Polk County Sports
12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • November 29, 2017
WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP
Men’s basketball improves to 6-0
Itemizer-Observer staff report
BELMONT, Calif. — West-
ern Oregon University’s
men’s basketball team im-
proved to 6-0 after defeating
Holy Names 76-65 on Friday
and Notre Dame De Namur
87-48 on Saturday.
Ta n n e r
Omlid had
15 points,
10
re-
bounds,
f o u r
blocks,
three as-
sists and
two steals
Omlid
against
Holy Names.
Vince Boumann added 12
points. The Wolves held Holy
Names to 38.3 percent
shooting from the field.
Ali Faruq-Bey led WOU
against Notre Dame De
Namur with 19 points, four
rebounds, three assists and
three steals. Omlid recorded
11 points,
four re-
bounds
and four
steals, and
R i l e y
Hawken
a
n
d
Demetrius
Faruq-Bey
Tr a m m e l l
each added 10 points.
Western Oregon opens
Great Northwest Athletic
Conference play on the road.
The Wolves play at Simon
Fraser Thursday at 7 p.m.
and at Western Washington
Saturday at 7 p.m. WOU's
next home game is Dec. 7,
when the Wolves host Port-
land Bible College at 7 p.m.
BETTINSON EARNS HON-
ORABLE MENTION: Western
Oregon senior volleyball player
Alisha Bettinson earned an all-
GNAC honorable mention on
Nov. 22. Bettinson, a four-year
starter with the Wolves, became
the first WOU player since the
university joined Division II to
finish her ca-
reer with
more than
1,000 k ills
and 1,000
digs.
WOU fin-
ished the
2017 season
with a 7-20
Bettinson
mark overall
and a 3-17 record in league
play.
WOU SOCCER TO HOLD ID
CAMP: Western Oregon Uni-
versity’s women’s soccer team
will host a Winter ID camp on
Dec. 9 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Those in attendance will
take part in a series of games
and drills designed to show-
case abilities and give players a
chance to meet and work
alongside members of Western
Oregon’s women’s soccer team.
The camp is open to female
players in grades 9-12.
The cost is $75. Space is lim-
ited to the first 50 participants.
For more information: Luke
Babson, assistant soccer coach,
babsonl@wou.edu.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer file
Western Oregon University’s men’s basketball season improved to 6-0.
Wolves: Host Saint Martin’s Dallas
Continued from Page 11A
Changing the culture was-
n’t a simple process.
“We wanted a more posi-
tive atmosphere. That was
the No. 1 thing we focused
on,” Howard-Carpenter said.
“Secondly, we didn’t want to
be OK with being mediocre.
That was a big part of it. Fi-
nally, we focused on the
work ethic.”
Part of that meant getting
current players to buy in.
Part of it also meant piec-
ing together the kind of ros-
ter Howard-Carpenter want-
ed.
“We had slower progress
than we wanted, but we
don’t have the resources or
the scholarships to bring in
a whole new squad and start
from scratch,” Howard-Car-
penter said. “But for me, I’d
rather do it the right way
than take
shortcuts.
W e ’ v e
passed on
recruits I
k n o w
could have
helped us
because
Miller
t h e y
weren’t a fit for our pro-
gram.”
Jasmine Miller is one of
two seniors on the roster
who have played for
Howard-Carpenter all four
seasons.
The biggest key to build-
ing the program has been
buying in early and never
wavering, even as losses
mounted, Miller said.
“It’s been a journey,”
Miller said. “We started from
the bottom to get here. It’s
nice to see all that work we
started putting in four years
ago pay off.”
As Howard-Carpenter
slowly built her roster, the
Wolves began shaping up
like she imagined.
“The new people we’ve
brought in, they don’t
know the history of West-
ern Oregon,” Howard-Car-
penter said. They’re com-
ing to just play and win.
For Sydney (Azorr) and
Jasmine, for them to see
some success is a testa-
ment to them staying the
course and understanding
the process.”
That patience and dedica-
tion seems to have started to
pay off, but bigger tests
loom.
The Wolves open Great
Northwest Athletic Confer-
ence play at home against
Saint Martin’s Thursday at 7
p.m. and Seattle Pacific Sat-
urday at 2 p.m.
Wester n Oregon was
picked to finish eighth in the
conference in the preseason
coaches’ poll.
“We have to come in like
we’re not 4-0,” Miller said.
“We have to look at each
opponent and know they
are as good, if not better,
than the one that came be-
fore.”
This season represents
another step in building
WOU’s program.
But this season has the
potential to be a big step for-
ward.
“Sometimes, when you
get used to the losses, they
kind of roll off your back,”
Howard-Carpenter said.
“Having some wins, they
want to have that feeling
over and over again.”
Continued from Page 11A
E h l e r ’s e x p e r i e n c e
coaching also made him an
attractive candidate, Lar-
son said.
“He has been working
with a few different bas-
ketball programs over the
years and comes to us
with rave reviews,” Larson
said. “He’s a great fit for
Dallas.”
After being named
coach, Ehlers began the
process of getting to know
players.
Ehlers inherits a team
that has four seniors and
four juniors.
“Most of the schools
have three to four weeks of
summer ball in June,”
Ehlers said. “It’s a chance to
try some new sets and get
to know the girls and their
strengths.”
While Dallas may lack
height, the team's speed
will be an advantage,
Ehlers said, as will a new
philosophy on offense,
one predicated on adap-
tation and changing on
the fly.
“We set up a play, but if
we can find an opening by
changing it, that’s what
we’ll do,” Ehlers said.
The Dragons open the
season at North Salem
Wednesday (today) at 6:45
p.m.
The team’s first home
game is Friday at 7 p.m.
against Reynolds.
“We’re really excited to
get this going,” Ehlers said.
“It’s hard to judge yourself
practicing against your
teammates, but we get a
good test on Wednesday
(today).”