With LBCC’s baseball games last week postponed due to weather, the spotlight shone only on both Beaks basketball teams as they finished their 2023-24 regular seasons.
The week started off with two big wins for LBCC basketball on February 26. The women defeated 5-22 Clark 63-50 at home, outscoring the Penguins in every quarter but one. The point-scoring was a combined effort, with BettyAnn Wilson leading the team with 13 points while Katelynn Weaver and Hannah Berschauer recorded 11 and 10, respectively. Wilson also led the team in rebounds.
Next up were the men, who crushed 8-18 Clark 105-74. It was the highest point total the Beaks have scored this year and their second game this season to break 100 team points. The game was all but decided early on as the Beaks entered halftime up 56-29.
T.J. Zimmermann led the Beaks with 26 points while Cade Smith, Bennet Bos, and Davion Burdette all recorded 15 or more points themselves. Smith led the team in rebounds with eight.
However, both teams struggled on the road in their next games. On February 28, the women fell to Lane 85-52. Wilson led the team in points with 15 and rebounds with 11. The men also fell to the Titans, 95-72. For that game, Zimmermann was a lone bright spot, leading the Beaks with 31 points on the night. He also recorded a team-best eight rebounds.
With LB baseball’s double-header with Mt. Hood postponed due to a storm (and yet to be officially rescheduled), the final games of the week occurred at the Linn-Benton Activities Center as the Beaks basketball teams took on Clackamas on March 2. Coincidentally, those basketball games were the result of weather-delays as well, rescheduled from their original dates in mid-January after an ice storm paused school activities for most of the week.
The LBCC women took the court first, ending their season on a rough note with a 80-39 loss against a very strong 20-6 Cougars team. For the game, Berschauer and Weaver led the Beaks in points with 11 each, while Laney Snelling and Hallie Romig tied for the rebound lead with five apiece.
Despite missing the postseason, the LBCC women finished the season with a winning 16-10 overall record and a competitive 8-8 record in the NWAC South.
For the season, freshman Natalia McBride led the Beaks with 12.5 points per game. She’s part of a young core that the Roadrunners hope to build around next season, also including players such as Wilson, Weaver, Berschauer, and Molly Goeckner, all 2023-24 freshman who started a number of games during the season.
The Beaks will be losing five sophomores this offseason: guards Muriel Jones-Hoisington, Brooklynn Walters, Laney Snelling, Hallie Romig, and Cienna Hartle, who combined for 57 starts during the season. Their departures will leave big shoes to fill, especially Jones-Hoisington, who has been a big part of the LBCC basketball program for the past two seasons. After having her season end prematurely due to injury, Jones-Hoisington’s absence was sorely missed during the final stretch of the season.
Still, the LBCC women finished their season with a winning record and plenty of great moments. Even better are their future prospects – three of LB’s top-four scorers during the 2023-24 season were freshmen.
As for the LBCC men, they took the court next, defeating 15-13 Clackamas in a close 86-84 matchup to secure their postseason seeding. For the game, Michael Lundy led the Beaks with 19 points off the bench, while Zimmermann added 17 points and a team-best nine rebounds.
With the win, the LB men now sit at 15-13 on the season with a winning 9-7 conference record. Although their NWAC South record is slightly worse than last year’s 10-6, their overall record guarantees their first winning season since 2018-19.
The Beaks hope to take that momentum into the first round of the NWAC Playoffs. As the South’s third seed, they’ll face the North’s second seed, 24-5 Skagit Valley, on March 7 at 10 a.m. With a victory, the Beaks would advance to face the winner of Walla Walla and Lower Columbia in the Elite Eight. All of the games in the tournament will take place at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Washington from March 7-17.
As for LBCC baseball, they will also play next on March 7, with their first game in an away series at Chemeketa starting at 11 a.m. It’ll be a big week for LBCC athletics.
