LINFIELD UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL VERSUS GEORGE FOX • JANUARY 23, 2026

WELCOME TO LINFIELD UNIVERSITY

Chase Fisk, Kelly Bird STATISTICS

Rheese Heim, Emerson Teller

SCOREBOARD

Katie Putnam, Sam Haynes

Ethan Klein

PUBLIC ADDRESS

Steve Oleson

VIDEO WEBCASTS

Joe Stuart, Eric Albios

Maddie Funk, Kalina Zagyva

OFFICIAL SCORER

Mia McCormack

EVENT PROGRAM

Kelly Bird, Chase Fisk

Felipe Unker, Kalina Zagyva

WILDCAT SPOTLIGHT

culture club

The tight-knit women’s basketball program and community were major selling points in drawing Tana Hoekema to Linfield

by kalina zagyva ’29

Tana Hoekema considers the Wildcat women’s basketball team to be amazingly resilient.

“We really pride ourselves on adapting to adversity,” says the center from Everson, Washington, a small town of about 3,000 nestled close to the Canadian border. “When things aren’t going our way or our shots are failing, we want to control the controllables because we can’t control everything.”

In a sport where the game moves at such a fast pace, Hoekema says it’s the responsibility of each player to focus on what they can contribute to the team. “We can always control defense and the next possession.”

Hoekema attributes the Wildcats’ growing success to a positive team dynamic. “We all really like each other…we’re all best friends.” The Wildcats often spend time together outside of the sport, an as Hoekema says, “I feel like that makes us even better on the court.”

As a team, Hoekema believes the club’ communication, which has been thoroughly developed throughout their time together this season and during prior years.

“We’re able to talk and communicate very well on the court. That goes hand in hand with being so close…it’s like I know what this person is going to do because I know them so well. I feel like that helps lead to success.”

Being such a tight-knit group, the women aren’t afraid to talk through the issues they face on the court, which further boosts their performance and bond as players. The culture on the team is just one of the factors that contributed towards last year’s successful season, the first winning campaign the Wildcat women have enjoyed in nearly a decade.

This winter, Hoekema has set the goal to elevate the team even higher.

“We’d like to continue that success this year and do even better.” To accomplish that, the team has a plan in place. “Every game, we have little goals for ourselves,” such as limiting turnovers and limiting the opposing team’s shots from inside the key. “If we excel at every single one, we should win.”

As the team is breaking down their route to success, Hoekema notes that they’re also balancing instruction towards a large freshman class.

After losing just one senior from last year squad, Linfield added seven new players to the roster.

The successful recruiting cycle has been met with the challenge of getting all the players adjusted to the fundamentals of playing at the college level.

“Teaching seven people our plays and our culture difficult at first,” she says. “Now we’re into conference play, we’re super excited because we’ve been working so hard every day.”

Hoekema says she’s passionate about taking on a mentorship role. “I want to be that person that (first-year players) come to with questions or anything they need.”

While at Nooksack Valley High School, Hoekema played both basketball and volleyball for four years. “I did lots of sports growing up, but I really loved basketball…I just love team sports, it’s bigger than myself and I thrive on that and I thrive on everyone wanting to win.”

During high school, she helped lead Nooksack Valley to back-toback WIAA 1A state championships during her junior and senior years. Following that success, Hoekema realized her love for basketball outweighed that of volleyball and decided to pursue the sport in college. During her college search, she connected with Linfield through basketball. “It wasn’t really on my radar until the coaches reached out to me,” says Hoekema, who at 6-foot-1, is Linfield’s tallest player. “I wasn’t sure about my college plans, so the coaches definitely persuaded me to come here.”

She recalls feeling a sense of belonging upon hearing the coaches say they had a spot for her and expressing their desire for her to join the team. For Hoekema, the university’s tight-knit community is a highlight of what Linfield has to offer.

Outside of basketball, Hoekema describes being inspired by her psychology major. “I grew up doing foster care.” Her family has helped several kids through this system and Hoekema has relished the positive and life-changing experiences. “We adopted my sister through foster care. She’s the greatest light of my life.”

Looking to the future, Hoekema plans to become involved in the foster care system through psychology.

“I really want to help kids with my degree, especially foster kids…I could see myself doing that because I’ve been around it almost my whole life, and they always need people who can help.”

Hoekema’s career plan begins at Linfield before moving on to graduate school and then jumping into the profession.

As Tana Hoekema gives her full effort this basketball season, she reinforces her vision for a resilient, successful and happy team in mind. “We’re all here to have fun. Winning is just a plus.”

WOMEN’S COACH CASEY BUNN-WILSON

pointing in the right direction

CCoach Casey Bunn-Wilson has the Linfield women’s basketball program aiming for a Northwest Conference championship oming off a record-tying 18-win season in 2024-25, Casey Bunn-Wilson enters her 11th season as head women’s basketball coach at Linfield with the goal of claiming the program’s first Northwest Confernece championship. equaling the team record for most wins in a single campaign while guiding the Wildcats to a coveted berth in the Northwest Conference Tournament.

During her first year with the Wildcats, she helped guide the women to the program’s first winning record in five seasons (13-12) and a share of sixth place in the Northwest Conference, one of the premier women’s basketball leagues in NCAA Division III. In 201819, the Wildcats reached the NWC Tournament despite a competing with an injury depleted roster.

Bunn-Wilson spent three seasons as girls basketball coach at Tualatin High School, compiling a 39-32 win-loss record while leading the Timberwolves to three straight OSAA Class 6A state playoff appearances. Prior to Tualatin, she spent two seasons as an assistant girls basketball coach at Lake Oswego High School.

At Oregon State University, Bunn-Wilson led the Pacific-10 Conference in scoring as a senior in 2007, averaging 20.0 points per game. That season, she averaged 37.9 minutes, 6.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per contest. Appearing in 122 games with 70 starting assignments, Bunn-Wilson concluded her career with 1,163 points, ninth-most in Beavers history and her 679 career rebounds rank seventh all-time.

She graduated from OSU with a bachelor’s degree in Public Health Promotion and Education.

A star athlete at Stayton High School, Bunn-Wilson earned varsity letters in basketball, volleyball, softball and track. On the basketball court, she was a four-time all-state, all-region and allconference honoree. The Capital Conference Player of the Year

for three straight seasons, Bunn-Wilson led Stayton to the league championship her freshman and junior seasons. She set SHS career records for points (1,831), rebounds (783), assists (342) and steals (306) and went on to represent Stayton in the Oregon Class 3A AllStar game following graduation.

Bunn-Wilson played professionally in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Australia. While competing overseas, she earned allleague honors on the Portuguese All-Star team.

She is co-founder and director of the Jr. Energy youth basketball program, a skills development program geared toward girls in grades 4-12 throughout the Portland area. In its fifth year, Jr. Energy’s mission is to introduce young female athletes to an advanced level of coaching and competition that takes their basketball skills to a higher level.

At Linfield, Bunn-Wilson also co-directs the athletic department’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

She and her husband, Mitch, live in McMinnville with their young sons, Rylan and Dawson.

Sixth-year assistant Jeremy Vandenboer previously spent four years as head women’s basketball coach at Mount Hood Community College, leading the Saints to back-to-back 20-win seasons. Prior to joining the Mount Hood staff, Vandenboer helped lead the Corban men’s team to the 2015-16 NAIA Cascade Conference playoffs. From 2013-15, he coached boys basketball at Auburn Adventist Academy High School in Washington, leading the team to its first-ever state appearance.

PROUD PARTNER OF LINFIELD ATHLETICS

MEET THE LINFIELD WOMEN

Back row (l to r): Miki Vermeulen, Logan Roberts, Evelyn Melis, Sydney Newby, Tana Hoekema, Assistant Coach Jeremy Vandenboer, Head Coach Casey Bunn-Wilson, Madison Huntley, Skylar Willey, Natalie Rosetti, Mia Thompson, Madison Barter. Front row: Allie Mead, Eve Burke, Jordan Roberts, Dylan Cheney, Willow Ishibashi-To, Amelia Solt, Ella Koebelin, Kate Townsend, Laurel Quinn, Jayden Ray, Lauren Buchanan.

MEET THE LINFIELD WOMEN

LINFIELD WOMEN

GEORGE FOX WOMEN

LINFIELD WOMEN VERSUS GEORGE FOX

Safely

game PREVIEW

THE RECORDS

Linfield enters tonight’s matchup leading the Northwest Conference at 13-2 and 6-0 in conference play. The Bruins sit in third place in the NWC at 5-2 and 9-7 overall following a doubledigit victory Tuesday night over Pacific.

LINFIELD AT A GLANCE

Linfield has won a program record six-consecutive games in conference play, previously upsetting the Puget Sound Loggers on the road, handing UPS their first NWC loss of the season. Finding production from up and down the lineup, the ‘Cats have been primarily led by Eve Burke, who recorded a double-double versus Willamette and averaged over 10 points and more than 8 rebounds per game in three games last week.

GEORGE FOX AT A GLANCE

The Bruins have been led offensively this season by Hanne Hopkins, who ranks second in the NWC in scoring, averaging 13.9 points per game and shooting 46.5% from the field. Meanwhile, Paige Macduff has the second-highest shooting percentage in the conference, shooting 56% from the field on 65 attempts in 14 games played.

SERIES HISTORY

George Fox has won 66 of 91 matchups with Linfield all-time, although the Wildcats won the most recent meeting, 63-54, in Newberg last season. The last six contests are split 3-3, but Linfield has prevailed over GFU just three times inside Ted Wilson Gymnasium in the last 25 years.

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NORTHWEST CONFERENCE

women’s basketball STANDINGS

MEN’S COACH ELIJAH GURASH

embracing change

Taking on his first head coaching assignment, Elijah Gurash relishes the challenge of rebuilding the Linfield basketball program

Joining the Linfield staff in the spring of 2025, Elijah Gurash embarks on his first collegiate head coaching assignment as he takes the reins of the Linfield men’s basketball program this winter.

Gurash arrived at Linfield after serving one year as the lead assistant coach at Buena Vista University, a Division III institution in Storm Lake, Iowa.

No stranger to the Pacific Northwest, Gurash served as a top assistant at Whitworth University for six seasons. During his time in Spokane, the Pirates went a combined 116-41, captured three Northwest Conference championships, three NWC Tournament titles and reached the NCAA Division III Tournament four times.

Prior to joining the Whitworth staff, Gurash spent 15 years coaching at the high school level in North Carolina, West Virginia and Washington state, first as an assistant boys basketball coach for seven seasons and later as a head varsity coach for eight seasons.

An all-state basketball player, Gurash began his collegiate playing career at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.

He concluded his playing career at Northwest Christian University (now Bushnell University) in Eugene.

Gurash earned a bachelor’s degree from Bushnell in 2001 and went on to complete a master’s degree at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland in 2007.

He has also published his own book, entitled, “Jesus is a Baller: Reflections on the Fundamentals of Basketball.”

Elijah, and his wife, Katy, are raising three children: Xander, Oliver and Isla Grace.

matt gehrke, assistant coach

New assistant coach Matt Gehrke brings over 20 years of coaching experience at the AAU level in the greater Portland area. Gehrke is the founder and director of G-Elite Basketball, an AAU program that has helped develop young studentathletes into successful collegiate basketball players.

MEET THE LINFIELD MEN

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LINFIELD MEN

GEORGE FOX MEN

LINFIELD MEN VERSUS GEORGE FOX

The Wildcats enter the week at 5-9 overall and 3-3 in the Northwest Conference. Following a 111-107 overtime win at home over Pacific on Tuesday that snapped an 11-game losing skid, the Bruins are 2-14 and 1-6 in the NWC this season.

Linfield went 2-1 last week, knocking off the Willamette Bearcats at home before handing the Puget Sound Loggers their first loss in NWC play at Tacoma. Senior guard Dayton Magaña has been the primary scoring threat for the ‘Cats. Logan Morrill carded a double-double last week while posting a new career-high in rebounds. Garrett Callsen served as the hero in the win over Puget Sound, sinking a buzzer-beating putback to secure the

Freshman guard Sydney Natche has been a bright spot for the Bruins, averaging 18.0 points per game with the most attempts on the roster. Noah Marte handles the bulk of the three-point shooting, converting 37 of 104 attempts. While the George Fox offense ranks No. 5 in the NWC, the defense ranks ninth,

Linfield owns a 63-51 advantage in the all-time series. The Wildcats have lost just four matchups over the last 10 seasons with three of those defeats coming in Newberg. The Bruins and Wildcats split the season series a year ago with George Fox

NORTHWEST CONFERENCE

men’s basketball STANDINGS

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THE TOPCAT CLUB

Linfield University TopCat Club serves as a support organization to the 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports teams and the more than 500 students who participate in athletics each year. Each year, support from the TopCat Club is essential to maintaining and expanding each of these mission of the TopCat Club is to provide students with an outstanding athletic and academic experience and to strengthen the overall competitiveness of the overall Linfield athletics program. Linfield, we continually strive to improve programs and facilities so that our teams may compete at the highest level. Roughly 75 percent of the athletic department’s annual operating budget comes from the university’s general fund. The remainder is generated through a wide variety of external sources, including annual gifts to the Linfield TopCat

o learn more about giving opportunities, please visit the TopCat Club website at www.linfieldtopcat.com.

LINFIELD DANCE

LINFIELD CHEER

KEEPING TABS ON THE

All Linfield Sports Network webcasts are now carried on FloSports, a conference-wide pay-to-watch platform

Linfield University has joined together with its eight fellow Northwest Conference institutions in support of a new partnership with streaming provider FloSports to offer live and on-demand video coverage of nearly every athletic event Linfield participates in

An annual subscription costs $107.88 ($8.99 per month). A monthly subscription runs $19.99.

Linfield students, faculty and staff with linfield.edu email addresses will enjoy discounted rates of $71.88 per year ($5.99/ month) or $9.99 if purchased monthly.

Schools are expected to receive annual investments from FloSports to build and expand broadcast capabilities and make other investments within the athletic department. Linfield personnel will continue to staff and operate all home broadcasts.

“Entering into this agreement with FloSports was a conferencewide decision,” said Linfield Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Brosius. “While it does represent a change in how our streams are viewed, we do believe this partnership signifies a positive step forward. We anticipate increased quality of our streams conferencewide, as well as programming allowing viewers to watch college sports not just from within our conference, but from all across the country. This is the direction other Division III conferences are moving toward. Many of our out-of-conference competitions already require a FloSports subscription.”

As Brosius noted, FloSports subscribers will have the capability to access more than 40,000 events nationwide spanning 25 different sports.

WATCHING flosports MADE EASY

To establish a FloSports account, head to go.flocollege.com/partner/nwc

REGULAR RATES

$107.88 ANNUALLY

$19.99 MONTHLY

STUDENTS & STAFF RATES

$71.88 ANNUALLY

$9.99 MONTHLY

FloSports expects to deliver live and on-demand coverage of Linfield events across 15 different sports: Football, volleyball, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s wrestling, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s tennis, baseball, softball, and women’s lacrosse. Northwest Conference Championship events in all sports except golf and cross country will also be streamed as part of the annual agreement.

Beyond live competition, FloSports plans to invest in original content and storytelling initiatives online and across social media aimed at elevating the profile of NWC student-athletes and institutions. The NWC joins several of its regular non-conference opponents in partnering with FloSports, the industry leader and primary media rights partner for Division III conferences.

Each year, FloSports will provide a global platform to live stream over 800 regular-season and postseason events.

FloSports is available via web, mobile apps (iOS and Android), and streaming platforms including Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV. The FloSports app is expected to be pre-installed on most topselling Smart TVs in the U.S. this year.

LINFIELD SPORTS NETWORK

follow the ’cats home and away via live stream

The Linfield Sports Network again brings fans live action of all home Linfield basketball games during 2025-26. Fans can enjoy live video webcasts with play-by-play commentary on their computer, tablet, mobile device or smart TV. Live coverage begins 15 minutes prior to the start of each game. Broadcasts include a complete postgame wrap-up with analysis and statistical breakdown. Linfield will also provide live audio-only webcasts of all of the Wildcats’ Northwest Conference road contests.

McMinnville native Joe Stuart begins his seventh season as the playby-play voice of the basketball Wildcats. The 2020 Linfield graduate is the Athletics Broadcast Operations Coordinator, managing all aspects of Linfield’s webcasting outreach and handling lead play-by-play duties on Linfield football, baseball and softball webcasts in addition to basketball. Stuart also assists with other external sports communications and social media needs.

All LSN broadcasts, both live and on demand, can be accessed via the FloSports platform at go.flocollege.com/partner/nwc using the Linfield Athletics app, your desktop computer, mobile device or smart TV.

ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME

The Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame is regarded as one of the most impressive athletic showcases in NCAA Division III

The Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame, sponsored by Pacific Office Automation, was established in 1998 as an means to honor former outstanding athletes, coaches, staff and contributors and to preserve the memory of their past achievements.

A new class of inductees is honored at the Hall of Fame Banquet each fall. Inductees are chosen from a list of submitted nominations and voted upon by the Hall of Fame Executive and Selection Committees. The 20-member panel is made up of current and former staff members, past inductees, a member of the media, and a former athlete representing each of the preceding six decades.

Nominations may be submitted by any interested person but must be submitted in writing using an official nomination form. Hall of Fame nominations are considered in any one of six categories: Athlete, Coach, Team, Athletics Staff, and Meritorious Service. Nominations must be accompanied by appropriate background information. Nominations are now accepted online. The deadline to submit nominations each year is March 1.

Athletes, through athletic achievement, must have brought distinction and honor to themselves, to Linfield University and to its intercollegiate program. Athletes are eligible for induction 10 years following their graduation class. Coaches, athletic administrators, or athletic staff members must have served on the staff for at least 10 years. At the time of induction, they must no longer be active in that position. Individual non-athletes, who in some manner have made extraordinary contributions to the success of the intercollegiate athletic program, may be considered for a meritorious service award. Eligibility of teams is based upon exceptional accomplishment at and above the conference level, with the team ranking among the nation’s elite.

Housed within the Paul Durham Lobby and Foyer, the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame and Hall of Champions is regarded as one of the most impressive athletic showcases of any NCAA Division III program in the country. Matching 55-inch touch-screen monitors chronicle the expansive array of Hall of Fame inductees. Visitors to the Hall of Fame can read details about each inductee as well as search by name, sport, classification and year of induction. The electronic displays provide access to summaries of every national champion, both team and individual, plus listings of major award winners.

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