The Women’s Basketball team has had a strong start to the 2011 season. The Loggers opened up the season on Tuesday, Nov. 16 against Northwest. The team came away with a 88-75 win with five players hitting double digits in scoring. Senior Jocelyn Riordan (Lake Forest Park, Wash.) led the team with 22 points, including three three-pointers. Junior Sarah Stewart (Burlington, Wash.) scored 13 points and freshman Amanda Forshay (Moraga, Calif) put up nine points for the Loggers.
“I do my best to contribute in every aspect of the game—whether it’s scoring, rebounding or a solid defensive effort. I like to come into the game with a lot of energy,” Forshay said.
The Loggers brought that momentum into their first home game against Santa Cruz on Nov. 19. The team was able to turn a halftime deficit into a 55-45 win in the last 20 minutes of the game to beat the Banana Slugs (0-3). Stewart led the Loggers with 13 points and Riordan hit a shot with seconds to go in the first half to make the score 27-24. In the second half, the Loggers held Santa Cruz to 30.4 percent shooting.
The women had their first loss of the season to Seattle Pacific University on Nov. 22 but played strong and kept their momentum going despite 71-60 score. Junior Kelsey McKinnis (Ashland, Ore.) scored the game-high 20 points and and Forshay added 10 points. Even though the Falcons held the score at half with 35-22, the Loggers came out strong in the second half. The Loggers forced 13 turnovers in the final 20 minutes.
“There was a point where we were down by 20 and we could have given up and gotten totally slaughtered, but instead we fought until the end and only lost by 11. That just goes to show that we’re capable of so much more than we even realize,” Stewart said.
The Loggers rebounded off of their loss to SPU and came out strong for a big win against St. Joe’s on Nov. 26. Every member of the team was able to see playing time in the game, and they beat the record for the most points scored in a single game since December 19, 2005. McKinnis lead the Loggers with 16 points, junior Lindsay Layland (Homer, Alaska) contributed 15 points, and Riordan added 14 points to the board. The Loggers had an astounding 93-49 victory over the Bears and held them to 32.7 percent shooting.
On Nov. 27, the Loggers faced Concordia in a tough battle, which ended in an 80-77 loss during overtime. In the second half, the Loggers came back from a half-time deficit and looked strong. McKinnis managed a layup just before the end of regulation time to tie the game 69-69 and force overtime. However, the Cavaliers were able to capitalize on shots in the last few minutes of the game for the win. This game is the last game of preseason play for the Loggers, and next week they will head to Oregon to start NWC play against Pacific and Willamette.
“Our team has so much potential. We have a lot of talent and an all-around desire to grow as a team and win games. I am very excited just to see what is in store for us throughout the season,” Forshay said.
Senior Brittney Basilio (Waialua, Hawaii) is also excited for her final season as a Logger. “I am looking forward to accomplishing the goals that we set at the beginning of the year. Our team is very talented and filled with really intelligent young women who love challenges and overcoming them together. We are finally starting to become more cohesive on the court,” said Basilio.
PHOTO COURTESY/COURTNEY RIDGEL
