Redhawks Come Up Short at the WAC Tournament

This week, both of the Seattle University men’s and women’s basketball teams traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the 2022 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament, the conference’s annual postseason tournament whose winner represents the WAC in the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments. The men’s team earned the second seed and a bye to the semifinals March 11 as a result of winning a share of the WAC regular season title. Meanwhile, the women’s team earned the ninth seed, barely sneaking into the ten-team bracket.

Women’s Basketball Goes One and Done

Seattle U’s women’s basketball team played March 8 in one of the two opening round games. The Redhawks squared off against the eighth-seeded University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). Unfortunately, their stay in Vegas was extremely short as they fell to the Vaqueros by the score of 61-71.

This game followed a familiar pattern for the Redhawks this season. They managed to keep the game close in large part thanks to their defense, which cooled down the Vaqueros after they shot well in the first quarter. The score was tied with four minutes left in regulation of this back-and-forth affair. Yet, the Redhawks once again failed to make key shots when they needed to most, missing their final ten shots of the game. UTRGV took advantage of the Redhawks’ offensive woes, hitting four fourth quarter threes including two consecutive three-pointers to give them a late lead that they would not relinquish.

Senior Bree Calhoun paced the Redhawks with 17 points and six assists. Freshman Taliyah Clark also performed well in her first career start as a Redhawk. She set a collegiate career high in minutes during which she scored 13 points. Sara Bershers scored 24 points to lead the victorious Vaqueros.

As a result of the loss, the Redhawks’ season comes to an end. They finished the 2021-22 season with a disappointing 11-19 record, the fourth straight year that this team has had a losing record. With the team losing a whopping eight seniors, it will be up to Clark and the other returning players, as well as the six new 2022 recruits, to return Seattle U’s women’s basketball squad to WAC contention.

Men’s Basketball Loses a Heartbreaking Semi-Final Game

 March 11, the Seattle University men’s basketball team took to the court at Orleans Arena for their semifinal matchup against the Abilene Christian Wildcats (ACU). While the Redhawks received a bye until this round in the tournament, their opponents were playing their third game in three nights, having won two straight to reach the semifinal round. This postseason game marked these two schools’ second meeting this year, with the Redhawks having won the first meeting 72-62. Yet, this game carried a lot more stakes with the winner moving on to play for a conference title and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats got some revenge, coming out on top by the score of 78-76 in a wild nailbiter of a game that came down to the very last seconds. 

Game Highlights

Both teams did not shoot the ball well in the first half, but the Wildcats went into halftime up six thanks to a late surge. Their trademark turnover-forcing defense was on full display. The Redhawks committed 13 of their 19 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of action. At the beginning of the second half, ACU took their biggest lead of the game. Yet, the Redhawks answered, surging to tie the game at 44 with around 11 minutes left. The game’s final ten minutes featured multiple ties and lead changes with the tension building as the game drew closer to the finish line. The Wildcats managed to hit their free-throws and hold on for the big win during the last few seconds when the Redhawks began fouling to stop the clock and extend the game.

Two factors contributing to Seattle U’s loss are that they committed 19 turnovers and had two key players (Riley Grigsby and Emeka Udenyi) foul out of the game. The referees seemingly called fouls on every possession of this game, especially in the last few minutes. On the positive side, Redhawks’ sophomore Darrion Trammell gave a five-star performance, finishing the game with a career-high 39 points. He made 10 field goals and went 17-20 from the free-throw line. Despite his unsuccessful attempt to lead his team to victory, Trammell’s 31st point was number 1000 in his collegiate career. Just before his achievement, his teammate redshirt sophomore Cameron Tyson, who finished the game with 14 points, also went over this landmark after sinking a three-pointer. They joined Grigsby as Redhawks to achieve this impressive milestone this season. Airion Simmons led the victorious Wildcats with 21 points while Tobias Cameron poured in 18.

Next Steps For Both Teams

Abilene Christian advances to take on New Mexico State in the tournament championship game Saturday, March 12. Meanwhile, the Redhawks’ record-breaking 23-9 season is probably over, unless they get selected and agree to participate in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), the second-tier option for teams that don’t make the NCAA Tournament field. 

The Redhawks’ focus will soon shift to next year’s season. Given that none of their starters were honored on Senior Day, Seattle U’s men’s basketball team will have high expectations next year. They will only be able to take the next step as a program if all of their key players come back. Given that Darrion Trammell tested the transfer portal last year before deciding to return, it would not be a shock if he decided to enter it again and transfer to a school in a bigger conference following a second-straight stupendous campaign as a Redhawk.