After working hard during the month of January, the women’s basketball team carries on in their quest to earn a spot in the Northwest Conference tournament.

Freshman Allena Sommer said the team worked hard during the month of January, practicing two times a day at first. She said the team focused on their positions individually, which was a good change for her.

“I like the emphasis, just getting together as a team,” Sommer said about the practices that month. “[It’s] a unity type of thing. When we communicate our energy goes up a lot more.”

The team played eight games during January, winning four. That put them in fifth place for the Northwest Conference, just behind Puget Sound in the standings.

This past weekend, the women hoped to move up in the NWC standings, traveling to Oregon to play Linfield College and Pacific University in back-to-back games.

At Linfield, the Pirates won 93-73. Head coach Helen Higgs said the team won because of offensive efficiency.

“[The team] shot the ball well. They dictated what went on,” she said.

However, the team’s ambitions were set back at Pacific, where the women rallied late in the game but lost 78-70.

“We didn’t have the focus and determination,” Higgs said. “We still fought hard. But we were trying to react, not dictate what went on.”

She said she believes the team just needs to learn to start with more intensity and fire, and to keep it up throughout the game.

When asked if the team had a chance to make the NWC tournament after their most recent loss, Higgs said, “Now we need to have somebody upset, and still win all of our games. But we can make it.”

The team next plays at Whitman College on Tuesday night, Feb. 14, at 8 p.m.

Contact Meghan Dellinger at [email protected]