The Olympian

Issue date: 2/13/08 Section: Sports

With four games remaining this season, the Olympic College men's basketball team continues to struggle to overcome its hurdles to reach the middle of the pack.
Despite a close contest at Everett on Feb. 6, the men have dropped their last four games in a row. That loss, as well as the Rangers' current slide, reflect the team's difficulties in conquering errors like turning the ball over and finishing weakly against top teams.
"The only difference right now between winning these games and losing them is our turnovers," said coach Billy Landram after the Rangers' 90-83 loss versus Whatcom at the Bremer Student Center on Feb. 2.
"We go for a lot of home runs, instead of just making the simple, easy play," Landram added. "We had five straight turnovers. We're not even getting looks at the bucket when we have our chance to cut into the lead and maybe tie it."
As the players develop together as a team, they continue to grow and work on their errors, despite some continued problems. Six of the Rangers' losses, in fact, have been by nine points or less.
With three of the team's final four opponents ranked at the top of the North division, and win-less Seattle trailing just behind them, the men still have a shot at winding up in the middle of the pack by the end of the season. In order to achieve that goal, however, the Rangers will need to play mature basketball, ridding themselves of their most common mistakes.



The Olympic College Lady Rangers face a tough task in the final stretch of the 2007-2008 season.
With four games left to play, and the women sitting at 5-7 in the North Division, it will be difficult for them to forge a path out of the bottom half of the pack. Their job becomes even tougher when considering the fact that Coty Ettl, a team leader, will likely not be present for the remaining games.
Ettl was injured in the Rangers' 82-40 rout of Edmonds Community College on Jan. 30. According to an MRI, Ettl has a torn medial collateral ligament, a knee injury that will keep her off the court for an indefinite period of time.
Literally adding insult to injury, the Rangers only have six available players left on the roster. These numbers give the ladies only one sub and force those remaining to play extra minutes, wearing them out more quickly than usual.
Nevertheless, the Rangers are not backing down. Coach Paul Felker sees the need for his individual players to step up as a team.
"We talk a lot about… giving your best," said Felker. "I think the challenge a lot of kids meet is that you really do have to compete every night. Our effort has to be consistent. I think we have to play at the level we're capable of playing for the whole time."
With obstacles like injuries and lack of consistency standing in their way, though, the ladies will need to believe in their abilities and focus on what is in front of them.
"We're just taking it one game at a time," said forward Patricia Lewis. "Every game, for that night, is the most important game."

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