Smoke signals., March 01, 2005, Page 7, Image 7

Smoke Signals , 7
MARCH 1, 2005
Superstar Tony Bennett Performs at Spirit Mountain Casino
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Crooner On Saturday,
February 12, Tony Bennett
performed at Spirit Mountain
Casino. Born in 1926, Bennett has
had a long life of entertaining
crowds. Bennett is probably best known for his
hit ballads, "I left my heart in San Francisco"
and "Rags to Riches." In 2002, he received the
Pied Piper lifetime achievement award from
the American Society of Composers, Authors
and Publishers. Bennett also founded the
Frank Sinatra High School of Performing Arts
in Queens, New York. He was inducted into
the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame and is an
accomplished painter with an art studio in
New York City. .
Photos by Toby McClary
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Lady Dawgs Top The Competition
Tribal member Meghan Zimbrick leads team to best season ever.
By Toby McClary
The Willamina Lady Dawgs bas
ketball team won the West Valley
League district championship on
Saturday, February 19, leaving
them only one win away from the
state tournament in Pendleton.
This win came against the
Santiam Christian Eagles, 45-30.
The Lady Dawgs have an over
all record of 24-2 on the season.
They are undefeated in league and
have won their last 23 games in a
row.
"I kind of expected it to go this
way believe it or not," said Coach
Jerry Grant. "I knew we would
probably start off slow, but by the
end of the season we'd be better than
last year."
Even though the team is shooting a
better percentage than last year, (43
percent compared to last year's 37 per
cent), Grant said that this is an area
that needs improvement.
"We are not an extremely good shoot
ing team," he said. "We need to work
hard on our shots and shot selections."
Defense is a strong point for the
squad and has been all season long.
"Defense is the number one thing for
us," said Grant. "Our defense creates
so many offensive opportunities for
us."
This year, Grant had a different
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Swish Brittni Wilson puts up a shot over an Amity player during the Febru
ary 1 0 game. The Lady Dawgs went on to win that game and have not lost a
game since their third game of the season when they lost to Blanchet, 68-40.
strategy than earlier years. He
wanted to slow things down.
"I wanted to take things a
little slower this year and put
things in little by little," he said.
The team became familiar with
what I wanted to do. We cre
ated different defensive schemes
and started running half court
traps. I wanted to give (oppo
nents) something different to
look at, especially against teams
we played more than once."
This year's team consists of
three seniors: Shalise Holsclaw,
Caitlyn Chewning and Carissa
Burdon.
"We will miss the strong lead
ership skills that these girls
bring to the team," said Grant.
Tribal member Meghan
Zimbrick plays a significant role
on this team.
"She's just been phenomenal
for us this year," said Grant.
"She's been a solid defensive
presence and had huge games when
we needed her."
Zimbrick suffered from shin splints
towards the end of the season. She
was sitting out during the game
against Oregon Episcopal High School
on Friday, February 4. With the team
up by only six at half time, she told
Grant that she would play the second
half if he needed her.
Reminiscent of the New York
Knicks' Willis Reed in the 1970 NBA
Finals, Zimbrick limped on to the court
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Dominant Tribal Member Meghan
Zimbrick blocks a shot from behind as
Willamina goes on to beat Amity onThurs
day.February 10.
and scored 19 points in the second
half with eight rebounds, four
steals and four blocks.
At Smoke Signals press time,
the Lady Dawgs were preparing for
a game against Blanchet that will
decide the team' s fate. The game
is scheduled for Saturday, Febru
ary 26. If they win that game, they
will go to the state tournament in
Pendleton.
The state tournament begins on
March 2, 2005.