Fast Break: US beats Canada at its own game, basketball concludes regular season

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.

Welcome back, Bearcat Fan! I am in another week of fast break-writing hell, because dear God we have so many sports competing. On the bright side, we found lots of success this last full weekend of February. Let’s get the news over with!

Men’s basketball capped off their regular season by splitting the weekend series 1-1, trouncing the Linfield Wildcats 83-69 on Friday and falling to the River Otters 83-92 in Portland on Saturday. Our ’Cats head off this weekend to Spokane for the NWC Tournament, their first appearance in the contest in 11 years. 

Women’s basketball also finished up their regular season by splitting the weekend, barely losing to the Wildcats 55-58 on senior night but beating Lewis & Clark in Portland 86-67. In the latter, senior Kaitlin Imai (’26) capped off her career by dropping 26 points on the River Otters and shooting over 56% from the field. Congrats to our Bearcats on a great season!

Baseball faced the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) in a doubleheader on Saturday, losing the first game 8-10 and rallying back to win the second 14-10. The Basecats were meant to face the Lutes on Sunday, but the game was cancelled outright due to rain. Shocking.

Softball also split their Saturday doubleheader (I’m sensing a theme here) against Warner Pacific, losing the first 10-14 and winning the second 11-8. 

Men’s tennis lost both outings over the weekend, falling to the George Fox Bruins 2-5 on Saturday and the River Otters 1-6 on Sunday. That said, this year has been a significant improvement for the Bearcats, as men’s tennis the year prior did not win a single point in team scoring against any conference opponent. The same cannot be said for this year, as the ’Cats have seen success particularly in their doubles matchups.

Women’s tennis also lost their outings over the weekend, going 1-6 against the Bruins and 1-6 versus the River Otters. In the former match, track defector Katrina Briggs (’26) secured the single point for the ’Cats by brutally defeating the Bruins’ No. 6 singles player, not permitting her opponent a single game and winning both sets 6-0. 

Women’s track concluded their short indoor season, with Whitley Stepp (’26) placing No. 2 at the second George Fox Indoor Meet by clearing 1.65 meters.

In the wider world of sport: Team USA destroyed the Canadians in their own sport, with both the men’s and women’s teams securing gold in hockey over the weekend. This marks the first time in 40 years that the Americans have won gold in men’s hockey. USA! USA! The U.S. also dominated in figure skating, largely thanks to Alysa Liu’s gold medal in women’s singles and gold in the team event … whatever that is. 

In the coming weeks: Men’s basketball will face the No. 2 Puget Sound Loggers in Spokane on Friday for the conference semifinals, surely to an inevitable victory. Softball heads south to the Lone Star State to face Southwestern in a doubleheader on Friday and then against East Texas Baptist on Saturday, staying in the state for a long weekend of competition. Baseball heads to Forest Grove to face Pacific on Saturday, and then plays the Boxers at home on Sunday. Track and field heads south to Roseburg to face Umpqua Community College in a meet that doesn’t count for national rankings, and tennis faces Puget Sound in Tacoma on Saturday. … I think that’s everything. Yay Bearcats!