Bruins` Campbell, Rueck Take All-NWC Player, Coach of the Year Honors

Campbell was the only player to earn NWC Player of the Week three times this season.

Salem-News.com SPORTS

NEWBERG - Junior forward Katy Campbell was named Player of the Year and head coach Scott Rueck won Coach of the Year honors, highlighting the selection of four George Fox University Bruins to the 2006-07 All-Northwest Conference women’s basketball teams as voted on by the league’s nine coaches.

Joining Campbell and Rueck on the All-Conference squads were senior wing Robin Taylor, a First Team choice, and junior center Melissa Marek-Farris, who was named to the Second Team.

All were key components of a George Fox team that is 17-6 overall, won the conference co-championship with a 13-3 record, and hosts the NWC Tournament title game Saturday night against the University of Puget Sound for an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

Campbell was the only player to earn NWC Player of the Week three times this season, including the final two weeks of the regular season as the Bruins were driving toward the conference crown.

An all-round talent, she leads the league in rebounding (8.7 rpg) and is fourth in field goal percentage (.505) and free throw percentage (.803), ninth in scoring (11.3 ppg), and 13th in assists (2.17).

During the season, she reached double figures in scoring 14 times and rebounds eight times, with four double-doubles.

She was the Bruins’ leading scorer six times and top rebounder nine times, with highs of 21 points vs. Lewis & Clark in the title-clinching game and 14 rebounds vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater and Lewis & Clark.

She was an honorable mention All-NWC selection last year.

Her career free throw percentage of .739 (122-165) now ranks 10th on the all-time list at GFU, and with 484 career rebounds, she is only 60 away from the top 10.

She earned the Bruin Athletic Association’s Women’s Athlete of the Week at George Fox five times this season.

Campbell is from Springfield, Ore., and Thurston High School.

Taylor, a Second Team All-NWC selection last year when she led the league in field goal percentage (.525), stepped up a level this season.

She currently ranks fourth in the conference in scoring (12.4 pgg ), fifth in free throw pct. (.800), assists (2.43, T), and assist/turnover ratio (1.22), eighth in three-point field goals (1.26), 12th in three-point percentage (.287), and 14th in rebounding (5.1 rpg).

She scored in double figures 16 times, including 20 or more points three times, with a season-high 22 vs. Northwest.

She posted her first career double-double when she had 13 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Pacific, and also had highs of six assists vs. Whitworth and four steals vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater.

She led the team in scoring six times and in rebounds five times.

She won the Bruin Athletic Association’s Women’s Athlete of the Week award three times this season.

In her four-year career, she has scored 949 points, passed for 170 assists, and made 120 steals, all ranking in the top 15 in Bruin history. She is 11th in career field goal percentage (.444) and seventh in free throw pct. (.775).

Taylor is from Bend, Ore., and Mountain View High School.

Marek-Farris stepped into the starting lineup this season and immediately became one of the most intimidating defensive presences in the league.

Her average of 2.48 blocked shots a game leads the conference by a wide margin and ranks 35th nationally, and she also leads the league in field goal percentage (.551) while standing sixth in rebounding (6.7 rpg), 10th in scoring (11.0 pgg), and 15th in free throw percentage (.642).

She reached double figures in points 15 times and rebounds five times, with four double-doubles, including career highs of 22 points and 14 rebounds vs. Pacific Lutheran.

She also blocked a high of six shots vs. PLU.

She was the top scorer for the Bruins in points and rebounds seven time each. She was NWC Player of the Week for Jan. 1st-7th, and twice received the Bruin Athletic Association’s Women’s Athlete of the Week award.

Her 57 blocked shots this season are the eighth-most in a single season, and with 93 career blocks, she is already third on the all-time list GFU.

Her .519 career field goal accuracy (147-283) is also third on the GFU career chart.

Marek-Farris is from Glide, Ore., and Glide High School.

Rueck, whose 11-year record at George Fox stands at 201-79 (.718), earned his fourth Coach of the Year award after leading the Bruins from a predicted fourth-place finish to first place.

He was also honored by his colleagues in 1999-2000, 2000-01 (Co-Coach), and 2004-05.

In each of those seasons, he guided the Bruins to NCAA post-season berths, including the “Sweet 16” in ’00 and the “Elite 8” in ’05.

The winningest coach in GFU women’s basketball history, he picked up his 200th win on Feb. 16th when the Bruins defeated Pacific Lutheran 65-52.

Rueck is a native of Hillsboro, Ore., and a graduate of Oregon State University.

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