Mount Hood

Women’s basketball falls to Yellowjackets

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

Nearly a month after their last meeting, the Wolves took the court again against Montana State Billings on Feb. 21. With a disappointingly long five-game losing streak hanging above the team, Western was in desperate need to end the spell. Sitting third from last in the GNAC standings, the Wolves were ready to attempt to pick up a much needed win.

The first quarter looked promising for the Wolves, as they quickly jumped out to the lead over the Yellowjackets. Efficient passing helped push the Wolves to a growing lead as the quarter’s time passed.

Montana State Billings was able to post a short run of their own to narrow Western’s lead, but the Wolves were relentless with the rebounds to help extend their lead to nine as the first quarter closed.

With the momentum still swinging their way, the Wolves offense came out even stronger in the second quarter. Western quickly scored a pair of baskets to push their lead to more than double that of the Yellowjackets. The Wolves edge seemed to hover in the low teens as the clock ticked to only a minute left before the half. However, cracks began to form as a pair of missed three-pointers from the Wolves let the Yellowjackets to narrow the gap to five.

The pendulum of momentum started to slip away from the Monmouth women in the third quarter. The Wolves’ lead began to follow a trend of one step forward, two steps back as their five-point lead jumped to seven, only to be cut to three just moments later. The Yellowjackets eroded what was once a double-digit Western lead. By the end horn of the third, the Wolves were down by one.

The fourth quarter was shaping up to be an all out brawl as the Yellowjackets and Wolves traded baskets. The opening minutes of the final quarter seemed to be anyone’s game, but this slugfest ended as the Wolves seemed to buckle under the pressure. Two missed layups and a missed jumper from the Wolves let the Yellowjackets grab a lead they wouldn’t let go.

The final minutes of the game were a disaster for the Wolves as the Yellowjackets sealed Western’s fate. It took the Wolves over a quarter to grow a double digit lead — Montana State Billings was able to do so in just three minutes. By the final whistle, the Wolves’ losing streak pushed to another high, falling 80-70.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Western lacrosse thrashes Seattle University

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

The sun began to set over the hills as the Wolves broke from their huddle for the pregame lineup. Standing shoulder to shoulder in their icy white uniforms and matte black helmets, the Wolves looked ready to dominate in their first home match of the regular season on Feb. 16.

Hoots and hollers rang out from the Western bench as the players knelt for the opening faceoff. Within seconds of the starting whistle, it became obvious that the 0-0 score would be the closest the Redhawks would be to keeping this game close.

After winning the opening faceoff, the Wolves swept the ball around to the back of the goal to let senior attackman Andrew Barnett begin to pick apart the defense. Minutes later, the Wolves found their way onto the scoreboard.

From that point forward, it became evident that Seattle University was no match for Western. With every pass the offense threw, another Western player waved their stick to signal they were open. Once the pass connected, a blisteringly quick shot found its way to the back of the net. At the end of the half, Western stood tall over the Redhawks, 16-0.

With the game already essentially over, the Wolves started to ease up on Seattle University. The final quarters highlighted Western’s restraint and their drive to improve. After putting up 16 points, the Wolves shifted their focus from hammering the back of the net to improving their offensive gameplay.

In the two games leading up to the home-opener, the offense seemed to have been struggling, only able to put up an average of six goals a game. But now with score heavily in Western’s favor, the Wolves wanted to ensure their offense was running as it should.

“The ball movement was a lot better,” said senior history major Alex Eidler. “Everyone was on the same page, and there was not as much selfish play. It was good.”

“I think we’ve got a lot of work to do, but it’s starting to come together. Once we learn to come together as a team, we’ll start playing better,” added Barnett.

On the other side of the field, Western’s defense was also a main influence on the lopsided win. The first and only goal the Redhawks scored was deep into the third quarter on the heels of a fluke play.

After snatching the ball and rocketing down the sideline, first-year goalie Wyatt Livengood was knocked out of bounds, later to be flagged for a delay of game. Being sent to the penalty box, the Wolves were forced to play in a man-down situation with a backup goalie. A powerful shot snuck past the Wolves, leading to a single smudge on an otherwise perfect day for the defensive unit.

“It was a good game, but kind of boring. We weren’t on defense a lot but it was still good,” said Livengood on the blowout win. “I think the defense played really well. I think the defense is what kept us in the last two games as well as tonight.”

As the final horn sounded, the Wolves were on top 23-1. Five different Wolves posted hat tricks, having scored three or more goals. Further, Livengood was credited with a statistical shutout having had six saves and not given up a goal. This victory marks the first home win for the Wolves as well as the first regular season win.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Cora McClain

Western’s new club sport: Women’s Volleyball

Mikaela Wong | Staff Writer

Another recent development in Club Sports has emerged — Women’s Volleyball. Started by multiple students who were interested in playing year-round for fun, the club is off to a strong start.

In the weeks since its inception as an official club, Women’s Volleyball has gathered 13 players. The team has already found its way onto the court by hosting weekly practices in the Health and Wellness Center. Along with this, the team has acquired a coach, junior exercise major Michael Burns, and is currently looking into holding friendly scrimmages with other local teams such as Willamette University.

“We just want it to be fun and give a chance to people who are interested in volleyball to be able to do it. That’s our main focus,” said Tatianna Brock, a senior psychology major who helped start the club and is currently co-president.

“I think a lot of people … get really involved in volleyball in high school and then go to college and say ‘what now?’ Because yes, there are intramurals, but that only happens for a couple weeks out of the year,” added Brock about how the club hopes to be a good transition from high school competitive sports to more recreational activity.

Many of those who know the struggle of wanting to continue their love for their sport without playing for the school can relate to Brock.

“That’s what happened to me. I got out of high school and knew I loved volleyball but I didn’t really want to play competitively at a college — I’m not really at that level yet,” Brock explained.

At the end of Winter Term, Brock is graduating from Western, but hopes the team of mostly first-years carry on what has been laid down as foundation for the club.

“We want this club to get to the point where we feel confident playing other schools and in tournaments,” Brock added. “I wish there was something like this when I was a freshman.”

Currently, the club does not have any matches scheduled but does still practice regularly, offering perspective athletes the chance at something a little more competitive than intramurals. Students can join the club or learn more information on IMLeagues.com/wou.

 

Contact the author at mwong16@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Winter Intramural leaderboard

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

Basketball
Co-Rec W-L
Backdoor buddies 4-0
big girls don’t Kawhi 3-1
Ball is Life 1-3
Wienie Hut Jr 0-4
Men’s Competitive W-L
Lake Show 2-0
Rimshots Only 2-1
DB’s are here 2-1
Show Your Worth 1-2
The Sailor Cats 1-2
off in the woods 0-2
Men’s Recreational W-L
Butterbuckets 3-0
Dino Nuggets 2-0
King’s in The North 2-0
11 HC’s 3-1
Bye Week 2-1
Los Treys Leches 1-2
Air Ballers 0-2
Confused Athletes 0-2
Backcourt Violators 0-2
Team Name 0-3
Women’s W-L
CA$H Money 3-0
SWISH 2-1
Hoop There It Is 1-2
LeBrontourage 0-3

[fruitful_sep]

Futsal
Men’s W-L
Los Busties 3-0
The Republic 2-1
The OGs 1-2
Burger King 0-3
Open W-L
Dunder Mifflin 3-0
Landage 3-0
Italy 2-1
Kekambas 1-1
Ball Kickers 1-2
Fury 3-0
Grace & The Funky Bunch 0-2
Team Name 0-1

 

 

Men’s Rugby takes a snow-covered victory over Pacific University

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

The Wolves couldn’t escape the impending blizzard as they headed to Pacific University for their next match. Ready to play in the frigid temperatures, Western stepped onto a snow covered field on Feb. 9. With a large number of first-year players making the start, the Monmouth men were apt to build off of their previous win over Oregon just a week before.

The advantage seemed to be with the home team early in the match as Pacific quickly drove down the field, scoring a pair of tries with successful conversions. Shaking off the snow, Western responded with a try and successful conversion of their own to bring the game back to just a single score deficit. Despite the Wolves’s ferocious defense, the Boxer’s found their way down the field to put up another score and tacked on the conversion.

At the half, Western was two scores behind with a score of 12-21. A cloud of frozen breath steamed out from the Wolves huddle as they discussed how to climb out of the hole that was dug in the first half.

With the opening of the second half, the Wolves looked up to the task. Western bashed their way down the field, fighting for every inch. The Wolves tenacity shrank the lead to only two points after scoring a try and conversion.

Pacific wasn’t ready to roll over yet. After Western had brought the game back to only a single possession, the Boxer’s forced their way back down the field. Just as in the first half, a pair of Pacific tries knocked the Wolves back into a deep hole. With the clock working against them, Western knew they needed to score, and quickly.

The crunching of snow and the grunts of Wolves could be heard as Western fought back down the field. The defense of Pacific showed cracks that the Wolves were able to slip through to score their first try of their comeback attempt. But after the missed conversion, the Wolves were still down 24-33.

Players from both teams kept an eye on the clock as Western again trucked their way down the field. The tired Boxer defense again let the Wolves slip through, scoring another try. With only minutes to go, Western had shrunk their deficit to only four points.

As the Boxers fought to hold off the Wolves, the time continued ticking away. But the Wolves kept their heads down and drove. Pitch after pitch, the Wolves continued to advance the ball until finally they were able to break through once again. The final try was scored and the successful conversion put the Wolves on top 36-33. The last seconds ticked off the clock and the miraculous comeback was final. The Wolves pulled off a snow-covered come from behind victory.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Andy Main

Western whoops Montana State Billings

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

After losing a close match to Concordia on Feb. 5, the Wolves were ready to rebound against Montana State Billings. With students and their families filling New P.E. on Feb. 9, the home-court advantage seemed to already take effect as the Wolves took the court. Western had already smashed Montana State Billings earlier in the season, so the odds of another big win looked good for the Wolves.

The Yellowjackets made a quick jump to the lead as Western was slow to start. After a pair of good three-pointers, Montana State Billings stood over the Wolves by four. This lead, however, seemed to only be a small hiccup for the Wolves as they quickly regained control of the game after having only played three minutes. From that point forward, it was Western’s time to shine.

As with many other Western matches, this game quickly devolved into a Wolves shooting gallery. Three’s were followed by layups, followed by jumpers. Basket after basket was scored with Montana State Billings unable to do anything to halt the power of the Wolves. By the midway point of the match, Western had a commanding 23 point lead.

The second half saw no change in pace for the Wolves as they continued to extend their lead. Point by point, Western pushed their control to a new high as the students and families looked on with excitement. Just over five minutes were on the clock and Western had pressed their lead to 30 points. By the final whistle Western has in front by 32.

With the scoreboard highlighting the 97-65 win, Western looked forward to their next match. The Wolves pack up and head on the road to take on Seattle Pacific in a Valentine’s Day match on Feb. 14.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Men’s Rugby tramples University of Oregon

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

Clouds blocked out the sun and the winds picked up as the men of Western’s rugby team lined up. With the memory of losing to the Beavers on Jan 26. in mind, the Wolves were ready to take on the Ducks on Feb. 2. In their home debut of 2019, Western looked to not only redeem themselves, but to dominate.

The Ducks quickly jumped ahead of the Wolves. In the opening minutes of the match, University of Oregon scored a try and was unsuccessful on the conversion to bring the score to 5-0. But this was nothing to the Wolves. A tenacious Western defense made mincemeat of the Ducks offense, forcing chaos amongst the team.

Taking advantage of the frantic Oregon offense, Western pounded their way to back to back tries with a pair of successful conversions. These scores catapulted the Wolves to the lead and shifted any momentum Oregon had right over to Western. The quick scoring seemed to be a trend for the Wolves as the game started to become out of hand with breakaway after breakaway.

By midway through the first half, Western had developed a blitzkrieg-style attack on the Ducks. A powerful defense was complemented by lightning fast offense from the Monmouth team. By the time the horn for the half sounded, the Ducks hadn’t been able to come within 20 yards of a score.

The fireworks of the first half were quickly followed up in the second half as Western’s relentless assault on the Ducks forged on. With a fresh set of legs taking the field for the Wolves, Oregon looked visibly shaken. While the Ducks attempted to fight back, Western’s men never let Oregon back into the game.

In response to playing at home again, sophomore Drew Reyes commented that, “It feels great … we love playing on this field. We wanted to hold ourselves accountable to the mistakes we made at OSU. We wanted to fix the mistakes while having fun … I think we played well today, but there’s still a lot to work on.”

Western heads on the road to take on Pacific University on Feb. 9.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Western’s newest club sport: Men’s Basketball

Mikaela Wong | Staff Writer

Students around the Health and Wellness Center may have grown accustomed to seemingly common pick-up basketball games involving a variety of students. This popularity has paved the way for a pool of potential candidates to start a new club sport — the Men’s Basketball club.

The Men’s Basketball club adds to the basketball opportunities for Western’s students offered by Campus Recreation. This club gives students the ability to play in competitive games with other schools in the region. By communicating with other school’s administrations, Western has been able to be a part of the creation of a new club league that includes schools such as the University of Oregon, Portland State University and University of Portland.

“The idea of this club actually started around three years ago when we initially joined the NIRSA tournament,” said Noah Jones, a senior business major and club founder, on when the club was created.  “We ended up doing really well consecutively (in the tournament) and that laid a foundation for the next couple years to start this club this last summer.”

The clubs season extends from February to the beginning of April. Every weekend, the team travels to various schools, playing multiple games a day. These games are a pathway leading to a playoff. The post season concludes with a single championship game, held at Western in early April.

Currently, the club is comprised of nine members. The majority of these members are seniors, just like the founder. But Jones has strived to ensure the longevity of the team.

“I’ve made sure to recruit some underclassman so that when (the seniors) leave, they will know where to take the program,” said Jones. “(I want them to) have all the contacts and tools to keep the league going and maybe even add more teams to it in the future.”

Jones hopes to have the team continue to stay around the school for years to come.

“Having multiple club teams at WOU would be great so that the culture could grow,” mentioned Jones. “I know it’s a bit of a stretch, but maybe eventually they could even hold games in the New PE Gym. Ideally, I would want enough students to participate in the club teams that we could hold our own tournaments at the school and make it an annual thing.”

The team practices every Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. in the Health and Wellness Center. Visit IMLeagues.com/wou to learn more about how to join.

 

Contact the author at mwong16@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Men’s Basketball smashes Alaska Anchorage

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

After falling to the Seawolves in their previous meet up on Jan. 3, Western was suited up and ready to battle back on Feb. 2. Recently, Alaska Anchorage had been mentioned in an article in the GNAC news as a hot team late in the season due to their daunting play. While this may have been worrisome to some teams, the Wolves looked unphased.

The opening minutes of the game showed signs of what would look like an all out war on the court. As time ticked away on the clock, neither team could hold a manageable lead. The Wolves would quickly jump out ahead only to see their lead vanish and find themselves in the hole. But this back and forth didn’t last long.

By the midpoint of the opening half, the Wolves seemed to have finally established a solid lead to which they could expand on. The swish of the net began to echo on the Wolves’s side as they grew their lead two points at a time. By the buzzer, Western was ahead of the Seawolves by a firm seven points.

In their last match up, the Wolves looked outclassed by the Seawolves. But this time around, Western was ready for their revenge. Immediately into the second half the Wolves pushed their single point lead to double digits. While Alaska Anchorage fought back, their efforts proved futile. The Wolves kept adding to their lead, growing it to 20 points at times.

With only a handful of minutes left in their match, Western’s lead hovered steadily in the high teens. No matter what the Seawolves did, Western was there to not only match their push, but force their lead even higher. After dropping their first matchup 57-61, the Wolves finalized their revenge with a commanding 81-61 win.

Western remains at third place in the GNAC standings. The Wolves have only seven matches left in their season, two of which are against Western Washington and Northwest Nazarene, the top ranked opponents. Western takes the home court again Feb. 9 against Montana State Billings.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Paul F. Davis

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