Mount Hood

Men’s basketball tested in Alaska

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

The Wolves had their most dominant win of the season in Fairbanks on Saturday, Jan. 21, and came away from a trip to Alaska with a win and a loss.

Junior guard Demetrius Trammell impressed in both games in Alaska, first scoring a team-high of 17 against the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves, then contributing 15 against the Alaska Nanooks.

But even a 17 point performance from Trammell wasn’t enough to top the Seawolves in their Thursday night game.

It wasn’t the only point of frustration: the Wolves had deeper team play, with the bench putting up 40 points while UAA’s only scored 15. The two teams committed the same amount of turnovers but Western was more efficient with their opportunities. They scored 22 points off of turnovers while the Seawolves could only manage 16.

Despite all this, Western lost 73-81.

On the heels of the game that should have been theirs, the Wolves came out quick against the Nanooks. A three-pointer from Ali Faruq-Bey opened the scoring at 15 seconds and they never gave up the lead.

At 83-51, the Wolves put up with the widest margin of victory they’ve had all season.

Bryan Berg lead the scoring with 22, while Tanner Omlid and Akil Reese contributed 19 and 14 points respectively. Trammell and Faruq-Bey rounded out the top scorers, with Faruq-Bey putting up 9 points throughout the game.

The Wolves are on the road again this week, traveling to Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington.

They now sit at 9-9 on the season, and their 6-4 record in the GNAC ranks them fifth in the conference

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Baseball old timers make hall of fame

By: TK Layman
Staff Writer

The MLB Hall of Fame inducts the best players from years past, enshrining them forever as baseball’s greatest of all time.

For a player to be elected to the Hall of Fame, they must receive 75 percent of the total votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America. Many big-ticket players have made it in, such
as George Herman “Babe” Ruth and Hank Aaron. In recent years we have seen names like Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey Jr. inducted.

The hall of fame class of 2017 saw three players and two MLB executives.

Jeff Bagwell, who played all 15 years of his career with the Houston Astros, made it in after his seventh year being on the ballot. Known for his wide squatting stance, he ended with a career .297 batting average and 449 home runs.

Signed by the Boston Red Sox in the fourth round in the 1989 amateur draft, Bagwell made his Major League debut with the Houston Astros in 1991. During his tenure with the Astros he saw six postseason appearances, winning the National League pennant in 2005, but getting swept by the Chicago White Sox in the World Series. Among his playing career he racked up four All-Star Game appearances, three Silver Sluggers, the 1991 Rookie of the Year, the 1994 NL MVP, Gold Glove and Player of the Year.

His hall of fame bid saw some controversy with allegations of steroid use, that were ultimately unsubstantiated.

Tim Raines, a 23-year veteran of the MLB also saw induction after his 10th year being on the ballot. Making his breakthrough with the late Montreal Expos at 19, Raines .294 career average and a modest 170 home runs. Though he was not known for his power, he was a master on the bases with a .385 on-base percentage and 808 career stolen bases.

With 34 Postseason appearances, along with a World Series win in 1996, the seasoned outfielder saw seven All-Star games, winning the All-Star MVP in 1987 and the 1986 Silver Slugger and NL Batting Title
Ivan Rodriguez was the third player inducted to the class of 2017. After retiring in 2011 with the Washington Nationals, he became eligible for the vote this year, winning 76 percent of the vote on his first ballot. As Rodriguez wrote in a brief memoir on Player’s Tribune, he signed with the Texas Rangers at 16 years old and in 1991, at age 19, he made his debut. Amassing a career .296 average, 311 home runs and 2844 hits, Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez made a name for himself as the second catcher to make it into the hall on his first ballot with 14 All-Star appearances, 13 Gold Glove awards, winning ten years in a row starting with his rookie year 1991, a seven-time Silver Slugger, winner of the 1999 MVP and 2003 NLCS MVP. Rodriguez made a career to remember as a great defensive catcher.

Along with the three players, John Schuerholz, Vice-President of the Atlanta Braves, and Allan H. “Bud” Selig, former MLB Commissioner, were also placed as MLB Executives.

Following the World Baseball Classic in March, the MLB regular season starts up April 2.

Contact the author at tlayman16@mail.wou.edu

Super Bowl matchup settled

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

A pair of blowouts on Sunday set the stage for the biggest sporting event in the country. The Atlanta Falcons will face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI.

The Falcons clobbered the Green Bay Packers 44-21 to claim the NFC title. Meanwhile the Patriots topped the Pittsburgh Steelers 36-17 for the AFC crown.

These score lines were par for the course in a lopsided playoff year, where only two games were decided by less than double digit points.

The Patriots return to the Super Bowl sees Tom Brady extend his record for Super Bowl starts by a quarterback to seven.

It’s the Atlanta Falcons’ first Super Bowl appearance since their ‘98 loss to the Broncos.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Wolves rally over Northwest Nazarene

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Junior guard Sydney Azorr put
up the first double-double of her collegiate career to snap a three-game losing skid.

Last week’s action opened with a loss to Central Washington in a game where the women’s basketball team never had the lead. The Saturday game against Northwest Nazarene opened in a similar fashion but in the fourth quarter the Wolves came back from a 14 point deficit.

The 78-75 victory over Northwest Nazarene saw four Western players put up double-digit points. Azorr led the high-scoring effort, racking up 17 points; Kennedy Corrigan contributed 14 points and Savannah Heugly and Jasmine Miller put up 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Azorr had 10 rebounds in addition to her goalscoring effort, keeping the Wolves in the game on the way to her double-double performance.

Northwest Nazarene picked up the lead in the first few seconds of the game. The Wolves played catch-up, often coming within striking distance of tying the game. But the lead stayed with Northwest Nazarene. At the end of the third, they had 12 points on the Wolves.

Then, two and a half minutes into the fourth and final quarter, the Wolves began to turn on the heat. A three-pointer from Azorr kicked off the scoring. She soon hit a second one, then sank a pair of free throws. She led the team as they reenergized.

With 1:44 left, Ali Nelke scored on a jump shot to give the Wolves the lead for the first time. Northwest Nazarene took the lead back briefly but after Azorr took a layup for two points the game stayed with the Wolves.

A jump shot basket and two good free throws from Kennedy Corrigan closed the game.

The team effort in the rally took the Wolves to a 7-10 record.

The short losing streak was broken in time for the Wolves to grab a win from their two week road trip. They return to Monmouth this week to host Western Washington and Simon Fraser.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Men’s basketball fights hard through conference play

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Men’s basketball split a pair of home games last week: beating Simon Fraser then falling to Western Washington.

JJ Chirnside broke the Western Oregon school record for blocked shots in a single game, a record that dated back to 1988, by stuffing nine players in the win over Simon Fraser. Chirnside also picked up the most rebounds on the night with seven.

“They were a driving team trying to get to the rim,” Chirnside said. “It was just one of those games where everything was clicking and going the right way.”

Ali Faruq-Bey continued to tear it up offensively, scoring 20 points against Simon Fraser and 17 against Western Washington. Faruq-Bey is on a four game streak of scoring in the double digits. Only four times in the 16 games played so far has he been held to under 10 points.

The 85-60 win over Simon Fraser on Jan. 12 had the Wolves in high spirits. But two days later, Western Washington came to town sitting at the top of the conference.

The Wolves went into halftime with a six point lead. Through the whole first half, Western Oregon executed an effective game-plan, sinking threes and making layups. Tanner Omlid put up 11 points in the first half alone.

Western Washington regrouped and came out in the second to take the lead for the first time all night. The lead changed frequently in a close second half. When Demetrius Trammell hit a three-pointer with 11 seconds left to cut the Western Washington lead to six, a miraculous finish seemed in reach.

But then the Vikings drew a foul and after sinking two free throws finished out the game 76-84.

“We had control for most of the time,” JJ Chirnside said afterwards. “We just need to keep getting better and finish plays down the stretch.”

The Wolves go on the road to close out the month, but will be back in the New P.E. building to host Saint Martin’s on Feb. 2.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Back from the brink to leave it all on the rink

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Canada may very well be back in 2017.

The 2016 National Hockey League season was characterized by an all-American playoff race. For the first time in 46 years, not a single Canadian team posted a good enough record to make it into the postseason.

But we are now halfway into the 2016-17 season, and each one of the seven Canadian teams remains competitive in the playoff hunt.

The most prominent of these is the Montreal Canadiens, currently on top of the Atlantic Division.

The high profile trade that sent PK Subban to Nashville and Shea Weber to Montreal was the jaw-dropping move of the offseason. Subban is younger than Weber and moves the puck across the ice quicker. Since the Canadiens drafted him in 2007, he has become an organizational icon and is known around the league as one of the elite defensemen.

Similarly, the Predators had a great defensive scheme. Weber was an important part of the team, but when the news broke it seemed it was all coming up for the Predators. Nashville mediaman Brooks Bratten reported that Subban said he felt, “a whole closer to winning the Stanley Cup.”

But with Carey Price in goal and the defense altered to protect him, the Canadiens are looking tougher than they have in a long time.

Meanwhile, a coaching change in Ottawa has seen the Senators stay on the Canadiens’ heels at the top of the Atlantic Division. Under head coach Guy Boucher, the Senators have improved on defense, special teams and puck possession.

Out west, the Edmonton Oilers are gripped in the throes of the longest currently active playoff drought in hockey. 20-year-old Connor McDavid has ripped 14 goals and 36 assists this season. Though not old enough to drink alcohol when his team travels to our side of the border, McDavid is leading his team in their race for a playoff return.

Their Albertan rivals, the Calgary Flames, are neck and neck with the Oilers.

The Flames roster features all-star Johnny Gaudreau and Hart Memorial Trophy candidate Matthew Tkachuk. The Flames are scrappy, and have recorded upsets against higher-ranked teams such as the Ducks, Sharks and Bruins.

In one game against the Vancouver Canucks, who are on the playoff bubble after a midseason win streak, the Flames defense allowed only 13 shots, while their offense put up 46. But the Canucks came away with the win due to shoddy goaltending from Brian Elliott, which has cemented the brick wall of Chad Johnson as the Flames’ man in goal.

The following night, with Johnson’s goaltending, the Flames became the team that ended the Canucks’ impressive run. Though they began with a rough start, Vancouver seems to have learned from their losses and improved to being a scary team to face.

Vancouver are joined in the Canadian fringe by the Winnipeg Jets and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The young Leafs team is getting better, and the Jets continue to punch above their weight despite rampant injuries.

Whether or not all Canadian teams make the postseason cut, it has been quite a turnaround from last year.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

High-scoring Snook not enough to sneak out win

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

It was a tough week on the road for the Wolves, who suffered losses visiting Concordia and Montana State Billings.

A 30-point performance from Shelby Snook in Billings wasn’t enough for the Wolves to return to Monmouth with a win. Neither were her nine rebounds and eight assists.

Sydney Azorr put up consistent numbers in both games, scoring nine against Concordia and 11 against MSU Billings. Most of the rest of the roster were hot one night and cool the other.

The 46-55 loss to Concordia in Portland on Jan. 10 kept both near the bottom of the conference, now totalling two conference wins a piece.

The Wolves were more accurate and scored more in the paint when they got the chance. Kaylie Boschma scored 12 points, three of which came from a jump shot and a free throw in the final three minutes as the Wolves attempted to rally. This last ditch effort cut the Concordia lead from 12 to five before ultimately faltering.

Concordia had more turnovers and scored more off them, racking up 17 points just from turnover chances. The Concordia bench also put up 20 points when it got involved while Concordia’s defensive game kept the Wolves bench to only nine.

These problems persisted in the trip to Billings. Snook’s 30 points and the 16 put up by Jasmine Miller couldn’t lead the Wolves to victory.

MSU Billings scored 25 points off turnovers while Western Oregon only got two. And they were able to play slightly deeper into the roster, as the Billings bench put up 11 points while the Wolves were held to six.

Head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter spoke to wouwolves.com after the match. “This was a tough loss to swallow. We played them even for much of the game but just could not close the gap enough at the end,” Howard-Carpenter said. “We have to value the basketball more, we just can’t give up 25 points off turnovers, period.”

The road trip continues for the Wolves this week, when they will visit Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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