February 21, 2012

ALL-NWC: Gordon as POY, Meek as COY Highlight Bruins’ All-Conference Selections

NEWBERG, Ore. – Senior wing Keisha Gordon has been voted the Player of the Year and Michael Meek has been named the Coach of the Year, highlighting the accolades received by four George Fox University Bruins for the 2011-12 All-Northwest Conference Women's Basketball Teams as announced Tuesday by the league office.

Joining Gordon and Meek as Bruins recognized by the conference's nine coaches are junior center Hannah Munger, a First Team All-NWC selection for the third straight season, and senior wing Arianna Mohsenian, who received honorable mention for the second year in a row. Gordon was a Second Team All-NWC choice as a freshman and First Team All-NWC each of the last two years. Meek is being honored with the top coaching honors for the first time in his second season as the Bruins' coach.

Gordon, who hails from Vancouver, Wash., has compiled yet another fine all-around season, ranking in the top 10 in the conference in seven statistical categories. She ranks second in field goal pct. (.544) and steals (2.6 spg), third in assist/turnover ratio (1.9), fifth in assists (3.1 apg), seventh in 3-pt pct. (.365), ninth in scoring (13.4 ppg), and 10th in rebounding (6.0 rpg). She also has a .703 free throw percentage and has made 24 three-pointers. In NCAA national statistics, she is 47th in assist / turnover ratio.

Gordon has reached double figures in points 21 times and in rebounds four times this year, including three double-doubles. She had a season-high 23 points at Whitworth University, and 12 rebounds vs. Northwest University (Wash.) and Lewis & Clark College. She also had highs of six assists vs. Chapman University and at Lewis & Clark, and a career-high seven steals at Concordia University-Portland.

Gordon was the Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week four times this season, received honorable mention for the Northwest Conference Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week six times, and was the MVPof the Posada Royale Thanksgiving Classic in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

In career stats, Gordon is second in all-time scoring at George Fox with 1,620 points, and is only 10 away from setting a new record for points, which would move her past Melody Groeneveld-McMaster's record 1,629 points from 1985-89. She is already the Bruins' career leader in steals with 271, and ranks fourth all-time in assists with 317, seventh in free throw percentage at .774, and ninth in rebounds with 695.

In addition to garnering four All-NWC honors in her career, Gordon was named to the NCAA Division III All-West Region Second Team in 2010-11, and was a pre-season Third Team All-America choice by D3hoops.com.

Meek, a highly-successful Oregon high school coach with a 264-79 record and five state championships in 13 seasons at La Grande and Beaverton Southridge, has continued that success since entering the college ranks last year. In his first season, he led the Bruins to a 25-6 record, a share of the NWC regular season crown and the NWC Tournament title, and the 'Elite 8' in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

This season, Meek has guided the Bruins to their second perfect 25-0 regular-season record in four years (the 2008-09 team went on to win the national championship with a 32-0 record under Scott Rueck, now at Oregon State University). The Bruins have captured their sixth straight NWC championship and posted their third undefeated conference season of 16-0 in the last four years. George Fox is currently ranked No. 3 in both the D3hoops.com and USA Today / ESPN / Women's Basketball Coaches Association national polls, and No. 1 in the West Region by NCAA Division III National Championship Selection Committee.

In less than two full seasons, Meek has led the Bruins to a 50-6 overall record, picking up his milestone 50th win with a 75-59 victory at Pacific Lutheran University on Feb. 19.

Munger, playing in her hometown of Newberg, Ore., has become one of the most dominant and game-changing players in all of Division III. At 6-5, she is already the Bruins' all-time leader in blocked shots with 292, and is just four blocks away from moving into a tie for 25th on the list of Division III career leaders. She currently ranks eighth in the nation in blocked shots (3.7 bspg) and 17th in field goal percentage (.551), both figures No. 1 in the conference. She is also second in the NWC in rebounding (9.9 rpg) and eighth in scoring (13.7 ppg).

Munger has scored in double figures 19 times this year, with a high of 25 points at Concordia-Portland, and reached twin digits in rebounds 12 times, with a high of 18 vs. Northwest. She has recorded 11 double-doubles in points and rebounds, giving her 36 for her career. She has achieved a season high eight blocks twice, vs. Northwest and at Concordia, and handed out five assists vs. the University of Puget Sound.

Munger was the Bruin Athletic Association Women's Athlete of the Week twice this season, was the Northwest Conference Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week once and received honorable mention once, and was selected to the Posada Royale Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

On other George Fox career lists, Munger stands second in field goal percentage (.555), fifth in rebounds (814), and eighth in scoring (1,226). Last year, she set a new single-season record with 502 points, posted the third-highest single-season totals for rebounds with 313, and as a freshman had the second-highest single-season blocked shots total with 107.

Mohsenian, a native of Yakima, Wash., is one of the top defensive players and most-dangerous three-point shooters in the conference. She leads the NWC in assist/turnover ratio (2.1) with 62 assists and only 29 turnovers, while ranking fifth in three-point field goals (43, T), sixth in three-point pct. (.374), and 10th in assists (2.5 apg). She also averages 7.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.

Mohsenian has posted double figures in points five times, with a high of 20 in the season opener vs. Corban University. She grabbed nine rebounds vs. Worcester State College, handed out six assists at Pacific University and vs. Linfield, blocked three shots vs. Lewis & Clark, and made four steals vs. Corban for her season highs.