e Clackamas P rint
Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012
sportsed@clackamas.edu
Sports
Womens basketball finds unexpected success
Team jumps to impressive 15-2 season
Cougar post Jordin Feldman
looks to swat H annah Mocabys
(right) basket attempt in last
week’s home w in over M t. Hood:
Community College.
By John W illiam Howard
Sports Editor
It’s a little odd to describe a season that has
gone 15-2 as up and down,’ but that’s exactly
how sophomore Tiara .Fuller put it last week
: during a lull in practice, waving her hand up
and down while doingher best to keep her eye
on the court.
Coming into the season,<the expectations
for Clackamas Comm unity College Cougars
women’s basketball teain were high but not
that high. A lot o f sophomore talent moyed
on, including much o f the ¿coring and
even more o f the leadership. Perhaps
to spite the critics, the Cougars (15-2,
4 -f South) have been impressive so far,
leading the league in scoring, assists and
steals.
Co-Head Coach Jim Martineau, how
ever, isn’t entirely’ satisfied. Flashing a wry
smile after the home win over Mt. Hood
Com m unity College " last Wednesday,'
Martineau said" thafis Just how it was
being a coach; you can always get better.
One part of the game that the Cougars
‘ could stand to improve in is exactly
what Fuller referred to: Consistency, but
not always consistency game to game.
Much of their consistfency problems
are half to half.'Either die defense will
be on or the offense yfill be, but not
both at the same time. Interestingly
enough, both defense and offense
p la y m u ch better w h e n p la yin g
*in front o f ‘their 'ow rrbench,
something that has been a
Constant point o f discus^-
Sion in practice.
“It is always easier to
play in front o f your
bench because you
hear your.coaches
telling you what
needs to be done and
helping you see things
that you might not see right away,” said
freShman guard Jenny Johnson. “Also, you
hear your teammates talking to you and when,
you make a good play, they’re right there being loud
and that’s the only thing you hear, which is an awesome
feeling.”
Because a team can’t play b o th halves in front of
their own bench, Martineau has stressed talking on
defense from the beginning o f the season, something
that came up again after Clackamas gave up 48 points
in the second h alf against M t. Hood. Much of the
next days practice was spent with Martineau on the
court with the team, leading by example and shouting
instructions to his teammates, imploring the others to
do so as well,
“We have our moments where we are very good at
talking to each other on defense, and we have our times
where we are silent,” said Johnson. “But every day our
coaches stfess it and every day we work on getting
better at it. I believe we are improving on it.,Im not
perfect at it and our team isn’t but as long as everyone
is making an effort at getting better at it, then that’s all
I can ask for in my teammates.”
Martineau’s fears o f being taken advantage o f by a
good team have only been realized twice, the first being
a 72-53 loss, to Yakima Vailey Community College. It
was a game that featured 32 turnovers by Clackamas
and a season low 35 percent shooting. It also featured a
dramatic exit by Martineau when he was ejected from
the game afteihis second technical, apparently for the
first time in 15 seasons.
Since falling to Yakima Valley in the championship
of the Clackamas Crossover tournament on Dec. 18,
Clackamas has outscored opponents by an average of
.1 7 points in th eir fourwins, including an 83-50 victory
at SW Oregon Comm unity College to open region
play oh Jan. 7. The Cougars finally fell on Jan. 21 at
Lane in a close, 71-68 defeat in one of the NWAACC’s
toughest gyms.
Adding to the success so far is the return of Ashleigh
Anderson, a freshman from Oregon City High School
that sat out much o f her senior season recovering
from "several surgeries. Anderson came off the bench
in Clackatnas'home opening victory over Chemeketa,
bringing cheers from the crowd o f her former team
mates and friends that were in attendance.
“It means the world to me,” said Anderson, who
has improved each game despite favoring her knee
and shaking off a year’s worth of rust and nerves. “My
whole family was here, all my friends from C C C came
[and] it’s just really nice to have so much support.”
Anderson’s return will add further depth to a team
that already has been led in scoring by six different
players ana should boost their already decent three
point shooting.
AU stats aside, the mental and physical toughness
that Martineau pointed out before the season Began
has continued to show through. Clackamas might not
fire on all cylinders offensively and defensively at all
times but they always work hard for every loose ball
and every rebound. Once their talents all line up the
Cougars wiU be darn near impossible to stop.
■— ■
■ ís
Freshman Jenny Johnson looks to score during last week’s
82-66 victory over M t. H ood Johnson had 10 points in the
rivalry victory
Lindsay Kanalz fights fo r control o f a rebound
against M t. Hood. Kanalz scored an impressive 19
points on 5 8 percent shooting against M t. Hood.
M akesha Bizon drives to the hoop during the game
against M t. Hood. Bizon h ad nine points, a ll scored
fro m beyond the three p o in t line.