The Logger basketball squads are kicking off their seasons soon, and there’s a whole lot to be excited about. The ladies kick off their season on Friday, Nov. 7 in an exhibition at Seattle Pacific University, and the men are traveling to Eastern Washington University on Sunday Nov. 9 for their opener.
The men’s squad graduated three seniors who managed to put up a lot of points for the Loggers over the last season. Most notable is Rex Nelson who led the Logger offense in points per game last season with 15.2. Fellow classmates Dan Cheledinas and Aj Maw also contributed a large portion of the Logger offense, contributing 9.6 and 10.1 ppg respectively last season.
The main thrust of the men’s squad remains intact as the second and third leading scorers behind Nelson return to the lineup for this season.
Forward Nick Holden (Pasadena, Calif.) returns as a true senior and brings 10.5 ppg and 7.0 rebounds per game, the most of anyone on the team last season. Holden also led the team in blocked shots per game with 1.5. Guard Erin Barber (Puyallup, Wash.), the second leading scorer from last season, returns to the lineup with senior standing academically but with junior eligibility. Barber is also the only returning player to receive All-NWC honors last season as he was named to the Second Team All-NWC last season.
The ladies’ squad returns to the court this year even stronger than the men as they only graduated two seniors at the end of the 2013-14 season. Senior guards Taylor Jones and Kristine Miller left the team last season. Jones played in all 26 games of the season last year and started 22 of those games.
Miller led the team last year in field goal percentage with 53.8.
Outweighing the loss of the two seniors is the return of the most productive players for the Loggers. The three leading scorers from last season are all wearing maroon again this season. Guard Amanda Forshay (Moraga, Calif.) returns as last season’s leading scorer with 15.6 ppg. Forshay was also selected for the USA D3 travel team which battled it out against teams from South America in July last summer.
Team USA ended up playing against teams with WNBA and Olympic players. Sophomore Guard Emily Sheldon (Portland, Ore.) returns as last season’s second leading scorer with 12.1 ppg.
Sheldon also returns as the assist leader from last season with 2.5 assists per game. Power Forward Katy Ainslie (Redmond, Wash.) returns as the Logger’s third leading scorer from last season with 11.1 ppg.
Another exciting player that returns to the Logger lineup is sophomore Guard Alexis Noren (Milwaukie, Ore.). Noren was the only freshman to play in all 26 games last season and she led the team in steals per game with 1.5.
The men’s squad starts their NWC season away at George Fox University on Saturday Jan. 3 at 6:00 p.m.
The women’s squad start their conference season also away against George Fox on Saturday Jan. 3 with their game start time at 4 p.m.
