2/25/2008 - NWC TOURNAMENT: George Fox to Host Lewis & Clark in NWC Tourney Semifinal
NEWBERG, Ore. - George Fox University will host Lewis & Clark College in the semifinal game of the Northwest Conference Women's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 7:00 p.m. in GFU's Wheeler Sports Center/Miller Gym, with the winner to advance to the title game at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., on Friday, Feb. 29, also at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets for all tournament games as established by the league office are $6 for adults and $3 for children 12 and under and seniors 65 and up. Students from the participating schools will be admitted free with their student ID card. Northwest Conference passes are also valid for tournament games. Faculty and staff from the schools are required to have tickets.
The George Fox Bruins (22-3) and Puget Sound Loggers (21-4) shared the NWC regular season championship for the second year in a row, both finishing 14-2 in conference play. The Lewis & Clark Pioneers (14-11) earned the third and final tournament spot with a 10-6 conference mark.
George Fox and Puget Sound split during the regular season, and the second tiebreaker was each team's record against other conference teams in descending order from top to bottom. The Bruins split with the third-place Pioneers while the Loggers swept that series (their other loss was to fourth-place Whitman College), so UPS received the bye this year.
George Fox defeated Lewis & Clark 58-41 in the first meeting between the two this season in Newberg on Jan. 18, the Bruins' 27th straight win over the Pioneers, but the string was snapped when Lewis & Clark prevailed 45-35 in Portland on Feb. 15.
The Bruins, ranked 18th in the latest D3hoops.com national poll and 22nd in the latest ESPN/USA Today/WBCA poll, are led by senior forward Katy Campbell, last year's Northwest Conference Player of the Year, and senior center Melissa Marek-Farris. Campbell leads the NWC in field goal percentage (.574) while averaging 13.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Marek-Farris is the league leader in blocked shots per game (2.28) while scoring at a 10.3 clip and hauling down 6.3 rebound per contest. George Fox is the nation's stingiest team on defense, allowing only 42.4 points per game.
The Pioneers are led by senior center Crystal Castle, who is second in the conference in scoring (15.0 ppg) and third in rebounding (8.5 rpg). Lewis & Clark has lost its last two contests, while George Fox takes a three-game winning streak into Wednesday's contest.
The winner of the tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament, while the others must wait for a possible at-large berth in the playoffs. Both George Fox and Puget Sound made it to the nationals last year, the Bruins as the NWC Tournament winner and the Loggers as an at-large team, and should have good shots at it again. The field for the 63-team national tournament will be announced by the NCAA Sunday night, Mar. 2, with the complete brackets available Monday morning.