Mount Hood

Women’s basketball drops first two games of the season

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

WOU’s woman’s basketball team fell to California State East Bay University (CSEBU) 57-42 on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015 in their first regular season game of the year.

The Wolves came out flat in the opening four minutes of the game until junior Jordan Mottershaw (G) would get on the scoreboard with a pair of free throws.

CSEBU’s defense held Western to only 14 first half points, and the Pioneers would maintain a 26-14 lead going into half time.

In the second half, the Wolfpack would come within six points of CSU on multiple occasions but the Pioneers would answer with mini scoring runs of their own.

Mottershaw led the Wolves in scoring with 15 points. Junior Kelsey Henry (F) and junior Launia Davis (G) each had eight points coming off the bench.

Then on the following day, Saturday, Nov. 14, WOU lost in a hotly contested game to California State Monterey Bay (CSMB) 59-50.

After the Wolves seized the lead in the first minutes of the game, the Otters took advantage of a WOU cold stretch and CSMB would outscore Western 13-5 to finish out the first quarter.
The Otters continued to build on their lead in the second quarter taking a 30-17 lead into half time.

Western showed grit and determination, chipping away at the Otters lead late in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter.

The Wolves came within a basket of tying the game during this stretch, but CSMB would answer back with scoring runs to seal an Otters victory.

Western struggled from the field, making 17 of 54 field goal attempts and finished with a shooting percentage of 31.

Sophomore Sydney Azorr (G) was the only Wolf in double figures and finished with 10 points, four steals and two assists. Mottershaw and senior Emily Howey each had nine points.
The Wolves echelles heel so far for the season has been turnovers and free throw shooting. In the first two regular season games the Wolves have committed 38 turnovers and shot slightly above 50 percent from the stripe.

A bright spot for the Wolves is rebounding. In the first two games, Western has averaged 38 rebounds per game. They are also averaging 7.5 steals per game.
The Wolves next two games are back-to-back home games in the WOU/Hampton Inn D2 Shootout.

The first is on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 2 p.m. against California State University, Chico. The second is on Sunday, Nov. 22, also at 2 p.m. against The Evergreen State College.

Both games are to be held at the New P.E. Building. You can order tickets online and pick them up at will call, or purchase them from the box office on game day.

Volleyball snatches comeback victory in final home game

By: Grace Knapp Staff Writer

Emotions ran high as Western’s volleyball team fought to stay alive against Montana State Billings (MSB) in their final home game of the season on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015.

With an incredible comeback victory, the Wolves overcame a two set deficit to surpass MSB in three straight sets.

The set scores were 15-25, 18-25, 26-24, 25-22 and 15-9.

The narrow victory over MSB (6-21, 5-13) boosted WOU’s ranking three spots in the GNAC, taking the Wolves (8-19, 5-13) from tenth to a 4-way tie for seventh with Seattle Pacific University, Montana State Billings and University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The Wolves started slowly and found themselves with their backs against the wall as they were down two sets.

Redshirt-freshman Amanda Short (OH) shifted the momentum of the game by blasting a kill to win the intense rally. Western would come out victorious in the third set to stay alive in the match.

Starting slow once again, WOU trailed MSU by five points for the majority of the fourth set.

However, two huge outside blocks and a kill by redshirt-sophomore Sydney Blankinship (MB) during a four-point scoring streak, led the Wolves to claim the set and even the overall match score 2-2.

The final set was crucial, and the Wolves brought their A-game. Short secured WOU’s victory by securing four straight points during a rally of eight straight points.

MSB fought back, closing the gap to 12-9, but ultimately could not compete. The Wolves finished the set with three straight points to win the overall match.

Head coach Brad Saindon is proud of the team’s performance against MSB. “In this match we really showed our true colors and showed what we’re made of,” said Saindon. “The girls fought hard and persevered.”

The volleyball team concludes their season on the road against Alaska Anchorage (24-2 overall, 16-2 GNAC) on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015.

Men’s Basketball gets back-to-back wins

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

The Western men’s basketball team defeated Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) 82-76 on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015 in their first game of the regular season.

The first half was back-and-forth, and there were eight ties and six lead changes. With the score tied at 38-38 with 2:15 remaining till half time, the Sea Lions outscored the Wolves 10-4 to take a 48-42 lead into the break.

PLNU, with the momentum carrying over from the first half, continued to build on their lead until the Sea Lions had an 11 point advantage with the score at 61-50.

The Wolves would claw their way back into the game and go on a 7-0 run with a three-pointer from senior Devon Alexander (G) and a tip from Sophomore Tanner Omlid (F).

WOU would take the lead with a little over five minutes to play and never look back.

Omlid, who made his WOU debut, led all scorers with 28 points and shot an amazing 93 percent from the field, making 13 of 14 shots. Omlid also added eight rebounds and six steals.
Western had three other players beside Omlid that cracked double digits in scoring. Senior Julian Nichols (G) had 14 points, sophomore Alex Roth (G) had 13 points and Devon Alexander had 11 points.

Then on Saturday, Nov. 14, the Wolves defeated Fresno Pacific University (FPU) 82-73 to improve to 2-0 on the season.

The Sunbirds jumped out to an early lead in the first half with an 11-8 margin. The Wolves would buckle down and tie the score at 11-11 with a Kadeem Strickland (G) 3-pointer.

After taking the lead on the next possession, WOU would not look back, and kept the lead for the rest of the game.

Although FPU would finish the game with a higher shooting percentage of 48 percent from the field compared with Western’s 42 percent, the Wolves won the turnover battle 12 to 18. WOU also had 13 steals compared with FPU’s five.

Winning the turnover battle has been key for the Wolves in the first two regulation games. In both games, the Wolves have had a total of 21 turnovers and created 39 turnovers off of their opponents.

Alexander led Western in scoring with 17 points and also added four assists. The Wolves had three other players in double digits for scoring; Roth and Nichols both had 16 points and Omlid had 12 points.

The No. 21 ranked Wolves’ next two games are back-to-back home games. The first is against California State Monterey Bay University on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. The second is on Saturday, Nov. 21 against Warner Pacific College also at 7 p.m.

2014-15 GNAC Player of the Year Andy Agvi (F) will make his season debut for Western, after sitting out the start of the season due to NCAA regulations as he was also playing on the football team.

Both games are held at the New P.E. Building. You can purchase tickets online or on game day at the box office.

Heartbreak for football

By: Jamal Smith Sports Editor

Western Football dropped their last game of the season 29-13 to Humboldt State University (HSU) on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015 at McArthur Field.

The Wolves came into the game with the hopes of reaching the NCAA Division II Playoffs with a win against HSU.

The Wolves were ranked No. 10 in the region and Humboldt was ranked No. 3 prior to the game; the top eight teams in the region would qualify for the playoffs.

The Wolves struck first on their second drive of the game when redshirt-sophomore Phillip Fenumiai (QB) connected with sophomore Maurice McSwain (WR) for a 71-yard strike, giving the Wolves an early 7-0 lead and sending the Western faithful into a jubilant frenzy.

McSwain finished the game with a season-high 129 yards on five catches.

The Jacks would even up the score a few minutes later after the GNAC’s leading rusher Ja’Quan Gardner found a hole in the Wolves’ defense and broke away for a 43-yard touchdown run.

WOU’s running game, which has been a staple of the offense all season, had trouble establishing a rhythm. Leading rusher and true-freshman Malik Braxton was held to only 26 yards on 11 carries.

To make matters worse, the Wolves were stung by the injury bug. In the second quarter, senior defensive play maker Jonathan Breland (LB) had to leave the game after an apparent knee injury.

Then early in the second half, Fenumiai sustained an injury which took him out of the competition. Both players would not return.

HSU showed why they are at the top of the GNAC ladder in the second quarter, stopping the Wolves from scoring and then adding a field goal and a touchdown. The Jacks took a 17-7 lead going into half time.

Senior Trey Shimabukuro (QB) took over for Fenumiai early in the third quarter, but HSU’s defense held Western scoreless in the quarter. The Jacks would again add to their lead, scoring another field goal and a touchdown in the quarter to take a 26-7 lead into the fourth quarter.

After HSU kicked another field goal and went ahead 29-7 early in the fourth quarter, it seemed like the game could get out of hand. But the Wolves showed their never-say-die attitude and stepped up the defense.

Last weeks’ GNAC Defensive Player of the Week junior George Swartzlender (DL) continued his impressive play with a career-best 11 tackles for the game.

The Wolves’ leading tackler senior Shane Kuenzi (LB) had 8 tackles and also saved a touchdown with a key interception in the first half.

With just seconds left in the game and Western on the HSU 1-yard line, senior Joe Harris (RB) punched his way into the end zone. Although the score was insurmountable, scoring the last touchdown was a matter of pride for the Wolves.

“Getting in was the only way. I had to score,” said Harris after the game. “Not getting in wasn’t an option. We had to go out with a touchdown. That was the only way to go out.”
With the victory, the Jacks became 2015 GNAC champions, guaranteeing their spot in the NCAA Division II Playoffs.

“We couldn’t get enough on offense, and defensively we allowed them to run the ball and they wore us down,” said head coach Arne Ferguson after the game. “We knew we were going to play a really good Humboldt team; they are number three in the region. With their strength in schedule they should be number one in the region.”

Although the Wolves’ concluded their season on a sour note, Ferguson was optimistic about the future of the program.

“First of all we want all of our players to do well in school. We want them to be disciplined. We want them to develop as football players. Throughout the season our players continued to get better,” said Ferguson. “We aren’t where we would have liked to be, but the progress we made finishing 7-4, there’s a really good opportunity to build on that.”

The 7-4 season marks the tenth consecutive winning season for the Wolf Pack.

“We are fortunate to have most of our d-line coming back and they are the staple of our defense. Replacing seniors and that experience is so hard to do and [so is] the physicality they bring,” added Ferguson.

Musings from a woman on the edge

By: Katrina Penaflor 
Managing Editor

Shia, Shia, Shia. You and your fake-sounding-but-definitely-real last name have done something I so desperately wish I could have been a part of.

For those who aren’t aware, the actor Shia LaBeouf staged a three day long screening of all of his films in reverse chronological order at the Angelika Film Center in New York.

The performance-art project was titled “All My Movies” and gave fans of the actor an opportunity to sit in the theater and watch LaBeouf watch his own films.

Or, I guess audience members could watch the films too, but if it was me in the audience, I would definitely be looking at LaBeouf’s own candid reactions.

There also was a livestream focused entirely on the actor’s face for anyone who couldn’t make it to get a look.

The viewing spanned over three days and started with LaBeouf’s most recent film “Man Down” and ended with his first work “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.”

So what was the point in all this?

Is Shia LaBeouf secretly working on some genius scheme to win over all the fans he lost (don’t worry I stuck around) when he went off his rocker and wore a bag over his head that read “I am not famous anymore?”

Or is this an apology for all his outrageous outbursts and decisions? Just to clear the air, yes, I do include him acting in the Indiana Jones reboot in that category that requires apology.

Or is this really some deep, meaningful piece of performance-art that says so much more than we all think it does?

Well, how am I supposed to know? The exact point of this is yet to be made clear, but after the movies finished the actor did say, “I walked out loving myself.”

So perhaps he was just trying to connect again with society, and his fans, and his work.

But one thing I can say for certain is the actor/performance-artist just sat for three days straight and watched all his movies with a bunch of random people filtering in and out of the theatre, and that’s pretty freakin’ awesome.

My one complaint: where was the Disney Channel original movie “Tru Confessions” in this mix? Shia, why did you leave one of my favorite ones out?

To watch the recorded livestream of the actor visit newhive.com/allmymovies.

What’s good?

By: Stephanie Blair 
Photo Editor

Following the attack on Paris, social media seems to be peppered with reminders that there were other attacks around the world on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015.

However, I would like to focus on more immediate safety: safety of our Muslim students on campus.

After the attack of 9/11, hate crimes against Muslims in the U.S. skyrocketed.

In fact, they became five times more common, according to the Washington Post. Even without being violent, non-Muslim Americans, when surveyed, held substantial prejudice against Muslims, regardless of American citizenship.

“These surveys suggest that many Americans do not distinguish between the vast majority of peaceful Muslims and the very small number of Muslims who commit violent acts,” John Sides of the Washington Post wrote.

It is easy to hate a larger, all-encompassing community group for the actions of a much smaller sub-set.

However, just as the majority of Christians do not agree with the actions of the Westboro Baptist Church, the majority of Muslims do not agree with the actions of ISIS/ISIL.
According to the Pew Research Center, as of 2015 there are approximately 1.6 billion Muslims in the world.

However, even if you do consider members of ISIS Muslims, that would still mean that 0.000125% of Muslims serve ISIS, based upon the estimated number of ISIS soldiers in an interview with UK newspaper The Independent with by Fuad Hussein, the chief of staff of the Kurdish President Massoud Barzani.

It is important to note that many, including President Barack Obama, do not consider ISIS members to be Muslims.

“We are not at war with Islam,” Obama said at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism in February of 2015. “We are at war with people who have perverted Islam.”
America was partly founded on the concept of freedom of religion, the opportunity for religious practice without persecution.

So, with all of the talk of particular governors demanding that we allow exact gun freedom while announcing they will only accept “proven Christian” refugees from Syria, let’s at least demand all of said constitution is honored.

As of Nov. 19, 31 state governors have announced that they oppose letting Syrian refugees into their states. However, states cannot legally refuse to allow refugees in, since the federal government announced in September that the U.S. would be accepting 10,000 of the estimated 70,000 refugees, according to an article from the Washington Post.

Please look out for our Muslim classmates on campus, as these actions weren’t perpetrated in their name.

Why leave the house when you could shop online?

By: Brianna Bonham 
Staff Writer

Black Friday is the chaotic, day-after-Thanksgiving sale that many big name retailers put on. It is thought of as the kick-off to the holiday shopping season, and the day that people everywhere go crazy for BOGO socks at Fred Meyer.

Crowds of people gather at the doors of the big name retailers ready to pounce on any deal they can get their hands on, ready to stop at nothing.

People get trampled, finding parking is almost impossible, and mall security gets serious, but that’s all totally worth it for the towels that are half off at Bed Bath and Beyond, right?

Although some like to experience the violence and the rush of Black Friday shopping, others may prefer to stay in the safety of their homes, or give their money to small businesses in their local area.

Small Business Saturday is the day after Black Friday, and is a great opportunity to support local businesses.

Small Business Saturday is a national event coined and supported by American Express, which encourages shoppers to go out and explore their neighborhood, supporting their community and local entrepreneurs.

Small Business Saturday is a chance for people to support their local businesses that may not have made as much of a profit because of Black Friday being an event mostly done at large retailers.

The day also increases promotion of small businesses to those that may not otherwise shop locally at small businesses.

Cyber Monday is another alternative that is perfect for people who do not want to leave the safety of their own home and face the crowds. Simply open up your laptop, browse through thousands of stellar sales online, and have the products shipped directly to your door.

Amazon offers a huge variety of Cyber Monday deals every year, as well as websites such as Target, Modcloth, and Nordstrom. This is a convenient and fast way to shop as opposed to pushing through people and fighting traffic on Black Friday.

These alternatives are great options for those that love to shop, but want to avoid the messy, busy, Black Friday. Sit back and relax in the comfort of your home while browsing online, or drive through the neighborhood and shop at your local businesses.

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