Fast Break: Men’s basketball clinches playoff berth, Xiong breaks school medley record

A duck in a Willamette jersey about to score a goal on the soccer field while the crowd cheers behind them. Art by Wes Mowry-Silverman.

Hello, Bearcat Fan! This weekend was a largely successful one, no doubt due to the power of love motivating our Bearcats thanks to Valentine’s Day. Anyways, there was a lot to write about, so let’s get onto the news!

Men’s basketball clinched a spot in the NWC tournament for the first time in 11 seasons following their 58-56 win over the evil Linfield Wildcats on Tuesday, Feb. 10. Tanner Overby (’28) hit a buzzer-beating mid-range jumper to defeat the current conference No. 5. The ’Cats now sit at the No. 3 seed and look to extend their win streak to four on Friday during senior night. 

Women’s basketball was knocked out of contention in the NWC tournament after being bested by the odious Wildcats 44-68. The ’Cats sit at No. 5 in conference standings and also look forward to their senior night on Friday.

Men’s swim wrapped up their season at the NWC championship in Boise, Idaho over the weekend, placing No. 7 in overall team standings at the end of the three-day competition. Trai Xiong (’28) placed No. 1 in the 200-yard breaststroke and broke a school record in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:52.93, winning the silver medal in the event. He broke another record one day later in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 56.39, good for a No. 4 finish in the event. 

Women’s swim also wrapped up their season at the NWC championship, earning No. 7 overall in team standings. On the third day of the competition, Jillian Price (’28) won the consolation “B” finals with a No. 9 overall finish in the 200-yard backstroke, and Tessa Ciatti (’27) also took the B final first place a day earlier in the 100-yard butterfly, for which she holds the current school record. 

Men’s tennis dropped both of their matches, going 0-2 in team wins over the weekend, losing 1-6 against Pacific and 0-7 against Linfield. Versus Pacific, the Bearcats went 2-1 in doubles matches to secure the point.

Women’s tennis went 1-1 on the weekend, losing 1-6 against Pacific and winning 4-3 over Linfield for the second time ever. In the former match, Katrina Briggs (’26) won the singular point for the ’Cats, rallying back from a 2-6 loss in her first set to secure the win in the No. 6 singles spot. The Bearcats swept Linfield in all three doubles matches, and Alexa de Crinis (’26), Eva Lief (’27) and Briggs won in the No. 1, 4 and 6 singles positions, respectively, to secure the win.

Track saw some success in their second indoor meet of the season at the Whitworth Invitational in Spokane. Steeley Mucken (’27) took gold in men’s long jump and shot put, reaching the podium in three other events. Ella Thompson (’28) dominated the pentathlon events, placing No. 1 in long jump and making the podium in two others. 

In the wider world of sport: Football season is over.Is there any more meaning to life? The NBA All-Star weekend occurred, but I don’t think people care much about that. Pitchers and catchers reported to spring training this week, so at the very least MLB season is approaching. USA women’s hockey steamrolled Sweden on Monday to reach the Olympic finals, and at this point all we can do is pray to reach Norway, who lead the medal trackers on all counts with a whopping 12 gold medals, which is twice as much as our glorious red white and blue athletes. Step it up, USA!

In the coming weeks: Track wraps up their indoor season next weekend, heading up to Newberg to compete at the second George Fox Indoor meet. Both men’s and women’s basketball have their senior nights on Friday, hosting the Pacific Boxers and then heading north to Portland to face the River Otters in their last regular season matchup. Baseball kicks off on Saturday Feb. 21, facing the Milwaukee School of Engineering and then Pacific Lutheran at Linfield. Softball faces Warner Pacific at home in a doubleheader also on Saturday. And, last but not least, men’s and women’s tennis face George Fox at home and then head north as well to an inevitable win over Lewis & Clark.