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Making their mark

Womens basketball will graduate four seniors this year, all four-year letter winners. Jodi Snider 76 total career points
47 total career rebounds

Lewis & Clark womens basketball will make their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
BY FIONA CORNER
Sports Editor

Theyre ready for the dance

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The Pioneer Log sports

March 2, 2012

PHOTOS BY MAGGIE MCDERMUT

Margaret Dowling

587 total career points 606 total career rebounds

Megan Spence

Neva Hauser (12) earned an NWC Honorable Mention and is ranked fourth on the team in scoring. She is also ranked fifth in field goal percentage and third in three point percentage. I feel like we did a really good job, as upperclassmen, of being welcoming of the underclassmen, said Hauser. I have become fully committed to the program and what Coach tells me. I have so much trust and so much faith in our coaching staff. You learn to commit and not question our goals. The Pios will kick off tournament play against Concordia (Texas) tonight at 5 p.m. in the first round, hosted by George Fox University in Newberg, Ore. Im excited for the game. We play a disciplined half-court game. They play a more one-on-one game, said Cassie Beucherie (14). This will be a challenge to see what type of game will win. Were not nervous, were just hyped on adrenaline. Beucherie is ranked 11th on the team in scoring, second in field goal percentage and first in three point percentage. Sixteen first and second round sites will host games both March 2 and 3. Winners of the second round will advance to one of four sectional sites, and the games will be held March 10 and 11. From there, the winners of the four sectionals will advance to the national semifinals March 16 and 17. All games will be played on the campuses of competing institutions except for the final game, which will be held at Devos Fieldhouse on Hope Colleges campus in Holland, Mich. I think that we can beat them. If we play like we know how to play, then we should be fine, as along as we commit to playing defense together, said Casey Zinn (15).

The Tornados are coming to play

BY FIONA CORNER
Sports Editor

IMAGE COURTESY OF CONCORDIA (TEXAS) ATHLETICS

PHOTO BY MAGGIE MCDERMUT

Kathelene Howe (14) has earned 81 points for the Pioneers and has a .364 three point percentage.

Obviously, we want to beat George Fox on Saturday, and thats a big motivating factor. I think we all know we can do it so we wont take them lightly. Zinn has played 16 games for the Pios this season, has earned 14 points and is tied for first on the team in free throw percentage. All spectators are required to purchase tickets; there are no passes for NCAA Tournament events. Advance tickets are available in the LC athletics office. Tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for seniors, children and students with an I.D. For those unable to make it to George Fox the game will have Live Stats, Live Audio (KFOX) and Live Video (Stretch Internet). Brackets for the entire tournament can be found at lcpioneers.com.

966 total career points 550 total career rebounds

Mens basketball finishes season at NWC semi-finals

BY JODI SNIDER
Staff Writer

Neva Hauser

772 total career points 469 total career rebounds

This week, the Lewis & Clark mens basketball team took on the tenth ranked team in the nation and Northwest Conference champions, the Whitworth Pirates. They travelled all the way to Spokane, Wash. on Thursday only to come out short in their hopes of continuing on in the NWC tournament. The Pioneers came out scoring 11-2 in the first half. This strong start gave the Pios hope for an upset against the nationally ranked Pirates. However, the Pios couldnt hold off the Pirates for long. At 9:04 on the clock, the Pios were down by one point, with the score at 14-15. The Pioneers continued to struggle as the Pirates furthered their lead with a 20-3 run. As the first half drew to an end, the Pios were down by 12 points. The score at half was 23-35. Early in the second half, the Pios cut the deficit to nine when Marcus Wells (12) scored back to back for the Pios. Unfortunately, the Pirates began to surge forward from there. The score was at its largest deficit with 10:38 to go as the Pirates took an 18-point lead, 38-56. For the rest of the half, the Pios stayed within 15 points of the Pirates only to end the game with an 18-point loss. The final score was 61-79.

Wells had a season-high 27 points and added an impressive four steals for the Pioneers. Other high scorers were James Hollins (13) with eight points and PJ Taylor (12) with seven. Ross Erickson (13) added a team high 11 boards and chipped in six points. The season was a growing experience. We definitely had some abnormal challenges with a new coach and players. We came together better because of that. It was cool to see everyone improve, especially the first years, said Donato Perconti (12). They stepped it up by the end of the season. Im very happy we got to the playoffs especially for Coach Foremans first season. Im glad that even though it was frustrating at times, we got where we did for challenges that we had. The men ended their season with a 14-12 overall record, ranked fourth in the NWC. I was not happy with it went overall, in terms of our overall success. I had high hopes, I think we all did. We werent quite able to fulfill them, but now that its over I can step back and appreciate the journey that I went through with my teammates, said Wells. I will remember that journey for the rest of my life and I wouldnt want to have done it with anyone else. Im still in a state of shock that Im probably done playing organized basketball.

The Concordia (Texas) womens basketball team finished the season 23-4 overall and 19-3 in the American Southwest Conference (ASC). Making their first-ever appearance at the NCAA tournament, the Tornados will travel to Oregon from Austin, Texas. The Tornados had not qualified for postseason play since 2005, when they competed against Austin College in the ASC tournament, where they lost in the quarterfinals. Led by Shamika Singleton, the team leader in scoring (12.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.9 pg), the Tornados were able turn their program around, improving from 14-10 overall and 13-8 in conference play during their 2010-2011 season. There was an excitement going around the whole school, said Singleton. When we got home at 2 a.m., there were fans waiting for us. Girls have received standing ovations in class. We base our team on family. When you have girls standing behind you it makes it easier to have team unity. Concordia (Texas) earned their tournament spot after a 73-64 victory over Louisiana College, earning their first ASC tournament crown. The ASC is divided into two regions, the east and the west. With 16 teams in the league, eight in each division, the top four teams in each go to the playoff tournament. Winning three games in three days, Concordia beat Louisiana College and finished off their 40-game streak. Other key players for the Tornados include Lashanda Luckey, ranked second on the team in points with 266 and second in rebounds with 5.0 per game. Other players to watch for are Termeka Canada, who has earned the team high field goal percentage with .586 and Christen McLee, who is tied with Luckey in three-point percentages. The team is coached by Rusty Rainbolt. In his third year of coaching, Rainbolt also serves as the athletic departments game management administrator. Known as the one of the most successful and relentless recruiters in the ASC, Rainbolt has received multiple bouts of praise from other coaches in the conference. There is nobody who will outwork him. Rusty has an old school wisdom, maturity and loyalty that you dont see much anymore, said Lane Lloyd, Head Womens Basketball Coach at East Texas Baptist University. The Tornados are coming to play but they want to say good luck to the Pioneers. I dont want our girls to get too content. I dont want them to settle for just the first round, said Singleton. We have three goals. One: to earn the West Division title. We did that. Two: to earn the ASC title. We did that. Our last is to win the national title. Its awesome that this happened my senior year. Its a moment I will never forget. Rainbolt was named the West Division Coach of the Year on Feb. 29, while Singleton was named to the all-conference team. She was also named to the All-West Division First Team for the second season and earned ASC West Division All-Defensive team honors. Luckey also earned the honor for the first time.