Even though the George Fox women’s basketball team entered the season with experienced and talented players, the Bruins were probably picked fourth in the preseason poll for the ultra-competitive Northwest Conference because they had more questions than a standardized test.
“We had so many question marks this season,” George Fox coach Michael Meek said. “I didn’t think we were a fourth-place team and I could see a lot of good things happening for the team this year. I am glad they have had this type of season. Knowing the talent and the character of the players we had returning, we knew we had the potential to a do a lot better.
“We’ve generally been always picked to finish first, so this was something different and something as a staff we were able to use as motivation. We had a chance to be better than that.”
Let’s just say that the Bruins have slightly exceeded those preseason prognostications. All George Fox (31-0) has accomplished during a special season is go undefeated, escape its rugged conference and advance to its third final four in program history, its first since 2012.
“We had a lot to prove this year,” senior forward Dacia Heckendorf said. “Our focus has been to go 1-0 in every game. We knew at the start of the season that this was our last chance to get back to the Final Four. It’s been really special to do that with this type of team. This year, our team has done a really good job of buying into what the team has needed, finding their role and sacrificing certain things. It’s been special and we’ve all focused on the things that we’ve been able to control this year.”
