3/10/2008 - NCAA SECTIONAL: Bruins to Face No. 1-Ranked Hope in "Sweet 16" in Texas
NEWBERG, Ore. - It is said that to be the best, you have to beat the best, and the George Fox University Bruins will get that opportunity when they face the No. 1-ranked Hope College Flying Dutch in the first game of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball National Championship Tournament sectional at the Brownwood Coliseum in Brownwood, Texas, on Friday, March 14, at 5:00 p.m. Central time (3:00 p.m. Pacific).
The second game Friday in the Brownwood sectional of the "Sweet 16", as it is commonly called because only 16 teams remain in the tournament, features the host Howard Payne University Lady Yellow Jackets against the DeSales University Bulldogs from Center Valley, Pa., at 7:00 p.m. Central (5:00 p.m. Pacific). The two Friday winners will advance to the sectional title game Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Central (5:00 p.m. Pacific) for the right to move on the Division III "Final Four", hosted by Hope in Holland, Mich., on March 21-22.
Tickets for the Texas sectional are $7 for adults, $4 for students and seniors, and children age 2 and under are admitted free. There is a possibility that KFOX Radio, the George Fox student-run campus station, will webcast the games, but even if KFOX is unable to go, D3hoops.com has announced that it will be broadcasting all sectional games for NCAASports.com. Details where fans can access the games will be provided soon on the George Fox women's basketball website at gfubruins.com
George Fox (25-4) is ranked 21st in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA poll and 22nd in the D3hoops.com poll, while Hope (29-0) is 1st in both polls and has been there for the last nine week. The Bruins advanced with wins over Chapman University 71-55 and the University of Puget Sound 72-66. Hope eliminated Juniata College 76-47 and Baldwin-Wallace College 68-48.
Howard Payne (29-0), ranked 2nd in both polls, and Hope are the only two unbeatens left in Division III. DeSales (26-3) is ranked 19th in the D3hoops.com poll and had the second-most points among "others receiving votes" in the WBCA poll. Howard Payne received the only first-round bye of the tournament and then beat McMurry University for the fourth time this season 79-64. DeSales knocked off Muhlenberg College 56-48 and Salem State College 74-55 to make it to the sectional.
The Bruins have reached the "Sweet 16" for the third time in five NCAA Tournament appearances. In 2005, they defeated the College of St. Benedict to advance to the "Elite 8" before being halted by Randolph-Macon University in Ashland, Va. George Fox is 7-4 in its five NCAA Tournaments.
Five seniors start for the Bruins, co-champions of the Northwest Conference who established a new single-season record for wins. Katy Campbell (14.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg), a 6-1 forward from Springfield, Ore., was the NWC Player of the Year for the second year in a row. She was at her best in the Bruins' first two tournament wins, scoring 28 points, including 14-15 free throws, with 10 rebounds against Chapman, and just missed the first triple-double in Bruin history with 16 points, 12 assists, and nine rebounds against Puget Sound.
Melissa Marek-Farris (10.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg), a 6-1 center from Glide, Ore., was a First Team All-NWC selection and ranks among the national leaders in blocked shots (2.41 bspg). 5-6 point guard Tiffany Behary (8.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg) from Lake Oswego, Ore., was an honorable mention All-Conference honoree. The Bruins' starting wings are 5-7 Jaime Hubka (7.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg) from Bellingham, Wash., and 5-8 Kaleigha Ramey (6.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg) from Spokane, Wash.
George Fox coach Scott Rueck, whose career record now stands at 228-84, repeated as NWC Coach of the Year, the fifth time in 12 seasons he has been so honored.