Fast Break: Woah! People read these?

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! ’Twas an eventful week in the world of sport, both Willamette and otherwise, with mostly positive outcomes. Unless you are a Rams, Broncos or Pacific Boxers fan, that is. Let’s get onto it!

Women’s basketball grabbed two decisive wins over the weekend, trouncing the newly-anointed River Otters (formerly the Pios) 82-57 in a game in which Kaitlin Imai (’26) recorded her 1000th career point. She is now the No. 9 highest career scorer in WBB school history. Our ’Cats also beat the Boxers 65-55 in Forest Grove. Riley Walden (’29) was awarded NWC Player of the Week honors after earning back-to-back double-doubles over the weekend. Women’s basketball now sits at No. 5 in conference, just below the odious, evil George Fox Bruins.

Men’s basketball bested Lewis & Clark at home and Pacific away on Friday and Saturday, respectively, beating  the River Otters  81-74 and narrowly escaping with a 75-74 victory over the Boxers. In both games, the ’Cats shot over 40% from three, a stat that they’d struggled with earlier in the year. They now sit at No. 3 in conference with a 10-7 overall record, surpassing their win total from last year. 

Men’s swim joined in on the trend of bullying the Boxers and the River Otters, winning both meets over the weekend. The former was won in resounding fashion, as the ’Cats bested the Boxers by over 90 total points. Kevin Olmedo (’26) contributed significantly versus Pacific, winning first in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle on Senior Day.

Women’s swim, you guessed it, also destroyed the Boxers and the River Otters, winning the former by a whopping 93 points. Jillian Price (’28) earned first in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 11:46, beating second place by an impressive 51 seconds. The ’Cats also placed first in the 400-yard medley relay on Friday.

In the wider world of sport: Jarrett Stidham, the backup QB for the Broncos, failed to secure a win for the Mile-High City on Sunday as the New England Patriots won the AFC championship and punched their ticket to the Super Bowl. The Seattle Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams to avenge my Bears in the NFC championship, so now we’re roaring towards a rematch of one of the more infamous Super Bowls in recent history. Arizona men’s basketball remains No. 1 in the country, making it the seventh consecutive week that the Wildcats have been No. 1. UConn women’s basketball has been No. 1 in the AP poll since the beginning of the season, so not much to report on there.

In the coming weeks: Swim is on a three-week hiatus from competition until they head to Boise, Idaho for the NWC Championships starting on Feb. 13. Both men’s and women’s basketball face George Fox on Jan. 27, as the women’s side looks to take the No. 4 spot in conference from the Bruins.