Image provided by: West Linn High School; West Linn, OR
About The amplifier. (West Linn, Oregon) 1921-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2007)
W 0 7 ___________ ____ _________ Sports 13 Lions hold own against State s elite teams u S achse H opkins _________ Staff Reporter While most were getting ready for two weeks of vacation, West Linn's Girls Varsity Basketball Team geared up for a busy break. They started with a win over Benson on Dec. 15, the last day of school for 2006, and ended with a fourth place finish at the Lake Oswego Interstate Shootout, one of Oregon's most prestigious tournaments. West Linn was dominant in a win over Benson High School, sending them into the tournament on a high note. The Lions stayed even with the Techsters for the first half, before pulling away with a 66-47 win. Nicole Aden, senior guard, led all scorers with 26 points, going 15 for 16 from the free throw line. Free throws were one of the team's strengths, with a 22 for 28 performance overall. The Lions' fast break was too much for the Techsters and Benson was forced to take more outside shots against the Lions solid defense. The win was the team's first on the road for the season. The Lions then faced another PIL team, the Lincoln Cardinals, in the opening round of the Interstate Shootout. The tournament featured many of the top ^| m s in the state and was o S team's first test to see how well it matched up against the state's elite. Despite their 0-4 record coming into the tournament, Lincoln still presented the Lions with a challenge. They responded well with Rosetta Adzasu, junior guard, scoring 18 points. Britt May, sophomore guard, also played well, with eight points, going six for six from the free throw line. Defense was dominant, holding Lincoln's leader, Nikki Aden, senior, hustles back on defense in the team's league opener against Rex Putnam. Aden led all scorers with 24 points to lead the Lions to a 81-48 win. Photo by Ann Breyne Aliy ah Green, to 11 points. The final result: a 47-30 win. In the next round, West Linn faced Wilsonville, one of two 5 A teams in the National Division of the tournament. Despite a 58-44 win for the Lions, Wilsonville held on into the fourth quarter. At the end of the third quarter Wilsonville was within one, after Jenna Collins, Wilsonville guard, hit a three at the buzzer. The Wildcats hustled up and down the floor all game, but in the end they were unable to keep up with the Lions. Aden led West Linn scorers Debs continue with practices, fundraisers, Routine for State u K ate T olan ___________ Staff Reporter Hard work and determination is one way to describe the Debs. With practices, fundraisers and competitions, Debs members stay focused and organized. The Debs practice two to three times a week for three hours and every Saturday for four hours. Their dedication and lengthy practices have paid off with a recent win in the jazz dance at a competition held at David * Douglas High School. The team took third place in the kick and lyrical dances at a competition held at Gresham High School. "We work hard and have lots of fun," Kathryn Warmack, junior, said. * For the next two months the team will be preparing and learning its State routine. At their next competition, the Debs will preform two minutes of their routine. All four coaches (Amanda Wilcox, Angie Sharpe, A|off Wishart and Karissa ^Rerson) and 15 to 20 members of the team will be traveling to California during Spring Break. The trip to Disneyland will last four days and include performances at California Adventure and fun and relaxation time in the theme park. Fundraisers for costumes and the trip have included selling poinsettias, holding a car wash and the annual Dance with the Debs. This will be the second year that the Debs have taken this trip. In the future, they hope the entire team will be able to make the trip. Dance with the Debs, held on Dec. 9, included all Deb members teaching children K-8, a routine throughout the day from 9 a.m. to noon. At the end of the day, the children performed their routines for their parents in addition to the Debs performing their three routines: lyrical, kick and jazz. "It was really fun teaching the little kids. I loved seeing the smiles on their faces after they performed," Lindsey Fisher, sophomore, said. with 17 points, while Emily Wattman-Turner, junior guard, contributed 15 points and Jennifer Kimbrow, senior post, added 11 more to the cause. After advancing, West Linn faced fourth ranked Jesuit. The Lions swift offense was unable to keep up with the Crusaders; final score: 51-37. Despite Jesuit starting five players measuring 6-foot or taller, the Lions were able to out rebound the Crusaders 32-20. The final score, however, did not reflect the intensity of the game, with the Crusaders finally pulling away in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Lions 19-5. The tough loss put West Linn in position to compete with the Tualatin Timberwolves for a third place finish. Sam Child led Tualatin with 24 points as the Timberwolves came from behind, 43-39 in the third quarter. Down three, the Lions had a chance to tie it at the end of regulation, but Aden's three-pointer missed at the buzzer, to end with a final of 55-52. Despite going 2-2 in the tournament, the Lions finished fourth and were very happy with the results. "I thought that the Lions did themselves proud playing against some of the tougher teams in the state, especially coming off the holiday break," Glen Lee, head coach, said. "We were able to see what we need to work on as we headed into league play. Our girls played with a tremendous amount of passion and desire and that will help as well in league play." On Jan. 5, the Lions controlled the game from the beginning against Rex Putnam, with an 81-48 win. Aden and Kimbrow led the team with 24 and 23 points, respectively. The Lions were thrilled with such a strong league opener, with all players seeing playing time and scoring points. Following their blowout at home against Putnam, the Lions hit the road against the Lakeridge Pacers, a team that the Lions were winless against for ten years before sweeping them in the 05’- 06’ season. The Lions' slow start put their backs against the wall early, mainly due to the performance of Lakeridge's Amanda Huck who posted 10 points and 10 rebounds. lea gift lueiiir_____________ j continued on page 14 Boys' basketball team continues rebound season, upsets McKay m S arah C hico ! ne __________ Forum Editor The Varsity Boys' Basketball Team lost its first league game giving them third place in the Three Rivers league. On Jan. 23 West Linn played and lost to the third ranked in state Oregon City, 89-70. Most years, the Pioneers would usually be at the top of the polls, but with Kevin Love at Lake Oswego and Kyle Singler from South Medford leading their teams, they are outranked. Oregon City is led by Brad Tinsley, junior, who averages 25.8 points per game, behind only Love in league play. In fact, he is third in the state in scoring behind Love and Singler. After West Linn's 78- 47 domination over the Milwaukie Mustangs on Jan. 19, the Lions were ready to build on their 11-3 season, and are third in league behind LO and OC. The Lions defended their high ranking on Jan. 12 by beating formally ranked sixth in state, McKay, 67-62 in a non-league win. High scorer Brenton Spickerman, sophomore, ended the game with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Justin Monahan, junior, was close with 15 points. The Lions took another win on Jan. 9 when they faced the last place Lakeridge Pacers, 57-56 victory. Colby Martzall, senior co-captain, was the leading scorer with 16 points. Lions prepared for the Orange Holiday Classic, held in Los Angeles Dec. 26-29, by destroying Putnam Kingsmen, 77-55. Sixteen skilled teams were present at the annual tournament. Aaron Downs, head coach, hopes the tournament helped prepare the Lions for top TRL teams. The Lions ended the tournament with a 2-2 record. Preceding the tournament on Dec. 22, West Linn went up against San Francisco's Marin Catholic who were in town to play West Linn and David Douglas. The Lions played without starters Martzall and Max Cathcart, victory. Spickerman ended the game with 13 points and 19 rebounds. Alex Tadros, senior co-captain, achieved his best game of the year with 13 points. The night before, the boys played the Newberg Tigers. Although the game was tough, the team pulled it together with a nail-biting 56-51 victory. Martzall led Alex Tadros, senior co-captain, dribbles past a Lakeridge player during the Lions' 57-56 win against the last place Pacers. The victory helped keep West Linn in playoff contention. Photo by Sarah Chicoine junior, and ended the game with their first loss of the season. Spickerman lead the team in points with 14 and Spencer Dorway, senior co captain, added 12. The Lions positive season also gave the team the momentum needed to carry them through to the West Linn Invitational held on Dec. 15-16 consisting of four teams. The Lions pulled through, winning their first tournament of the year. On Dec. 16, the Lions played the Southridge Skyhawks for the number one position. West Linn started out strong with a 10-0 lead and was able to hold onto victory and sneak through an intense overtime for the 53-51 tournament the team with 16 points and Monahan added 15. West Linn ended the tournament with a 5-0 record continuing its winning streak after a sweet 63-53 victory and the first home game against McMinnville on Dec. 8. As of press time, the Lions are third in league with an 11-4 record. Downs and the team hope to keep winning. "We want to make the playoffs and surprise some people while we're there," Downs said. Dorway agreed with Downs the night of the Lakeridge game and said, "The season is going really well. Our team goal is to make playoffs. We need six wins and we've got one so far."
