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."