Pierce College Blogs

The Raiders overcame a lack-luster performance Wednesday night, to eek out a win from the winless Chokers from Grays Harbor.  In what the Raiders expected to be an easy night, the Chokers gave Pierce all they could handle, with the Raiders finally pulling away in the final seconds for the win, 75-71.  The Raiders had four players in double figures, led by Alix Hernandez’s 14 points.  Cramer Doughty had 12 points on perfect shooting from the field (4/4, 3/3 from 3-point range), and Michael Stepovich also had 12.  Alfred Davis chipped in 11 points and had 4 steals.  The win keeps the Raiders (8-3 in league, 15-6 overall) in 2-tie for 2nd place in the West with Highline.

The Raiders, winners of 8 of their last 9, play at Centralia on Saturday.  Game time is at 7:00 p.m.

With the memory of a disappointing early season loss to Grays Harbor for motivation, the Lady Raiders took care of business Wednesday night, beating the Chokers 67-46.  The Raiders jumped out early with a stiffling defense that held  Grays Harbor to just 17 first half points.  Taylor Riley led the way for Pierce with 21 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Unique Taufa’asau with 18 points and 8 boards.  Jessica Bush 11 rebounds to go with her 7 points, and Jennifer Rea had 9 points and 8 boards.  The win moves the Raiders back into a 2-way tie with Tacoma for 4th place in the West, with a league record of 6-5, 8-11 overall.

The Raiders travel to Centralia on Saturday to take on the Trailblazers in another important West Region match-up.  The Raiders beat Centralia on January 15, 69-49, at the HEC.  Game time Saturday is at 5:00 p.m.

Hey Troops!

Just want to let you know that I am fine and doing well. We will hold class thurs as usual and I PROMISE I’ll be able to finish out the night. Thank you for your care and kind words.

Nancy

The Raiders traveled to Tacoma CC Monday night with the intent to put the first blemish on the Titans undefeated league record.  The Raiders poor shooting from 3-point range (4/22, 18%) and the charity stripe (11/21, 52%), ultimately cost them the game, losing 80-73.  Sian Laine led four Raiders in double figures with 18 points, supported by Alix Hernandez with 14, Alfred Davis with 13 (and 8 rebounds), and Brandon Thomas’s 11 (to go with 9 boards).  The loss drops the Raiders record in the West to 7-3, and puts them in a tie for second place with Highline CC.

The Raiders are back at it on Wednesday, when they host the Chokers from Grays Harbor.  Game time is at 8:00 p.m.

The Raiders had two shots in the final seconds to win or tie the game, but couldn’t convert, dropping a disappointing 51-49 decision to that Titans at Tacoma Monday night.  Trailing 30-21 at halftime, the Raiders put on a strong performance in the 2nd half, behind the 18 points of Haley Hancock – all on 3 pointers – who also grabbed 5 steals.  Unique Taufa’asau added 12 points in the losing effort.  Jennifer Rae pounded the boards for 13 rebounds, and Taylor Riley chipped in for 9 points and 8 rebounds.  The loss drops the Raiders to 5-5  in the West (7-11 overall), half a game behind the Titans (6-5) for the fourth playoff spot in the division.

The Raiders are back on the floor Wednesday night, when they host Grays Harbor (2-9) at the HEC.  Game time at 6:00 p.m.

The Raiders avenged an opening night loss on the road to Lower Columbia (Jan. 5, 82-80), Saturday night, by handing the Red Devils their 4th consecutive loss, 83-74.  The Raiders had a balanced scoring attack, with four players scoring in double figures.  Alix Hernandez led the way with 21 points, on 8 of 13 from the field, Cramer Doughty pitched in 14 points (5 of 7 from the field), Michael Stepovich had 13 points (9 for 9 from the line), and Alfred Davis added 11 points, along with 6 assists and 6 steals.  Brandon Thomas fell one point short of another double-double, scoring 9 points an grabbing a team high 10 rebounds.  The Raiders had their best night of the season, shooting 25 for 33 from the line, 75.8%.

The win keeps the Raiders alone in second place in the Western Division, 2 games behind Tacoma CC.  Pierce travels to Tacoma Monday night to take on the #1 ranked Titans.

Despite a solid first half effort on Saturday night, the Raiders ran out of gas down the stretch, falling to division leading Lower Columbia 81-55.  The Raiders (5-4 in league) proved they could play with the best in the first 20 minutes, trailing by just 5 points at the break.  Unfortunately, the bench depth and sophomore experience of the Red Devils proved too much for the Raiders to handle in the second half.  Pierce was led by the 25 points of Unique Taufa’asau, supported by solid performances from Taylor Riley (11 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 steals), Jennifer Rae (10 points and 10 rebounds), and Jessica Bush (12 rebounds and 3 blocks). 

The Raiders travel to Tacoma on Monday night to take on the Titans of TCC.

In his 16th season as a head coach in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges, Raiders Men’s Basketball coach Bill Mendelson joined an elite fraternity of NWAACC coaches by capturing his 250th collegiate win.  The milestone was reached in a home game on January 19, 2011, when the Raiders captured a 75-58 victory against Western Division rival Highline CC.

Mendelson began his college coaching career at South Puget Sound CC, when he took over the women’s basketball program for the 1995-96 season.  In his six years at the helm, the Lady Clippers earned five trips to the NWAACC Tournament, placing 6th in 1998, and 5th in 2001.  He had four 20+ win seasons, and compiled a record of 94-80.  Mendelson moved over to the Clippers’ men’s program from 2001-2003, going 38-23 in two seasons, and placing 8th at the NWAACC Tournament in 2002.

Mendy made the move up I-5 in the Fall of 2003 to take over the Raiders program.  In his seven plus seasons with Pierce, he has won 118 games (against 95 losses), and has led the Raiders to the top two finishes in the program’s history at the NWAACC Tournament.  His 2005 team earned a shot at the conference championship, but lost a tough game to division rival Lower Columbia, and finished in 2nd Place.  In 2007, the Raiders lost to Bellevue in the semi-finals, but took care of business against Walla Walla on the final day of the tournament, to finish in 3rd Place.

Mendelson was honored prior to the Raiders game against Clark on January 29.  Former players from SPSCC and his past Raiders teams were on hand to congratulate Coach Mendy.

The Raider Men’s Basketball team made their first appearance in the 2010-2011 NWAACC Coaches Poll this week, cracking the top eight, with a #6 ranking in the conference (tied with Clackamas).  The Raiders, 6-2 in league play and 13-5 overall, finished the first half of Western Division play on a six game win streak, and firmly in second place.  This marks the first time since the 2006-2007 that the Raiders have been ranked, the same year the team placed Third at the NWAACC Championships.

The Raiders start the second half of their league schedule with a brutal stretch of 4 games in 8 days, opening with Lower Columbia at home on Saturday, Feb. 5, and traveling to Tacoma on Monday, February 7.

Riding a 3 game win streak, the Raider Women finished the first half of league play tied for Third Place in the Western Division, with a record of 5-3 (7-9 overall).  Big wins at home against Tacoma (77-71), Centralia (69-49) and Clark (62-59), highlighted the month of January for the resurgent Raiders.  The all-freshmen squad features three players averaging in double figure scoring, lead by Unique Taufa’asau (16.4 ppg), Taylor Riley (11.3), and Jennifer Rea (10.2).  Riley, Taufa’asau, Rea, and post Jessica Bush are all averaging over 6 rebounds each per game.

The Raiders host first place Lower Columbia (9-0) this Saturday, as they start the second half of the league schedule, and continue their push for a berth to the NWAACC Tournament in March.  The Raiders last qualified for the post season in 1997.