Should we even sing the national anthem?
Zach Duncan | Sports Editor

Anytime something happens regarding the Stars and Stripes at any sporting event, it serves as a lightning rod for attention. Right now that bolt of electricity has struck tiny Manhattanville College, less than 30 miles from New York City. Toni Smith, who plays basketball for the Div. III school, doesn’t want to face the flag during the national anthem, and that is okay with me. To be completely honest, I would not be opposed to eliminating the national anthem before sporting events. At the beginning of a MSU soccer game last semester, that very thing happened. The PA announcer could not get the music to play before a women’s game and didn’t even try before the guy’s game that followed. One thing that needs to be clarified with Smith, though. She does not turn her back to the flag. She turns 90 degrees away from the flag. I am no math major, but I am pretty sure that for her back to be facing the flag, she would have to be turned 180 degrees. She does this because she cannot bear to salute the flag of a country with “inequalities that are embedded into its system” and “the war America will soon be entering.” Of course, Manhattanville College is a liberal arts school that assists in furthering her beliefs by preaching the First Amendment. A lot of people have very derogatory opinions about this young lady. Most of them are veterans or something of the sort. There is just something about that grand old flag that gets people’s blood boiling. Remember after Sept. 11, when thousands upon thousands of little American car flags were flying from the antennas. The national anthem meant more at that time than perhaps ever in history. For the briefest of seconds, just about everybody in the country felt connected whenever they joined in singing that song. I was at a Texas Rangers game the very first time they played after taking time off after Sept. 11. There were very few dry eyes in the stadium; myself included, as the organ system cranked out “The Star Spangled Banner.” Even then, not everyone was singing, looking at the flag or even standing for that matter. That was when we were supposed to be at our patriotic best. With the exception of the Whitney Houston rendition during the Super Bowl (which gives me chills just typing about it), most people remember mistakes rather than good performances. Other than the post-Sept. 11 version, the one I personally remember most was last year’s opening day at The Ballpark in Arlington. Jessica Simpson was performing the traditional pop-star jazzed-up version when two B-1 bombers buzzed the stadium at an altitude that couldn’t have been legal. They cut into the song about one-third in, and the noise didn’t subside until she was finished singing. So few people get the song right that it is a distraction. It is one of the hardest to perform. Compound that with the fact that teams from college onward are recruiting players from other countries almost as much as domestic born. The Dallas Symphony could perform a concert series with all of the anthems from the Mavericks. It would be awkward for sure. It was at the MSU soccer game, but the teams still played and the fans still cheered. That is what sports are about anyway.

Indians slide into playoffs with road wins
Jennifer Tavlian | Staff Reporter

While three teens were caught stealing from the MSU men’s basketball team Saturday, the Indians ran off with two crucial wins in three days, sending them into the playoffs. The Indians had to win the last two games of the season on the road against Angelo State and Abilene Christian University to make the playoffs. They also needed a win from Texas A&M-Kingsville over West Texas A&M to make their 29th postseason appearance in the last 30 years. MSU won Thursday night in San Angelo over the Rams in front of nearly 2,000 fans, 84-79. Marquette Wilkins, Josh Drumgole and Jovani Allen scored 18 points each, while Kris Sivertsen scored 10 of his own. Drumgole also pulled down 10 rebounds, and Wilkins dished out seven assists. Despite the close score, the Indians dominated in field goal percentage, shooting 45.5 percent over ASU’s 33.8 percent. MSU also shined on the free-throw line, hitting 70.3 percent compared to ASU’s 51.4 percent. The Indians also put on a show Saturday against Abilene Christian, blowing them out at Moody Coliseum, 68-51. The most the Wildcats would lead the Indians by was a mere two points in the first half. After MSU took a 5-0 lead, Abilene’s Cliff Green would score two of his mere six points of the game to put his team up 11-9, their first lead of the game. P.J. Randall hit a floater off the side and a three-pointer to increase the lead, 25-19. “We have had a difficult season at times,” head coach Greg Giddings said. “It would have been easy to quit a long time ago, but we didn’t. We kept battling.” But the real show happened during halftime of the Abilene Christian game Saturday. When the team went into the locker room holding onto a 31-24 lead, they found three youths holding onto their cell phones. Halftime was extended so a handful of Indians could chase down one of the thieves that got away. After more of a workout during the break than they had bargained for, the team brought their bags into the gym and got back to work. Sivertsen hit a three-pointer just under seven minutes into the second half on an assist by Wilkins. Green went up for a lay-up seconds later, but Sivertsen was there with a huge block. Sivertsen also nailed a three-pointer to put the Indians ahead 65-42, their biggest lead of the game and never looked back. Not only did James grab five offensive rebounds, he pulled down 16 defensive boards, giving him a college career-high 21 rebounds. James came just seven shy of the school record of 28 rebounds, set by Gary Suiter in the 1967-68 season. “I got into the rhythm and just kept chasing them down,” the grinning 6’6” sophomore said. “I was at the right place at the right time, and the ball just kept going into my hands. “More importantly, we didn’t have a second-half lapse, and we kept pushing bigger and bigger until they couldn’t come back.” James, whose 21 boards were part of the team’s 39 collective rebounds, also had 10 points in the game. Wilkins, Sivertsen and Randall each produced a dozen points for the Indians and Wilkins slapped the ball away a team-high three times for steals. Senior Stephen Mitchell was assigned the tough task of guarding Rodney Lee, who scored 29 points in the Wildcats win over MSU in January. Lee scored just six points. “I’m really proud of them,” Giddings said. “We’re an average team with a bad record. “Anything can happen in the playoffs.” The Indians improve to 10-17 on the season and 5-7 in the Lone Star Conference South.

Jason Palmer | The Wichitan

Sophomore Adrian Fincher attempts a lay-up over ECU’s Lesli Shores during the first half of MSU’s 88-55 first-round win.

Meosha Walker jumpstarted MSU early, and the Lady Indians relied on stellar rebounding the rest of the way, blowing out East Central 88-55. MSU will now meet Northeastern State in the Lone Star Conference semifinals Friday night in Tahlequah, Okla. “At this time of year, it’s just about advancing, and our kids rose to the occasion tonight,” MSU head coach Shannon Burks said. Walker scored 18 of her game-high 22 points in the first half, as the Lady Indians rode a 16-0 run to take control early. The 5-8 junior was responsible for 13 of those points during the run. “She had an incredible half,” Burks said. “Not only did she hit some big shots, but she played well defensively, pushed the ball up the court and made some offensive rebounds. It was as complete a half as I’ve seen in a while.” The Lady Tigers countered, closing to within 16-10, but it was MSU who then rattled off a 13-0 run to build a 19-point advantage with 7:30 remaining in the half. MSU built its lead to 38-17 with a jumper from Adrian Fincher, and the Lady Indians rolled into halftime with a 44-22 lead. The ladies went into a shooting funk to began the second half, as MSU missed its first 10 shots. Walker finally made the team’s first field goal at the 13:32 mark, but a pair of three-pointers by ECU’s Lindsay Furche cut their lead to 45-33. “We are real streaky, and we haven’t learned how to break a drought yet,” Burks said. “We score 10 points in the first 10 minutes (in the second half), and then 38 in the last 10.” But that was as close as the Lady Tigers would get. With Walker saddled with four fouls, MSU got some superb play from a couple of freshman off the bench. Haley Hobson scored 11 of her 17 points down the stretch, and Sonya Calhoun totaled all of her nine points as the Lady Indians pulled away for good. Katherine Maples’ lay-up with 11 seconds left gave MSU its largest lead and provided the final score. “Our two freshmen did a nice job in the second half,” Burks said. “I was real happy with our guards off the bench today.” Probably MSU’s biggest advantage on the night was rebounding. The Lady Indians set a season high with 58 rebounds, with Jel-ani Armstrong leading the way with 14. They collected almost as many offensive boards (26) as the Lady Tigers had for the whole game (27). Hobson also led the Lady Indians (21-7) with six assists.

The women’s soccer team chose quality over quantity this recruiting period, signing four high school and two mid-term transfers for next year. “It was a class based on needs,” MSU coach Jeff Trimble said. “We only lost five seniors, and we have a couple of redshirts (Sarah Wyles and Kristal Torres) coming back, so we felt like we only needed to bring in four or five players.” Headlining the list are TCU transfer Jennifer Schroeder and Wichita Falls High School defender Cassidy Guice. Schroeder, who graduated from Rider High School, will replace the void left by midfielder Heather Mathews. “She’s a very smart player, and she gives us great size,” Trimble said. “She’ll help us in the central midfield area.” Guice, who was District 4-4A’s Defensive MVP last year, will be an important asset as a defender. “I’m very excited about Cassidy,” Trimble said. “She provides us with speed in the back and size too. She’ll help out quite a bit.” Also signing with the Lady Indians are goalkeeper DeDee Belton, defenders Crystal Dossey and Sara Abdelschife and Burkburnett midfielder Blair Maxwell. Belton, from Garland Naaman Forest, will add much-needed depth to the goalkeeper position. Maxwell is a skilled offensive player who will play as an outside midfielder. Even though most of the recruiting is complete, Trimble said he still is looking for one or two more players to complete his roster. “We got what we needed, now it’s down to more wants than needs.” While Wichita Falls is not generally regarded as a soccer hotbed, that may be changing. Half of Trimble’s recruits come from the Wichita Falls area. “This is a very talented soccer community for the size of the town,” Trimble said. “I feel fortunate that some of the top talent comes to MSU.”

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