th in FT% (.772) ...