Lake Larsen | Sports Editor
Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu
Designed by Brittany Figueroa
Western men’s basketball falls to Dixie State
Lake Larsen | Sports Editor
The Wolves were a force to be reckoned with coming into their match-up with Dixie State University on Nov. 24. Western had had nothing but wins with three consecutive regular season victories prior to their game with the 1-1 Dixie State University Bison. Hoping to extend their undefeated season, the Wolves took the court ready for a battle.
The Bison overwhelmed the Wolves by their deadly offensive accuracy. Dixie State powered their way to a lead, managing over .400 in overall shooting percentage.
Western found themselves in a seven point hole coming into halftime. The Wolves were in desperate need of an offensive spark in order to close the gap.
As the clocked ticked closer to zero the Wolves chipped away at the Bison’s lead. Eventually, the Wolves brought their deficit down to a tight four points. But due to the efficient offense of the Bison, Western was unable to halt the momentum. Dixie State found the basket several times with under a minute to bring the final score to 80-70.
This loss is the first of the Wolves’s season bringing them to 3-1. The Wolves take on the Simon Fraser University Clan next for their first GNAC match of the season on Nov. 29.
Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu
Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton
What’s what: Western’s women’s soccer club
Mikaela Wong | Freelancer
Freshly formed in 2017, the Western women’s soccer club has attracted some campus attention. The team has recently won the championship title for the Division 2/Division 3 league for Oregon’s Women’s Club Soccer Tournament.
Haylie Shinsato, a senior chemistry major, started the club in Winter term of 2017. After realizing that many girls who played in the spring intramurals soccer league were interested in playing year-round soccer at a higher competitive level, Shinsato looked into starting the club.
It seemed like the team was formed just in time as Shinsato explained.
“Actually, Oregon didn’t have a women’s (club) soccer league because there weren’t enough schools participating. But because we were one of the last clubs to be formed, we made that breaking point and were able to establish that league,” Shinsato said.
On Nov. 18, Western and the University of Oregon faced off for the overall championship title for all participating schools of Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3 levels. Although they had come up short of a win with a final score of 4-1, Shinsato said that she was not disappointed in the playing of her team.
“I think we did fairly well considering how new we are to the scene… we’re a newer team and probably needed to get used to playing with each other a little more to gain some more playing chemistry,” said Shinsato.
The women’s soccer club has seen immense support, especially for a team that has been around for less than a year. Although Shinsato is set to graduate this year, her hopes for the future of the club remains strong.
“Hopefully they will continue the competitive trend that was started and the league will grow into something even bigger. Hopefully we can get more funding from the school which could help us travel (further) to play more teams.”
Most of the girls on the team have had some sort of experience playing on competitive teams in the past, but it is not a requirement to join the club. Even though there is a higher level of commitment involved than intramurals, Shinsato was reassuring when it came to prioritizing responsibilities.
“We’re looking to go to the next level (of competition) but we understand that we’re students first and there’s work and class and other priorities. It’s also a good way to make friends and hang out,” Shinsato noted.
If you are interested in joining the women’s soccer club, go onto IMleagues to sign up or email Haylie Shinsato at hshinsato14@wou.edu.
Contact the author at mwong16@wou.edu
Photo courtesy of Lake Larsen
Wolves trounce Cougars in the second home match
Lake Larsen | Sports Editor
Coming off of a season and home-opening win against the Warner Pacific University, the Wolves looked the continue their defense of the home court. Prior to this game the Colorado Christian University Cougars had only found themselves in the winning column once while Western was far more dominant, being undefeated coming into the game.
The first minutes of action saw the Cougars jump to an early lead over the Wolves. Fouls by Western led to back to back successful free throws to put Colorado Christian on top. But the Wolves were just warming up.
After the early minutes deficit, Western came alive. The Wolves forced turnover after turnover to retake the lead over the Cougars. This lead stayed slim with the offense of Colorado Christian continuing to challenge Western, matching many of the shots the Wolves made. But as the end of the half approached, the Wolves went on a quick nine-point flury that the Cougars could not respond to.
After the half, the Wolves asserted their dominance over Colorado Christian. Western forced countless turnovers in which they capitalized on to widen the lead over the Cougars.
This lack of defensive showing by Colorado Christian allowed the offense the thrive. Junior business major Buster Souza led the offensive assault of the Wolves. Souza’s performance was increasingly notable due to his scoring a perfect seven of seven shots from the field. This made Souza the third player in the school’s history since joining the NCAA that had been perfect from the field totaling at least seven shots.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Wolves had beat Colorado Christian not just on the board but in nearly every statistical category. The second half saw the Wolves lead the Cougars by over 30 points several times and never saw Western fall behind. With the 29 point win in their past, the Wolves look forward to heading to Utah to play Westminster University Nov. 23.
Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu
Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton
Wolves women’s basketball outlast Mavericks in a road win
Lake Larsen | Sports Editor
Unable to find a win in their first match against Dixie State University on the previous day, the Wolves hoped for a different outcome against Colorado Mesa University on Nov. 17. Colorado Mesa had won their match the previous day setting up a challenging scenario for the Wolves coming into the game.
Coming out of the gates, the Wolves were ready for a fight. After a short stint in the lead the Wolves quickly jumped right back in front of the Maverick. An unstoppable Western offense pushed the Wolves to tripling the score of Colorado Mesa 24-8 by the end of the first quarter.
The lopsided score came to a quick end as Colorado Mesa took their turn controlling the game. Points were traded back and forth but the frequency of scores fell more in favor of the Mavericks. As the time left in the first half dwindled, Western barely clung onto their lead, going into halftime on top only by eight.
The score gap continued to narrow as both teams traded blows back and forth. An impressive offensive effort by Colorado Mesa was matched by an equally vicious defensive attack from Western. The game continued to close as Colorado Mesa claimed the third quarter but still trailed by six to the Wolves.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Wolves knew that if they wanted to win, they had to outlast the Mavericks final push. Colorado Mesa’s assault on the Wolves pushed the leading gap smaller and smaller. But the Wolves’s defense held off a late run, preventing a comeback.
The end of the game showed that Westerns first quarter lead was enough to eke out a win. The second, third, and fourth quarter all saw Colorado Mesa outscore the Wolves by varying amounts but never enough to overtake the Wolves’s lead. The Wolves picked up a crucial victory bringing them to .500 on the season.
Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu
Preview: Men’s Basketball
Mikaela Wong | Freelancer
Returning from a spectacular 2017-2018 season, the Western men’s basketball team is back and ready to fight for what they were so close to achieving last season. After losing to California Baptist University from a last-minute comeback that fell just short in the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball West Regional, the Wolves concluded their season at No. 3. Western’s 24-game win streak was ended and finished with a 31-2 record.
However, after having a less than ideal ending to their previous season, the mindsets of the players are now stronger than ever. Riley Hawken, a senior business major and a returning power forward, is confident that the team will carry over its success.
“This year’s going to be another phenomenal year and we’re going to have a lot of phenomenal players. A lot of the guys are hungry and we’re all just wanting to do the best we can to represent WOU as great as we can,” said Hawken.
The men’s basketball team has gained quite the following after their previous historic season and do not plan on slowing down any time soon.
“We have a winning culture,” stated Buster Souza, a senior majoring in business and also returning as a power forward, “and that is going to come not just this year and next year, but years and years after that.”
Many players were wondering how this year’s team would measure up to last season’s, especially having nine players graduate last year. But Souza was quite reassuring. “Something we had to work on (over the off-season) was our depth because we lost so many players last year, but we really corrected that just with our recruiting and our deep line-up. Our skillset is pretty even across the board…we have a lot of young talent coming in as well as veterans returning.”
Hawkens adds, “a lot of the (new recruits) have really good attitudes that are (just as) hungry and want to continue on the success that we’ve had. The coaches did a really good job of getting guys in here who could fill the spots (of the graduated players).”
Hawken was unanimously named to the 2018-19 GNAC Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team over the off-season. When asked about what things he is looking forward to most this season, Hawken said, “the biggest part of the journey is how you come together as a team. The thing I’m most excited for is the new team to come together…to see how all these new pieces are going to come together…and how well we are going to progress as a team…and it’s coming along really well right now.”
Western’s men’s basketball team’s first regular season game is against Warner Pacific University on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. in New PE.
Contact the author at mwong16@wou.edu
Photo courtesy of Paul F. Davis
Women’s rugby overpowers Whitman
Lake Larsen | Sports editor
It was a still morning with a chilling breeze that cut through the air. All seemed calm as the Wolves took to the field to battle the Whitman Blues. This match was special for the women’s team as it marked their second and final match of the fall season as well as their only home game in the fall. Despite this, the Wolves were ready for a fight.
Within minutes, Western’s offense quickly took it to Whitman. Back to back scores with only one missed conversion rocketed Western to a quick 12-0 lead. But the slow start for the Blues came to an end as they scored back to back tries, missing both conversions to make it a 12-10 game.
In the second period the Wolves offense started to show their strength. Whitman was unable to handle the relentless Wolves as they powered their way down the field time and time again. The Blues were so far back on their heels, they couldn’t even advance the ball on offense, leading to Western growing their lead to 32-10.
“Communication was important. We weren’t tackling very well but I think our offense did a great job,” commented junior ASL/English interpreting major Lexi Osborn.
After some intermission adjustments, both teams took the field for the final period. Western’s defense was unable to contain the Blues as Whitman put up 19 points in a short nine minute window to start the period.
“We have a lot of rookies, so tackling is the scariest part. (They) just have to learn ‘it’s not going to hurt that bad, just get in there and tackle,’” said Osborn on the defense’s play.
After a quick meeting following the team’s giving up another try, the Wolves defense locked down Whitman. Their comeback attempt was cut short when the Wolves finally found their footing and scored a pair of tries. As the high scoring final period came to a close, the Wolves were victorious with a 42-29 win.
Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu
Photo courtesy of Cora McClain
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