Women’s basketball adds two wins at Classic

Western women’s basketball senior guard Amanda Dunbar won tournament MVP after the Vikings won both games at the 14th Annual WWU Lynda Goodrich Women’s Basketball Classic on Nov. 26 and 27

Senior Lauren Hefflin breaks through two defenders and heads for the basket against Montana State University-Northern Nov. 27. Hefflin scored five points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Dunbar scored a game-high 16 points to help the Vikings defeat Montana State University-Northern 59-36 on Nov. 27, and also scored a game-high 11 points against Cal State University-East Bay as Western went on to win 68-39 on Nov. 26.

Dunbar and teammate Gabby Wade earned all-tournament honors. “I thought [Dunbar] played great,” sophomore center Britt Harris said. “She’s an awesome player and an [important] piece of our team.”

After making six 3-pointers over the tournament, Dunbar is now three 3-point field goals away from tying former Western women’s basketball player Jodie Kaczor’s career 3-point shooting record of 210.

“Being a shooter, you have to keep shooting,” senior center Lauren Hefflin said. “She had a tough time, but she kept shooting, so it got better for her.”

Against Montana, the women earned the rebounding edge 40-25. Hefflin had a game-high nine rebounds and Wade grabbed eight.

“I think rebounding, especially when we’re shooting a bad percentage, gives us second chances,” Hefflin said. “I think keeping the other team off the boards is a good way of limiting their shots. It definitely had a big impact on the win.”

Along with Dunbar’s 16 points, senior guard Megan Pinske tallied 12 points while sophomore guard Corinn Waltrip and junior forward Kristin Schramm both had nine points.

At halftime, Western led 26-18 after being down 10-12 earlier in the half. In the second half the Vikings pulled away, connecting on seven 3-pointers.

In the first game of the Lynda Goodrich Classic, Western defeated Cal State.

Pinske and Dunbar led all scorers with 11 points each, while Waltrip added to the balanced offense with 10 points.

After having a 24-2 run in the first half, Western held a 39-20 halftime lead. In the second half, Cal State could not lower Western’s margin to more than 15 points.

Western once again dominated the boards, out rebounding Cal State, 47-30. Hefflin led all players grabbing  a game-high 10 rebounds.

Even with the rebounding edge in both games, Harris said the team relies on its defense to win games.

“I think our defense determines how we’re playing our game,” Harris said. “Once our defense gets going, our offense kind of follows.”

After winning both games, Western shared the tournament title with Saint Martin’s University.

Western is now 4-0 and is ranked 24th in the latest USA Today/ESPN/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Division II Top 25.

Western begins conference play in their next game against Montana State University-Billings at 7 p.m., Dec. 4, at Carver Gym as the Vikings look to stay undefeated.

“It’s a big game.  It’s our first league game,” Hefflin said. “Montana State-Billings has some pretty good players, so were excited to be prepared and play a tough game.”

Leaked documents further indict Iran

A national defense analyst believes the latest release of classified information by an Internet website could force the Obama administration to take more decisive action against the Iranian regime.

The release of more than 250,000 classified State Department documents by WikiLeaks revealed, among other things, that Iranian Red Crescent ambulances were used to smuggle weapons to Lebanon's terrorist group Hezbollah during its 2006 war with Israel. The cables said that the IRC shipments of medical supplies "served also to facilitate weapons shipments."

Lt. Col. Bob Maginnis (USA-Ret.) says these latest leaks could compel the Obama administration to move the issue of Iranian nukes to the front burner.
  

Bob Maginnis

"Certainly these revelations may prompt political pressure on the president to stop the rhetoric and recognize that diplomacy is not going to work with the Iranians," says the Pentagon advisor. "That doesn't mean the Iranians themselves might not decide to stop the program and open up, but that's not likely."

The released documents also revealed that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia repeatedly urged the U.S. to attack Iran to destroy its nuclear program -- to "cut off the head of the snake," the king requested. Maginnis is not surprised by that revelation.

"It confirms what many of us have been saying for a long time," he comments. "That Iran is involved deeply in terrorism, it's very close to North Korea, it has every intent of having nuclear weapons -- and the Arab world is very concerned [about that]."

Still, Maginnis says it is hard to tell how the Obama administration is going to respond to international pressure to deal strongly with Iran.

London's latest transit strike hobbles commuters

LONDON — Britain's biggest city was plunged into disarray and confusion Monday by a 24-hour strike that slashed service on the famed Tube network, one of the world's biggest and busiest subway systems. 

Commuters forced to take to their cars created traffic jams that nearly paralyzed parts of down town London as thousands of union workers stayed home. Bewildered tourists wandered subway and railroad stations. And some people trying to get to work gave up in disgust.

"I could take a bus, but it would take me hours," said London resident Shadie Allyn, a telephone operator who spent five hours trying to get to work before deciding she'd had enough. "Everyone depends on the Tube. They shouldn't be allowed to strike. It's ridiculous."

Monday rush-hour foot traffic hoofs across the London Bridge

By the afternoon, fewer than half of the usual trains were running and dozens of stations were closed, in a network that provides roughly 3.5 million trips a day. 

Seven of the city's 11 subway lines were at least partially closed, requiring passengers to switch lines repeatedly or squeeze into packed buses. University student Elizabeth Bajomo normally would have taken the Tube to a downtown railway station to catch her train. 

Shunted onto the bus Monday, she gave herself 90 extra minutes for the trip — and still missed her train, because buses showed up infrequently and then crawled through congested streets.

"The traffic was horrible," she said. "The Tube is so important. ... It's like the blood of the city."

London's transit system brought in extra buses, deployed an army of staffers to guide passengers and stepped up the water buses that ply the Thames River.

Among those who couldn't turn to the bus was sales manager Matt Matthews, who arrived in London from Paris by train at 10 a.m. and was still trying to get to work three hours later.

"I'm hoping I can get straight to work with no hesitations, but there's lots of traffic," he said, noting that his boss was mad.The strike was the fourth to hit the Tube in the past three months. 

Two labor unions have called the strikes over plans to cut staffing at ticket offices at some Tube stations.Many Londoners now rely on debit-card-like Tube passes that can be charged at automated booths, rather than on tickets purchased from a clerk. 

The union says the job cuts would jeopardize passenger safety and increase the risk of muggings.

"Can't believe the rail unions," London Mayor Boris Johnson tweeted when the latest negotiations broke down Friday.Bob Crow, leader of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, would not rule out the possibility of two- or even three-day strikes in 2011. 

He scoffed at the claims by the transit agency Transport for London that disruption was minimal. "If you believe what is on the TfL website, then you believe in Father Christmas," Crow said Monday. "They are using propaganda to mislead the public."

Transport for London spokesman Ben Pennington dismissed Crow's allegations as "nonsense." At the height of rush hour at 8:30 a.m., 40% of the usual 427 trains were in operation and dozens of stations were closed. While leaders traded blame, Londoners showed patience.

The Tube station close to the north London home of Vishnu Tiwan, a stay-at-home dad, was closed, so he took the bus down town to run errands and then spent at least 35 minutes waiting for his bus home.

The buses are "packed, there are too many queues, too many argumentative people," he said, but he denied he'd been significantly affected. "Londoners have gotten used to it. ... You just crack on with it."