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By MANDY HANSEN
Sports Editor
Women’s Basketball
The St. Scholastica women’s basketball team opened their 2006-2007 campaign in the past two weeks with four games.
With a current overall record of 2-2, the women have been led by a balanced attack with contributions from multiple players.
Junior Whitney Latham and seniors Jessie Stenberg and Heather Saralampi lead the team in scoring as each averages over eight points per game while senior Kim Huschle tops the statistics in assists (14).
Freshman Katie Cross has made a strong debut for the blue and gold, leading the team with an average of 9.5 rebounds per game and also registering 6.5 points per game.
“We’ve been doing well,” Head Coach Stacy Deadrick said. “I like the depth we have, and I like the team play and intense defense. It’s what we’ve expected so far, but I still hope we improve more with every game.”
The Saints have this weekend off but will face Finlandia University next Tuesday, December 5 at home in the Reif Center at 7:00 p.m. The last meeting between these two teams was in November 2004, and the Saints fell to Finlandia 59-55.
Men’s Basketball
Like the women’s team, the Saints men’s basketball squad got their season under way last week to open their 2006-2007 campaign with a record of 1-4.
In their first five games, the Saints fell to Nebraska Wesleyan twice; their first meeting was in the UW-Superior Clearwire Classic Tournament, and then the Saints traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska for the NWU Tournament.
“I can deal with being 1-4 if we were actually beat four times,” Staniger said. “We need to play smarter basketball. In these games we’ve seen that one guy breaking down can cost the team the game.”
“We gave those losses away by making silly mistakes, Will Maupins said. “Now all we have to do is correct those mistakes so they won’t happen anymore. I know that’s easier said then done, but
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I have faith in this team and coaching staff and I know we will turn it around.”
Despite their record, the Saints have seen solid play from captains Brady Zubke, Derek Johnson and Maupins. The trio has led the Saints’ scoring attack with a combined average of 48.2 points per game, accounting for more than half of the team’s average 76.8 points per game.
Maupins and Zubke lead the Saints in rebounding as well with 7.2 and 4.2 rebounds per game, respectively.
“This season means a lot to me,” said Maupins, this week’s UMAC men’s basketball player of the week. “It is my last year of college basketball, one that I am truly going to cherish. Even with this slow start, I know this season is going to be special.”
St. Scholastica’s lone win of the season came in their second match of the year – a road meeting with cross-bridge rivals UW-Superior. The Saints downed the Yellowjackets 79-72.
The Saints met the ’Jackets again on Thursday night, this time at home in the Reif Center. Results were not available at press time.
Next Monday, the men play their second consecutive home match as they take on the Augsburg Auggies in the Reif at 7:30 p.m.
Nordic Skiing
While their classmates stuffed their faces with turkey and bummed around on the couch for five days, the CSS Nordic Ski team traveled to West Yellowstone, Montana for on-snow training and competition.
Many of the athletes were able to ski more than twenty hours during the week-long trip.
Sophomores Tyler Kjorstad and Jason Kask raced the USSA Supertour opening sprint against some of the best skiers in the United States. With a time of 2:06.26, Kjorstad took 57th of 122 racers while Kask was 64th in 2:07.80.
Even though the Saints returned home to minimal snow and above average temperatures, the early on-snow training will certainly benefit the Saints in their inaugural Nordic Ski season.
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