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Southwestern women get first win since 2006
By Staff Reports
Tuesday, November 27, 2007 | No comments posted.
The Southwestern Oregon Community College women’s basketball team won for the first time in more than a season on Saturday, beating Grays Harbor at the Mount Hood tournament in Gresham.
“They didn’t win a game last year, so we were happy that we got a win,” said new Southwestern coach Stacia Rustad. “We played very well in the win. We ended up beating them by 10 points. It was a pretty substantial, solid win for us.”
The 61-51 win over Grays Harbor was sandwiched between a pair of losses — 83-50 against Wenatchee Valley on Friday and 62-34 against Blue Mountain on Sunday.
The games were the first for the team under Rustad and the start of an ambitious preseason schedule that continues Friday through Sunday at the Shasta College Invitational in Redding, Calif.
“I just hope that (win) gives us enough confidence as we head into our preseason, because it’s not easy,” Rustad said. “We’re seeing nothing but the best of teams. That’s the only way to improve.”
Rustad hopes that by the time conference play rolls around in January the Lakers will be mentally hardened and physically improved enough to compete in the tough NWAACC South Region.
“It’s going to be a growing year,” she said. “The kids are working hard and they’re moving in the right direction. That’s all I can ask in the first year.”
The win over Grays Harbor was encouraging.
The Lakers used balanced scoring — sophomore Kathleen Luce had 15 points, while Rachel Richardson had nine, Kristen Lorenzo and Briana Wallace added eight each and Kristen Kosinski scored seven.
“Where we got it done was just defensively,” Rustad said. “We ended up with 17 steals in the game, and probably 10 of them, we turned into fast-break layups.”
Luce had eight rebounds and Lorenzo added six.
“Every kid got in and did something for the team,” Rustad said. “That’s exciting. When our starters are getting a lot of minutes and I need to substitute, I can substitute a young lady in and our team is not going to drop.”
Nine of the team’s 13 players were in the game at least 14 minutes.
“The kids played hard,” Rustad said. “We did what we needed to do to sneak out with a win.”
The win followed a tough game against a Wenatchee Valley team that already had a 4-1 record before facing the Lakers.
“They had five games under their belt,” Rustad said.
The Lakers were led by Lorenzo’s 12 points, while Luce had seven and Richardson six.
“Friday, we played Wenatchee and we got banged up pretty well,” Rustad said. “We were able to come back and refocus. It’s going to be step-by-step here. We’re pleased the kids were able to do that.”
In Sunday’s game, the Lakers struggled to 17-percent shooting for the game, including just 2-for-20 in the first half. Rachel Ramierz had eight points, while Luke and Megan Eng added six each.
Men win one
Southwestern’s men also won one game over the weekend at the Red Devil Classic in Longview, Wash.
The Lakers lost the opener 89-78 to Spokane before bouncing back to edge host Lower Columbia 81-79. On Sunday, Southwestern fell 95-92 to Yakima Valley.
In the win, Matt Dance drew a charge in the final second to secure the two-point victory over Lower Columbia.
“It was a big win, playing the home team and being on the road and having played a tough game the night before,” said Southwestern coach Trevor Hoppe.
Returning players Joseph Foster and Emmanuel Olekaibe led the Lakers in the tournament.
Foster had 28 points in the opening loss, including shooting 11-for-11 from the foul line. Olekaibe added 17 points, while Kevin Reynolds had 14 and Bobby Watkins contributed nine.
Karlton Grant had a team-high eight rebounds.
Against Lower Columbia, Olekaibe had 21 points and Foster added 20. Reynolds had 10 points and 11 rebounds and Dance scored 11 points.
“Emmanuel Olekaibe did a nice job finishing around the basket,” Hoppe said, adding that Foster continued a strong start to the season.
The Lakers had 10 steals and had 23 points off turnovers, to just 11 for Lower Columbia.
In the final game, the Lakers trailed 45-40 at the half and came up just short against Yakima Valley. Foster had 32 points, including shooting 6-for-11 from 3-point range. Olekaibe added 18 points and a team-high six rebounds. Alex Dermith score eight points, Bobby Watkins added seven and Grant, Reynolds and Dance had six each.
“The third day of a tournament, you’ve got to dig deep,” Hoppe said. “We just came up a couple short.”
Despite the loss, Hoppe was happy with the tournament.
“We really are making progress and getting better,” he said. “We’re continuing to work hard and figure things out. I’m happy with our effort and attitude.”
The Laker men are in Eureka, Calif., this weekend for the Corsair Classic.
“They didn’t win a game last year, so we were happy that we got a win,” said new Southwestern coach Stacia Rustad. “We played very well in the win. We ended up beating them by 10 points. It was a pretty substantial, solid win for us.”
The 61-51 win over Grays Harbor was sandwiched between a pair of losses — 83-50 against Wenatchee Valley on Friday and 62-34 against Blue Mountain on Sunday.
The games were the first for the team under Rustad and the start of an ambitious preseason schedule that continues Friday through Sunday at the Shasta College Invitational in Redding, Calif.
“I just hope that (win) gives us enough confidence as we head into our preseason, because it’s not easy,” Rustad said. “We’re seeing nothing but the best of teams. That’s the only way to improve.”
Rustad hopes that by the time conference play rolls around in January the Lakers will be mentally hardened and physically improved enough to compete in the tough NWAACC South Region.
“It’s going to be a growing year,” she said. “The kids are working hard and they’re moving in the right direction. That’s all I can ask in the first year.”
The win over Grays Harbor was encouraging.
The Lakers used balanced scoring — sophomore Kathleen Luce had 15 points, while Rachel Richardson had nine, Kristen Lorenzo and Briana Wallace added eight each and Kristen Kosinski scored seven.
“Where we got it done was just defensively,” Rustad said. “We ended up with 17 steals in the game, and probably 10 of them, we turned into fast-break layups.”
Luce had eight rebounds and Lorenzo added six.
“Every kid got in and did something for the team,” Rustad said. “That’s exciting. When our starters are getting a lot of minutes and I need to substitute, I can substitute a young lady in and our team is not going to drop.”
Nine of the team’s 13 players were in the game at least 14 minutes.
“The kids played hard,” Rustad said. “We did what we needed to do to sneak out with a win.”
The win followed a tough game against a Wenatchee Valley team that already had a 4-1 record before facing the Lakers.
“They had five games under their belt,” Rustad said.
The Lakers were led by Lorenzo’s 12 points, while Luce had seven and Richardson six.
“Friday, we played Wenatchee and we got banged up pretty well,” Rustad said. “We were able to come back and refocus. It’s going to be step-by-step here. We’re pleased the kids were able to do that.”
In Sunday’s game, the Lakers struggled to 17-percent shooting for the game, including just 2-for-20 in the first half. Rachel Ramierz had eight points, while Luke and Megan Eng added six each.
Men win one
Southwestern’s men also won one game over the weekend at the Red Devil Classic in Longview, Wash.
The Lakers lost the opener 89-78 to Spokane before bouncing back to edge host Lower Columbia 81-79. On Sunday, Southwestern fell 95-92 to Yakima Valley.
In the win, Matt Dance drew a charge in the final second to secure the two-point victory over Lower Columbia.
“It was a big win, playing the home team and being on the road and having played a tough game the night before,” said Southwestern coach Trevor Hoppe.
Returning players Joseph Foster and Emmanuel Olekaibe led the Lakers in the tournament.
Foster had 28 points in the opening loss, including shooting 11-for-11 from the foul line. Olekaibe added 17 points, while Kevin Reynolds had 14 and Bobby Watkins contributed nine.
Karlton Grant had a team-high eight rebounds.
Against Lower Columbia, Olekaibe had 21 points and Foster added 20. Reynolds had 10 points and 11 rebounds and Dance scored 11 points.
“Emmanuel Olekaibe did a nice job finishing around the basket,” Hoppe said, adding that Foster continued a strong start to the season.
The Lakers had 10 steals and had 23 points off turnovers, to just 11 for Lower Columbia.
In the final game, the Lakers trailed 45-40 at the half and came up just short against Yakima Valley. Foster had 32 points, including shooting 6-for-11 from 3-point range. Olekaibe added 18 points and a team-high six rebounds. Alex Dermith score eight points, Bobby Watkins added seven and Grant, Reynolds and Dance had six each.
“The third day of a tournament, you’ve got to dig deep,” Hoppe said. “We just came up a couple short.”
Despite the loss, Hoppe was happy with the tournament.
“We really are making progress and getting better,” he said. “We’re continuing to work hard and figure things out. I’m happy with our effort and attitude.”
The Laker men are in Eureka, Calif., this weekend for the Corsair Classic.
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