Press Release
Overall 25-4 (Home 12-0, Road 10-3, Neutral 3-1)
Northwest Conference 14-2, 1st, T (Home 8-0, Road 6-2)
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HIGHLIGHTS:
* Recent Games: Bruins Oust Chapman, Puget Sound from NCAA Tourney
* Coming Up: Bruins to Meet No. 1 Hope in NCAA Sectional in Texas
* Campbell Wins 10th Bruin Athletic Association Award
* Campbell, Rueck Repeat NWC Awards, Two Others Honored
* Polls/Rankings: Bruins Ranked 21st/22nd in National Polls
* Bruins Secure Fifth NWC Title in Last NineYears
* Bruins' 25 Wins Among Several New Records Set This Season
* NCAA Stats: Gap Narrows but Bruins Still No. 1 in Defense
* NWC Stats: Campbell 1st in FG Pct., Marek-Farris in Blocks
* Career Lists: Four Bruins Among Top 10 in Several Categories
RECENT GAMES: 2-0 (Click scores for link to stories and box scores):
Mar. 7 - George Fox 71, Chapman 55 (NCAA West Regional at Tacoma, Wash.)
Mar. 8 - George Fox 72, at Puget Sound 66 (NCAA West Regional at Tacoma, Wash.)
West Regional Recap: Making their fifth post-season appearance in nine years of eligibility as NCAA members, the George Fox Bruins advanced to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament for the third time with wins over Chapman and West Regional host Puget Sound Mar. 7-8 in Tacoma, Wash.
In defeating Chapman for the second time in as many meetings, both in the playoffs, the Bruins recorded their 24th victory to set a new single-season record for wins. The Bruins broke an 11-11 tie with consecutive three-pointers by Tiffany Behary, Katy Campbell, and MaryAnne Samples, starting a 12-0 run that gave them control, and they maintained a lead between seven and 17 points the rest of the way.
Campbell led the Bruins with a career-high 28 points, making 14-15 from the free throw line, including the first 14 in a row. Her .933 free throw percentage set a new Bruin record for best percentage with only one miss. Jaime Hubka added a career-high 18 points and Behary scored 10.
In the regional finals, the Bruins gained a measure of revenge by defeating Puget Sound on their own home court, just as the Loggers had done to the Bruins the year before in the regional finals at George Fox. Shooting over 60 percent for the game, the Bruins built up a 20-point lead of 60-40 with just under 11 minutes left, then had to hang on for dear life as the Loggers mounted a furious comeback with 15 points in a row. UPS shaved the lead to one at 67-66 with a minute-and-a-half left, but key free throws down the stretch by Behary, Campbell, and Hubka, as well as two big misses on potential game-tying threes by the Loggers, enabled the Bruins to survive.
Campbell, the Northwest Conference Player of the Year for the second year in a row, just missed a triple-double with 16 points, 12 assists (a career high), and nine rebounds. Melissa Marek-Farris added 14 points and nine boards, and Behary scored 14, hitting all four of her three-point attempts.
COMING UP: Bruins to Meet No. 1 Hope in NCAA Sectional in Texas
Fri., Mar. 14, TBA - vs. Hope College in Brownwood, Texas (NCAA Sectional)
Sat., Mar. 15, TBA - vs. TBA in Brownwood, Texas (NCAA Sectional)
George Fox will meet No. 1-ranked Hope College in the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament's "Sweet 16" on Friday, Mar. 14, at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas, time to be announced. Hope is one of two unbeaten teams still left in the post-season - and the other is sectional host Howard Payne, which plays DeSales College in the bracket's other game. The sectional winner will join three other sectional champions for the "Final Four" on Mar. 21-22 in Holland, Mich., where Hope is the host institution.
Ticket prices are $7 for adults and $3 for students (with ID), seniors and children (12 and under). Children under 2 will be admitted free of charge. Fans who cannot get to the games may listen to the internet webcast via D3hoops.com, which will be carrying all sectional games for NCAASports.com.
George Fox has a 7-4 record in five NCAA Tournament appearances. In 2000, the Bruins defeated Linfield 63-51 and California Lutheran 71-63 at home before losing to St. Thomas (Minn.) 76-64 in Abilene Texas, in the "Sweet 16". In 2001, the Bruins received a first-round bye and then lost at home to St. Thomas (Minn.) 64-52. In 2005, the Bruins received a first-round bye, defeated Chapman 86-55 at home, then in the sectional in Ashland, Va., defeated St. Benedict 74-69 and lost at Randolph-Macon 63-51 in the "Elite 8". Last year, hosting the West Regional, the Bruins defeated Gustavus Adolphus 61-47 before falling to Puget Sound 51-48. The Bruins eliminated Chapman 71-55 and host Puget Sound 72-66 in the West Regional in Tacoma, Wash., to reach this year's "Sweet 16".
Hope (29-0) - The Fighting Dutch from Holland, Mich., are champions of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association ... Hope has been ranked No. 1 nationally for the last nine weeks ... Series record: 1st meeting ... Hope averages 78.0 ppg and allows 55.4 ... The Dutch are out-rebounding their opponents 46.7 to 36.1 ... The balanced offense has only one player in double figures - G Jordyn Boles at 11.3 ... C Courtney Know is the rebounding leader (6.2) ... Coach Brian Morehouse (Hope '91) is 314-55 to date in his 13th season at Hope ...
DeSales (26-3) - The Bulldogs from Center Valley, Pa., are champions of the Freedom Conference ... DeSales is ranked 19th in the D3hoops.com poll and had the second-most points among "others receiving votes" in the WBCA poll ... Series record: 1st meeting ... DeSales averages 74.2 ppg and allows 56.8 ... The Bulldgos have two players in double figure scoring: G LeighAnn Burke (19.5) and G Kim Rarick (15.3) ... F Caitlin Miller is the top rebounder (9.9) ... Coach Fred Richter (East Stroudsburg) is 347-148 to date in his 18th season at DeSales ...
Howard Payne (29-0) - The Lady Yellow Jackets from Brownwood, Texas, are champions of the American Southwest Conference ... Howard Payne is ranked No. 2 in both national polls ... Series record: 1st meeting ... Howard Payne averages 76.8 pg and allows 47.1 ... The Lady Jackets have three double figure scorers: Meia Daniels (19.0), Stacey Blalock (15.6), and Kimberly Hoffman (12.9) ... Hoffman is the top rebounder (7.1) ... Coach Chris Kielsmeier (Iowa State '99) is 175-44 to date in his 8th season at Howard Payne ...
COACH SCOTT RUECK:
Scott Rueck (Oregon State '91), the 2007-08 Northwest Conference Coach of the Year, is 228-84 (.731) to date in his 12th season as a college head coach, all at George Fox. He also received NWC Coach of the Year honors in 1999-2000, 2000-01 (Co-Coach), 2004-05, and 2006-07. He has guided the Bruins to five NWC titles, five NCAA Tournament appearances and a 7-4 playoff record in the last nine years. Click here for the complete bio on Coach Rueck.
Rueck vs. upcoming opponents:
Hope - 0-0
DeSales - 0-0
Howard Payne - 0-0
BRUIN BITS:
* Campbell Wins 10th Bruin Athletic Association Award
Senior forward Katy Campbell has been named the Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week for Mar. 3-9 as she led the Bruins to a 2-0 week and into the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament. In a 71-55 first-round win over Chapman on Friday, she scored a career-high 28 points on 6-10 field goals (2-4 on threes) and 14-15 free throws, with 10 rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot. She set a new GFU record for best free throw pct. with a miss (.933) and posted her 9th double-double of the season. In a 72-66 win at Puget Sound in the West Regional finals, she narrowly missed becoming the first women's basketball player in GFU history to record a triple-double as she scored 16 points on 4-8 field goals and 8-10 free throws, with 9 rebound, 12 assists, and a steal. For the week, she scored 44 points (22.0) on 10-18 field goals (.556), including 2-5 (.400) on threes, and 22-25 free throws (.880), with 19 rebounds (9.5), 13 assists (6.5), a steal and a blocked shots. A 10-time winner of the BAA award this year, Campbell leads the NWC and is 14th nationally in field goal pct. ...
* Campbell, Rueck Repeat NWC Awards, Two Others Honored
George Fox senior forward Katy Campbell was named the Northwest Conference Player of the Year for the second year in a row and head coach Scott Rueck repeated as NWC Coach of the Year after guiding the Bruins to a 23-4 record, a 14-2 NWC mark and league co-championship, and national rankings in both major NCAA Division III polls. Also honored by the voting of the league's nine coaches were senior center Melissa Marek-Farris, who was picked for the All-NWC First Team after being a Second Team choice last year, and senior point guard Tiffany Behary, who received honorable mention for All-NWC honors. The complete story is available on the George Fox web site at www.georgefox.edu/athletics/womens_bball/2008/releases/allnwc.html.
* 2007-08 Honors:
Katy Campbell:
- D3hoops.com All-America Pre-Season 4th Team
- Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week (Nov. 12-18; Nov. 19-25; Dec. 17-23; Dec. 24-30; Dec. 31-Jan. 6; Jan. 7-13; Jan. 14-20; Jan. 21-27; Feb. 18-24; Mar. 3-9)
- NWC Player of the Week (HM, Nov. 12-18; HM, Nov. 19-25; HM, Dec. 17-26; HM, Dec. 27-Jan. 6; Jan. 7-13; HM, Jan. 14-20; HM, Jan. 21-27; HM, Feb. 11-17; HM, Feb. 18-24)
- Trinity Thanksgiving Classic MVP (Nov. 24-25)
- Posada Royale #1 All-Tournament Team (Dec. 17-18)
- ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII Women's Basketball College Division Second Team
- Northwest Conference Player of the Year (2nd year in a row)
Tiffany Behary:
- Trinity Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team (Nov. 24-25)
- All-Northwest Conference Honorable Mention
Kristen Shielee:
- Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week (Dec. 3-9)
- NWC Player of the Week (HM, Dec. 3-9)
Melissa Marek-Farris:
- Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week (Jan. 28-Feb. 3; Feb. 4-10; Feb. 25-Mar. 2)
- NWC Player of the Week (HM, Jan. 28-Feb. 3; Feb. 4-10)
- All-Northwest Conference First Team
Scott Rueck:
- Northwest Conference Coach of the Year (2nd year in a row, 5th time overall)
* Polls/Rankings: Bruins 21st/22nd in Final Regular Season Polls
After the Northwest Conference Tournament, the George Fox Bruins (23-4) were ranked 21st with 44 points in the USA Today / ESPN NCAA Division III poll of Mar. 4 as voted on by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association after being 20th with 60 points the week before. In the D3hoops.com poll of Mar. 3, the Bruins were 22nd with 110 points after being 18th with 208 points the week before. Winning in the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament and reaching the "Sweet 16" should help guarantee the Bruins a spot in the final polls which will come out after the playoffs are finished. George Fox has been ranked in the polls at some point in the season seven of the past nine years (2000, '01, '02, '05, '06, '07, '08). The Bruins' highest ranking ever was No. 1, a spot they held for two weeks in February of 2001.
Complete polls:
USA Today/ESPN / WBCA Poll / D3hoops.com Poll / West Region rankings
* Bruins Secure Fifth NWC Title in Last NineYears
By finishing with a 14-2 record in Northwest Conference play, the Bruins earned a share of the conference title with Puget Sound, their fifth NWC crown in the last nine years. In 1999-2000, the Bruins were 14-2 in league play and shared the title with Pacific Lutheran. In 2000-01, they were 15-1 and won their first outright championship. The Bruins stood by themselves again in 2004-05, going 14-2. Last year, they shared first place with Puget Sound, both teams at 13-3. This year was the first time the conference had back-to-back co-champions since the 1984 and 1985 seasons when Willamette and Pacific shared the title in both seasons.
* Bruins' 25 Wins Among Several New Records Set This Season
With their 71-55 win over Chapman in the first round of the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament on Mar. 7 in Tacoma, Wash., the Bruins established a new season record for wins with their 24th victory, surpassing the 23 wins reached in both the 1999-2000 (23-5) and 2000-01 (23-3) seasons. They extended that record to 25, improving to 25-4 overall, the following night with a 72-66 win at Puget Sound in the West regional finals. The Bruins long ago sewed up their 15th straight winning season, including one in each of coach Scott Rueck's 12 seasons at George Fox.
* Campbell Sets Free Throw Record, Just Misses Triple-Double
Senior forward Katy Campbell set a new George Fox record for best free throw percentage with only one miss when she sank 14-15 from the line for a .933 mark in the Bruins' 71-55 win over Chapman on Mar. 7 in the NCAA West Regional first-round game in Tacoma, Wash. The previous record was .929 (13-14) by Susie Davis vs. Western Oregon on Feb. 26, 1987. She made her first 14 attempts in the game but missed her final one, or she would have broken the record for best percentage with no misses of 1.000 (11-11) by Nancy Rissmiller vs. Hamline on Nov. 22, 1997.
The next night, in a 72-66 win at Puget Sound that propelled the Bruins into the "Sweet 16" round, Campbell nearly made history by becoming what might have been the first player in GFU women's basketball to post a triple-double. She finished the game with 16 points, a career-high 12 assists, and grabbed nine rebounds, one board short of the historic achievement. Her 12 assists were one off the Bruin record of 13 by Heidi Rueck (coach Scott Rueck's sister), which she accomplished twice vs. Linfield on Dec. 10, 1991, and vs. Northwest Nazarene on Feb. 19, 1993.
* 2007-08 Records
The Bruins have set or tied nine new records thus far in 2007-08:
- Most Wins, Season - 25 (breaks record of 23 set in 1999-2000 and 2000-01)
- Most Consecutive Wins - 12, 12/18-2/1 (previous record was 11, achieved 4 times)
- Most Points, Team, Game - 111 vs. Multnomah Bible, 11/16 (previous record was 105 vs. Western Baptist, 11/20/1992)
- Fewest Points Allowed, Team, Game - 13 vs. Multnomah Bible, 11/16 (previous record was 23 vs. Pacific, 2/22/2005)
- Largest Winning Margin, Team, Game - 98 (111-13) vs. Multnomah Bible, 11/16 (previous record was 76 vs. Columbia Christian, 104-28, 1/30/1993)
- Most Field Goals, Team, Game - 47 vs. Multnomah Bible, 11/16 (previous record was 44 vs. Columbia Christian, 1/30/1993)
- Most Assists, Team, Game - 34 vs. Multnomah Bible, 11/16 (previous record was 27 vs. Northwest Nazarene, 2/8/1991, and vs. Columbia Christian, 1/30/93)
- Lowest Opponents' Field Goal Pct., Team, Game - .105 (4-38) vs. Multnomah Bible, 11/16 (previous record was .136, 8-59 at Whitman, 2/19/2000)
- Best Free Throw Pct. (with a miss), Player, Game - .933 (14-15) by Katy Campbell vs. Chapman at Tacoma, Wash. (UPS), 3/7 (previous record was .929, 13-14, by Susie Davis vs. Western Oregon, 2/26/1987)
* NCAA Stats: Gap Narrows but Bruins Still No. 1 in Defense
George Fox remained the best defensive team in the nation in the latest NCAA statistics thru Mar. 9, allowing only 45.3 points per game to 47.0 for runner-up Mount St. Mary of New York. The Bruins have been atop the defensive stats in every report this season. The Bruins also ranked 8th in rebound margin (+11.2), 11th in scoring margin (+19.8) and fewest personal fouls (13.1), 14th in field goal pct. (.449), tied for 19th in won-lost pct. (.862), 20th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.363), 22nd in blocked shots (4.8), 23rd in field goal pct. defense (.338), 29th in 3-pt field goals (6.5), 33rd in free throw pct. (.736), 41st in fewest turnovers (16.3), and 63rd in assist/turnover ratio (0.86) ... The Bruins' 111 points vs. Multnomah Bible on Nov. 16 was tied for the 10th-most scoring in a game this season ... Individually, Katy Campbell was 14th in field goal pct. (.571) ... Melissa Marek-Farris was 30th in blocked shots (2.4) ...
* NWC Stats: Campbell 1st in FG Pct., Marek-Farris in Blocks
Where the Bruins rank in the latest Northwest Conference stats (thru Mar. 9):
Scoring Offense - 3rd (65.1)
Scoring Defense - 1st (45.3)
Scoring Margin - 1st (+19.8)
Field Goal Pct. - 1st (.449)
Field Goal Pct. Defense - 1st (.338)
3-Pt Field Goals - 2nd (6.48)
3-Pt Field Goal Pct. - 2nd (.363)
3-Pt Field Goal Pct. Defense - 1st (.272)
Free Throw Pct. - 1st (.736)
Rebounding Offense - 2nd (38.8)
Rebounding Defense - 1st (27.7)
Rebounding Margin - 1st (+11.2)
Assists - 2nd (14.03)
Blocked Shots - 1st (4.83)
Steals - 7th (7.14)
Turnover Margin - 7th (-0.72)
Assist/Turnover Ratio - 3rd (0.86)
- Katy Campbell is 1st in field goal pct. (.571), 4th in scoring (14.7), 5th in rebounding (7.7), free throw pct. (.798), 11th in assists (2.62), blocked shots (0.48) ...
- Melissa Marek-Farris is 1st in blocked shots (2.41), 2nd in field goal pct. (.553), 8th in free throw pct. (.743), rebounding (6.6), 14th in scoring (10.7) â?¦
- Tiffany Behary is 3rd in steals (2.03), 8th in assists (2.83), 6th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.388), 13th in 3-pt field goals (1.31) ...
- Jaime Hubka is 5th in 3-pt field goals (1.72), 7th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.388) ...
Click here for the latest NWC Statistics.
* Double-Doubles:
- Katy Campbell: career 17, season 10 - 13 pts/10 reb at Warner Pacific, 11/17; 11 pts/20 reb at Trinity TX, 11/24; 17 pts/11 reb at Northwest, 12/28; 15 pts/10 reb vs. Puget Sound, 1/5; 26 pts/10 reb at Linfield, 1/12; 16 pts/10 reb vs. Lewis & Clark, 1/18; 12 pts/11 reb at Lewis & Clark, 2/15; 26 pts/13 reb vs. Whitman, 2/23; 28 pts/10 reb vs. Chapman at Tacoma, Wash. (UPS), 3/7; 16 pts/12 ast at Puget Sound, 3/8
- Kaleigha Ramey: career 1, season 1 - 13 pts/11 reb at Whitworth, 1/26
- Melissa Marek-Farris: career 5, season 1 - 19 pts/10 reb vs. Linfield, 2/9
* Career Lists: Four Bruins Among Top 10 in Several Categories
- Katy Campbell scored 44 points in the Bruins' two West Regional games, giving her 1,086 career points, 9th on the all-time GFU scoring list. Ahead is Nicole Prazeau (1,133, 1998-2002). She became the 11th player in Bruin history to reach 1,000 with a layup in the first half against Whitman on Feb. 23. ... She had 19 rebounds in the two games, giving her 223 for the season and 739 in her career, 7th on the all-time GFU list. Ahead are Liz Clark (743, 2001-05) and Susie Davis (753, 1983-87) ... She was 10-18 on field goals in the games, giving her a career field goal pct. of .488 (396-812), 5th best all-time ... She was 22-25 on free throws, giving her a career free throw pct. of .764 (226-296), 7th best all-time ...
- Melissa Marek-Farris had 3 blocked shot in the Bruins' last two games, giving her 70 for the season and 174 in her career, 3rd on the all-time GFU list. Shawna Chandler (188, 1982-85) is 2nd ... She was 6-9 on field goals in the two games and has a career field goal pct. of .525 (255-486), 3rd-best all-time ...
- Tiffany Behary had 3 assists in the Bruins' last two games, giving her 82 this season and 270 in her career, 5th on the all-time list. Ahead is Marianne Funderhide (294, 1984-88) ... She had 4 steals in the two games, giving her 59 for the season and 184 in her career, 6th on the all-time GFU list. Ahead are Melody Groeneveld-McMaster (186, 1981-85) and Tracy Nelson (192, 1988-92) ... She was 5-6 in 3-pt field goals in the two games, giving her a career 3-pt field pct. of .374 (131-350), 6th best all-time ...
- Jaime Hubka was 6-11 in 3-pt field goals in the last two games, giving her a career 3-pt field goal pct. of .379 (94-248), 5th best all-time ...