3/1 - ALL-CONFERENCE: Leith Player of the Year, Rueck Coach of the Year, Clark First Team All-NWC
NEWBERG, Ore. - Coach Scott Rueck and two of his players, wings Kim Leith and Liz Clark, carted off a ton of honors for George Fox University as the Northwest Conference announced its 2004-05 All-Conference Women's Basketball Team as voted on by the league's nine coaches.
Rueck, who hails from Hillsboro, Ore., was named by his peers as NWC Coach of the Year for leading the Bruins, who were picked to finish 5th in the pre-season coaches poll, to the conference championship and an NCAA Division III National Tournament berth. As any coach will tell you, he couldn't have done it without the players, and Rueck has two of the league's finest in Leith, who was named NWC Player of the Year, and Clark, a First Team All-Conference selection.
Playing a more up-tempo style with plenty of pressure defense this year, Rueck directed his team to a seven-game turnaround from 13-12 to 20-5. The Bruins went 14-2 in conference play, edging Whitworth College by a game, to earn their third NCAA playoff appearance in the last six years. The Bruins have compiled a 163-66 record in Rueck's nine years with the program, including nine winning seasons and four 20-win seasons. This is his third Coach of the Year award, having won NWC honors in 1999-2000 and sharing it in 2000-01.
The Bruins dominated the Player of the Year balloting as Leith was named the league's top athlete on six ballots and Clark on two. Sarah Shogren of Whitworth received the other first-place vote.
Leith, a 5-7 junior from Sherwood, Ore., finally unleashed all the potential she had flashed during her first two seasons, becoming the Bruins' "go-to" player as she regularly took over games when the Bruins needed her most. She averaged 18.0 points per game, 5th in the conference, and led the league in three-point field goals per game (2.75), ranking 19th nationally. She shot .446 from the field, 12th in the NWC, and her free throw mark of .843 was 4th in the conference and 16th nationally. She was 5th in the NWC in three-point percentage (.398) and assist/turnover ratio (1.20), 7th in steals (1.88), and 10th in blocked shots (0.58). She scored in double figures 20 times, including 12 games of 20 or more. She had a career-high 33 points vs. Whitman and 32 vs. Neumann in the Grand Canyon Classic, and set new highs in rebounds (9 at Linfield), steals (6 at Lewis & Clark), and tied her assists record (7 vs. Lewis & Clark). She was named NWC Player of the Week three times (Dec. 20-Jan. 2, Jan. 31-Feb. 6, and Feb. 7-13).
Clark, a 5-9 senior from Elbe, Wash., was honored for her all-around season and outstanding senior leadership. While ranking 16th in the conference in scoring (10.2), she led the league in steals (2.96) and was 2nd in three-point field goal percentage (.410), 5th in rebounding (8.0), 7th in assists (2.96), 9th in three-point field goals (1.33), 10th in free throw percentage (.789), and 12th in assist/turnover ratio (0.99). She had double-figure points 12 times and rebounds 8 times, with 4 double-doubles. She scored 20 or more three times, with a high of 21 at Pacific and at Linfield. She set career marks in rebounds (19 at Whitman), assists (8 vs. Whitworth), and tied her high in blocks (3 vs. Whitman), with a season-high 5 steals vs. Pacific. She had at least one steal in every game except the season finale. She was NWC Player of the Week for Jan. 17-23. Clark was Honorable Mention All-Conference in 2002-03.
The Bruins' season continues this weekend with an NCAA Tournament second-round game on Saturday, March 5, at 7:00 p.m. George Fox, the No. 2 seed from the West Region, will host the winner of Wednesday's first-round game between Chapman University and California Lutheran University in Orange, Calif.
Other First Team members are Shogren and Tiffany Speer of Whitworth, Lindsay May of the University of Puget Sound, and Vanessa Wyffels of Willamette University. The complete All-Conference list, including Second Team and Honorable Mention players, is available at the Northwest Conference web site at http://www.nwcsports.com/sports/basketball_women/All-NWC.htm.