Veteran Bruins Seek Repeat of NWC Title and NCAA Tournament

11/15/2007 12:15 PM - article care of Blair Cash - George Fox University

11/15 - Women's Basketball -
2007-2008 Season Preview:

NEWBERG, Ore. - With a veteran roster that includes seven seniors, four returning starters, and 13 letterwinners in all back, the George Fox University Bruins have high hopes of picking up where they left off last March and extending their 2007-08 season even further.

The Bruins are coming off a 19-7 campaign in which they tied for the Northwest Conference championship at 13-3, defeated co-champion University of Puget Sound in the NWC Tournament title game, and went 1-1 in the NCAA Division III West Regional. George Fox was ranked 25th in both final national polls. It was the 14th straight winning season for the Bruins, 11 of them under veteran coach Scott Rueck, who brings a 203-80 record and .717 winning percentage into the new year.

Others around the country certainly see the Bruins as one of the top teams in the nation. Coaches in the Northwest Conference have established the Bruins as the favorites to repeat as league champions. In the D3hoops.com pre-season poll, George Fox was picked 21st, while the USA Today / ESPN / WBCA poll tabbed them 26th.

"We are blessed to have a group of outstanding post players," says Rueck. "I look for us to once again have an inside-out attack and be able to score the ball no matter what our opponents give us. We have some big shoes to fill this season with loss of Robin Taylor, and I am confident our guards will rise to the occasion."

The Bruins' inside strength begins with 2006-07 NWC Player of the Year Katy Campbell (6-1 Sr., Springfield, Ore. / Thurston HS) and Second Team All-NWC Melissa Marek-Farris (6-1 Sr., Glide, Ore. / Glide HS). Campbell, who also earned Second Team All-West Region honors and is a pre-season Fourth Team All-American as selected by D3hoops.com, averaged 11.4 points and a league-leading 8.9 rebounds a game. Marek-Farris averaged 10.4 points and 6.8 rebounds a game while pacing the conference and ranking 23rd nationally in blocked shots with 2.6 per game.

"Katy took her game to a different level last February and March, especially on the offensive end," recalls Rueck. "She began to recognize that we needed her to be a 'go-to' scorer and that she was capable of providing that for us. This year is certainly no different; we need her to create offense for us each night. Melissa has worked hard in the off-season to expand her game offensively. She has become a scoring threat away from the block and we all will benefit from her efforts. I am excited to watch the two of them this season."

The Bruins are deep at the post with Kristen Shielee (6-3 Jr., Gresham, Ore. / Gresham HS), Elise Kuenzi (5-9 So., Silverton, Ore. / Silverton HS), and Kelsi Leach (6-0 So., Placentia, Calif. / El Dorado HS) as returnees and newcomer Jordan Westering (6-0 Fr., Puyallup, Wash. / Rogers HS). Shielee averaged 2.4 points and 3.5 rebounds a game, and her 1.3 blocks shots per game would have been second in the league but she was one game short of qualifying for conference stats. Kuenzi had 4.7 ppg and 3.3 rpg, while Leach had 1.3 ppg and 1.5 rpg in limited time.

"Kristen has always been a formidable shot-blocking presence in the middle and she has made a lot of progress this off-season," comments Rueck, "She is in the best condition of her life, and it is great to see her be a little quicker and jump a little higher. Elise, who can also play a wing, brings tremendous energy to the game and will play a big role for us inside and out. Kelsi has improved immensely and is tough to guard because of her ability to score one on one in the post and from the perimeter. Jordan does a lot of the things that Katy does, going outside to shoot the three as well as playing with her back to the basket. She will become another in the long line of great post players we have had over the years."

At one wing, the graduated Taylor, a First Team All-NWC selection, gave the Bruins 13.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game, and finished as the No. 9 all-time scorer in George Fox history with 1,006 career points. The front-runner for her slot appears to be Kali Ramey (5-8 Sr., Spokane, Wash. / Northwest Christian HS), who averaged 3.5 ppg last year, but Mandee Spotts (6-1 Sr., Hillsboro, Ore. / Century HS) and MaryAnne Samples (5-10 So., Kennewick, Wash. / Kennewick HS) are also available. Spotts averaged 1.6 ppg and Samples 1.5 ppg in limited action last season.

"Kali has been doing a great job on both ends of the floor and will be counted on to play a big role for us," observes Rueck. "She is an amazing athlete and an explosive scorer. Mandee has been playing well and is rising to the occasion in her final year; she is a scoring threat every time she touches the ball. MaryAnne has a great understanding of the game, is an excellent passer, and can handle the ball like a point guard. I can see her playing some point as we did occasionally last year."

Jaime Hubka (5-7 Sr., Bellingham, Wash. / Sehome HS) returns at the other wing and will be looking to increase her 4.8 scoring average of a year ago. She was second on the team with 30 three-point field goals. Says Rueck, "Jaime is a great defender as well as a consistent shooter - she hit over 40 percent of her three-pointers last season - and we anticipate more of the same this year."

The Bruins have an unusual situation at the point guard position with, in effect, two starters. Tiffany Behary (5-6 Sr., Lake Oswego, Ore. / Lake Oswego HS) started there for the Bruins in '05 and '06 before transferring to Oregon State University for last fall. B.B. Gardner (5-4 So., Zigzag, Ore. / Sandy HS) stepped into the role and remained there even after Behary returned to George Fox and the basketball team in mid-season. Both saw plenty of playing time, Behary averaging 6.5 points and 1.8 assists and Gardner 2.4 and 2.0 assists per game, and they will again.

"We are blessed to have two players capable of starting and being successful floor leaders," says Rueck. "Tiffany is a scoring guard and provides us offense, which is important as we find ways to make up for the loss of Robin. B.B. may be the best on-ball defender I have ever coached. Both do a great job of taking care of the ball and controlling the floor. They will share time at the point."

Lindsay Keener (5-7 So., Kenai, Alaska / Kenai Central HS), returns and provides depth at both the point and the wing. Nicole Hudson (5-8 Sr., Redmond, Ore. / Redmond HS), a wing who averaged 3.7 points after two seasons with Division I St. Francis University in Pennsylvania, is out for several weeks with a stress fracture and will play a valuable role when she returns.

Defense will continue to be an emphasis for the Bruins this season after leading the league in '07 in scoring defense (51.8 ppg, 15th nationally), opponents' field goal percentage defense (.337, 18th nationally), and blocked shots (4.42 bspg, 41st nationally).

"It is our goal each year to be the best defensive team in our conference," Rueck professes. "This year, we are pretty athletic and have a couple of shot blockers, so we hope to make every possession a difficult one for our opponents. Offensively, we like to play fast when we can to take advantage of our speed, but we will also have the ability to execute in the half-court game. I think we should be pretty hard to guard."

The Bruins open the new season at home on Friday, Nov. 16, against Multnomah Bible College at 7:00 p.m., then visit Warner Pacific College Saturday, Nov. 17, also at 7:00 p.m. Multnomah's Lions, who are in their first year of women's basketball, are 1-6 as a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association. Warner Pacific's Knights, who went 12-18 last year and are members of the NAIA, are 1-1 this season and will be playing their home opener.