With only a couple of weeks left in the 2021-22 collegiate basketball regular season, the Seattle University men’s and women’s basketball teams are looking for a strong finish to end conference play and begin post-season play.
On The Road Again
The women currently are 8-16 overall record with a 3-10 mark in Western Conference play. The Redhawks are the conference cellar dwellers. It has been another difficult season for the team, which is hoping to embark on a strong late-season run and sneak into the ten-team WAC Tournament.
This week, the Redhawks set out on a three-game road trip. First, they traveled to New Mexico State to take on the Aggies for the second time in a span of a few days. While the Redhawks won in overtime when these teams played in Seattle, they failed to complete the season sweep, losing 59-54.
The Redhawks’ outstanding defense in the second half fueled their comeback from a six-point deficit at half-time.They forced 18 turnovers, but were out-rebounded by a large margin and missed a shot that would have tied the game with 20 seconds left. Senior guard Courtney Murphy and graduate student center Barbara Rangel each scored 11 points to lead the Redhawks’ offensive efforts. Bigue Sarr had another good game, scoring 17 points for the Aggies.
In their next game Feb 10 at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), Seattle U women played well for the first three quarters on both offense and defense, taking a lead into the final quarter that they did not protect. UTRGV won the fourth quarter, scoring 30 points to come-from-behind and defeat the Redhawks by a score of 66-60. Senior guard Bree Calhoun scored 14 points and dished out five assists. Sophomores Irena Korolenko and Peyton Howard also played well. Sara Bershers’ 20 points led UTRGV.
A Texas Sized Victory: #400 for Coach Suzy Barcomb
In a resounding 65-56 victory at Lamar University Feb 12, the women’s basketball squad was able to secure a win and ensure a happier plane ride back to Seattle. The team continued to play well on defense and had a better performance shooting the basketball, a combination that resulted in a double-digit lead for most of the game. Murphy had another good game, making five threes and scoring 17 points. Calhoun also continued to make a major impact off the bench, finishing the game with 16 points and eight assists.
Home Sweet Home
The men are in the midst of their best season since 1963-64. They carried an 18-6 overall record (9-2 conference), into the Feb 12 contest against Lamar University. The Redhawks have a legitimate chance to make a deep run in the upcoming WAC conference tournament. A tournament win earns them an automatic bid in this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament. However, it won’t be easy as they will have to get past Grand Canyon University and/or New Mexico State, two schools they lost road games to last week.
This week, the men’s basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak. On Feb 10, they defeated UTRGV 67-59, and two days later they beat Lamar by the score of 76-50. The game against UTRGV at Climate Pledge Arena was not the prettiest game as both teams struggled to make shots and the referees called many fouls. Despite struggling to knock down numerous open shots, the Redhawks won this game thanks to their defense and some clutch shot-making. Redshirt sophomore guard Cameron Tyson struggled to hit threes, yet still led the Redhawks with 13 points. Freshman Vasja Pandza chipped in 11 points off the bench. Justin Johnson scored 19 points for the UTRGV Vaqueros.
Then, like the women, the men also defeated Lamar. The blowout was the team’s eighth straight home victory and put them in a tie for first place. The Redhawks got contributions from almost everyone on the roster with the team knocking down 10 threes. Freshmen Viktor Rajković and Kobe Williamson each scored 14 points.
Both teams will face UTRGV again Feb 16, with the women playing at Seattle U and the men playing at UTRGV. Go Redhawks!
