Men’s Basketball
With only one month left until the first Men’s Basketball tournament since the team’s return to the West Coast Conference (WCC), the competition in the WCC has proven to be a tough challenge for the Redhawks.
Seattle University Men’s Basketball currently sits at ninth in the conference standings, holding a conference record of 3-7 and an overall record of 14-9.
The Redhawks went 1-2 this past week, defeating Loyola Marymount University (LMU) at home, 69-59, Jan. 21 and dropping two crucial games versus Pacific University Jan. 24 and Washington State University Jan. 28, with scores of 54-56 and 58-70 respectively.
Seattle U had a strong defensive showing during their outing against LMU, holding the Lions to just 18 points in the first 20-minutes of play. LMU was able to cut their deficit to only 11 with just under five minutes left to play in the contest, but this didn’t hinder the Redhawks who held their lead up until the end.
Senior guard Brayden Maldonado was the leading scorer with 14 points, 12 of those coming in the first half. Senior guard JoJo Murphy had 13 points coming off the bench for the Redhawks, his second best scoring performance versus division one opponents. Sophomore center Austin Maurer and redshirt Sophomore forward Will Heimbrodt both scored in the double digits, coupled with a combined 12 rebounds; Heimbrodt had seven of his own.
Maldonado had his fifth 20+ point game this season versus Pacific, but it wasn’t enough for the Redhawks to pull out a win.
The Redhawks had a slow first quarter that saw Seattle U going into halftime down 15, only scoring 18 throughout the first 20 minutes of play. The Redhawks went on an offensive surge to bring their deficit to just one point with 15 seconds left to play in the contest, 54-55, but after the Tigers drained one of two free throws, senior guard Maleek Arington’s attempt to tie it up failed to fall, sending the team home 54-56.
The Redhawks returned to Washington Jan. 28 to take on the foes from the Palouse, Washington State, for the second time this season. Seattle U came out victorious in their first meeting, 69-59 Dec. 30 at Climate Pledge Arena.
Seattle U’s offensive drought proved to be a problem once again against the Cougars. The team shot just 34.4% (21/61) from the field and a strikingly low 14.3% (3/21) from beyond the arc. There were only three lead changes during the entire contest, with all three coming within the first few minutes of the first half. The Cougars took a two point lead, 12-15 with 13:35 left to play in the first half, and from there never let it go.
The matchup ended with WSU pulling away, taking home the victory 58-70.
Seattle U will return home Feb. 4 to host Pepperdine University at 7 p.m. in the Redhawk Center.
Women’s Basketball
Seattle U Women’s Basketball have also had a not so warm welcome to the WCC. The team currently sits last in the conference with a conference record of 1-8 and an overall record of 5-15.
The Redhawks went 0-2 this past week, hosting two conference opponents in Santa Clara University Jan. 22 and Saint Mary’s College Jan. 24.
The game versus the Broncos saw three Redhawks scoring in the double digits, but it wasn’t enough to outscore the number three team in the conference. Graduate student guard Ella Brubaker led the way for the Redhawks, shooting 50 percent from the field, dropping 16 points. Graduate student forward Andejla Bigovic and Freshman guard Chloe Emanga both tallied 11 points in the 59-93 loss.
Seattle U led for a majority of the contest versus the Gaels, holding the visiting squad to only nine points in the first quarter and eight in the second. But The Gaels found their offensive stride during the second half, outscoring the Redhawks 50-31 in the final two quarters. Seattle U ended the matchup falling to the Gaels, 53-67.
The Redhawks hit the road Jan. 29 to face off against Pepperdine University at the Waves’ home court.
Women’s Tennis
Seattle U Women’s Tennis kicked off their spring season traveling over to the rocky mountains to take on the University of Denver Jan. 23 and Colorado State University Jan. 24. The team dropped both matches 1-6 and 1-4 respectively, but there were a handful of individual victories during the weekend.
Junior Lamija Avdic and Senior Natalia Michta started their spring season hot, taking home doubles victories in both matches. The pair defeated Hana Becirovic and Marley Lambert of Denver, 6-4, followed by Luana Avelar and Logan Voeks of CSU, 6-2.
Michta also found success on the singles front versus Denver, winning her singles match 3-6, 6-2 and 1-0 in a tie-breaking third set.
The only other Redhawk to see a victory over both matches was senior Lola Tavcar who won her singles match versus CSU 6-4, 6-4.
Women’s Tennis have almost a three week break before hitting the road once again to face off against the University of Oregon in Eugene Feb. 14.
