Sports

Hurst Athletics photo

The basketball team meets with Head Coach Brooklyn Kohlheim during the game against West Liberty.

Women’s basketball kicks off season

By Megan McKay

Staff writer

Mercyhurst women’s basketball kicked off their season last weekend against the University of Charleston and West Liberty University on Friday, Nov. 11.

The Lakers’ season was underway as they took on the Charleston Eagles.

The Lakers held a 10 point lead in the first quarter and led for the majority of the game.

Charleston came back in the second half to secure a lead, but the Lakers rallied to tie the game in the final minutes by heroic efforts from senior guard Jayde Boyd who scored 11 points in a row.

In the last minute of the game Charleston pulled away, eventually winning by a score of 74-78.

The Lakers came out very strong and showed a lot of resilience in their first game of the season despite not being able to get their first win.

Boyd led the charge for the Lakers with 22 points followed by fellow senior guard Julia Buchman who had 14 points respectively.

Jayde Boyd had an impressive start to the season.

“I can contribute a lot of my success to my teammates. We were really sharing the ball as a team which allowed for us to find the advantages in the offense to get the ball to the open person.”

The Lakers then had a quick turnaround Saturday facing off against West Liberty’s Hilltoppers.

In just the first quarter, West Liberty had a nine point lead and a twelve point lead going into the first half.

The Lakers came into the second half determined to fight back and with less than three minutes in the final quarter freshman forward Bailey Kuhn made two free throws and hit a jump shot twenty seconds later.

In the following plays the Lakers forced three stops from the Hilltoppers offensive efforts and capitalized.

With just 17 seconds left in the game Danielle Grim crossed her defender and made a jump shot to force the game to overtime.

Grim, the young sophomore, showed a lot of confidence on the court with 26 points in 43 minutes of action making strong plays both offensively and defensively.

Grim shared her thoughts after making a shot to tie the game.

“With 20 seconds left, I was thinking about how much I wanted to make a play and make that shot for my teammates and coaches,” said Grim. “My teammates and coaches had put so much trust in me to take that final shot and nothing I wanted more than to make it for them so we could send it into OT and have a chance at winning. Throughout the game, I just wanted to do whatever I could to help the team win.”

In overtime both teams played hard back and forth but neither could come out ahead.

The game moved into a second overtime and with a three point shot by sophomore Grace Clary which put the Lakers at a four point lead.

However, the Hilltoppers did not back off and responded after being fouled. On the free throw line they hit three free throws in a row to tie the game up.

The game was 107-107 with 26 seconds left in the second overtime, which gave the Hilltoppers just enough time to set up a play that they executed.

Off an out of bounds play they passed the ball on the inside of the paint where the Lakers were forced to take a shooting foul in all efforts to prevent any shots being put up.

West Liberty’s shooter made her free throw which ended the game with a score of 108-107.

“While we didn’t get the outcome we had hoped for, I think it was a promising and hopeful experience that we can seriously learn and grow from. We have a really special group where everyone is truly bought in and just has that hunger to win,” said Boyd.

The Lakers are scheduled to play Tiffin University on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 6 p.m.

Houston Astros win the World Series

By Bella Lee

Staff writer

The World Series, the championship that culminates the entire MLB season, came to a close on Saturday, Nov. 5.

The Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1, to win the overall series 4-2 and win their second ever championship, their first since 2017.

After their first championship was marred by cheating scandals, this was a breath of fresh air for both the team and its fans.

The Astros were the second-best team in the entire league, only behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, and they were successful in beating the Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees in their journey to reach the highly anticipated World Series.

Several players and higher-ups in the team secured major victories with the Astros.

First baseman Trey Mancini, who was traded to the Astros from the Baltimore Orioles not long before the playoffs began. He beat a battle with Stage 3 colon cancer just two years prior, marking a massive win for someone whose health was in jeopardy during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This also secured a win for manager Dusty Baker, an MLB veteran who had last seen a World Series win with the Dodgers way back in 1981.

Game 6 of the World Series, the one that secured victory for the Astros, was also the first time that the series was won at home since the Boston Red Sox in 2013. A major contribution to the Astros’ victory was also seen in their elite pitching squad, which included those ranging from future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander to Framber Valdez and his unhittable curveball to Cristian Javier and his invisiball to a ridiculous bullpen full of power arms.

Thanks to them, the pitching staff posted a 2.29 ERA in the postseason (and held the Phillies to a .163 average) with Valdez leading the way in Game 6, allowing just one run over six innings. Additionally, the Astros won all four postseason games that Valdez started in.

Another unsung hero of the Astros, especially in Game 6, was left fielder Yordan Álvarez, who hit three home runs in the sixth inning to turn the Astros’ 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead. In addition, rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña was a revelation.

He hit in all six World Series games, making him the first rookie with a hit in six straight World Series contests.

He made several excellent plays in the field and hit four home runs in the playoffs, including a goahead home run in that 18-inning 1-0 win over Seattle back in the ALDS. His single preceded Alvarez’s blast. He was Houston’s best position player this month.

The Astros can finally be classified as a dynasty, with two championships in the past five years, four trips to the World Series in the past six seasons and four 100-win seasons all within that.

MLB photo

The Houston Astros celebrate after winning the World Series on Saturday Nov. 5.

Impressive soccer season ends in loss

By Megan McKay

Staff writer

The men’s soccer team dominated this season and recently secured the PSAC championship. On Sunday, Nov. 6, the Lakers defeated Bloomsburg in the PSAC finals and secured their first championship since 2016.

Sophomore Dylan Sumner described the team’s anticipation of winning the PSAC Championship.

“We were all buzzing to win the PSAC title. Last year we were disappointed to lose in the semi’s after having a good team, so this year we wanted to make sure we don’t slip up and stay focused to win the title,” Sumner said.

The match was full of action until the final minutes where the Lakers grabbed the automatic ticket to the NCAA tournament.

Sophomore Jorge Tallada Torres found the back of the net in the only goal of the match by a pass from Sumner to win. The Lakers entered the tournament with a record of 19-0-1 and a perfect 10-0 conference record.

Head Coach Ryan Osborne gave his thoughts on the team’s championship win.

“It felt great. It was a relief, finals are never easy to win. However, it was also something that we’d planned for, worked hard for and a goal that we set ourselves prior to the season,” Osborne said. “At the final whistle the overwhelming emotion for myself was that I was proud of the team and the staff as a lot of dedication, hours and hard work go into this behind the scenes.”

Going into the National Tournament, the Lakers were ranked third in the region and received a first round bye, starting the second round on home field vs the Post University Eagles.

Osborne described the team’s preparations going into game one. “Our main focus is to execute and to be who we are. We need to play the game and not the occasion, we have prepared well and are ready. Post is a very good team and we know we’ll have to be at our best to win and advance,” Osborne said.

The Eagles were ranked number six in the nation posting a 153-2 record on their season.

The two teams faced off Saturday, Nov. 12, at 6.p.m. in the most challenging game of the season for the Lakers. Saturday night the beginning of the match saw a lot of action in very harsh rainy conditions. The game was tied 0-0 after half.

The second half continued a series of very physical play with

Hurst athletics photo

Sophomore midfielder Sean Kerringan battles against the Post University Eagles in the National Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 12.

various tackles and stoppages.

In the 77th minute, the Eagles capitalized off a corner kick and put the Lakers down 1-0.

The Lakers went all out for the final minutes trying to return but were caught pressuring resulting in another goal off a rush from the Eagles.

Post held off the Lakers attack and ended in a final score of 2-0.

Despite the Lakers falling to Post in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Osborne attributes the team’s success through the regular season to their willingness to do the tough parts and a full commitment from the whole team.

The Lakers set out to achieve a goal of playing in the National Tournament and regardless of the result the team did just that.

It was not the end score the players obviously hoped for when searching to go deep in the tournament.

The Lakers however have had a historic run this season both individually and collectively.

The team has made the community proud and should be proud of themselves.

NBA returns for the 2022-2023 season

By Bella Lee

Staff writer

The NBA season began on Oct. 18, and there is already a lot of excitement buzzing.

From the Los Angeles Lakers losing their first five games to a variety of teams and players to be on the lookout for, the NBA has a lot of great things to look forward to.

Despite the Lakers being 2-10 as of this writing, small forward and NBA giant LeBron James has a lot of hills that he can keep climbing.

James could potentially pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer this season. He is also only the ninth player in NBA history to reach 20 seasons played.

Additionally, James is also currently seventh in all-time assists, 14th in games played and 11th in three-pointers.

However, James is not the only one that could make history. Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic could become the fourth player in NBA history to win MVP honors three times in a row.

Only 13 players have won MVP honors back-to-back, but if Jokic can do it three times, he will join greats Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird in achieving this astounding feat.

This could also be a breakout

Sporting News photo

LeBron James plays against the Golden State Warriors during the NBA 2022-2023 season.

year for Zion Williamson, the number one pick in the 2019 NBA draft whose career has so far been marred by injuries, causing him to have only played 85 games so far.

This past season the New Orleans Pelicans made it to the playoffs for the first time in four years before losing in the first round, so with Williamson, they have a chance of going even further.

There are also some impressive age gaps in the league. The youngest player, Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren, is days away from turning 19 years old. On the other hand, the Miami Heat’s Udonis Haslem is 42 years old, making him older than five current head coaches.

James is older than three current head coaches, while the Golden State Warriors’ Andre Iguodala is older than four of them.

The youngest head coach in the NBA currently is the Utah Jazz’s Will Hardy, who is only 34 years old; there are currently 19 active players that are older than him.

Like James, Haslem is entering his 20th season in the NBA. He is one of only three players to spend 20 or more years with the same team, joining the late and great Kobe Bryant, who stayed with the Laker for all 20 of his seasons, and Dirk Nowitzki, who played all 21 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks.

Carmelo Anthony could also mark his 20th year in the NBA if he gets signed by a team. Overall, the NBA could hit 14 million points altogether fairly soon.

The most notable coach to keep an eye out for right now is Gregg Popovich, the coach for the San Antonio Spurs. He has faced off against 163 coaches so far in his career, and only needs three more to hit the most of all time. At 74, he is also the oldest currently active coach in the NBA. However, Popovich is dealing with quite a young team; Jordan Hall is 20 and the Spurs have five other players—Joshua Primo, Blake Wesley, Dominick Barlow, Malaki Branham and Jeremy Sochan—who are still 19 as this season begins.

This year’s NBA season is sure to be exciting!