Women's Basketball Release - Dec. 1, 2005
Overall 4-0: Home 0-0, Road 1-0, Neutral 3-0 / NWC 0-0: Home 0-0, Road 0-0
LINKS FOR WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TO:
Quick Facts / Roster / Schedule / Statistics / Results / Press Releases / Box Scores
HIGHLIGHTS:
* Recent Games: Bruins Defeat Two SCIAC Teams to Win Hawaii Classic
* Coming Up: NWC Play Begins at Home with the "Whits"
* Taylor Named NWC Player of the Week for Nov. 21-27
* National Polls: Bruins Climb to 6th in D3hoops.com Poll
* Career Lists: Leith Within One Assist of Top 10
* NWC Stats: Bruins Best in League at Blocking Shots
* Halftime Promotions for Bruin Basketball Games
RECENT GAMES: 2-0 (Click score for link to story):
Nov. 25 - George Fox 87, La Verne 54 (at D3 in Hawaii Hoops Classic, Honolulu, Hawaii)
Nov. 26 - George Fox 65, California Lutheran 54 (at D3 in Hawaii Hoops Classic, Honolulu, Hawaii)
COMING UP:
* Fri., Dec. 2, 6:00 pm - vs. Whitworth College (3-1, 0-0), Newberg, Ore. (NWC)
Broadcast/Webcast on KFOX radio ... Northwest Conference opener for both teams ... The Whitworth Pirates from Spokane, Wash., are coming off a 23-3 campaign and 13-3 2nd-place NWC finish in which they were somehow left out of the NCAA playoffs ... With five new starters this season, the Pirates were picked 5th in the NWC pre-season coaches' poll ... Series record: GFU leads 12-11 (7-3 home, 4-7 road, 1-1 neutral) ... The teams split last year, Whitworth winning 60-53 in Spokane and George Fox winning 72-55 in Newberg ... Whitworth leads the NWC in free throw pct. (.753) and is 2nd in 3-pointers per game (8.50) ... The Pirates have 3 double-figure scorers in Holly Ridings (15.5), Alida Bower (15.0), and Danielle Wegman (10.3) ... Emily Hendrickson is the top rebounder (7.5) and leads the NWC in free throw pct. (1.000) ...
* Sat., Dec. 3, 4:00 pm - vs. Whitman College (1-3, 0-0), Newberg, Ore. (NWC)
Broadcast/Webcast on KFOX radio ... Tipoff time is two hours earlier than usual conference games to allow Whitman travel time back home ... Coming off a 14-11 season and 9-7 4th-place tie in the NWC, the Missionaries from Walla Walla, Wash., with five returning starters were picked 2nd to the Bruins in the pre-season coaches' poll ... Series record: GFU leads 15-7 (7-4 home, 8-3 road) ... The teams split last year, George Fox winning 62-55 in overtime in Walla Walla and Whitman winning 62-50 in Newberg ... Whitman's three losses have been at Chicago and to NAIA schools Eastern Oregon and Albertson on the road ... Kate Patneaude leads the NWC in scoring (23.8) while Lizzy Washburn (13.3) and Laura Vertatschitsch (12.3) also average double figures ... Washburn is 2nd in the league in rebounding (8.8) ... Vertatschitsch is 2nd in assists (4.50) ...
COACH SCOTT RUECK:
Scott Rueck (Oregon State '91) is 169-67 (.716) 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:
Whitworth - 9-10 (6-3 home, 3-7 road)
Whitman - 13-5 (6-3 home, 7-2 road)
BRUIN BITS:
* Taylor Named NWC Player of the Week for Nov. 21-27
Junior wing Robin Taylor was named Most Valuable Player of the D3 in Hawaii Hoops Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii, earning Northwest Conference Player of the Week honors for Nov. 21-27. In an 87-54 win over La Verne on Friday, she scored a game and career-high 21 points in only 16 minutes on 7-9 from the field (4-5 on 3's) and 3-4 from the line, with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. In a 65-54 win over California Lutheran on Saturday, she had 10 points on 4-11 from the field (1-7 on 3's) and 1-2 from the line, with 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal. For the week's 2 games, she had 31 points (15.5 ppg) on 11-20 from the field (.550), 5-12 on 3's (.417), and 4-6 from the line (.667), with 8 rebounds (4.0 rpg), 7 assists (3.5 apg), and 3 steals (1.5 spg).
Senior wing Kim Leith also earned All-Tournament honors in Hawaii, scoring 21 points with 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a blocked shot in 2 games. She was especially effective in the Cal Lutheran game, scoring 14 of her points in the first half to spark the Bruins to a comfortable lead.
* 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)
* National Polls: Bruins Climb to 6th in D3hoops.com Poll
A 4-0 start has enabled George Fox to climb from 10th in the D3hoops.com pre-season poll to 6th in the first poll of the regular season. The Bruins garnered 434 points after getting 293 in the pre-season predictions. They are the only Northwest Conference team in the top 25, although Linfield did pick up 3 votes. Defending national champion Millikin remains atop the poll.
In the ESPN/USA Today/Women's Basketball Coaches of America pre-season poll, the Bruins garnered 129 points and were ranked 8th, but their first poll of the regular season has not been released, nor have regional rankings started.
Complete polls: USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Poll / D3hoops.com Poll / NCAA Division III Regional Rankings
* Bruins Lead Wire-to-Wire in Three Straight Games
It is doubtful that records of this kind are kept, but the Bruins put together one of the game's more unusual streaks when they went three games in a row leading wire-to-wire. In a 67-57 win at Oregon Tech on Nov. 19, the Bruins scored the first 8 points of the game and the Owls got no closer than 2 the rest of the way. In an 87-54 win over La Verne in the D3 in Hawaii Hoops Classic on Nov. 25, a 12-0 run ignited the Bruins to victory, with the Leopards getting no close than 7 points after that. The next day, the Bruins jumped out to a 5-0 lead over California Lutheran, and the Regals cut that to 5-4 but could never tie or take the lead. The Bruins face a tough challenge in keeping the streak going, however, with Whitworth and Whitman, two teams expected to make a run at the Northwest Conference title, coming to Newberg this weekend.
* Career Lists: Leith Within One Assist of Top 10
Kim Leith scored 21 points in two games last week, giving her 1,055 for her career, 8th in all-time scoring at George Fox. In 7th is Nicole Prazeau (1,133, 1998-2002) ... She was 5-12 on 3-pointers during the week and remains 6th in career 3-point pct. (.355, 161-453) ... She was 2-3 from the free throw line and remains 2nd in career free throw pct. (.795, 155-195) ... She had 4 assists and now has 192, needing 1 more to tie Heather Gurney (193, 1987-91) for 10th ...
* NWC Stats: Bruins Best in League at Blocking Shots
Where the Bruins ranks in the latest Northwest Conference stats (thru Nov. 30):
Scoring Offense - 4th (72.0)
Scoring Defense - 2nd (53.2)
Scoring Margin - 3rd (+18.8)
Field Goal Pct. - 5th (.420)
3-Pt Field Goals - 3rd (7.75)
3-Pt Field Goal Pct. - 6th (.316)
Free Throw Pct. - 7th (.624)
Field Goal Pct. Defense - 2nd (.321)
3-Pt Field Goal Pct. Defense - 5th (.319)
Rebounding Offense - 4th (40.2)
Rebounding Defense - 9th (42.0)
Rebounding Margin - 9th (-1.8)
Assists - 3rd (17.50)
Blocked Shots - 1st (5.00)
Steals - 2nd (14.50)
Turnover Margin - 3rd (+6.50)
Assist/Turnover Ratio - 2nd (0.99/1)
Kim Leith is 6th in 3-pt field goals (2.25, T), 10th in assists (2.50, T), rebounding (6.0), 13th in steals (1.75, T), 14th in scoring (12.8) ...
Erin Powers is 2nd in blocked shots (1.50), 3rd in rebounding (7.8), 8th in free throw pct. (.800, T), assists (2.75, T), 13th in steals (1.75, T), 26th in scoring (9.0, T) ...
Robin Taylor is 3rd in 3-pt field goals (2.50, T), 4th in scoring (16.5), field goal pct. (.600), 6th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.476), 8th in free throw pct. (.800, T), 13th in steals (1.75, T) ...
Tiffany Schmidt is 1st in blocked shots (2.00) ...
Katy Campbell is 10th in assists (2.50, T) ...
Karissa Boyd is 10th in steals (2.00, T) ...
* Halftime Promotions for Bruin Basketball Games
A number of special promotions are scheduled for the halftimes of George Fox men's and women's basketball games throughout the 2005-06 season, including:
"Halftime Hoop Shoot/Half-Court Shoot" - Co-sponsored by the Coffee Cottage in Newberg and Country Insurance & Financial Services, this promotion takes place at the halftime of every home game, unless a long halftime entertainment performance requires most of the 15-minute break. Tickets for $1 are sold in the gym lobby until just before halftime, and one lucky ticketholder is selected to shoot. Five dollars' worth of coupons to the Coffee Cottage is awarded for each one of three shots (free throw, three-pointer, and half-court shot) that is made.
A made half-court shot also earns the shooter the Country Financial "pot" for the evening, which increases by $50 at each game if no shot is made (the pot begins at $50 at the start of each team's season). All proceeds from the ticket sales go to the GFU basketball programs as a donation.
"Shootout at Coyote Joe's Corral" - New this year is the "Shootout at Coyote Joe's Corral", sponsored by Coyote Joe's expresso shop on Highway 99 North in Newberg. Four game programs at each game are signed by a Bruin player, and whoever has one of the autographed programs may enter the race. The contestants sit in chairs at mid-court, two chairs facing each goal, and must race toward the basketball goal at one end to make any shot of their choosing, then race back. One contestant on each side is eliminated, and the two survivors then do the same thing to determine an overall winner. The winner receives a coupon good for purchases at Coyote Joe's.
Other special promotions, mainly during the second semester, will be announced as plans for each are finalized.