Daniel Sokolov

WWR- Wolves Roll into Thanksgiving Break

11/16/2016 10:17:00 PM

Paul Starkebaum, Sports Information Director

College Place, Wash.–

After an exciting weekend, activity slows down for Wolves Athletics heading into Thanksgiving break
Men's basketball is on the road to play back to back games this weekend in Eugene, Oregon
Women's basketball takes a break this weekend, and prepares for their Portland area road trip next week
We check in on what is happening around the CCC this next week

Men's Basketball

After a couple of tough games, the Wolves head out for their first true road trip of the season. The men's overall record is 1-3 right now, having lost two of those games against top-15 ranked opponents within the last six days. Ninth-ranked Whitman College and #15 Lewis-Clark State College proved to be tough challenges for the Wolves, but these non-conference games can help shape teams early on and prepare them for what is expected to be a very tough regular league season.
So far, Alex Calloway leads the Wolves in scoring at 14.3 ppg, with Dylan Browning just behind him at 11.3 ppg. Dylan also leads the Wolves in rebounding with 9.3 rpg, while Andrew Nye is the leading assist man at 3.0 apg. Despite their record, the Wolves are averaging almost 3 rebounds more per game than their opponents, and are leading the conference in rebounds per game with 51.5 boards grabbed on average. Wolves basketball is currently in third place in scoring defense in the conference, giving up an average of 74 ppg. The Wolves also reside at fifth place in team field goal percentage, averaging 45.2% as a team.

The Deacons of New Hope Christian College (1-8) have played a very heavy Cascade Conference schedule during the first part of this season. Even though they are not part of the NAIA, they play 12 NAIA teams throughout the season. The Wolves play the Deacons back-to-back on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Don't let the Deacons low winning percentage fool you, however, they have some very talented players this season.

Five players make major contributions to the Deacons, and it is hard to predict which of them will step up on any given night. Isiah Large has already had three games this season with 20+ points, including a 31 point, 5 assist game. When he is not scoring he finds other ways to contribute, including 14 rebounds in one game during the season. Steven Shares has been the other consistent scoring contributor, also with three games of 20 or more points, and features a season high of 26 points against Cal State Maritime last week. Aaron Proctor, Phillip Cook and Jaylen Rose have also contributed their fair share of points, and the Wolves will need to be careful not to lose them on defense.

Women's Basketball

The women's basketball team has the weekend off and they will be working to prepare for their road trip after the holiday. The Wolves won back-to-back games this weekend, which is a big step in the right direction for the Wolves. Coach Jessup was asked to share his thoughts on the season so far, "for me, I don't put too much weight into our two close losses or our first two wins of the season. Rather, I am very proud of this core group of young student-athletes for continually having a growth mindset, always striving to better themselves and their teammates on and off the court." The Wolves have three more games before heading into league play and Coach Jessup is well aware of this, "we have a long, tough road ahead but I am confident that we will continually strive for growth in all aspects."

So far, Alyssa Blankenship leads the Wolves in scoring and rebounding with 15.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg. Lexi Ehlers is averaging 12 ppg, along with nearly 8 rpg. The Wolves balanced attack features six players contributing 6 or more points per game so far this season. The Wolves are averaging 55.8 rebounds per game, which leads all Cascade Conference teams. They are fifth in scoring defense, holding teams to just under 63 points per game.

Cascade Conference News
This weekend the opening rounds of NAIA national tournaments for both soccer and volleyball begin. The Cascade Conference has two teams representing the conference in men's soccer and volleyball.
The Soccer playoffs start with home site games, and Corban University (19-2) will be hosting Menlo College (15-4-1) on Saturday. After winning the Cascade Conference tournament, the Warriors were granted a home site for the opening round. If they win, they will match-up against either the St. Thomas University Bobcats (9-6-2) or the #2 seed University of Rio Grande Red Storm (18-1-1). Rocky Mountain College is also representing the conference in the opening round. They will be playing their opening match in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. against the Marymount University Mariners (16-2-1). If RMC wins, they will face the Friends University Falcons (6-14-1) or the #1 seed Hasting College Broncos (20-0-0).
As for Volleyball, automatic qualifier Eastern Oregon University (28-2) starts off the tournament with a bye, and will advance to the second round. Corban University (22-6) is hosting their opening round match, and will face the Mount Vernon Nazarene University Cougars (31-5) on Saturday, who were the highest finisher in the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament.

On a sad note, a member of our Conference lost a former athlete this week. Northwest University alum Taylor Cliett lost his battle with Cancer. Taylor was a member of the men's basketball team and was part of their NAIA Championships team in 2012. Please keep Taylor's family in your prayers, which includes his wife Ericka, and their three-month old daughter Ellie. The Cliett family has a gofundme.com account setup. If you would like to contribute to their family in this difficult time, please follow the link below to their page.

Taylor Cliett gofundme page

For the Men's Basketball Schedule CLICK HERE

For the Women's Basketball Schedule CLICK HERE

For the Volleyball Schedule CLICK HERE

Follow @theUwolves Wolves on Twitter

Follow theuwolves on Instagram

Like Walla Walla University Wolves on Facebook

Print Friendly Version