Press Release - Feb. 16, 2006
Overall 18-5: Home 7-2, Road 8-3, Neutral 3-0 / NWC 9-5: Home 5-2, Road 4-3
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HIGHLIGHTS:
* Recent Games: Bruins Drop Pios to Maintain Grip on 3rd in NWC
* Coming Up: Final Games Critical for Bruins in Bid to Make NWC Tournament
* Behary HM for NWC Player of the Week for Feb. 6-12
* National Polls: Bruins 22nd in WBCA Poll but Out of D3hoops Rankings
* Career Lists: Leith Closing in on 4th Place in All-Time Scoring
* NWC Stats: Taylor Regains League Lead in Field-Goal Pct.
* NCAA Stats: Bruins Climb to 15th in Three-Pointers per Game
RECENT GAMES: 1-0 (Click score for link to story):
Feb. 10 - at George Fox 77, Lewis & Clark 61
COMING UP:
The Bruins control their own fate. Entering the final weekend, the Bruins are 9-5 in the Northwest Conference, half a game ahead of Whitman (9-6) and a game ahead of Lewis & Clark (8-6) for 3rd place and the final NWC Tournament berth. The Bruins are guaranteed 3rd if they sweep at Pacific Lutheran Friday and vs. Willamette at home on Saturday. There are several possible scenarios and tiebreakers in case of a tie for 3rd - but some of them are also contingent on who finishes 1st, where PLU currently has a one-game lead on Puget Sound. Stay tuned.
* Fri., Feb. 17, 6:00 pm - at Pacific Lutheran University Lutes (19-3, 12-2), Tacoma, Wash.
Radio broadcast/webcast on KFOX radio ... NWC doubleheader (men's game at 8 p.m.) â?¦ Series record: GFU trails 13-14 since 1982 (9-5 home, 4-9 road) â?¦ The Lutes won this year's first meeting 85-84 in overtime on Jan. 20 in Newberg when Kezia Long sank a short jumper with 1.2 seconds left â?¦ The Bruins' last win over PLU was 60-59 in Tacoma on Feb. 19 last year â?¦ PLU, 1st in the NWC by a game over Puget Sound, is ranked 16th in the WBCA poll, 18th in the D3hoops.com poll, and 1st in the West Region â?¦ The Lutes are 24th nationally in field goal pct. defense (.331), 26th in field goal pct. (.445), 30th in defense (53.0), 38th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.353), and 39th in scoring margin (+13.09) â?¦ PLU leads the NWC in defense (53.0), field goal pct. defense (.331), and rebounding (42.6) â?¦ The Lutes have three double-figure scorers: Kelly Turner (14.2, 3rd in the NWC), Nikki Johnson (13.4, 5th), and Kezia Long (12.1, 14th) â?¦ Long leads the NWC in rebounding (9.7) and blocked shots (1.68) â?¦ Turner is the NWC leader and is 4th nationally in free throw pct. (.900), and is 18th nationally in 3-pt field goal pct. (.432) â?¦ Mallory Mann leads the NWC and is 3rd nationally in assists (7.0) â?¦ Next game for PLU after the Bruins is Feb. 18 vs. Lewis & Clark at 6 p.m. in Tacoma â?¦
* Sat., Feb. 18, 6:00 pm - vs. Willamette University Bearcats (5-17, 0-14), Newberg, Ore.
Radio broadcast/webcast on KFOX radio ... NWC doubleheader (men's game at 8 p.m.) â?¦ Final game of the regular season for both teams â?¦ Series record: GFU leads 38-12 since 1982 (22-3 home, 15-9 road, 1-0 neutral) â?¦ The Bruins have won the last 7 meetings, including this year's 76-48 win in Salem on Jan. 21 in which five Bruins scored in double figures â?¦ The Bearcats' last win in the series was 53-51 in Salem on Feb. 9, 2002 â?¦ Willamette is last in the NWC in both scoring (51.6) and defense (68.0) â?¦ Laura Payne is the only Bearcat in double figures in scoring (10.9, 16th in the NWC) â?¦ Brittany Farrer is the top rebounder (5.6, 10th) â?¦ The Bearcats visit Puget Sound Friday before meeting the Bruins â?¦
COACH SCOTT RUECK:
Scott Rueck (Oregon State '91) is 183-72 (.718) to date in his 10th season as a college head coach, all at George Fox. He was named Northwest Conference Coach of the Year for the third time in 2004-05 after leading the Bruins to the NWC title and the "Elite 8" of the NCAA National Tournament. He was also NWC Coach of the Year in 1999-2000 and Co-Coach of the Year in 2000-01. Click here for the complete bio on Coach Rueck.
Rueck vs. upcoming opponents:
Pacific Lutheran - 11-10 (7-4 home, 4-6 road)
Willamette - 16-3 (9-0 home, 7-3 road)
BRUIN BITS:
* Behary HM for NWC Player of the Week for Feb. 6-12
Sophomore point guard Tiffany Behary directed the Bruins to a pair of wins last week, receiving honorable mention for Northwest Conference "Player of the Week" for Feb. 6-12. In a 54-53 win over Linfield on Tuesday, she had 9 points on 3-8 field goals (3-4 on threes), passed out 6 assists, and had 1 steal. In a 77-61 win over Lewis & Clark on Friday, she had 13 points on 4-7 field goals (2-4 on threes) and 3-5 free throws, with 5 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals. For the week, she scored 22 points (11.0) on 7-15 (.467) from the field, including 5-8 (.625) on threes, and 3-5 (.600) from the line, with 5 rebounds (2.5), 14 assists (7.0), and 3 steals.
* 2005-06 Honors:
--- Kim Leith - D3hoops.com NCAA Division III Pre-Season Third Team All-America; D3 in Hawaii Hoops Classic All-Tournament Team
--- Robin Taylor - D3 in Hawaii Hoops Classic MVP; Northwest Conference Player of the Week (Nov. 21-27)
* 2005-06 Records:
--- Most Consecutive Wins - 11, Nov. 18-Jan. 2 (tied record set in 2000-01 and 2001-02)
--- Most Consecutive Wins, Start of Season - 11, Nov. 18-Jan. 2 (tied record set in 2001-02)
* Double-Doubles:
Tiffany Schmidt: Career 1, season 1 - 11 pts/10 reb at Western Oregon, 12/17
Katy Campbell: Career 2, season 2 - 13 pts/11 reb at Lewis & Clark, 1/13; 12 pts/10 reb at Whitman, 1/28
* National Polls: Bruins 22nd in WBCA Poll but Out of D3hoops Rankings
Despite going 2-0 last week, George Fox (18-5) dropped one spot from 21st to 22nd in the USA Today/ESPN/Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll of Feb. 14, garnering 24 points. The Bruins were not listed at all in the D3hoops.com poll. Among other NWC teams, Pacific Lutheran was 18th and Puget Sound was 25th in the D3hoops.com poll, while PLU was 16th and UPS was the top vote-getter among "others receiving votes" in the WBCA poll. Southern Maine remained the 1st nationally in both polls. PLU and UPS were 1-2 in the West Region rankings, while George Fox was not among the top six in the region.
Complete polls: USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Poll / D3hoops.com Poll
* Career Lists: Leith Closing in on 4th Place in All-Time Scoring
Kim Leith scored 5 points in the Bruins' last game, giving her 1,326 for her career, 5th on the all-time scoring list. Ahead is Tammy Lewis (1,341, 1985-89) ... She was 1-1 on 3-pointers and ranks 6th in career 3-point pct. (.357, 203-568) ... She had no free throws and remains 2nd in career free throw pct. (.808, 206-255) to Christy Brock (.811, 77-95, 1998-99) ... She had 5 assists and now has 232, 7th on the all-time list. Ahead is Roxy Cate (254, 1979-82) ...
* NWC Stats: Taylor Regains League Lead in Field-Goal Pct.
Where the Bruins rank in the latest Northwest Conference stats (thru Feb. 14):
Scoring Offense - 2nd (69.2)
Scoring Defense - 4th (57.8)
Scoring Margin - 3rd (+11.4)
Field Goal Pct. - 5th (.416)
3-Pt Field Goals - 2nd (7.26)
3-Pt Field Goal Pct. - 3rd (.340)
Free Throw Pct. - 5th (.675)
Field Goal Pct. Defense - 2nd (.365)
3-Pt Field Goal Pct. Defense - 4th (.306)
Rebounding Offense - 6th (38.3)
Rebounding Defense - 7th (37.6)
Rebounding Margin - 6th (+0.7)
Assists - 2nd (15.22)
Blocked Shots - 1st (3.87)
Steals - 3rd (10.83)
Turnover Margin - 3rd (+3.26)
Assist/Turnover Ratio - 3rd (0.86:1)
--- Kim Leith is 3rd in 3-pt field goals (2.22), 4th in scoring (14.0), 4th in free throw pct. (.819), 8th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.349), 11th in steals (1.65), 15th in blocked shots (0.35,T) ...
--- Erin Powers is 8th in blocked shots (0.61), 10th in free throw pct. (.742), 13th in rebounding (5.4) ...
--- Robin Taylor is 1st in field goal pct. (.520), 4th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.417), 5th in 3-pt field goals (1.52), 5th in free throw pct. (.787), 7th in assists (2.74), 9th in scoring (12.7), 13th in steals (1.61)...
--- Katy Campbell is 7th in rebounding (6.4), 11th in field goal pct. (.457), 24th in scoring (8.5, T) ...
--- Tiffany Behary is 3rd in assist/turnover ratio (1.36:1), 4th in assists (3.61), 6th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.387), 7th in 3-pt field goals (1.26), 9th in steals (1.70, T) â?¦
--- Tiffany Schmidt is 2nd in blocked shots (1.64) ...
--- Melissa Marek-Farris is 6th in blocked shots (0.70) â?¦
* NCAA Stats: Bruins Climb to 15th in Three-Pointers per Game
In the latest NCAA national statistics (thru games of Feb. 12), George Fox was ranked 15th in 3-point field goals per game (7.3) â?¦ The Bruins' total of 16 3-pt field goals vs. Western Oregon is the 8th-highest in the nation this season â?¦ The Bruins rank 8th and 9th for the best 3-pt field pct. in a game this year (.640, 16-25 vs. Western Oregon, and .632, 12-19 at Linfield) â?¦ Kim Leith's .857 3-pt field goal shooting pct. (6-7) at Linfield on Jan. 10 is the 4th-best single-game pct. in the country this season â?¦