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By Tulalip News staff
TULALIP – Heritage Lady Hawks hosted their last home game of the season tonight with a game against Highland Christian Knights at the Francy J. Sheldon Memorial Gymnasium.
The Lady Hawks built a strong lead going into halftime with a score of 17-15, and maintained a slim two-point lead going into the fourth. The Knights kicked up their defensive to take a 5-point lead and end the game, 30-25.
by Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
Coming off their first win of the season, the (1-11) Lady Hawks were looking to keep the momentum going when they hosted the (7-2) Orcas Christian Saints on January 13. The Lady Hawks had two new players making their home debut, sophomore center #40 Cyena Fryberg and junior guard #2 Kaenisha Herrera, giving the team eight active players for the first time all season.
The 1st quarter started off well as forward Jaylin Rivera collected an offensive rebound and scored off her putback field goal. Two possessions later guard Michelle Iukes made a 3-pointer to tie the game at 5-5. The team’s momentum then was halted as Orcas Christian switched into their ‘diamond defense’ that calls for full-court trapping of any Lady Hawk ball handler. The Orcas Christian defense forced seven turnovers and allowed the Saints to go on a 7-0 run to end the quarter.
Starting the 2nd quarter the Lady Hawks trailed 5-12. Orcas Christian continued to implement their ‘diamond defense’, forcing ten more Lady Hawk turnovers. When the Lady Hawks were able to break the Saints’ pressure and advance the ball to the frontcourt they were able to get quality looks at the basket. Point guard Myrna Red Leaf made two jumpers and Iukes nailed a deep 2-pointer and a free throw to give the Lady Hawks 7 points in the quarter. However, on the other side the Saints were getting easy looks from their forced turnovers and scored 19 points in the quarter. At halftime the Lady Hawks trailed 12-31.
During the 3rd quarter the Saints stopped playing their ‘diamond defense’ and went to a more typical half-court press. The Lady Hawks were able to advance the ball quickly and break down that defense, especially for their 3-point shooters. Both Cyena Fryberg and Iukes were able to get open and make a 3-point shot, followed by a pair of made free-throws by forward Jaylin Rivera. When Red Leaf hit her 2-point jumper the Lady Hawks had gone an 11-2 run to win the 3rd quarter 11-7. With more quarter remaining the Lady Hawks cut their deficit to 15 points, 23-38.
Red Leaf and Iukes connected on back-to-back jumpers following a Saints’ made free throw to open the 4th quarter. Their buckets pulled them within 12, 27-39 with 5:00 to play. Unfortunately, that was all the offense the Lady Hawks would get in the final quarter as the Saints closed the game on an 11-0 run. The Lady Hawks lost 27-50, but would be encouraged by their play in the 3rd quarter as a sign of how good they are capable of playing.
by Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
The (8-3) Tulalip Heritage Hawks hosted the (1-7) Orcas Christian Saints at Francy J. Sheldon court on Tuesday, January 13. It was the second matchup of the season for these two teams, with the Hawks edging the Saints 76-63 back in December. The Hawks were fresh off their disappointing showing to the Lummi Blackhawks and wanted to get back to their winning ways.
Shooting guard Dontae Jones caught fire in the opening quarter, scoring 11 straight points for the Hawks at one point. Taking advantage of the zone defense the Saints were running early, Jones hit three 3-pointers and then made two of three free-throws after he was fouled shooting another three-ball. On the defensive side, the Hawks were being challenged by the Saints’ speedy point guard Michael Harris and big man center Cyrus Amour. At the end of the 1st quarter the Hawks led 19-13.
A quickly made 3-pointer by forward Willy Enick pushed the Hawks lead to 22-13 to start the 2nd quarter. The Saints responded by pounding the ball down low to their center Cyrus Amour who was able to shoot over the smaller Hawk defenders. Amour also was busy collecting offensive rebounds for his team due to the Hawks not boxing him out. Point guard Jesse Louie took advantage of his size mismatch over Saints’ point guard Michael Harris by driving to the rim and shooting baseline jumpers. Louie led the Hawks in scoring in the 2nd quarter with 8 points. However, the Hawks led by only 3 points 34-31 at halftime.
During the halftime intermission Hawks coach Cyrus “Bubba” Fryberg did not hesitate to tell his players they needed to focus and lock-in defensively. “When they shoot you have to find your man and box-out. Number 31 (Amour) needs to be boxed-out. I want the post to be working. You guys are getting outworked down there. Number 31 (Amour) is killing us on the boards. That means everyone has to help rebound. Crash the boards. We are getting killed defensively and that’s the only reason why it’s a close game.”
The Hawks came out in full-on attack mode to start the 2nd half. They went on a 7-0 run that led the Saints to calling a timeout; Hawks led 42-31 with 5:45 remaining in the 3rd. After a pair of Anthony McLean free-throws the Hawks had a 13 point lead. Hearing the voice of their coach, the Hawks put major emphasis on shutting down Saints center Cyrus Amour. They held him to only 4 points in the quarter, but their focus on Amour allowed Saints’ point guard Michael Harris to take advantage of his one-on-one coverage. He scored 13 points in the quarter to keep his team in the game. At the end of the 3rd quarter the Hawks led 58-50.
In the 4th quarter the Hawks offensive barrage continued as center Robert Miles and guard Ayrik Miranda combined to score 17 points. As a team they scored a game high 25 points in the final quarter, more than enough to secure an 83-70 victory over the Saints. For the Hawks it was the best offensive showing of the season, scoring a season high 83 points and having five players score 15 plus points.
“Better job defensively in that second half,” coach Fryberg told the Hawks players following their win. “We have to continue to improve defensively. Where do we improve? In practice. We will be working hard on our defense so we’re better prepared during our games.”
Timothy Burke of Deadspinreportedthat announcers said the word 472 fewer times in the 2014-15 regular season.
Meanwhile, use of the word ‘Washington’ to identify the team slightly increased during broadcasts. In 2014, ‘Washington’ was mentioned 1,390 times. In 2013, it was mentioned 1,380.
The team itself has been mired in controversy over its use and defense of its name. In June, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office stripped the team of six of its seven trademarks, finding the word to be “disparaging to Native Americans.”
Since then, a growing chorus of dignitaries, celebrities and former players have called on team owner Dan Snyder to change the name. Former Secretary of State and possible 2016 presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton called the team name “insensitive”, and even President Barack Obama said if he were the owner of the team he would consider changing the name.
Snyder said he will “NEVER” change the name.
On Dec. 28, The Washington PostAssociate Editor Bob Woodward predicted on FOX News Sunday that Snyder will sell the team this year to either Apple or Google.
“Danny Snyder, the owner of the Redskins, who’s had past success in business, will realize he’s part of the problem,” he said, “and he’s going to sell it; he’s going to sell the Redskins and the bidding war is going to be between Apple and Google. Think of it — the ‘Washington Apples’?”
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/01/06/use-word-redskins-announcers-drops-pundit-predicts-sale-team-2015-158585
by Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
The Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks (0-9) hosted the Lopez Island Lobos (4-2) on Tuesday, January 6. This would be the second meeting of the season for these two teams; the first was played at Lopez Island where the Lobos won 56-20.
From the opening possessions it was apparent that the Lady Hawks would be in for a very challenging game. The Lobos were applying a full court defense and double teaming guard Michelle Iukes, the team’s offensive leader, whenever she would bring up the ball. Moving the ball with accuracy when they are going against heavy ball pressure has been a season long struggle for the Lady Hawks. For what seemed like the entire 1st quarter the Lady Hawks were under duress trying to move the ball against the Lobos press defense. When the quarter came to an end the Lady Hawks had committed 15 turnovers and were trailing 0-20.
In the 2nd quarter the Lobos ball pressure continued to frustrate the Lady Hawks. The turnovers continued to come as errant passes were resulting in easy buckets for the Lobos. Coach Cyrus “Bubba” Fryberg called a timeout to tell his players to focus on executing good solid, chest passes and that the offense would immediately get better once they started making better passes. Shortly thereafter guard Myrna Red Leaf scored the first Lady Hawks bucket of the game, with an assist from center Nina Fryberg. The passes were improving but the quick handed Lobos guards were still finding ways to come up with steals, forcing 10 Lady Hawk turnovers in the quarter. Going into halftime the Lady Hawks trailed 2-37.
During the halftime intermission the Lady Hawks were urged to not pay attention to the scoreboard. Even though they were trailing the focus would be getting better as a team and making better passes. Defensively they were urged to hustle, hustle, and hustle.
The 3rd quarter was a total team effort by the Lady Hawks that displayed their desire to improve as a team and not to focus on the scoreboard. They hustled back on every time they were on defense, they got their most rebounds of the game, and they made sure every Lobos’ shot was a contested one. Offensively, the Lady Hawks cleaned up on their passing by making straight-line passes and making sure each other were in good position before making a pass. By doing so the Lady Hawks cut their turnovers down and had much more time to setup their offense. With the crowd and their coach urging them the offense started to come. Forward Mikaylee Pablo assisted on fellow forward Jaylin Rivera’s basket to give the Lady Hawks their second made field goal. Then, with 0:13 to go in the quarter guard Michelle Iukes pulled up and hit a 3-pointer. Going into the 4th quarter the Lady Hawks trailed 7-41, but with their effort on both sides of the ball they had managed to win the 3rd quarter by outscoring the Lobos 5-4.
In the final quarter the Lobos caught fire and the Lady Hawks weren’t able to carry over their defense intensity from the 3rd quarter. The Lobos went on a 20-0 run to put the game well out of reach, but just as they have done all season, the Lady Hawks continued to fight until the end. In the final thirty seconds the Lady Hawks nearly doubled their point total when first Michelle scored a 3-pointer and then on the very next possession, Myrna pulled up from just inside half-court and swished a 3-pointer to beat the final game buzzer. The Lady Hawks lost 13-61, but showed a winner’s mentality by playing until the final buzzer.
Micheal Rios, mrios@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov
by Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
The Tulalip Heritage Hawks (6-2) hosted the Lopez Island Lobos (0-6) on Tuesday January 6, 2015. These two teams last played December 17, 2014 at Lopez Island, where the Hawks won 63-35 in a convincing fashion. The Hawks were on a 4 game winning streak until losing 53-57 at Three Rivers Christian on Saturday January 3, and wanted to get back to their winning ways in a hurry.
The Hawks came out looking to make an early statement by playing a full-court defense and making sure every Lobos shot was contested. Their defense forced the Lobos into committing six turnovers on their first nine possessions. The Hawks turned those Lobos turnovers into transition buckets, going on an 11-2 run to open the game. The 3-ball was falling early as center Robert Miles, point guard Jesse Louie and guard Ayrik Miranda each made a 3-pointer during the run. The Lobos were able to successfully break the Hawks’ press a couple times in their next two possessions that led to them scoring easily at the rim. The Hawks responded by moving the ball on the offensive end and finding the open shooters. When the Lobos called timeout with 1:52 remaining in the first the Hawks led 18-8. The Hawks ended the quarter missing their last five shot attempts, but led by their stellar defense, including 4 steals by Robert Miles, the Hawks led 18-10 after the 1st quarter.
Guard Ayrik Miranda hit his second 3-pointer to open the 2nd quarter. The Lobos answered with a jumper of their own. Forward Willy Enick collected two offensive rebounds on the next possession and scored a bucket of his own. The Lobos again answered with a bucket. When the Lobos called their 2nd timeout at the 5:00 mark of the quarter, the Hawks were leading 23-14. The rest of the 2nd quarter continued to be a back and forth affair with both teams seemingly trading buckets until the quarter ended. Going into halftime the Hawks led 31-22.
“Offensively we are lackadaisical. You guys need to move the ball, pass more. Defensively quit reaching, slide your feet and get into position. You guys have to will yourself to work harder. You have to work hard. Stop the ball. Every time we pressure the ball something good happens,” coach Cyrus “Bubba” Fryberg stated as he urged his team to not play down to the level of their opponent.
In the 3rd quarter both teams continued to trade baskets. The score was 40-28, following Ayrik’s third 3-pointer, when the Hawks called a timeout to give their starters a quick rest. On the very next play following their timeout Robert stole a Lobos inbounds pass and found Jesse wide open in the corner who hit his second 3-pointer of the game. The Hawks had their largest lead of the game 43-28 with 3:45 to go in the quarter. Moments later Ayrik displayed the defensive hustle his coach had asked for at halftime when he sacrificed his body and took a charge. For the next several offensive possessions the Hawks got 3-point happy and went 0-5 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Lobos capitalized on their free throw opportunities by sinking four from the charity stripe. Robert finally ended the Hawks drought by scoring on a putback layup to put the Hawks up 45-32 with one more quarter to play.
The 4th quarter saw Robert Miles attack the hoop and come away with four quick points and Trevor Fryberg hit his first 3-pointer of the game. Following a pair of Lobos free throws the Hawks had pushed their lead to 16 points, 52-36 with 5:33 to play. The teams again took turns trading baskets with both Robert and Ayrik countering Lobos baskets with 3-pointers. In the closing moments Robert collected his 8th steal of the game to go along with his game high 22 points and 14 rebounds for a near triple-double. The final score was 62-47 in favor of the now 7-2 Hawks.
Micheal Rios, mrios@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov
BY CHARLES PULLIAM (ALASKAN ALEUT), NATIVE PEOPLES MAGAZINE
His stories usually start and end with head-shaking disbelief.
More or less at the same time in the early 1900s, Jim Thorpe (Sac and Fox) was the world’s best college football player, professional football player, hurdler, short-distance runner, shot-putter and discus thrower. He played professional baseball and basketball as well and even was recognized for his dancing ability.
Before Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders, Thorpe was the original multi-sport athlete. But he didn’t just play, he dominated.
His Olympic feats in 1912 are asterisked because it was uncovered that he was paid to play baseball during his time at Carlisle Indian School. However, the Stockholm Summer Games gave Thorpe international recognition and legendary status as he won gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon in record fashion. Thorpe competed in 15 events and won eight of them, all while wearing mismatched shoes.
Take that in for a moment. His shoes didn’t match.
Thorpe still won four of the five events in the pentathlon and finished third in the other.
A true testament to his glory is Thorpe’s time in the 1,500-meter run—he finished in 4 minutes, 40.1 seconds in the decathlon event at the Stockholm Games in his second time running the event in two days. The time wasn’t beaten by another decathlete until 1972, and even with all of the technology, specialty (and matching) shoes and training available to athletes today, 100 years later, American silver medalist Trey Hardee ran the same event in 4:40.94 at the 2012 London Games.
Even the simple stories surrounding Thorpe carry a legendary, schoolyard prowess.
His Olympic roommate, Abel Kiviat, recalled one instance where Thorpe ended an elementary competition of trying to touch a hanging chandelier in the grand ballroom of the S.S. Finland—the ship that transported the Americans to the Games and served as the boarding house in Stockholm. It was a simple feat, but in a room full of athletes, no one came close until Thorpe leaped and grabbed the chandelier.
Kiviat said Thorpe only had to watch someone do something once and he’d try it and do it better.
Thorpe was born on May 28, 1888, near Prague, Oklahoma, on Sac and Fox Indian land. When Thorpe was 11, he was sent to Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas, and in 1904, he entered the nation’s other Indian school set up by the government and military in Pennsylvania: Carlisle.
This is where Thorpe began his track-and-field career in 1907, and just like the chandelier on the S.S. Finland years later, Thorpe turned heads by clearing a high-jump bar on his first attempt with ease when others were failing.
Carlisle also launched Thorpe’s football career. Books are dedicated to single games, like when the Thorpe-led Indian school toppled defending-champion Harvard 18-15 in 1911, or the famous game a year later when Thorpe scored two touchdowns and drilled three field goals to lead Carlisle to a 27-6 dismantling of Army at West Point.
“It was like trying to clutch a shadow,” wrote The New York Times on Thorpe’s running against Army. Carlisle won the college national championship in 1912, led by Thorpe’s 25 touchdowns. He was named an All-American for the second straight year.
In 1913, he signed to play professional baseball with the New York Giants.
Thorpe’s fame from his college days at Carlisle carried over onto the football field as well, where he helped lay the foundation for the league that became today’s mighty National Football League while playing for the Canton Bulldogs. Canton happens to be where the NFL Hall of Fame is located.
Thorpe was recognized as the greatest athlete of the first half of the century by the Associated Press in 1950 and in 1999, with the AP ranking only Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan ahead of him.
Thorpe died of a heart attack at the age of 64 on March 28, 1953, and yet his story continues both in history books and in the news.
Just in October, a federal appeals court ruled that Thorpe’s remains would stay in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, a town named after the legendary athlete, despite the objections of two of his sons. They had wanted Thorpe’s remains to be returned to Sac and Fox tribal lands in Oklahoma.
By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
The Tulalip Lady Hawks (0-5) hosted the Orcas Christian Saints (2-1) on December 16, 2014. Coming off a narrow defeat to archrival Lummi in a previous game, the Lady Hawks were looking to rebound with their first win of the season.
Coach Cyrus “Bubba” Fryberg and his Lady Hawks would have their work cut out for them as they would be playing with only 5 eligible players, meaning no bench and no substitutions for the already thin roster.
The 1st quarter got off to a rough start for the Lady Hawks as the Orcas Christian Saints played a full court press defensively the first several possessions that resulted in consecutive turnovers by the home team. To make matters worse, the Lady Hawks looked slow and lethargic while not hustling to rebounds. Because of the lack of energy the Saints collected 5 offensive rebounds on one possession. With 3:00 remaining in the opening quarter the Lady Hawks found there hustle and looked like they were ready to play for real. There was an offensive focus to get the ball to the Lady Hawk bigs Nina Fryberg and Jaylin Rivera. Both were able to get into good offensive position and get off clean shots, but they didn’t fall. The 1st quarter ended with the Lady Hawks trailing 0-11.
Following the lackluster 1st quarter showing, Coach Fryberg urged his players to push the tempo offensively and for the guards, Michelle Iukes and Myrna Redleaf, to be more aggressive while looking for their shots. After giving up a quick bucket to go down 0-13, the Lady Hawks buckled in defensively to force back-to-back turnovers. Michelle Iukes showed her coach the aggression he was looking for by pulling down an offensive board and getting fouled on the put-back attempt. Michelle went one for two at the free throw line to put the Lady Hawks on the board 1-13. On the very next possession Myrna found a wide open Michelle who swished in a 3-pointer. Moments later Myrna forced a Saints turnover and Coach Fryberg called a timeout. He drew up a play that was executed to perfection and resulted in Michelle hitting another 3-pointer. The Lady Hawks were on a 7-0 run and brought the score to 7-13. The Saints responded by hitting a 3-pointer of their own, followed by a Nina Fryberg free throw and a baseline jumper by Michelle. With the score now 10-16 the Saints called a timeout.
Coming out of their timeout, the Saints ran a defense that this basketball enthusiast hadn’t seen before. Later I learned it was called the diamond press or 1-2-1-1 full court press. It’s a trapping man-to-man defense that only works if you have quick guards who can “heat up the ball” in a one-on-one situation. This means getting the ball handler out of control and blinding him from the impending trap, which comes from a secondary defender who’s lurking near half-court. For the remainder of the 2nd quarter, the Saints remained in their diamond press defense and the Lady Hawks committed eight turnovers while not scoring another point. At halftime the Lady Hawks trailed 10-24.
The Saints’ diamond press defense continued to stifle the Lady Hawks in the 3rd quarter. Following back to back turnovers, Myrna found an open Michelle who shot and made her third 3-pointer of the game to make the score 13-26. Over the remainder of the 3rd quarter the Lady Hawks would only score two more points, scored by Jaylin Rivera, as the Saints defense continued to slow down the visibly frustrated Lady Hawks. Meanwhile the Saints were getting easy buckets off of 14 forced turnovers. Going into the 4th quarter the Lady Hawks trailed 15-41.
After getting the short break to rest before the start of the 4th quarter the Lady Hawks came out hustling. They were running back on defense and not letting the Saints take uncontested shots. On offense the shots weren’t following until Michelle inbounded to an open Jaylen who made an elbow jumper to make the score 17-41. Unfortunately for the Lady Hawks that would be their last basket of the game as Jaylin soon after fouled out. Having no bench players for this game meant the Lady Hawks would play the rest of the game 4-on-5. This added challenge made it difficult to get any offense going. The game ended 17-49 in favor of the Orcas Christian Saints.
Following the game Lady Hawk Michelle Iukes was very upbeat about the team’s development. “We’ve gotten a lot better at beating the press. We didn’t panic or anything. But we have to look middle more because they [Jaylin and Nina] are open. I think everyone has improved and we are able to look inside more, down low more and not just high post.”
The Lady Hawks remain positive and are determined to get their first win on the season in the coming weeks.
Micheal Rios, mrios@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov
