Dec. 12, 2007

TACOMA, Wash. -

by Wendy Carpenter, The Tacoma News Tribune

The Western Washington University women's basketball team has the week off for final exams.

Which is good news, since the Vikings are running out of players as a result of personal issues and an abnormally high number of injuries.

"Last weekend (at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference/California Collegiate Athletic Association Crossover Classic) we had one player with more than one year of experience," Western coach Carmen Dolfo said Tuesday, referring to junior center Claire Pallansch. "I've never been in a situation like this before. You always lose one or two players, but we haven't just lost our top players, we've lost our leaders."

Indeed, it's been a season marked with adversity:

• The Vikings' leading returning scorer, senior guard/forward Liz McCarrell, dislocated and tore a ligament in her right foot that required season-ending surgery.

• Senior forward Krystal Robinson, out of Kentridge High, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee on the last possession of a 57-56 overtime loss to Pacific Lutheran on Nov. 9.

• Backup point guard Elyse Hartman, a senior, is sitting out the season with the same knee injury that forced her to miss the last 14 games last season.

• Redshirt freshman Amanda Dunbar, who replaced McCarrell in the lineup, has missed one game with a stress fracture in her left foot.

• Two weeks before classes started, projected starting junior forward Willow Cabe decided not to return for personal reasons. She has taken the year off from school, and it is unclear if she plans to come back.

• Junior point guard India Soo has shin splints but should be back next week.

• Starting junior forward Sarah Schramm returned to the team last week after being sidelined because of complications from dental surgery.

The Vikings were going to redshirt two freshmen - guard Kaitlin McBride and center Lauren Hefflin - but both will play this season.

All that turmoil might explain why the Vikings (2-6) are off to their worst-ever start. They will try to snap a four-game losing streak - tied for the longest in school history - when they resume action Dec. 18-19 at the Great Western Shootout in Las Vegas.

That's quite a departure from last season, when Western finished 18-10 and reached the first round of the West Regional of the NCAA Division II tournament.

"I feel like we're starting to realize that stuff happens, and it's how you respond to it that matters," Dolfo said. "It's hard - it's hard on the players. But we can only feel badly for ourselves for so long. We need to step up and start figuring out how to win with who we have."

Week in review

University of Puget Sound: The men's basketball team is ranked No. 14 in the latest D3hoops.com poll, and the women's team is No. 24.

Pacific Lutheran University: Junior guard Josh Dressler was named Northwest Conference men's basketball player of the week after totaling 64 points - including 38 against Saint Martin's, which competes in Division II - to go with 17 rebounds, seven assists and five steals as the Lutes split their two games. ... Senior defensive end Andrew Eisentrout, out of Olympia High, has earned D3football.com All-West Region first-team honors for the second year in a row. He is being considered for the All-America team, which will be announced later this week.

Western Washington University: Senior middle linebacker Shane Simmons, out of Kentlake High, was a first-team North Central Conference selection. Sophomore running back Craig Garner, out of Lakes High, and senior defensive end Ryan Conwell, out of Kentwood High, made the second team. Sophomore linebacker Caleb Jessup, out of Inglemoor High, was one of six honorable mentions for the Vikings. Also, sophomore safety Danny Cumming, out of Friday Harbor High, and redshirt freshman offensive tackle Nick Bassett, out of Peninsula High, were two of four Central players named to the all-NCC academic team.

The Evergreen State College: Sophomore guard Nathan Menefee, out of Timberline High, was named Cascade Collegiate Conference NAIA player of the week after scoring 60 points in the Geoducks' two wins last week. ... Junior Eric Jones was named to the Cascade Conference cross country all-academic team.