2011-12 GNAC DAILY REPORTS
MAY
Female Athlete-of-the-Year award each receiving four firstplace votes.
Thursday, May 31
Tanui (So., Eldoret, Kenya) was also voted the GNAC
Female Newcomer-of-the-Year also earning all nine firstplace votes. Also earning special awards were UAA's Cody
Parker and Grace Morgan and Landon Burningham of
Western Oregon.
AD: Karr Leaving UAF For Northern Michigan
Alaska Fairbanks athletic director Forrest Karr has been
named athletic director at Northern Michigan University.
UAF plans to appoint an interim athletic director to lead the
Nanooks after Karr's departure on June 9, and then launch a
national search for a permanent replacement.
“Forrest has served UAF and the Fairbanks community
well,” said UAF Chancellor Brian Rogers. “While we are
sorry to see him go, we are happy for him and wish him the
best in his new position.”
Karr will begin his new job as Director of Athletics,
Recreational Sports and the United States Olympic
Education Center/Special Assistant to the President on
Monday, June 11.
A native of Madison, Wis., Karr has served as the UAF
athletic director since the summer of 2005.
Since then, the Nanooks have captured three team and three
individual NCAA titles.
Also during his tenure, the department set an NCAA
attendance record while hosting the 2007 NCAA Rifle
Championships, the hockey team participated in the 2010
NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time and the
women's cross-country team competed in the 2011 NCAA
DII championships for the first time.
In addition to athletic accomplishments, Karr's tenure was
marked by the academic strength of UAF's student-athletes.
Since he arrived, the Nanooks have garnered five CoSIDA
Academic All-Americans and the department has achieved
a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 or higher during
each of the last four years.
Track and Field: UAA's Chelimo Unanimous Top
Athlete
University of Alaska Anchorage distance runner Micah
Chelimo has been voted the GNAC Outdoor Track-andField Male Athlete-of-the-Year.
Chelimo (Jr., Kapkoi, Kenya) was a unanimous selection
receiving all nine first-place votes from the league's
coaches.
Brittany Aanstad of Seattle Pacific and Susan Tanui of
Alaska Anchorage tied in the balloting for the GNAC
Parker (Fr., Comox, BC) and Morgan (Fr., Salt Spring
Island, BC) were voted the GNAC Male and Female
Freshman of the Year , respectively, while Burningham
(Sr., Sandy, UT) was selected the GNAC Male Newcomerof-the-Year.
Chelimo and Parker accounted for 24 of UAA's 28 points
as the Seawolves finished a program best ninth in last
weekend's NCAA Division II national meet at Pueblo,
Colo. Chelimo won the men's 5,000 in a time of 15:15.85
and finished second in the steeplechase in a time of
9:02.75.
He previously was selected the Most Outstanding
Performer in the conference meet in winning the 1500
(3:50.09) and 5000 (14:43.44) and placing second in the
steeplechase (8:56.20).
Parker set GNAC records in both the national and
conference meet. He finished third at nationals in the
javelin with a conference-record throw of 232-5 after
winning the javelin in the conference meet with a meetrecord toss of 215-0.
Both Aanstad (Sr., Lake Stevens, WA) and Tanui set
conference records with All-American performances at
Pueblo. Aanstad won the javelin with a GNAC-record toss
of 168-1.
Tanui had two All-American performances at Pueblo –
finishing second in the steeplechase in a time of 10:28.26
and eighth in the 5,000 meters (18:00.06).
Her steeple time converts to 10:13.33 for altitude, which is
a GNAC record, breaking her own mark of 10:15.47 she set
earlier this season at Stanford.
Morgan swept both the 100 and 200 meter women's titles at
the GNAC meet in meet-record times of 11.91 and 24.61.
She also led the Seawolves to second-place finishes in both
the 4x100 (47.67) and 4x400 relays (3:52.47). Burningham
finished second in the 400 meters at the conference meet in
a time of 48.50.
Kelven “Pee Wee” Halsell and Karl Lerum, who guided
Western Washington and Seattle Pacific to GNAC outdoor
team titles, were voted the GNAC Male Team and Female
Team Coaches-of-the-Year, respectively.
Halsell, a 1981 graduate of Wayland Baptist, earned his
10th GNAC Coach-of-the-Year award.
He also previously won for men's outdoor track and field in
2005 and 2010; women's outdoor in 2009; men's indoor in
2005 and 2006 and men's cross country in 2006, 2006,
2007 and 2009. Halsell completed his 25th season at WWU
and has coached 118 All-Americans during that stretch.
Lerum, a 1998 graduate of Pacific Lutheran, has now won
11 GNAC Coach-of-the-Year awards, also winning for
women's indoor in each of the past six seasons. This is his
fifth outdoor Coach-of-the-Year award. He also won in
2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011.
Wednesday, May 30
Baseball: WOU's Miller Consensus All-American
Western Oregon shortstop Blake Miller is a consensus first
team NCAA Division II Baseball All-American.
Miller, who led the GNAC in hitting with a .410 average,
was named to the first team on all three teams selected
including the American Baseball Coaches Association team
announced Tuesday.
Earlier Miller was selected to the first team by the National
Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and by Daktronics.
The Daktronics team is selected by the nation's sports
information directors.
Wolf pitcher Grady Wood, who had a 12-0 record and a
1.69 ERA, was voted to the first team by Daktronics and
the NCBWA and was a second team ABCA selection.
WOU first baseman Bo Folkinga, who batted .384 and led
the GNAC in home runs (13) and RBI (68), earned third
team honors from the NCBWA and Daktronics.
The NCBWA also announced its regional Freshman-of-theYear awards. Saint Martin's catcher Chandler Tracy was
the West Region winner.
Daktronics : First Team - Blake Miller, WOU (SS, 6-2, Jr., Salem, OR).;
Grady Wood, WOU (P, 6-2, 200, Sr., Eugene, OR – Junction City). Third
Team - Bo Folkinga, WOU (1B, 6-4, 215, Sr., Twin Falls, ID).
Saturday, May 26
Track and
Champions
Field:
Chelimo,
Aanstad
National
Two Great Northwest Athletic Conference athletes won
national championships Saturday in the NCAA Division II
National track and field meet at Pueblo, Colo.
Overall, it was a great day for GNAC athletes who also
produced two conference records and won a total of seven
All-American awards with Top Eight finishes.
Brittany Aanstad of Seattle Pacific and Micah Chelimo of
Alaska Anchorage won national titles in the women's
javelin and men's 5,000 meters, respectively.
Aanstad flung the javelin a school and GNAC record
distance of 168-1. She broke the conference record of 1636 set last season by Western's Washington's Monika
Gruszecki in a national championship winning
performance.
She also eclipsed the 25-year-old SPU school record of
167-2 by Anita Sartin in 1987. Her mark also bettered the
"B" standard for next month's U.S. Olympic Trials.
Aanstad was one of three GNAC athletes with AllAmerican performances in the women's javelin as Amanda
Schumaker of Western Oregon finished third with a throw
of 158-5 and Katie Reichert of Western Washington was
seventh with a toss of 152-5.
Schumaker's third place finish was her third consecutive
All-American performance in the javelin. She finished sixth
as a freshman two years ago and eighth last season to cap
off her sophomore season.
Miller is just the second GNAC player to win ABCA first
team honors joining WOU's Blake Keitzman who was a
first team pick in 2009.
Chelimo won the 5,000 meters in a time of 15:15.85. On
Friday he finished second in the steeplechase in a time of
9:02.75, accounting for 18 of Alaska Anchorage's 28
points, which earned it a ninth place team finish in the
men's division.
Miller and Wood joined Central Washington shortstop
Jamie Nilsen (2008) and Western Oregon pitcher Nick
Waechter (2006) as the only GNAC players to earn
NCBWA first team honors and Nilsen (2008) as the lone
Daktronics first team selections in GNAC history.
Cody Parker earned six of those points with a third-place
performance in the javelin, hurling the spear 232 feet, five
inches.
ABCA: First Team - Blake Miller, WOU (SS, 6-2, Jr., Salem, OR).
Second Team - Grady Wood, WOU (P, 6-2, 200, Sr., Eugene, OR –
Junction City). Third Team - Bo Folkinga, WOU (1B, 6-4, 215, Sr., Twin
Falls, ID).
NCBWA : First Team - Blake Miller, WOU (SS, 6-2, Jr., Salem, OR).;
Grady Wood, WOU (P, 6-2, 200, Sr., Eugene, OR – Junction City). Third
Team - Bo Folkinga, WOU (1B, 6-4, 215, Sr., Twin Falls, ID).
Parker broke the old GNAC record of 223-2 set by Josh
Heidegger of Northwest Nazarene in 2009. The freshman's
toss also ranks 12th all-time in NCAA Division II history.
Alaska Anchorage also got All-American performances
Saturday from Alfred Kangogo in the men's 1500, Ivy
O'Guinn in the women's 1,500, Ruth Keino and Susan
Tanui in the women's 5,000 and Haleigh Lloyd in the
women's 400 hurdles.
Kangogo finished fifth in his event in a time of 4:15.18,
while O'Guinn was timed in 4:41.98. Keino and Tanui, who
placed second in Friday's steeplechase, recorded times of
17:57.33 and 18:00.06 in placing seventh and eighth in the
5,000. Lloyd finished seventh in the 400 hurdles in a time
of 59.91.
Schumaker, WOU, 48.28 - 158-5; 7. Katie Reichert, WWU, 46.47 - 152-5;
12. Seabre Church, WOU, 41.48 - 136-1.
In all, UAA athletes earned 10 All-American awards in the
meet - six by the women and four by the men - in recording
their best ever team finishes.
Alaska Anchorage steeplechasers Micah Chelimo and
Susan Tanui each finished second Friday in the NCAA
Division II National championship meet at Pueblo, Colo.
UAA's ninth place team finish in the men's division
bettered its 14th place finishes in 2009 and 2010. The
Seawolf women placed 11th with 17 points. Its previous
best was 33rd in 2006 when it scored six points.
Chelimo was clocked in a time of 9:02.75 in the men's
finals, while Tanui earned a time of 10:28.26 in posting the
best finish ever by a UAA woman at the national meet.
Seattle Pacific also had a Top 20 finish ending up 13th in
the women's division with 16 points. Western Oregon and
Western Washington were 33rd and 39th, respectively,
with 6 and 5 1/2 points.
In addition to UAA, Western Washington was the only
other GNAC men's team to score points, ending up 48th
with the two points Alex Harrison earned Thursday and
Friday by placing seventh in the decathlon.
NCAA Division II National Track and Field Meet (May 24-26 at Pueblo,
Colo.)
MEN: Team Scores - 1. Adams State 77, 2. Lincoln (Mo.) 73, 3. Saint
Augustine's and Western State 54, 5. Abilene Christian 50, 9. Alaska
Anchorage 28, 48. Western Washington 2. Thursday: 1500 - Alfred
Kangogo, UAA, 4:04.84 (8th in prelims). Steeplechase - Micah Chelimo,
UAA, 9:32.16 (2nd in prelims); Dan Sprinkle, WOU, 9:36.86 (6th in
prelims). 400 Hurdles - Shaun Ward, UAA, 55.25 (15th in prelims).
Hammer – 15. Michael Hoffman, WWU, 58.67 - 192-6. Decathlon - Alex
Harrison, WWU, 3329. (Day 1: 100 – 11.54; Long Jump – 6.07 – 19-11;
Shot Put – 13.33 – 43-9; High Jump – 1.74 – 5-8 ½; 400 – 52.14). Friday:
800 – Nathan Seely, SPU, 1:56.99 (14th in prelims). Steeplechase - 2.
Micah Chelimo, UAA, 9:02.75; 11. Dan Sprinkle, WOU, 9:41.35.
Decathlon – 7. Alex Harrison, WWU, 6,677 (Day 2: 110 Hurdles – 15.57;
Discus – 40.37 – 132-5; Pole Vault – 4.10 – 13-5 ¼; Javelin – 58.89 –
193-2; 1500 – 5:05.52). Saturday: 1500 - 5. Alfred Kangogo, UAA,
4:15.18. 5000 – 1. Micah Chelimo, UAA, 15:15.85. Javelin – 3. Cody
Parker, UAA, 70.85 - 232-5; 15. Alex Harrison, WWU, 58.79 - 192-10.
WOMEN: Team Scores - 1. Grand Valley State 90, 2. Lincoln (Mo.) 79, 3.
Adams State 59, 4. Central Missouri 56 1/2, 5. Grand Canyon 41, 11.
Alaska Anchorage 17, 13. Seattle Pacific 16, 33. Western Oregon 6, 39.
Western Washington 5 1/2. Thursday: 1500 - Ivy O'Guinn, UAA, 4:43.71
(11th in prelims). Steeplechase - Susan Tanui, UAA, 10:44.67 (1st in
prelims); Hallidie Wilt, UAA, 11:28.58 (14th in prelims). 400 Hurdles Haleigh Lloyd, UAA, 1:00.24 (7th in prelims). Heptathlon (Day 1 ) – 5. Ali
Worthen, SPU, 3177 (100 Hurdles – 14.28; High Jump – 1.69 – 5-6 ½;
Shot Put – 10.29 – 33-9 ¼; 200 – 25.43); 14. Kelsea Johnson, UAA, 2858
(100 Hurdles – 14.95; High Jump – 1.54 – 5-0 ½; Shot Put – 10.04 – 3211 ¼; 200 – 25.83). Friday: Steeplechase – 2. Susan Tanui, UAA,
10:28.26. Pole Vault – 8. Karis Anderson, WWU, 3.75 - 12-3 ½ (Kati
Davis, CWU, no height). Triple Jump – 6. Emily Warman, WWU, 12.37 40-7; 10. Ashley Potter, WOU, 12.14 - 39-10. Heptathlon – 3. Ali Worthen,
SPU, 5297 (Long Jump – 5.70 – 18-8 ½; Javelin – 35.36 – 116-0; 800 –
2:23.12); 7. Kelsea Johnson, UAA, 4927 (Long Jump – 5.44 – 17-10 ¼;
Javelin – 35.82 – 117-6; 800 – 2:21.81). Saturday : 1500 - 7. Ivy O'Guinn,
UAA, 4:41.98. 5000 - 7. Ruth Keino, UAA, 17:57.33; 8. Susan Tanui, UAA,
18:00.06. 400 Hurdles - 7. Haleigh Lloyd, UAA, 59.91. High Jump – 20. Ali
Worthen, SPU, 1.65 - 5-5. Shot Put – 17. Leeza Henry, MSUB, 13.48 - 442 3/4. Javelin – 1. Brittany Aanstad, SPU, 51.24 - 168-1; 3. Amanda
Friday, May 25
Track and Field: UAA Steeplechasers Finish Second
They were among seven GNAC athletes to earn points and
All-American honors Friday in the meet including three in
the multi-events.
Ali Worthen of Seattle Pacific and Kelsea Johnson of
Alaska Anchorage finished third (5,297 points) and seventh
(4,927 points) in the heptathlon, while Alex Harrison of
Western Washington placed seventh in the decathlon with
6,677 points.
Western Washington also got a sixth place finish from
Emily Warman in the triple jump and an eighth from Karis
Anderson in the pole vault.
Warman, who came in as the No. 13 seed, leaped a schoolrecord 40-7, while Anderson tied for eighth with a vault of
12-3 1/2. Warman added two inches to her previous school
record in her event.
Thursday, May 24
Track and Field: Worthen Fifth In Hepathlon After
Day 1
Ali Worthen of Seattle Pacific is in fifth place after the
opening day of the heptathlon at the NCAA Division II
National Track and Field meet at Pueblo, Colo.
Worthen set a personal-best time in the 100-meter hurdles
to start the day and ran her second-best time ever in the 200
meters at the end of the day.
The 100 hurdles is always a strong suit for Worthen, and
she came through with a PR of 14.28.
Worthen then cleared 5-6½ in the high jump. She was ninth
in the shot put at 33-9¼ and then placed third overall in the
200 in 25.43 seconds.
The only time Worthen has gone faster in that race was the
GNAC finals on May 12 when she clocked 25.37.
Kelsea Johnson of Alaska Anchorage is 14th in the
heptathlon with 2,858 points. In the decathlon, Alex
Harrison of Western Washington is in 11th place at the
halfway point with 3,329 points.
The only completed final Thurday with a GNAC athlete
was the hammer where WWU's Michael Hoffman finished
15th with a throw of 192-6.
In prelim races, six of eight GNAC athletes advanced to the
finals including Micah Chelimo, Alfred Kangogo, Susan
Tanui, Haleigh Lloyd and Ivy O'Guinn, all of Alaska
Anchorage.
Tanui ran the fastest time in the women's steeplechase and
Chelimo posted the second best time in the men's steeple.
Kangogo qualified for the finals in the men's 1500 with the
eighth best time, while O'Guinn had the 11th best time in
the women's 1500. Lloyd qualified for the finals in the
women's 400 hurdles with the seventh best mark.
Also advancing to the finals was Dan Sprinkle of Western
Oregon who had the sixth best qualifying time in the men's
steeple.
Failing to advance Thursday were UAA's Shaun Ward in
the men's 400 hurdles and the Seawolves' Hallidie Wilt in
the women's steeple.
Wednesday, May 23
Soccer: Major Gift Kicks Off WWU Athletic Field
Project
A $1 million gift from Western Washington University
alumnus Scott Harrington and his family has helped begin
the process of building a modern new multipurpose athletic
field at WWU.
This project will create a fully lighted and fenced artificial
turf play field that is sized for regulation soccer and will
serve as the new home of Western's NCAA Division II
men's and women's soccer teams. It also will be an
important resource for Western recreation program and
intramurals.
“This field project is significant of course for Western,
we've had a shortage of on-campus field space for some
time, and our soccer teams have been playing off-campus
for years,” said Lynda Goodrich , director of WWU
Athletics.
“It will also be a resource for the community. There are
currently only two other all-weather turf fields in
Bellingham – Orca Field and Civic Stadium – that are
regulation-size for soccer. We're thrilled that we'll be able
to host other major sporting events at this first-class
facility.”
The two Fairhaven fields on south campus near the tennis
courts and softball field will be graded to one level, large,
dividable turf field. The project will include a scoreboard,
team benches and scorer's tables, storage, spectator seating,
restrooms and team facilities/locker rooms.
In addition, the field will include an extension to enable
concurrent and multi-recreational uses such as lacrosse and
rugby. The extent of the seating and team facilities will
depend on cost estimates as the design process proceeds, as
well as the success of additional fundraising efforts.
“Western has played a significant role in my family's lives
over the years,” said Harrington, who graduated in 1998
from Western's accounting program and played on the
men's NCAA Division II soccer team.
“I'm thrilled that we are helping Western build a great new
home for its soccer teams. Giving back in this way is truly
an honor.”
Baseball: Trio Earn ABCA All-Region Honors
Three Western Oregon players - first baseman Bo Folkinga,
shortstop Blake Miller and pitcher Grady Wood - were
name to the American Baseball Coaches Association West
Region first team Wednesday.
Folkinga hit .384 this past season and led the GNAC with
13 home runs and 68 RBI. Miller, who shared GNAC
Player of the Year honors with Folkinga, led the conference
with a .410 batting average.
Wood finished the season with a 12-0 and a 1.69 ERA
ending his college career with a streak of 20 consecutive
wins, just one shy of the all-time NCAA Division II record.
All three players were also earlier named to the Daktronics
and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
all-region first teams selected by the region's SIDs and
sportswriters, respectiviely.
Three other GNAC players - Western Oregon third
baseman Griff Boyd, Central Washington infielder Derrick
Webb and Northwest Nazarene outfielder Sean McDonald earned second team honors.
ABCA West Region: First Team - Grady Wood, WOU (P, 6-2, 200, Sr.,
Eugene, OR – Junction City); Bo Folkinga, WOU (1B, 6-4, 215, Sr., Twin
Falls, ID); Blake Miller, WOU (SS, 6-2, Jr., Salem, OR). Second Team Griff Boyd, WOU (3B, 6-1, 185, Sr., Medford, OR – South Medford);
Derrick Webb, CWU (6-2, 205, Sr., Ephrata, WA); Sean McDonald, NNU
(OF, 5-9, 170, Sr., Boise, ID).
Track and Field: Frederick, Chelimo Win Region
Honors
Western Oregon associate head coach Isaac Frederick has
been selected the NCAA Division II USTFCCCA West
Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year for the
indoor and outdoor seasons.
Last year Frederick, who has helped guide four athletes to
berths in this week's national meet, was named the
USTFCCCA West Region Men's Assistant Coach of the
Year.
Frederick has been involved in Western Oregon track &
field program since 2003 when he was named the GNAC
Newcomer of the Year.
Frederick still ranks in the Western Oregon record books.
His time of 21.37 in the 200 ranks third in school history
and his time of 48.24 in the 400 ranks fourth.
Micah Chelimo of Alaska Anchorage was selected as the
USTFCCCA West Region Men's Track Athlete-of-theYear.
Prior to his stint with the Hoosiers, Altenhofen spent six
years as a collegiate head coach from 2004-10, compiling a
153-40 record at Odessa (Texas) College – where his team
won the 2007 NJCAA national title – and Saint Ambrose
(Iowa) University.
“My wife and I feel very blessed with this great opportunity
to be the next women's basketball coach at Alaska
Anchorage,” said Altenhofen, who hails originally from
Springfield, Minn.
Chelimo is the third seed for both the men's steeplechase
and 5,000 meters at this week's NCAA Division II National
meet.
“The women's basketball program has been among the top
10 programs in NCAA Division II for the past five years,
and I look forward to the challenge of maintaining that
success and the new goals that come with it."
Chelimo was the Most Outstanding Performer in the
GNAC Championship meet earlier this month in
Monmouth.
“We believe that we have found the right coach to continue
the tradition of excellence for Seawolf women's
basketball,” said UAA athletic director Dr. Steve Cobb.
Chelimo swept the 1500 and 5000 in times of 3:50.08 and
14:43.44 and also finished second in the steeplechase in a
time of 8:56.20.
“Coach Altenhofen has a demonstrated record of success
and a strong passion for the sport of basketball," Cobb said.
"He will bring an exciting brand of basketball, coupled
with a commitment to championship-level performance.”
Women's Golf: Viks' Taylor Named To Academic Team
Western Washington golfer Alex Taylor has been named to
the Capital One/College Sports Information Directors of
America Academic/NCAA II District 8 women's at-large
team.
Taylor, a senior from Sammamish (graduate of Eastlake
High School), is a mathematics major with a 3.78 grade
point average (4.0 scale).
Posting a 79.2 scoring average, Taylor was a first-team
GNAC all-star and a three-time conference academic
honoree. She helped the Vikings win a second straight
league title in 2012 finishing second in the conference
tournament.
Taylor was one of four student-athletes from GNAC
schools named to the CoSIDA academic at-large team,
though she was the only one that competes in a GNACsponsored sport.
Also selected were WWU's Megan Northey (Kinesiolgy,
Sr., 3.92, Brier, WA) in competes in crew, Jaime Bronga of
Alaska Anchorage (Civil Engineering, Sr., 3.99,
Anchorage, AK) who competes in skiing and Marit Rjabov
(Psychology, Jr., 3.91, Voru, Estoniia), who competes in
skiing.
Tuesday, May 22
Women's Basketball: UAA Hires Altenhofen as Coach
Nathan Altenhofen, who most recently served as an
assistant at Indiana, has been hired as the women's
basketball coach at University of Alaska Anchorage.
Altenhofen compiled a 73-25 record at Saint Ambrose from
2007-10. In his debut season at SAU, he was named the
Midwest Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year after
guiding the Queen Bees to a Sweet 16 appearance at the
NAIA National Tournament.
The Bees finished 29-6 that year and followed up with a
20-11 campaign in 2008-09 and a 24-8 mark in 2009-10.
At Odessa, Altenhofen led the Wranglers to back-to-back
National Junior College Athletic Association title games in
2006 and 2007, capturing the championship and NJCAA
National Coach of the Year honors in the 2006-07 season.
In his second and third seasons, the Wranglers compiled a
66-3 record – the best mark in all of college basketball in
that span – and were ranked in the NJCAA Top 10 for 16
consecutive months.
Altenhofen brings additional Division I coaching
experience from both Murray State (2003-04) and Arkansas
State (1999-2002), serving as an assistant coach and
recruiting coordinator for both programs.
From 2002-03, Altenhofen worked as a talent scout for the
All-Star Girls Report , where he evaluated national girls
high school basketball talent.
Altenhofen began his coaching career at the high school
level in 1993 and was a summer AAU coach from 1994-99.
During that stint he guided such players as 2000 L'adidas
High School All-American Tera Bjorklund and 2002 Big
Ten MVP Lindsay Whalen.
Overall, Altenhofen helped develop more than 40 future
Division I players during his five years as a summer AAU
coach.
With UAA, Altenhofen inherits a Seawolf program that has
reached six straight NCAA Division II Tournaments,
including three trips to the Elite Eight.
All-Sports: Vikings Win Fourth Straight Overall Title
Western Washington scored 180 points – one off its own
conference record - in winning its fourth consecutive
GNAC All-Sports title, according to final official figures
released by the conference office Tuesday.
It's the eighth GNAC all-sports title in 11 seasons for the
Vikings under the direction of athletic director Lynda
Goodrich.
For the second year in a row, the Vikings also won both the
men's and women's crowns scoring nearly identical point
totals to last season. A year ago, the men earned 76 points
and the women had 105 points. This year the men matched
last year's 76-point total, while the Viking women netted
104.
Points are awarded (on a two-point increment) based on the
final finishes in each of the conference's 16 sports –
football, volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and
women's cross country, men's and women's basketball,
men's and women's indoor track & field, men's and
women's outdoor track & field, men's and women's golf,
baseball and softball.
The Vikings outpointed Western Oregon 180-144 for the
overall title. They also edged the Wolves 76-74 for the
men's title and outscored Seattle Pacific 104-94 for the
women's crown.
Western Washington won three team titles though one of
the three was not in men's basketball where they won the
NCAA Division II national title. WWU was the men's and
women's golf champion and also won the men's outdoor
track and field title.
Anchorage 52. MSU Billings 46, Seattle Pacific 42, Simon Fraser 36,
Humboldt State 10, Alaska Fairbanks 4, Dixie State 2. Women – Western
Washington 104, Seattle Pacific 94, Alaska Anchorage 73, Western
Oregon 70, Simon Fraser 67, Northwest Nazarene 63, MSU Billing 62,
Central Washington 46, Saint Martin's 41, Alaska Fairbanks 20.
Conference Champions: Titles Won (Men-Women) - Seattle Pacific 4
(0-4), Western Washington 3 (2-1), Alaska Anchorage 3 (1-2), Western
Oregon 2 (2-0), MSU Billings 2 (1-1), Simon Fraser 1 (1-0), Humboldt
State 1 (1-0). Football – Humboldt State. Men's Cross Country – Alaska
Anchorage. Women's Cross Country – Alaska Anchorage. Men's
Soccer – Simon Fraser. Women's Soccer – Seattle Pacific. Volleyball –
Seattle Pacific. Men's Indoor Track – Western Oregon. Women's Indoor
Track – Seattle Pacific. Men's Basketball – MSU Billings. Women's
Basketball – Alaska Anchorage Men's Golf – Western Washington.
Women's Golf – Western Washington. Softball – MSU Billings. Men's
Outdoor Track – Western Washington. Women's Outdoor Track –
Seattle Pacific. Baseball – Western Oregon.
Friday, May 18
Baseball: UCSD Eliminates Western Oregon 11-1
Center fielder Danny Susdorf and shortstop Garrett Tuck
each drove in four runs as UC San Diego eliminated topseed Western Oregon 11-1 Friday in the NCAA Division II
West Regional at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer, Ore.
Both players had two-run singles in a five-run second
inning. Susdorf also had a RBI single in the third and then
during a five-run seventh, Susdorf had another RBI single
and Tuck plated two more with a one-base hit.
While the Tritons (33-23) were pounding four WOU
pitchers for 15 hits, Ryan Goodbrand allowed just five hits
to the Wolves (40-11), including a RBI single in the sixth
by Bo Folkinga, who earned his 68th RBI of the year,
falling one short of the GNAC single-season record.
Goodbrand, who improved to 11-0, didn't walk a batter and
struck out six. Folkinga had two of WOU's five hits
including a one-out double in the ninth inning.
In men's basketball, WWU was the regular-season GNAC
champion, but lost to eventual champion Montana State
Billings in the conference tournament before bouncing
back to win the national title.
UC San Diego was later eliminated by Dixie State, which
lost to Chico State 7-3 in Sunday's title game.
Seattle Pacific won the most team titles claiming four – all
on the women's side (volleyball, soccer, indoor track and
field and outdoor track and field).
Baseball: Wolves Lose In Regional Opener
Western Washington and Alaska Anchorage (men's cross
country, women's cross country, women's basketball) each
won three titles, Western Oregon (men's indoor track and
field and baseball) and MSU Billings (men's basketball,
softball) won two each. Simon Fraser (men's soccer) and
Humboldt State (football) each won one.
ALL-SPORTS POINTS: Overall - Western Washington 180, Western
Oregon 144, Seattle Pacific 136, Alaska Anchorage 125, Northwest
Nazarene 120, MSU Billings 108, Simon Fraser 103, Central Washington
99, Saint Martin's 95, Alaska Fairbanks 24, Humboldt State 10, Dixie
State 2. Men – Western Washington 76, Western Oregon 74, Northwest
Nazarene 57, Saint Martin's 54, Central Washington 53, Alaska
Thursday, May 17
Top-seed Western Oregon rallied from a 5-1 deficit to tie
the game, but then fell to Chico State 7-6 in the opening
round of the NCAA Division II West Regional at
Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer Thursday.
Chico got 11 hits and five runs off WOU ace Grady Wood,
but Wood, who has won 20 straight, got off the hook when
Wolf left fielder Matt Nylen hit a three-run home run in the
seventh to tie the game at 5-5.
The Wildcats, however, then got RBI singles by Abel
Alcantar and Shane Kroker in the top of the eighth to go
back ahead 7-5.
Kyle Blackwell homered in the bottom of the eighth, but
Mike Botelho then retired the side in order in the ninth to
record his 13th save of the season.
Blackwell's home run was his second of the game as he
also had a solo shot in the second. WOU's second run came
in the sixth on Bo Folkinga's 67th RBI of the season.
Chico had taken a 5-1 lead in the top of the sixth as the
CCAA school put together five hits against Wood for four
runs.
In Thursday's opening game, second-seed Dixie State beat
No. 3 UC San Diego 7-3. The Tritons will play Western
Oregon in a loser-out game Friday at 1.
Dixie and Chico will square off at 5 with the winner
securing a berth in the championship game.
Five Earn Daktronics NCAA Division II West AllRegion Honors
Five GNAC players include three from Western Oregon
and two from Central Washington have been selected to the
Daktronics West Region baseball all-star team.
All five players - including Western Oregon pitcher Grady
Wood, first baseman Bo Folkinga and shortstop Blake
Miller and Central Washington second baseman Brandon
Wang and DH David Leid - were first team selections.
Miller is the GNAC batting leader with a .412 averaging
going into the West Region tournament this weekend,
while Folkinga, who is batting .384, is the conference
leader in home runs (13) and RBI (66).
Wood is currently tied for the national lead in wins with 12
and has a 1.30 ERA. Wang and Leid batted .350 and .329
this season for CWU.
The Daktronics team is selected by the region's sports
information directors. Earlier Wood, Folkinga, Miller were
also named to the the National Collegiate Baseball Writers'
first team all-region team. Wang was an honorable mention
selection to the NCBWA team.
Daktronics: First Team - Grady Wood, WOU (P, 6-2, 200, Sr., Eugene,
OR – Junction City); Bo Folkinga, WOU (1B, 6-4, 215, Sr., Twin Falls, ID);
Brandon Wang, CWU (2B, 5-10, 180, Sr., Mill Creek, WA); Blake Miller,
WOU (SS, 6-2, Jr., Salem, OR); David Leid, CWU (DH, 5-10, 200, Sr.,
Carson City, NV).
Men's Golf: Vikings End Up Ninth in NCAAs
Western Washington's season came to an end Thursday as
it placed ninth following three days of stroke play, one shot
short of advancing to match-medal action at the NCAA II
National Men's Golf Championship being contested at The
Cardinal Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Vikings battled South Carolina-Aiken and Central
Missouri down the stretch, looking to finish among the top
eight and compete in quarterfinal, semifinal and final
rounds on Friday and Saturday.
In the final nine holes of Thursday's round, WWU fought
back to seventh before dropping to ninth. On the last hole, a
chance to tie for eighth and force a playoff rode on a sixfoot birdie putt by Dylan Goodwin that barely missed.
Goodwin had birdied two of the previous three holes.
The Vikings finished with a round of 296 for a 54-hole
total of 874. Central Missouri placed eighth at 873 and
South Carolina-Aiken was seventh at 870.
Completing the top eight were Chico State at 13-under 851,
followed by Nova Southeastern (855), Central Oklahoma
(856), Cal State Stanislaus 858, Georgia College (862) and
Barry (866).
The Vikings entered the day seventh after being third
following Tuesday's first round.
WWU's Craig Crawford and Sandy Vaughan each tied for
25th with 217 totals. Crawford shot a 2-under 70, his
second under par round of the tourney, and Vaughan had a
73.
Goodwin, who finished with a 76, tied for 33rd at 219. The
Vikings' Nick Varelia placed 61st at 224 and Jake Webb
tied for 83rd at 231.
WWU, which was making its first national appearance
since 2008, advanced to nationals by placing fourth at the
Central/West Regional. The Vikings placed eighth in the
final Golf World/Nike Golf Division II College Coaches'
Top 25 Poll.
NCAA Nationals (May 15-17 at The Cardinal Club, Louisville, Kent.):
Team Scores - 1. Chico State 851 (289-277-285); 2. Nova Southeastern
855 (291-284-280); 3. Central Oklahoma 856 (279-290-287); 4. Cal State
Stanislaus 858 (294-279-285); 5. Georgia College & State 862 (289-288285); 6. Barry, Fla. 866 (290-287-289); 7. South Carolina-Aiken 870 (29288-290); 8. Central Missouri 873 (295-289-289); 9. Western Washington
874 (287-291-296); 10. UNC Pembroke 879 (285-299-295). Individuals
(Par 72, 7,092 Yards) - 1. Josh Creel, Central Oklahoma, 206 (65-70-71);
25. Craig Crawford, WWU, 217 (71-76-70) and Sandy Vaughan, WWU,
217 (71-73-73); 33. Dylan Goodwin, WWU, 219 (72-71-76); 61. Nick
Varelia, WWU, 224 (76-71-77); 83. Jake Webb, WWU, 231 (73-77-81).
Academic: SPU Ranks Fourth In NCAA Grad
Rankings
Twenty-four Division II schools, including Seattle Pacific,
have been recognized as recipients of the first Division II
Presidents' Award for Academic Excellence honoring
athletics programs with four-year Academic Success Rates
of 90 percent or more.
St. Michael's College, a member of the Northeast-10
Conference, achieved the highest four-year ASR,
graduating 99 percent of its student-athletes within six
years of original enrollment. Seattle Pacific ranked fourth
with a 97 percent rank.
“Our No. 1 priority is to graduate student-athletes. Our
coaches stress this in our recruiting process, and the
expectation is paramount,” said Erin O'Connell, SPU's
athletic director.
During his two seasons as the Yellowjackets' graduate
assistant coach, Birky helped out in all facets of the team
including leading practice and helping manage game-day
operations for the team.
“I could not be prouder of our student-athletes as a whole,
and our coaches and administrators tasked with following
their progress. Not only do we excel in the classroom, but
in competition, as well. We take to heart the D-2
philosophy of a balanced student-athlete.”
A native of Chinook, Mont., he graduated from Chinook
High School in 2007 and went on to play at Dakota
Wesleyan University in Mitchell, SD. After one season, he
transferred to MSUB.
The Division II Academic Requirements Committee
established the Division II Presidents' Award for Academic
Excellence to recognize programs achieving long-term
academic success. The honor is intended to call attention to
those programs and is not intended as a ranking.
The Division II Academic Success Rate captures about
two-third more student-athletes than the federal graduation
rate, which does not count incoming transfers, counts
outgoing transfers as having not graduated and counts only
student-athletes receiving athletically related financial aid.
The national four-year ASR average is 72 percent.
Birky graduated from MSUB in 2011 with a Bachelor's
Degree in Public Relations and recently completed his
Master's Degree in Exercise and Sports Leadership.
Wednesday, May 16
Men's Golf: Vikings Seventh After Two Rounds of
NCAA
Western Washington fell four spots
Vikings are in solid position heading
stroke play Thursday at the NCAA II
Championship being held at The
Louisville.
to seventh, but the
into the final day of
National Men's Golf
Cardinal Club in
Men's Basketball: Grad Assistants Get Coaching Jobs
Two coaches who had grad assistant positions last year in
the GNAC have landed full-time positions.
Cameron Turner has been promoted to the role of assistant
coach at Alaska Anchorage.
“Cameron has proven to be hard worker, and he has a good
mind for the game,” said UAA coach Rusty Osborne. “We
are very pleased any time we can promote quality from
within, which is certainly the case with him.”
Turner came north after a successful 6-year run coaching
the Willamette Reign AAU program in his home state. A
2004 graduate of Southern Oregon University, Turner is
currently pursuing his masters degree in human services at
UAA.
Turner replaces Ryan Orton, who was recently named head
coach at Western Wyoming Community College.
Montana State Billings graduate assistant Marty Birky has
accepted a position as the head assistant coach for the
men's basketball program at Imperial Valley College, a
member of the California Community College Athletic
Association (CCCAA) in the Pacific Coast Athletic
Conference.
Birky joins a program led by head coach Tyson Aye who
will be entering his 13th season of collegiate coaching,
seventh at Imperial Valley, in the 2012-13 season.
Birky joined the men's basketball program at MSUB as a
player prior to the 2008-09 season, but after seeing limited
action, turned his passion into a job as he transformed his
role into that of coach.
The Vikings shot 3-over par 291 Wednesday for a 36-hole
total of 578. They were led by Dylan Goodwin and Nick
Varelia, who each shot 1-under par 71.
The top eight teams after 54 holes advance to match-medal
play Friday with quarterfinals and semifinals followed by
the final round for the national title Saturday.
Chico State shot 11-under 277, the best round of the
tournament, to take over the lead at 10-under 566.
First-day leader Central Oklahoma is second, three shots
behind, at 7-under 569 and Cal State Stanislaus moved up
to third at 3-under 573, shooting 279.
Nova Southeastern (Fla.) is fourth at 1-under 575, and tied
for fifth at 1-over 577 are Georgia College and Barry (Fla.).
Tied for eighth at 580, two strokes behind WWU, are St.
Edward's (Tex.) and South Carolina-Aiken followed by
four schools all within six shots of the Vikings.
“A lot can happen, there's going to be a lot of movement,”
Viking coach Steve Card said. “It's very volatile and it
shows how much parity there is between the teams.”
“We're going to tee off on the back nine, which I like. We
need to do well there, make the turn in solid position and
take advantage of the scoring opportunities on the front
nine.”
Goodwin is tied for 18th in medalist play at 143, and
WWU's Vaughan is tied for 21st at 144 after shooting a 73.
Two Vikings, Craig Crawford, who shot a 76, and Varelia,
are tied for 41st at 147. WWU's Jake Webb, who shot a 77,
is tied for 63rd at 150.
Central Oklahoma 's Josh Creel continues as the medalist
leader at 9-under 135 after shooting a 70. He is one stroke
ahead of Chico State's Eric Fazzetta, who carded a tourneybest 9-under 63 Wednesday.
Track and Field: Sixty Two On All-Region Team
Sixty-two track and field athletes from GNAC schools have
won 75 all-region awards from the U.S. Track & Field and
Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
The awards go to the athletes with times or distances that
rank in the Top 5 in the region or the top three in a relay.
Nationwide a total of 1,274 athletes received 1,854
USTFCCCA All-Region nods.
Ali Worthen of Seattle Pacific won all-region honors in
four events - the women's 100 hurdles, long jump, high
jump and heptathlon.
Alaska Anchorage's Susan Tanui and Micah Chelimo won
three each - in the women's and men's 1500, 5000 and
steeplechase, respectively.
Following is number of all-region award winners for each
school. For complete list of the individual winners visit the
USTFCCCA web site.
Men (Athletes/Total Awards): Western Washington 8/10; Alaska
Anchorage 5/7; Central Washington 6/6; Northwest Nazarene 4/4;
Western Oregon 3/3; Seattle Pacific 3/3; Saint Martin's 2/2. Totals: 31/35.
Women (Athletes/Total Awards): Alaska Anchorage 8/12; Western
Washington 7/8; Seattle Pacific 5/8; Western Oregon 5/5; MSU Billings
2/3; Central Washington 2/2; Northwest Nazarene 2/2. Totals: 31/40.
135 Named To GNAC Academic Track-and-Field Team
A total of 135 student-athletes – 78 women and 57 men have been named to the 2012 Great Northwest Athletic
Conference Track and Field Academic all-star team.
Stephen Larlee of Northwest Nazarene and Trevor
Robinson of Western Washington have the top GPAs on
the men's academic team, both posting 3.98 averages. The
best GPA on the women's team is a 3.99 by Katharine
Lotze of Central Washington.
Eric Brill of Western Washington earned academic honors
for the fourth time. Additionally six men were named to the
team for the third time include Alfred Kangogo of Alaska
Anchorage; Ben Heidegger, Maurus Hope and Luke
Hetrick, all from Northwest Nazarene; and Andrew Gray
and Tyler Nichols of Western Washington.
Nine women - Miriam Kipng'eno of Alaska Anchorage;
Justine Simons of Montana State Billings; Jill Bennett of
Northwest Nazarene; Natty Plunkett, Natalie Nobbs,
Brittany Tri and Ali Worthen, all of Seattle Pacific; and Ali
Mosher and Zoe Skordahl of Western Oregon – also earned
their third academic all-conference award.
Baseball: Wood, Robbins Earn Regional Honors
Western Oregon pitcher Grady Wood has been voted the
NCAA Division II West Region Pitcher-of-the-Year by the
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
(NCBWA).
Wood is currently tied for the national lead in wins with 12
and also ranks ninth in ERA (1.30), fourth in fewest hits
allowed per nine innings (5.20) and seventh in fewest walks
allowed (1.00).
Wood was also named the National Pitcher-of-the-Year this
week by the web site D2baseballnews.com.
Robbins led the Wolves to a 40-9 record this spring,
earning his seventh straight GNAC Coach-of-the-Year
award and improving his career record at WOU to 252-107.
Joining Wood on the NCBWA all-region first team were
Saint Martin's catcher Chandler Tracy, Western Oregon
first baseman Bo Folkinga and Wolf shortstop Blake
Miller.
NCBWA West Region: First Team - Chandler Tracy, SMU (C); Bo
Folkinga, WOU (1B); Blake Miller, WOU (SS); Grady Wood, WOU (P).
Second Team - Griff Boyd, WOU (3B), Charlie Gorzo, NNU (UT-DH).
Honorable Mention - Brandon Wang, CWU; Sean McDonald, NNU (OF).
Pitcher-of-the-Year - Grady Wood, WOU. Coach-of-the-Year - Jeremiah
Robbins, WOU.
Tuesday, May 15
Track and Field: Twenty-Four Qualify for Nationals
Twenty-four athletes, including 10 from Alaska Anchorage
and five from Western Washington, will compete in the
NCAA Division II national track and field meet beginning
next Thursday at Pueblo, Colo.
The top GNAC seed is Brittany Aanstad of Seattle Pacific
who is ranked No. 1 in the women's javelin. She is one of
four GNAC athletes entered in the event.
Amanda Schumaker of Western Oregon is seeded third.
Katie Reichert of Western Washington is the seventh seed
and WOU's Seabre Johnson is the 10th seed in the javelin.
Micah Chelimo of Alaska Anchorage is the third seed in
both the men's steeplechase and 5,000 meters. Susan Tanui
of UAA is the third seed in the women's steeplechase and
the ninth seed in the 5K.
Chelimo and Tanui are two of four athletes who qualified
in two events. Alex Harrison of Western Washington will
compete in both the decathlon and javelin.
Ali Worthen of Seattle Pacific is entered in the heptathlon
and high jump. She is the fourth seed in the multi-events.
In addition to UAA, WWU, WOU (3 women, 1 man) and
SPU (2 women, 1 man), Central Washington and MSU
Billings each qualified one woman for the meet.
Miller, who is a transfer from Sacramento State, was also
selected the GNAC Newcomer of the Year . He leads the
GNAC in hitting with a .412 average and also has six home
runs and 48 RBI.
Men's Golf: Vikings Third After Opening Round
One of the just three teams to shoot below par on opening
day, the Western Washington is third at the NCAA II
National Championships which began Tuesday at The
Cardinal Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
Making their first national appearance since 2008, the
Vikings shot 1-under 287. Central Oklahoma leads the 20team field at 9-under 279 with UNC Pembroke second at 3under 285. Tied for fourth at 1-over 289 are Chico State
and Georgia College .
“It was a good solid start for us,” said WWU coach Steve
Card. “Everybody played well. We had some disappointing
holes, but overall everyone played solid golf today …
Maybe not scoring-wise, but this was one of the better days
we've had this year.”
WWU, which advanced to nationals with a fourth-place
finish at the Central/West Regional, was led by Sandy
Vaughan and Craig Crawford, who each fired 1-under 71s
on the 7,092-yard layout. They are in a 10-way tie for 14th
in medalist play.
Vaughan birdied three holes and had two bogeys, and
Crawford had five birdies and four bogeys.
The Vikings' Dylan Goodwin shot an even par 72 and is
tied for 24th. Jake Webb shot 1-over 73 and is tied for 37th
and Nick Varelia, who led WWU by tying for fifth at
regionals, shot 4-over 76 and is tied for 73rd.
Goodwin birdied four of his first nine holes and made the
turn in 3-under, but was hurt by a double-bogey and a
bogey on the back nine.
Monday, May 14
Baseball: Folkinga, Miller, Wood Voted Top Players
Western Oregon first baseman Bo Folkinga and Wolf
shortstop Blake Miller have been voted the 2012 GNAC
Co-Players of the Year.
Saint Martin's catcher Chandler Tracy was voted the
GNAC Freshman of the Year. Tracy led the Saints in
hitting (.329), home runs (8) and RBI (39).
Folkinga batted .384 for the Wolves and is the conference
leader in home runs (13) and RBI (66). His runs batted in
total is just three shy of the GNAC all-time record of 69,
set by Chris Ridenour of Western Oregon in 2002.
Folkinga was the GNAC Triple Crown winner in
conference games, batting .453, slugging 11 home runs and
driving in 46 runs. The latter two figures are GNAC
records.
In addition to his 12-0 record, Wood takes a 1.30 earned
run average into the NCAA Division II West Regionals
which begin Thursday at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer,
Ore. His win total equals the GNAC record and his ERA is
on pace to smash the conference record of 1.53 set last year
by WOU's Kirk Lind.
Folkinga, Miller and Wood were among nine Western
Oregon players named to the GNAC 16-man first team allstar team.
They were also among 10 unanimous selections. Also
earning unanimous accolades were Tracy, Lind, WOU
pitcher Travis Bradshaw, Wolf third baseman Griff Boyd,
outfielders David Amberson and Matt Nylen, both from
Western Oregon, and Northwest Nazarene outfielder Sean
McDonald.
Lind was a first team selection for the third time. He is just
the fifth player to GNAC history to earn first team honors
three or more times. Wood, Folkinga, Boyd and McDonald
were also repeaters from last year.
Other first team selections included Western Oregon
pitcher Jason Wilson, Northwest Nazarene reliever Aaron
Vaughan, Saint Martin's second baseman Mario Sanelli,
Central Washington infielder Derrick Webb and Wildcat
designated hitter David Leid and Northwest Nazarene
outfielder Zach Steele.
Western Oregon To Host NCAA Regionals at Keizer
Western Oregon ace Grady Wood earned GNAC Pitcher of
the Year honors for the second year in a row posting a
perfect 12-0 record and extending his win streak to 20. That
is just one shy of the NCAA Division II all-time record of
21. He is the first athlete in GNAC history to win Pitcher of
the Year honors twice.
Western Oregon will host the 2012 NCAA West Regional
Baseball Championships at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer,
Ore. beginning Thuraday.
WOU coach Jeremiah Robbins, who led the Wolves to a
40-9 record and their 11th consecutive GNAC baseball
title, was voted the GNAC Coach of the Year for the
seventh year in a row. Robbins, who is a 2001 graduate of
Eastern Oregon University, has a career record of 252-107
in his seven seasons in Monmouth.
The first game at 1 p.m. will match second-seed Dixie State
(32-18) against third-seed UC San Diego (32-22).
The Wolves (40-9) will face fourth-seed Chico State (3716) in their opening game at 5 p.m.
This marks the seventh time Western Oregon has been
selected to the NCAA Division II regionals. The Wolves
have qualified for the West Regionals in four of the past
five years and six of the past eight.
1/2, won its third men's championship. It also finished first
in 2005 and 2010.
WOU also hosted the regional tournament at Volcanoes
Stadium in both 2006 and 2009.
The second-place Wolves finished 3 1/2 points ahead of
Alaska Anchorage, 6 1/2 ahead of Central Washington and
16 1/2 of Northwest Nazarene as five different men's teams
reached triple figures.
WOU completed its regular-season Saturday sweeping a
doubleheader at Montana State Billings by scores of 18-0
and 11-3.
In addition to SPU and UAA, Western Washington was the
only other women's team to score at least 100 points. The
Vikings ended up third with 137 1/2 points.
First baseman Bo Folkinga led the Wolves in the
doubleheader with seven hits in 10 at bats and also drove in
seven runs.
Chelimo and Worthen were the meet's top scorers. Chelimo
swept the 1500 and 5000 on Saturday in times of 3:50.08
and 14:43.44 after finishing second Friday in the
steeplechase in a time of 8:56.20 to earn 28 points.
In the opener, WOU pounded out 17 hits, including four by
catcher Scott David and three by Folkinga. Folkinga and
third baseman Griff Boyd homered. Kirk Lind allowed five
hits in seven innings to record his seventh win against two
losses.
In the second game, Folkinga and shortstop Blake Miller
each had four hits. Matt Nylen had three as the 2-3-4 hitters
in the lineup went 11 for 14. Folkinga homered again and
drove in five runs, while Nylen had three RBI.
Colby Robison led Montana State Billings (22-24, 13-19)
on the day with four hits, including two in each game.
Northwest Nazarene, meanwhile, swept a doubleheader
from Central Washington by 13-7 and 5-1 scores.
Jon Matos and Zach Steele each had three RBI to lead the
Crusaders (27-22, 16-16) to their first-game win. Steele had
three hits including a homer. Brady Kincannon and David
Leid homered for the Wildcats (19-31, 11-21).
Derek Bettinson had three hits and three RBI and Ryan
Brown pitched a three-hitter to key NNU's second-game
win. Bettinson and Jamie Mitchell homered for the
Crusaders and Kincannon went deep again for the
Wildcats.
Saturday, May 11
Track and Field: Falcons, Vikings Win Team Titles
Seattle Pacific edged Alaska Anchorage 188-183 for the
women's team title and Western Washington got 24
individual points from both Shane Gruger and Michael
Hoffman in running away with the men's title in the GNAC
Track and Field Championship meet at McArthur Stadium
in Monmouth, Ore. Saturday.
Micah Chelimo of UAA and Ali Worthen of SPU were
selected the Outstanding Male and Female Performers.
The team title for the Falcons was their third straight and
their fifth in six meets since 2006. Western Washington,
which outpointed defending Western Oregon 205 to 126
Worthen tallied 34 individual points, winning the
heptathlon last week in Ellensburg with a meet-record total
of 5,199 points.
On Saturday Worthen finished second in the high jump in a
jump-off (5-6 1/2) and second in the 100 hurdles (14.29).
She also was fifth in the 200 (25.37) and led SPU to a win
in the 4x100 meter relay in a time of 47.22.
She also earned points Friday finishing fifth in the long
jump with a leap of 18-1 1/2.
In addition to Chelimo, Hoffman, UAA's Grace Morgan
and Susan Tanui also each won two events.
Hoffman won the hammer with a meet-record throw of
202-1. He won the event for the third year in a row joining
a select group of seven other male athletes who have won
three titles in the same event.
He also won the discus (160-9) and finished fifth in the
shot put (49-0 1/4) Friday to account for his 24 points.
Morgan swept the women's 100 and 200 meters both in
meet record times.
Morgan won the 100 meters in a time of 11.91. She
bettered the old record of 12.11 by Latasha Essien of
Seattle Pacific in 2010 and just missed the all-time mark of
11.90 by SPU's NyEma Sims in 2007.
In the 200 she posted a time of 24.61, breaking her own
record of 24.74 she set in Friday's prelims. The previous
record prior to Friday was 25.08 by UAA's Mary Pearce in
2006.
Tanui won the 5,000 meters Saturday in a time of 17:31.67
after setting a meet record Friday of 10:24.44 in the
steeplechase in a time of 8:56.20.
Western Oregon's Ashley Potter set both GNAC and meet
records in winning the women's triple jump Saturday with a
leap of 40-9, equaling the NCAA automatic standard.
Emily Warman of Western Washington set the conference
record earlier this spring (40-5). The old meet record was
39-3 3/4 by UAA's Kim Brady in 2008.
In the men's 400, Ethan Hewitt of Alaska Anchorage broke
his own meet record in a time of 47.55, eclipsing his 2010
winning time of 48.15.
UAA freshman Cody Parker won the men's javelin with a
meet record throw of 215-0.
The Seawolves' Shaun Ward was a repeat winner in the 400
hurdles in winning the event for the second year in a row
with a time of 53.35.
Also winning her second title in the women's shot was Joy
Warrington of Northwest Nazarene who had a put of 45-10
3/4. She was also the 2010 winner.
In addition to Tanui, three other records were set Friday by Warman in the long jump (19-1 1/2), by WWU's Karis
Anderson in the pole vault (12-6 3/4) and by Ryan
Brockerville in the men's steeplechase (8:56.13).
Alaska Anchorage also earned a meet record Saturday in
the men's 4x400 relay with a winning time of 3:15.03,
breaking the old record of 3:15.91 set by Central
Washington in 2006.
Though he didn't set any records, Gruger was a key
contributor to Western Washington's title.
Timpe, WWU, 3:53.39; 6. Seth Pierson, SPU, 3:55.41; 7. Joseph Patti,
SMU, 3:55.64; 8. Drew Larson, WOU, 3:55.73.
5000 - 1. Micah Chelimo, UAA, 14:43.44; 2. Dylan Anthony, UAA,
14:55.46; 3. Alfred Kangogo, UAA, 14:57.11; 4. Barak Watson, NNU,
14:57.12; 5. Dak Riek, WWU, 15:02.52; 6. Eric Brill, WWU, 15:08.28; 7.
AJ Baker, SPU, 15:14.35; 8. Yonatan Yilma, UAA, 15:19.53.
110 High Hurdles – 1. Kody Rhodes, WOU, 14.95; 2. Andrew Venema,
CWU, 15.01; 3. Maurus Hope, NNU, 15.07; 4. Brett Campbell, WOU,
15.21; 5. Karsten Schick, WWU, 15.36; 6. Rimar Christie, NNU, 15.36; 7.
Alex Harrison, WWU, 15.46; 8. Logan Myers, WWU, 15.82.
400 Hurdles – 1. Shaun Ward, UAA, 53.35; 2. Kody Rhodes, WOU, 53.62;
3. Maurus Hope, NNU, 53.74; 4. Nick Blackburn, WWU, 54.94; 5. Gabriel
Morales, WWU, 54.94; 6. Jeff Sloat, WWU, 55.48; 7. Ryan Endresen,
SPU, 55.98; 8. Colin Alexander, CWU, 56.57.
4x100 Relay - 1. Western Washington (Pangilinan, Steffen, Tilley, Gruger)
41.79; 2. Northwest Nazarene (Curtis, Christie, Henderson, Hope) 41.94;
3. Alaska Anchorage (Allen, Bauer, Ward, Hewitt) 42.14; 4. Central
Washington (Mack, Nichols, Caryl, Morrison) 42.57; 5. Saint Martin's
(Ortiz, Brown, Dunn, Davis) 43.51; 6. MSU Billings (Stein, Polkow,
Firestone, Prevost) 44.25; Western Oregon (Alexander, Phillips,
Campbell, Hamlett) did not finish.
4x400 Relay - 1. Alaska Anchorage (Bauer, Blackburn, Hewitt, Ward)
3:15.03 (meet record, 3:15.91, Central Washington, 2006); 2. Western
Oregon (Rhodes, Olsen, Yakovich, Burnhingham) 3:16.29; 3. Western
Washington (Tilley, Schmidt, Nokes, Poolman) 3:17.70; 4. Central
Washington (Fremd, Alexander, Johnson, Morrison) 3:19.12; 5. Simon
Fraser (Conard, Vugteveen, Liu, Brockerville) 3:23.45; 6. Seattle Pacific
(Corazza, Endresen, Ferguson, Seely) 3:25.59; 7. Saint Martin's (Ortiz,
Patti, Dunn, DeMoss) 3:26.72; 8. MSU Billings (Prevost, Blomback,
Robinson, Galahan) 3:27.29.
He finished first in the 200 (22.21), second in the 100
(10.88) and third in the long jump (22-11) and also
anchored the Vikings' win in the 4x100 relay in a time of
41.79.
Pole Vault – 1. Tim Lundy, WOU, 4.48 – 14-8 ¼; 2. Kevin Johnson, SMU,
4.48 – 14-8 ¼; 3. Micah Johnson, UAA, 4.33 – 14-2 ½; 4. Greyson
Kilgore, NNU, 4-33 – 14-2 ½; 5. Taylor Shields, NNU, 4.33 – 14-2 ½; 6.
Joseph Keeton, SMU, and Thomas Guidon, WWU, 4.18 – 13-8 ½; 8. Ray
Zoellick, SPU, 4.18 – 13-8 ½.
Men's Team Scores - Western Washington 205, Western Oregon 126
1/2, Alaska Anchorage 123, Central Washington 120, Northwest
Nazarene 110, Saint Martin's 63 1/2, Seattle Pacific 34, Simon Fraser 27,
MSU-Billings 7.
Triple Jump - 1. Bryan Mack, CWU, 14.95 - 49-0 3/4; 2. Stephen Larlee,
NNU, 14.25 - 46-9; 3. Kyle Lane, WOU, 14.10 - 46-3 1/4; 4. Michael
Davis, SMU, 14.01 - 45-11 3/4; 5. Will Hallberg, CWU, 13.93 - 45-8 1/2; 6.
Matson Hardie, WOU, 13.84 - 45-5; 7. Devin Bennett, CWU, 13.70 - 44-11
1/2; 8. Sakae Kamagata, CWU, 13.64 - 44-9.
100 - 1. Rimar Christie, NNU, 10.79; 2. Shane Gruger, WWU, 10.88; 3.
Edd Brown, SMU, 10.89; 4. Alex Tilley, WWU, 10.96; 5. Dennis Nicolas,
SFU, 11.04; 6. Brock Steffen, WWU, 11.05; 7. Kendale Hamlett, WOU,
11.41; 8. AJ Allen, UAA, 11.47.
200 – 1. Shane Gruger, WWU, 22.21; 2. Andrew Curtis, NNU, 22.26; 3.
Nathaniel Schmidt, WWU, 22.28; 4. Kendale Hamlett, WOU, 22.29; 5.
Brock Steffen, WWU, 22.49; 6. Alex Tilley, WWU, 22.53; 7. Edd Brown,
SMU, 23.33; 8. Josh Moore, WOU, 28.08.
400 - 1. Ethan Hewitt, UAA, 47.55 (meet record, old 47.79, Ethan Hewitt,
UAA, 2010 Prelims); 2. Landon Burningham, WOU, 48.50; 3. Jonathon
Poolman, WWU, 48.86; 4. Scott Morrison, CWU, 49.14; 5. Nathaniel
Schmidt, WWU, 49.29; 6. Anthony Yakovich, WOU, 49.51; 7. Josh Moore,
WOU, 49.81; 8. Jason Nokes, WWU, 49.89.
800 - 1. Nathan Seely, SPU, 1:50.61; 2. Ryan Hansen, WOU, 1:52.50; 3.
Adam Reid, SFU, 1:52.73; 4. Frank Krause, SMU, 1:53.14; 5. Chris Olsen,
WOU, 1:53.22; 6. Yubai Liu, SFU, 1:54.42; 7. Braden Timpe, WWU,
1:55.12; 8. Drew Larson, WOU, 1:55.68.
1500 - 1. Micah Chelimo, UAA, 3:50.09; 2. Alfred Kangogo, UAA, 3:51; 3.
Dan Sprinkle, WOU, 3:51.31; 4. Isaac Kangogo, UAA, 3:52.37; 5. Braden
Javelin - 1. Cody Parker, UAA, 65.54 - 215-0 (meet record, old, 208-5,
Harrison, WWU, 208-5); 2. Alex Harrison, WWU, 65.42 - 214-7; 3. Braden
Keller, CWU, 60.61 - 198-10; 4. Will Crook, WOU, 59.25 - 194-5; 5. Slater
Hirst, WWU, 58.23 - 191-0 3/4; 6. Chris Mitchell, WWU, 57.90 - 189-11; 7.
Manny Melo, CWU, 55.93 - 183-6; 8. Joe Cruise, NNU, 55.73 - 182-10.
Hammer - 1. Michael Hoffman, WWU, 61.61 - 202-1 (meet record, old,
59.95 - 196-8, Pro Escobedo, WOU, 2003); 2. Quinton Agosta, CWU,
54.74 - 179-7; 3. Sam Washington, SMU, 54.19 - 177-9; 4. Mike Jensen,
CWU, 50.28 - 164-11; 5. Jordan Fenters, NNU, 48.90 - 160-5; 6. Tyler
Nichols, WWU, 47.88 - 157-1; 7. Braden Keller, CWU, 45.57 - 149-6; 8.
Eric Holmstrom, CWU, 44.83 - 147-1.
Women's Team Scores - Seattle Pacific 188, Alaska Anchorage 183,
Western Washington 137 1/2, Western Oregon 77, Northwest Nazarene
74, Simon Fraser 63, Central Washington 57, MSU Billings 33, Saint
Martin's 6 1/2.
100 – 1. Grace Morgan, UAA, 11.91 (meet record; old, 12.11, Latasha
Essien, SPU, 2010 Prelims); 2. Madison McClung, WOU, 12.05; 3. Kishia
Mitchell, SPU, 12.17; 4. BryAnne Wochnick, SPU, 12.31; 5. Tasia
Baldwin, SPU, 12.38; 6. Aisha Klippenstein, SFU, 12.48; 7. Sydney
Coffey, WWU, 12.51; 8. Dianne Chong, UAA, 12.54.
11.37 – 37-3 ¾; 7. Molly Reid, NNU, 11.30 – 37-1 ½; 8. Dianne Chong,
UAA, 11.25 – 36-11.
200 - 1. Grace Morgan, UAA, 24.61 (meet record, old, 24.74, Morgan,
2012 prelims); 2. Madison McClung, WOU, 24.80; 3. Myisha Valentine,
SPU, 25.22; 4. Eleanor Siler, WWU, 25.28; 5. Ali Worthen, SPU, 25.37; 6.
Kishia Mitchell, SPU, 25.65; 7. Tasia Baldwin, SPU, 25.72; 8. Melissa
Grammer, NNU, 25.89.
Shot Put – 1. Joy Warrington, NNU, 13.99 – 45-10 3/4; 2. Leeza Henry,
MSUB, 13.78 – 45 – 2 1/2; 3. Anica Knispel, MSUB, 13.45 – 44-1 1/2; 4.
Kaylee Baumstark, CWU, 12.62 – 41 -5; 5. Carly Dranginis, NNU, 12.59 –
41 – 3 3/4; 6. Vessie Umu, NNU, 12.13; 39 – 9 3/4; 7. Annie Martinez,
CWU, 12.02 – 39-5 1/4; 8. Caitlin Curtis, NNU, 11.29 – 37-0 1/2.
400 - 1. Eleanor Siler, WWU, 55.73; 2. Myisha Valentine, SPU, 55.76; 3.
Jasmine Johnson, SPU, 56.85; 4. Haleigh Lloyd, UAA, 57.16; 5. Emily
Quatier, SPU, 57.44; 6. Kelsea Johnson, UAA, 57.88; 7. Seanna Pitassi,
CWU, 58.71; 8. Lexi Pola, WOU, 59.55.
Hammer - 1. Lindsay Wells, WWU, 50.76 – 166-6; 2. Joy Warrington,
NNU, 46.55 – 152–9; 3. Anica Knispel, MSUB, 45.46 – 149-2; 4. Kaylee
Baumstark, CWU, 45.32 – 148-8; 5. Carly Dranginis, NNU, 44.84-147-1;
6. Alicia Hedrick, NNU, 44.79 - 146-11; 7. Ryley Carr, SFU, 42.84 – 140-7;
8. Alla Dzhidzhiyeshvili, NNU, 41.96 – 137-8.
800 - 1. McKayla Fricker, SPU, 2:11.79; 2. Sarah Sawatzky, SFU,
2:12.50; 3. Michaela Kane, SFU, 2:13.78; 4. Ivy O'Guinn, UAA, 2:13.94; 5.
Janelle Everetts, WOU, 2:14.16; 6. Joscelyn Minton, SMU, 2:14.52; 7.
Abbey Vogt, SFU, 2:14.95; 8. Natalie Evans, NNU, 2:16.84.
1500 - 1. Lindsey Butterworth, SFU, 4:28.77; 2. Susan Tanui, UAA,
4:32.83; 3. Ivy O'Guinn, UAA, 4:33.55; 4. Ruth Keino, UAA, 4:37.71; 5.
Hallidie Wilt, UAA, 4:39.01; 6. Miriam Kipng'eno, UAA, 4:39.53; 7. Katelyn
Steen, WWU, 4:43.24; 8. Natalie Evans, NNU, 4:43.83.
5000 – 1. Susan Tanui, UAA, 17:31.67; 2. Ruth Keino, UAA, 17:33.05; 3.
Miriam Kipng'eno, UAA, 17:38.37; 4. Heidi Laabs-Johnson, SPU,
17:49.17; 5. Natty Plunkett, SPU, 17:53.42; 6. Katelyn Steen, WWU,
18:04.43; 7. Ivy O'Guinn, UAA, 18:08.27; 8. Jaymi Bethea, UAA,
18:11.80.
100 Hurdles – 1. Haleigh Lloyd, UAA, 14.23; 2. Ali Worthen, SPU, 14.29;
3. Michelle Howe, WWU, 14.36; 4. Maliea Luguin, SPU, 14.73; 5. Janna
Vander Meulen, WOU, 14.85; 6. Aisha Klippenstein, SFU, 14.86; 7.
Andrea Abrams, SFU, 14.87; 8. Chelsea Genther, CWU, 15.45.
400 Hurdles - 1. Michelle Howe, WWU, 1:03.06; 2. Natalie Nobbs, SPU,
1:04.37; 3. Amber Dodd, WWU, 1:04.64; 4. Haleigh Lloyd, UAA, 1:04.74;
5. Alexandra McDonald, WWU, 1:05.90; 6. Janna Vander Meulen, WOU,
1:06.73; 7. Ali Mosher, WOU, 1:08.04; 8. Miranda Lahman, WWU, 1:08.64
4x100 Relay - 1. Seattle Pacific (Wochnick, Worthen, Valentine, Mitchell)
47.22 (meet record, old, 47.23, Seattle Pacific, 2011); 2. Alaska
Anchorage (Chong, Johnson, Morgan, Lloyd) 47.67; 3. Western Oregon
(McClung, Pola, Campbell, Hellesto) 48.34; 4. Northwest Nazarene
(Leonce, Grammer, Reid, Case) 48.80; 5. Western Washington (Siler,
Stralser, Coffey, Ledtke) 48.94; 6. Central Washington (Swanson,
Takayoshi, Pitassi, Genther) 49.85; 7. Simon Fraser (Rhode, Klippenstein,
Abrams, Crombeen) 50.09; 8. Saint Martin's (Medina, Aashiem, DeCosta,
Wolf) 51.38.
4x400 Relay - Seattle Pacific (Valentine, Quatier, Johnson, Fricker)
3:48.79; 2. Alaska Anchorage (Morgan, Bick, Johnson, Lloyd) 3:52.47; 3.
Simon Fraser (Vogt, Butterworth, Sawatzky, Kane) 3:53.43; 4. Western
Oregon (Hellesto, Everetts, Pola, Skordahl) 3:54.09; 5. Northwest
Nazarene (Grammer, Rippy, Evans, Weidmeier) 3:57.16; 6. Western
Washington (Siler, Howe, Coffey, Ledtke) 4:00.62; 7. Central Washington
(Forgey, Morgan, Genther, Pitassi) 4:05.82; 8. Saint Martin's (Aashiem,
Anderson, Copeland, Minton) 4:12.00.
High Jump - 1. Brittany Grandy, WWU, 1.69 – 5-6 ½; 2. Ali Worthen, SPU,
1.69 – 5-6 ½; 3. Katie Pelchar, WOU, 1.69 – 5-6 ½; 4. Tayler Fettig, CWU,
1.64 – 5-4 ½; 5. Brittany Aanstad, SPU, 1.64 – 5-4 ½; 6. Kelsea Johnson,
UAA, 1.59 – 5-2 ½; 7. Brooklyn Holton, WWU, and Laura Tesch, SMU,
1.54 – 5-0 ½.
Triple Jump – 1. Ashley Potter, WOU, 12.42 – 40-9 (conference record,
old, 12.32 - 40-5, Emily Warman, WWU, 2012; meet record, 11.98 - 39-3
3/4, Kim Brady, UAA, 2008); 2. Katharine Lotze, CWU, 12.08 – 39-7 ¾; 3.
Jasmyn Jewett, NNU, 11.91 – 39-1; 4. Emily Warman, WWU, 11.91 – 391 ½; 5. Trinna Miranda, SPU, 11.41 – 37-5 ¼; 6. Emily Walters, WWU,
Friday, May 10
Track and Field: Brockerville, Tanui Set Steeple
Records
Ryan Brockerville of Simon Fraser and Susan Tanui of
Alaska Anchorage both set meet records in winning the
steeplechase Friday in the opening day of the GNAC
championship meet at McArthur Stadium in Monmouth,
Ore.
Brockerville was timed in 8:56.13 breaking the old record
of 9:02.79 by Micah Chelimo of UAA in 2010. Tanui broke
the women's record of 10:50.62 by Courtney Olsen of
Western Washington winning in a time of 10:24.44.
Brockerville, the 2011 NAIA national champion, prevented
Chelimo from winning his third straight steeple title.
Also setting meet records Friday in final events were Karis
Anderson and Emily Warman, both from Western
Washington.
Anderson won the pole vault with a mark of 12-6 3/4,
breaking the old mark of 12-4 by Ally Studer of Seattle
Pacific in 2003.
Warman had the longest long jump in meet history soaring
19-1 1/2, 3/4 inches farther than Seattle Pacific's Danielle
Ayers-Stamper went in 2005.
Grace Morgan of Alaska Anchorage set a new mark in the
prelims of the 100 with a time of 12.09, bettering the old
record of 12.11 by Latasha Essien of Seattle Pacific in
2010.
Two men earned their second conference titles in the same
event as Brennan Boyes of Central Washington won the
high jump for the second year in a row with a leap of 6-9.
Sam Washington of Saint Martin's won the shot with a put
55-2 1/4. He also won the same event in 2008.
Men's Team Scores (7 Events) - Western Washington 81 1/2, Central
Washington 55, Northwest Nazarene 42, Western Oregon 30 1/2, Saint
Martins 21, Alaska Anchorage 17, Seattle Pacific 13, Simon Fraser 10,
MSU Billings 3.
Steeplechase - 1. Ryan Brockerville, SFU, 8:56.13 (meet record, old,
9:02.79, Micah Chelimo, UAA, 2010); 2. Micah Chelimo, UAA, 8:56.20; 3.
Dan Sprinkle, WOU, 9:09.80; 4. AJ Baker, SPU, 9:25.27; 5. Joshua
Reiter, WWU, 9:35.32; 6. Eric Brill, WWU, 9:35.41; 7. Michael Gordon,
NNU, 9:39.31; 8. Luke Hetrick, NNU, 9:41.42.
10,000 - 1. Barak Watson, NNU, 30:43.83; 2. Dak Riak, WWU, 31:01.02;
3. Jesse Baggenstos, NNU, 31:01.66; 4. Kyle Van Santen, SMU,
31:06.32; 5. Dylan Anthony, UAA, 31:23.12; 6. Yonatan Yilma, UAA,
31:31.81; 7. Jacob Parisien, UAA, 32:13.30; 8. Eric Brill, WWU, 32:35.37.
Long Jump - 1. Matson Hardie, WOU, 7.34 - 24-1; 2. Jake Hyde, WOU,
7.27 - 23-10 1/4; 3. Shane Gruger, WWU, 6.98 - 22-11; 4. Michael Glover,
WOU, 6.93 - 22-9; 5. Manny Melo, CWU, 6.91 - 22-8; 6. Will Hallberg,
CWU, 6.86 - 22-6 1/4; 7. Devin Bennett, CWU, 6.80 - 22-3 3/4; 8. Kyle
Lane, WOU, 6.75 - 22-1 3/4.
High Jump - 1. Brennan Boyes, CWU, 2.06 - 6-9; 2. Brett Watson, WWU,
2.01 - 6-7; 3. Andrew Galbraith, NNU, 1.96 - 6-5; 4. Ethan Meikle, CWU,
1.91 - 6-3 1/4, and Karsten Schick, WWU, 1.91 - 6-3 1/4; 6. Lewis Meyers,
CWU, 1.91 - 6-3 1/4; 7. Logan Myers, WWU, 1.91 - 6-3 1/4; 8. Brandon
Roddewig, CWU, 1.91 - 6-3 1/4.
Women's Team Scores (7 Events) - Seattle Pacific 64, Alaska
Anchorage 61, Western Washington 52, Central Washington 24, Western
Oregon 20, Northwest Nazarene 20, Simon Fraser 19, MSU Billings 13.
Steeplechase - 1. Susan Tanui, UAA, 10:24.44 (meet record, old,
10:50.62, Courtney Olsen, WWU, 2010); 2. Hallidie Wilt, UAA, 10:47.41;
3. Katelyn Steen, WWU, 10:50.32; 4. Robyn Zeidler, SPU, 11:09.78; 5.
Haley O'Connor, WWU, 11:17.37; 6. Kelsey Kreft, CWU, 11:23.06; 7.
Katie Krehlik, UAA, 11:29.35; 8. Bryn Haebe, UAA, 11:31.84.
10,000 - 1. Ruth Keino, UAA, 36:37.97; 2. Miriam Kipng'eno, UAA,
36:44.96; 3. Natty Plunkett, SPU, 36:55.54; 4. Heidi Laabs-Johnson, SPU,
37:42.56; 5. Jaymi Bethea, UAA, 38:05.00; 6. Mary Rogers, WWU,
38:47.83; 7. Shoshana Keegan, UAA, 39:12.44; 8. Arielle Walton, WWU,
40:08.74.
Pole Vault - 1. Karis Anderson, WWU, 3.83 - 12-6 3/4 (meet record, old,
3.76 - 12-4, Ally Studer, SPU, 2003); 2. Kati Davis, CWU, 3.73 - 12-2 3/4;
3. Terra Schumacher, SPU, 3.53 - 11-7; 4. Jamie Larsen, CWU, 3.53 - 117; 5. Cheyanna Pinley, WWU, 3.23 - 10-7; 6. Bethany Graham, WWU,
3.08 - 10-1 1/4.
Shot Put - 1. Sam Washington, SMU, 16.82 - 55-2 1/4; 2. Mike Jensen,
CWU, 15.62 - 51-3; 3. Ryan MacDonald, WWU, 15.28 - 50-1 3/4; 4.
Nelson Westlin, WWU, 15.09 - 49-6 1/4; 5. Michael Hoffman, WWU, 14.94
- 49-0 1/4; 6. Jake Swan, MSUB, 14.47 - 47-5 3/4; 7. Jordan Fenters,
NNU, 14.45 - 47-5; 8. Greg Cruise, NNU, 14.44 - 47-4 1/2.
Long Jump - 1. Emily Warman, WWU, 5.83 - 19-1 1/2 (meet record, old,
5.81 - 19-0 3/4, Danielle Ayers-Stamper, SPU, 2005); 2. Kelsea Johnson,
UAA, 5.68 - 18-7 3/4; 3. Tasia Baldwin, SPU, 5.55 - 18-2 1/2; 4. Mercedes
Rhode, SFU, 5.53 - 18-1 3/4; 5. Ali Worthen, SPU, 5.52 - 18-1 1/2; 6.
Trinna Miranda, SPU, 5.43 - 17-9 3/4; 7. Molly Reid, NNU, 5.41 - 17-9; 8.
Brooklyn Holton, WWU, 5.39 - 17-8 1/4.
Discus - 1. Michael Hoffman, WWU, 48.99 - 160-9; 2. Kevin Rima, NNU,
47.24 - 155-0; 3. Sam Washington, SMU, 47.08 - 154-5; 4. Ryan
MacDonald, WWU, 46.81; 5. Nelson Westlin, WWU, 46.25 - 151-9; 6.
Greg Cruise, NNU, 46.20 - 151-7; 7. Mike Jensen, CWU, 44.29 - 145-4; 8.
Alex Harrison, WWU, 42.58 - 139-8.
Discus - 1. Jade Richardson, SFU, 42.53 - 139-6; 2. Leeza Henry, MSUB,
42.53 - 139-6; 3. Joy Warrington, NNU, 40.35 - 132-4; 4. Caitlin Curtis,
NNU, 39.38 129-2; 5. Carly Dranginis, NNU, 39.22 - 128-8; 6. Kaylee
Baumstark, CWU, 37.99 - 124-8; 7. Maggie Roe, WWU, 37.71 - 123-9; 8.
Anica Knispel, MSUB, 36.21 - 118-9.
Prelim Qualifiers:
Javelin - 1. Amanda Schumaker, WOU, 46.97 - 154-1; 2. Brittany
Aanstad, SPU, 44.05 - 144-6; 3. Seabre Church, WOU, 41.87 - 137-4; 4.
Katy Gross, SPU, 41.53 - 136-3; 5. Michaela Farner, SPU, 40.93 - 134-3;
6. Michelle Stuart, SFU, 40.18 - 131-10; 7. Trishi Williams, WWU, 38.68 126-11; 8. Kirstin Stewart, SFU, 38.66 - 126-10.
100 - 1. Rimar Christie, NNU, 10.67; 2. Alex Tilley, WWU, 10.81; 3. Shane
Gruger, WWU, 10.82; 4. Edd Brown, SMU, 10.84; 5. Brock Steffen, WWU,
10.93; 6. Kendale Hamlett, WOU, 10.93; 7. AJ Allen, UAA, 10.95; 8.
Dennis Nicolas, SFU, 11.02.
Prelim Qualifiers:
200 - 1. Alex Tilley, WWU, 21.89; 2. Nathaniel Schmidt, WWU, 22.00; 3.
Andrew Curtis, NNU, and Shane Gruger, WWU, 22.09; 5. Brock Steffen,
WWU, 22.09; 6. Josh Moore, WOU, 22.22; 7. Kendale Hamlett, WOU,
22.26; and Edd Brown, SMU, 22.26.
400 - 1. Ethan Hewitt, UAA, 48.37; 2. Landon Burningham, WOU, 48.43;
3, Jonathon Poolman, WWU, 48.58; 4. Anthony Yakovich, WOU, 49.27; 5.
Scott Morrison, CWU, 49.56; 6. Nathaniel Schmidt, WWU, 49.77; 7. Jason
Nokes, WWU, 49.83; 8. Josh Moore, WOU, 50.58.
800 - 1. Chris Olsen, WOU, 1:52.23; 2. Adam Reid, SFU, 1:52.73; 3.
Frank Krause, SMU, 1:53.03; 4. Braden Timpe, WWU, 153:04; 5. Ryan
Hansen, WOU, 1:53.67; 6. Drew Larsen, WOU, 1:53.94; 7. Nathan Seely,
SPU, 1:54.09; 8. Yubai Liu, SFU, 1:54.16; 9. Isaac Kangogo, UAA,
1:54.21.
110 Hurdles - 1. Kody Rhodes, WOU, 15.05; 2. Maurus Hope, NNU,
15.05; 3. Brett Campbell, WOU, 15.17; 4. Andrew Venema, CWU, 15.28;
5. Logan Myers, WWU, 15.33; 6. Karsten Schick, WWU, 15.34; 7. Rimar
Christie, NNU, 15.39; 8. Alex Harrison, WWU, 15.41.
400 Hurdles - 1. Maurus Hope, NNU, 52.81; 2. Kody Rhodes, WOU,
54.16; 3. Shaun Ward, UAA, 54.18; 4. Gabriel Morales, WWU, 54.60; 5.
Nick Blackburn, UAA, 55.14; 6. Ryan Endresen, SPU, 55.19; 7. Colin
Alexander, CWU, 55.44; 8. Jeff Sloat, WWU, 55.51.
100 - 1. Grace Morgan, UAA, 12.09 (meet record, 12.11, Latasha Essien,
SPU, 2010 prelims); 2. Madison McClung, WOU, 12.19; 3. Kishia Mitchell,
SPU, 12.20; 4. Tasia Baldwin, SPU, 12.34; 5. BryAnne Wochnick, SPU,
12.39; 6. Aisha Klippenstein, SFU, 12.42; 7. Dianne Chong, UAA, 12.47;
8. Sydney Coffey, WWU, 12.50.
200 - 1. Grace Morgan, UAA, 24.74; 2. Myisha Valentine, SPU, 24.90; 3.
Madison McClung, WOU, 24.96; 4. Kishia Mitchell, SPU, 25.03; 5. Eleanor
Siler, WWU, 25.13; 6. Tasia Baldwin, SPU, 25.14; 7. Melissa Grammer,
NNU, 25.62; 8. Ali Worthen, SPU, 25.62.
400 - 1. Eleanor Siler, WWU, 55.86; 2. Myisha Valentine, SPU, 56.36; 3.
Haleigh Lloyd, UAA, 56.78; 4. Jasmine Johnson, SPU, 57.00; 5. Emily
Quatier, SPU, 57.28; 6. Seanna Pitassi, CWU, 58.12; 7. Kelsea Johnson,
UAA, 58.26; 8. Lexi Pola, WOU, 58.46.
800 - 1. Sarah Sawatzky, SFU, 2:12.98; 2. Michaela Kane, SFU, 2:12.99;
3. Janelle Everetts, WOU, 2:13.01; 4. Ivy O'Guinn, UAA, 2:13.13; 5.
McKayla Fricker, SPY, 2:13.84; 6. Abby Vogt, SFU, 2:14.01; 7. Joscelyn
Minton, SMU, 2:14.16; 8. Natalie Evans, NNU, 2:13.19; 9. Susan Bick,
UAA, 2:15.15.
100 Hurdles - 1. Haleigh Lloyd, UAA, 14.31; 2. Michelle Howe, WWU,
14.38; 3. Ali Worthen, SPU, 14.47; 4. Janna Vander Meulen, WOU, 14.64;
5. Aisha Klippenstein, SFU, 14.71; 6. Maliea Luquin, SPU, 14.84; 7.
Andrea Abrams, SFU, 15.01; 8. Chelsea Genther, CWU, 15.03.
400 Hurdles - 1. Haleigh Lloyd, UAA, 1:02.23; 2. Natalie Nobbs, SPU,
1:04.83; 3. Amber Dodd, WWU, 1:05.12; 4. Michelle Howe, WWU,
1:05.57; 5. Alexandra McDonald, WWU, 1:05.99; 6. Janna Vander
Meulen, WOU, 1:06.49; 7. Ali Mosher, WOU, 1:06.86; 8. Miranda Lahman,
WWU, 1:07.21.
Baseball: WOU's Wood Wins 20th Straight Game
David Leid brought home Brady Kincannon with a
sacrifice fly for the game's first run after Kincannon had hit
a one-out triple.
Glen Reser led off the two-run fifth with a solo home run -his fourth of the year -- and the Wildcats added their next
run on an error on a two-out stolen base situation.
Grady Wood allowed just six hits and two runs in pitching
Western Oregon to a 9-4 victory over Montana State
Billings Friday at MSUB's Dehler Park.
CWU added one final insurance tally in the seventh when
Derrick Webb was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
The Wolves (38-9, 27-3) then rallied for four runs in the
seventh inning to win the nightcap 6-4 and complete the
sweep.
Rohde, who threw 141 pitches (90 for strikes), was able to
maintain the shutout despite allowing eight hits -- all
singles.
Wood's win was his 12th as he equaled the GNAC singleseason record for victories and extended his two-season
winning streak to 20, one short of the NCAA Division II
record.
Northwest Nazarene had two runners in scoring position
with nobody out in the seventh after a single and a twobase error -- Central Washington's lone defensive miscue of
the doubleheader -- but Rohde proceeded to strike out the
next three hitters.
Wood gave up two first-inning runs, snapping his string of
consecutive scoreless innings at 26, three short of the
GNAC record of 29.
The Wolves, however, tied the game in the third on a tworun home run by Griff Boyd, then went ahead for good in
the fourth on a two-run single by Boyd.
Western Oregon added three runs in the seventh and then
tacked on two in the ninth on a single by Bo Folkinga.
WOU outhit Montana State Billings 11-8 as Boyd led the
way with three safeties. Blake Miller, Kyle Blackwell and
AJ Royal had two each.
Blake Loran led MSUB (22-22, 13-17) with two hits. Matt
Comer and Brody Miller each had two RBI.
In the second game, Brody Miller had a two-run single
during a three-run third inning to stake MSUB to an early
lead.
The Wolves, however, got a RBI single from Matt Nylen
and a three-run home run from Blake Miller in the final
frame to pull out the victory.
Central Washington Sweeps Northwest Nazarene
Brandon Rohde posted the highest single-game strikeout
total by a Central Washington pitcher in seven years, and
the Wildcat bats provided enough offense for Rohde and
four Game 1 pitchers as CWU swept Northwest Nazarene
10-8 and 4-0 at NNU's Vail Field.
Rohde posted his second straight double-digit strikeout
performance fanning 15 hitters. He has had 28 strikeouts
over 14 innings in two straight seven-inning complete
games.
The Wildcat offense scored four runs on Rohde's behalf,
with single tallies in the second and seventh innings and a
two-run fifth inning sandwiched in between.
In the opener, Central Washington overcame an early 2-0
deficit with four runs in the fourth and three each in the
sixth and seventh, and the Wildcats then staved off a lategame rally by Northwest Nazarene to earn the victory.
Each team finished with 13 hits in the opener. Webb and
Kyle Sani had three hits apiece for CWU.
Jamie Mitchell went 3 for 5 for NNU, hitting his first two
home runs of the season and driving in four runs.
Thursday, May 10
Baseball: Boyd Selected West Region Player-of-Week
Western Oregon third baseman Griff Boyd has been
selected the NCBWA (National College Baseball Writers
Association) West Region Player-of-the-Week.
Boyd had 10 hits in 18 at bats, including four doubles, as
the Wolves won five of six games against Saint Martin's
last week.
Boyd drove in six runs, including two to break a 5-5 tie in
Wednesday's 7-5 win at Monmouth. In Saturday's 4-3 loss
at Lacey, he had three hits in three at bats and scored one
run while driving in a second run.
In Sunday's 6-5 victory, he had a hit and a walk in three
plate appearances and also scored a run. Boyd is now tied
with teammate Bo Folkinga for third place in the GNAC
batting race with .370 averages, one point in back of
runner-up Sean McDonald of Northwest Nazarene.
Wolf shortstop Blake Miller is hitting .402 and leads
McDonald by 31 points.
Western Oregon (36-9) completes its regular-season this
Friday and Saturday with a four-game series at Montana
State Billings.
The Wolves earned a No. 1 ranking in the final NCAA
Division II West Regional poll of the season Wednesday.
WOU is also ranked eighth in the NCBWA national poll
and 14th in the Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll.
Following this weekend's action, the NCAA will select
which three teams will join the CCAA champion in next
weekend's West Regional tournament.
The CCAA, which is the only conference in the region
which receives an automatic berth, will determine their
champion this weekend with a tournament.
UC San Diego is the host and top-seed. Also in the
tournament is No. 2 seed Chico State, third-seed Cal State
San Bernardino and fourth-seed Sonoma State.
NCAA West Region (Final) - 1. Western Oregon (36-9); 2. Chico State
(36-14); 3. Dixie State (32-18); 4. UC San Diego (29-21); 5. CSU San
Bernardino (27-17); 5. Cal State L.A. (26-22); 7. Cal Poly Pomona (31-18);
8. Grand Canyon (27-23).
WOU's Grady Wood Tied For National Lead In
Victories
Western Oregon right-hander Grady Wood is tied for the
national lead in NCAA Division II in victories in this
week's NCAA Division II national statistical report.
Wood is 11-0 on the season and is among eight pitchers
nationally with 11 wins. That total also leaves him one
short of the GNAC record of 12 set by Nick Waechter of
Western Oregon during the 2006 season.
Wood has also thrown 26 consecutive scoreless innings,
three short of Waechter's record set in 2005.
Wood is ranked nationally in the Top 10 in four different
categories. In addition to wins, he ranks third in fewest hits
allowed per nine innings (4.99), sixth in ERA (1.18) and
eighth in fewest walks allowed per nine innings (0.98).
WOU first baseman Bo Folkinga ranks second in doubles
per game (0.55) and third in total doubles (23). Folkinga
also ranks sixth in RBI per game (1.36).
Also in the Top 10 is Thomas DeBoer of Saint Martin's.
DeBoer ranks eighth in games started with 14.
In team categories, Western Oregon ranks third in doubles
per game (2.62) and walks allowed (2.13), seventh in
scoring (8.2), total doubles (118) and fielding percentage
(.972) and eighth in home runs per game (1.02), slugging
(.509) and earned run average (2.92).
CWU's Webb Top GPA On Academic Team
Fourteen student-athletes have been named to the 2012
Great Northwest Athletic Conference Baseball Academic
all-conference team.
Derrick Webb of Central Washington heads up the
academic all-star team with a 3.83 GPA. He is a senior
clinical physiology major from Ephrata.
Two players are repeaters from last year – Brian Hutchings
of Montana State Billings and Kirk Lind of Western
Oregon. Lind was selected for the third year in a row.
Wednesday, May 9
Men's Golf: Vikings Qualify For Nationals
Western Washington overcame a poor start Wednesday
rallying to place fourth at the Central/West Regional and
claim one of five qualifying berths to the NCAA Division
II national meet next week at Louisville, Kent.
The Vikings had a 297 team score on the Par 72 Wigwam
Golf Gold Course at Litchfield Park, Ariz.
The Vikings will make their first national appearance since
2008 at The Cardinal Club in Louisville beginning May 15.
WWU began final-day play fifth with a five-stroke
advantage over sixth-place Cal State Monterey Bay, the
defending regional and national champion.
That lead evaporated quickly as WWU lost 11 strokes to
par over the first nine holes and just after the turn found
itself in seventh place as Dixie State, which was 10-under
through the first 12 holes, climbed into fifth.
But the Vikings rallied, playing the back nine in three
under to finish the 54-hole tournament at 12-over par 876
with a round of 297.
Host Grand Canyon fell two spots to fifth at 877, Dixie
State finished sixth at 886 and CSUMB was seventh at 889.
“It was an atrocious start, a lot like last year,” said WWU
coach Steve Card, whose squad began final-day action at
the 2011 regionals tied for third and placed sixth. “But
unlike last year when we couldn't get it done, this time we
did."
Cal State Stanislaus, which began the day fourth, 10 strokes
off the lead, came back to win the team title by four strokes
with an even par 288 for a three-day total of 865.
Chico State, the tourney leader each of the first two days,
was runner-up, two strokes off the pace at 869. Colorado
Mines placed third at 871.
The Vikings' Nick Varelia tied for fifth at 216. He shot an
even par 72 Wednesday with three bogeys and three
birdies.
WWU's Dylan Goodwin was three under on the back nine
after being four over on the front. He finished at 1-over 73
and tied for 12th at 2-over 218.
Colorado Mines' Jim Knous took medalist honors at 7under 209. Chico State 's Kyle Souza was second, two
strokes behind, at 211.
Saint Martin's ended up 18th with a 923 total. The Saints
were led by Michael Jaeger who finished 57th overall with
a 923 total.
NCAA Central/West Regional (May 7-9 at Wigwam Golf Course Gold, Litchfield Park, Ariz.): Team Scores - 1. Cal State Stanislaus 865
(283-294-288); 2. Chico State 869 (273-294-302); 3. Colorado Mines 871
(283-288-300); 4. Western Washington 876 (291-288-297); 5. Grand
Canyon 877 (285-288-304); 18. Saint Martin's 923 (309-298-316).
Individuals (Par 72, 7,132 Yards) - 1. Jim Knous, Colorado Mines, 209
(66-70-73); 5. Nick Varelia, WWU, 216 (74-70-72); 12. Dylan Goodwin,
WWU, 218 (69-76-73); 21. Sandy Vaughan, WWU, 221 (75-69-77); 29.
Craig Crawford, WWU, 224 (73-73-78); 57. Michael Jaeger, SMU, 229
(77-74-78); 72. Ben Fosnick, SMU, 232 (77-76-79); 77. Jake Webb,
WWU, 233 (80-78-75); 80. Matt Epstein, SMU, 234 (79-74-81); Zach
Dietz, SMU, 234 (78-74-82) and Brandon Moore, SMU, 234 (77-79-78).
Women's Basketball: Moser Resigns at UAA
After discussions with UAA Athletic Director Dr. Steve
Cobb, Tim Moser has resigned his position as University of
Alaska Anchorage women's basketball head coach,
effective immediately.
“Coach Moser has issued a letter of resignation that I have
accepted,” Dr. Cobb said. "We are grateful for his efforts in
leading the UAA women's basketball program to an elite
national status.”
With a 165-32 record, Moser holds with the highest
winning percentage (.838) among active D-II women's
coaches and the 7th-best among all NCAA divisions.
His Seawolf squads advanced to at least the second round
of the NCAA Tournament in each of his seasons, including
consecutive Final Four appearances in 2008 and 2009, and
another NCAA Elite Eight berth in 2012.
Under his guidance, the Seawolves earned three NCAA
West Region titles, two GNAC regular-season crowns, two
GNAC tournament titles, three 30-win seasons and four
Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout championships.
In Moser's tenure, only two other D-II women's programs
posted as many victories as the Seawolves and none have
been ranked in the WBCA/ESPN Top 25 Coaches' Poll for
as many consecutive weeks, a current streak of 81.
The 2011-12 Seawolves went 30-5 and won the GNAC title
by two games, finishing No. 7 in the final national
rankings. Dr. Cobb indicated that a search for a new head
coach will begin immediately.
Softball: Three Selected To All-Region Team
Outfielders Meg Harasymczuk and Rose Harrington of
Montana State Billings and utility player Morgan Klemm
of Saint Martin's have been named to Daktronics NCAA
Division II West Regional all-star team.
All three players were
Harasymczuk batted .365 and
home runs (15), runs batted
slugging percentage (.759),
percentage (.464).
second team selections.
also recorded team-highs in
in (48), total bases (104),
walks (26) and on-base
Her 48 RBI this season set a new school record for most
RBI in a single season, eclipsing the former top mark set by
Steph Gosselin in 2009. Her home run mark also matches
the single-season record set by Theresa Campbell in 2004.
Harrington batted a team-leading .401. She led the team
with 71 hits and was second on the team with 12 doubles,
96 total bases and 14 stolen bases.
Her .401 batting average ranks seventh all-time in MSUB
history. Her career average of .377 current ranks
third. Klemm finished her senior season with a .422
average, ranking second in the conference.
Coert Steps Down As Northwest Nazarene Softball
Coach
Northwest Nazarene University athletic director Rich
Sanders has announced that Julie Coert has resigned as
head softball coach for the Crusaders.
Coert recently completed her ninth season as head coach at
NNU and finishes her tenure with a 103-334 career record.
Julie led the Crusaders to a school record 23 wins in 2006
and she was named GNAC Co-Coach of the Year.
"We would like to thank Julie for her efforts over the past
nine years in leading our softball program," Sanders said.
A search has begun to fill the softball position. All inquiries
regarding the position should be made to the NNU Office
of Human Resources at 208-467-8036.
Tuesday, May 8
Men's Golf: Vikings Five Ahead For Final Berth
Sandy Vaughan fired a 3-under par 69 and Nick Varelia
posted a 2-under 70, helping Western Washington move up
one spot to fifth as it heads into final-day play Wednesday
at the NCAA Division II Central/West Regional being held
at the Wigwam Golf and Country Club's Gold Course in
Lichtfield, Ariz.
The top five teams advance to the NCAA II National
Championships on May 15-19 at The Cardinal Club in
Louisville, Kentucky.
The Vikings shot an even par 288 Tuesday, tying for the
second-best round of the day, for a 36-hole total of 579.
They are five shots ahead of defending national champion
Cal State Monterey for the final national berth.
Chico State, which led by 10 strokes after Monday's first
round, had that margin cut to four as it shot 6-over 294 for
a 567 total. The Wildcats fired an opening-round 15-under
273.
Colorado Mines is second at 571 in the 20-team field. Host
Grand Canyon, which had the day's best round of 287, is
third at 572 with Cal State Stanislaus fourth at 577.
Vaughan's 69, which included six birdies and three bogeys,
helped him move up 27 places. He and Varelia are tied for
15th at even par 144.
WWU's Dylan Goodwin fell from a tie for sixth to 17th at
145 after shooting 76.
Monday, May 7
Men's Golf: Western Washington Sixth in Golf
Regional
Western Washington shot 3-over par 291 on Monday and is
sixth among 20 teams at the NCAA Division II
Central/West Regional being held at the Wigwam Golf and
Country Club's Gold Course in Litchfield, Ariz.
Chico State, ranked No.6 nationally, leads after firing a 15under 273. The Wildcats hold a 10-stroke advantage over
Cal State Stanislaus, ranked No.3 nationally, and Colorado
School of the Mines. Those schools each shot 5-under 283.
Colorado Mines' Jim Knous leads in medalist play,
shooting 2-under 70 for an overall 8-under 136. First-day
leader Kyle Souza from Chico State is one-shot behind at
137 following an even par 72.
Host Grand Canyon is fourth at 3-under 285, with
defending regional and national champion Cal State
Monterey Bay is fifth at 2-over 290, one ahead of WWU.
Saint Martin's moved up four spots to 14th place after
shooting a 298. The Saints have a 607 total. Michael Jaeger
leads SMU with a 151 total including 74 Tuesday.
The top five schools and top two individuals from nonqualifying schools advance to the NCAA II National
Championships on May 15-19 at The Cardinal Club in
Louisville , Kentucky.
Men's Basketball: Network to Televise Shootout
The University of Alaska Anchorage has reached a multiyear agreement with CBS Sports Network to televise the
Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout.
Beginning with the 2012 event, CBS Sports Network will
carry seven games from the 35th annual men's basketball
tournament, scheduled for Nov. 21-24 at Anchorage's
Sullivan Arena.
This year's action will feature three first-round matchups,
both semifinals, and the third-place and championship
games.
“We are thrilled to partner with CBS Sports Network to
bring the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout to a
national audience,” said UAA athletic director Dr. Steve
Cobb. “This should be the beginning of a long and
successful venture for both parties.”
CBS Sports Network coverage will premiere with Belmont
versus host Alaska Anchorage on Nov. 21 at 10 p.m. AST.
The other first-round contests will air Thanksgiving night,
Nov. 22, with Loyola Marymount playing Oral Roberts at 5
p.m. AST and Texas State taking on Charlotte at 7:30 p.m.
AST.
Started in 1978, the Shootout is the longest running regularseason tournament in men's college basketball, featuring
such past champions as North Carolina, Duke, Kansas and
Kentucky, and a list of alumni that includes 10 NBA Draft
No. 1 picks.
Leading the Vikings was Dylan Goodwin, who is in a
three-way tie for sixth at 3-under 69. He played his first
nine in 3-under and was even par the rest of the way,
finishing with seven birdies and four bogeys.
“He played a good solid round and kept us in the middle of
it,” WWU coach Card said.
Chico State's Kyle Souza tops the medalist board at 7-under
65. Tied for second at 6-under is Jim Kuous from Colorado
Mines, with Chico State 's Eric Frazzetta third at 5-under
67. Saint Martin's had an opening round of 309 and is 18th.
Sunday, May 6
Baseball: Western Oregon Sweeps Saint Martin's
Shortstop Blake Miller singled to drive in the winning run
as Western Oregon scored three runs in the top of the
seventh to pull out a 6-5 victory and complete a sweep of a
doubleheader over Saint Martin's Sunday at Saints Field in
Lacey.
The Wolves (36-9, 25-3), which won the first game 14-3,
trailed 5-3 going into the final frame, but put together four
hits including RBI singles by David Amberson, Matt Nylen
and Miller.
Nylen's hit tied the game setting the stage for Miller's
game-winner. Prior to the three RBI hits, AJ Royal and
Josh Solemsaas set the stage for the comeback with a walk
and single. Solemsaas' hit came as a pinch-hitter.
Jason Wilson pitched the first six innings for the Wolves
and got the win. AJ Burke earned a save hurling a scoreless
seventh.
Saint Martin's (15-35, 11-21), which completed its season,
outhit the Wolves 10-7 as second baseman Mario Sanelli
led the way with three hits and two RBI.
Also collecting a PNQ in the men's 5,000 meters was
freshman Dylan Anthony of Alaska Anchorage who
finished 13th in a time of 14:34.71.
Chandler Tracy had two hits including a two-run home run
to finish off a four-run fifth and give the Saints a 5-3 lead.
The first two runs in the inning came on a single by Sanelli.
Oxy Invitational (May 5 at Los Angeles): Men (Top 6): 5000 - 5. Kyle
Van Santen, SMU, 14:19.61. Pole Vault - 6. Micah Johnson, UAA, 4.27 14-0. Women (Top 6): 1500 - 3. Ivy O'Guinn, UAA, 4:25.19. 5000 - 2.
Susan Tanui, UAA, 16:36.13; 5. Miriam Kipng'eno, UAA, 16:51.04. 400
Hurdles - 5. Haleigh Lloyd, UAA, 59.83. Steeplechase - 2. Katie Krehlik,
UAA, 11:15.04.
David Amberson had two of WOU's seven safeties as
starter Thomas DeBoer limited the Wolves to three hits
before leaving the game with a two-run lead after five
innings.
Top 10 Sprint Marks For WOU's Madison McClung
In the first game, DH Garrett Harpole had three hits and
four RBI and Amberson, Nylen, Miller, Bo Folkinga and
Michael Gange all had two hits for Western Oregon.
Madison McClung of Western Oregon ran the fifth fastest
100 meter time and the sixth fastest 200 meter time in
GNAC history Saturday in the Oregon Twilight meet at
Eugene.
That was Miller's 23rd multi-hit game of the season. He
leads the conference in hitting with a .402 average, 31
points ahead of runner-up Sean McDonald of Northwest
Nazarene.
McClung finished third in the 100 in a GNAC season-best
mark of 12.16, while she was clocked in a fifth-place time
of 25.02 in the 200. That ranks fourth this spring in the
conference.
Tracy and rightfielder Stephen Mahnken led the Saints with
two hits each. One of Chandler's hits was a leadoff home
run in the sixth. Bobby Twedt had a two-run double in the
fourth for SMU's first two runs.
In addition to McClung in the 100, the only other WOU
athlete to earn a Top 3 finish in the meet was Kody Rhodes
who was third in the men's 400 meters in a time of 55.15.
WOU's Kirk Lind pitched the first six innings, allowing
five hits and fanning six to improve his record to 6-2. Ian
MacDougall earned his fifth save, blanking the Saints on
three hits over the final three innings.
Saturday, May 5
Track and Field: Automatic Mark for UAA's O'Guinn
Alaska Anchorage's Ivy O'Guinn posted an automatic
national qualifying time of 4:25.19 in the 1500 meters
Saturday in finishing third in the Oxy Invitational Track
and Field Invitational in Los Angeles.
O'Guinn's school-record time was 3.07 seconds quicker
than her previous provisional national qualifying time and
ranks sixth all-time in the GNAC.
She was one of four UAA women to earn national
qualifying marks in the meet. Susan Tanui and Miriam
Kipng'eno improved their provisional times in the 5,000
meters and Susan Bick improved her PNQ in the 800.
Tanui finished second and Kipng'eno finished fifth in the
5K with times of 16:36.13 and 16:51.04. Bick placed 20th
overall in the 800 in a time of 2:13.77. Tanui's time ranks
fifth all-time in the GNAC.
Two GNAC male athletes also had PNQs. Saint Martin's
Kyle Van Santen improved his 5,000 qualifying time by
9.34 seconds moving into sixth place on the GNAC all-time
list with a fifth-place time of 14:19.61.
Earning fourths were Katie Pelchar in the women's high
jump (5-5 1/4), Landon Burningham in the men's 400
(49.10) and Matson Hardie in the long jump (22-8).
On Friday Michael Glover was WOU's lone winner in the
Mt. Hood Festival at Gresham. He won the long jump with
a leap of 21-11.
Oregon Twilight (May 5 at Eugene): Men (Top 3): 400 Hurdles - 3. Kody
Rhodes, WOU, 55.15. Women (Top 3): 100 - 3. Madison McClung, WOU,
12.16.
Mt. Hood Festival (May 4 at Gresham): Men (Top 3): 400 - 3. Brett
Campbell, WOU, 57.35. 1500 - 2. Ryan Chapman, WOU, 3:58.80. Pole
Vault - 2. Tim Lundy, WOU, 4.60 - 15-1. Long Jump - 1. Michael Glover,
WOU, 21-11. Javelin - 3. Will Crook, WOU, 55.80 - 183-1. Women (Top
3): 200 - 2. Lexi Pola, WOU, 26.32. 800 - 2. Megan Everetts, WOU,
2:17.44; 3. Laura Copenhagen, WOU, 2:17.59. 400 Hurdles - 2. Janna
Vander Meulen, WOU, 1:05.58. Steeplechase - 2. Nicole Anderson, WOU,
12:22.76. High Jump - 3. Kayla Dolby, WOU, 1.45 - 4-9. Long Jump - 3.
Maylea Tooze, WOU, 4.80 - 15-9.
Baseball: CWU Earns Split on Rohde's Two-Hitter
Brandon Rohde tossed a two-hitter and fanned a GNACseason high 13 in just seven innings as Central Washington
salvaged the final game of a four-game series with
Montana State Billings Saturday at Ellensburg.
The Yellowjackets (22-20, 13-15), which won three of the
four games, took the opener 9-8 before the Wildcats (1729, 9-19) earned a 4-1 win in the nightcap.
Rohde (5-3) gave up a RBI triple to Matt Comer in the first
and a single to Comer in the sixth, but otherwise was near
flawless, walking only three. He had four two-strikeout
innings and two one-strikeout innings before fanning the
side in the seventh.
hitter Vince Ampi to fly out with the bases loaded in the
seventh.
Central scored all four of its runs in the first inning, one on
a leadoff home run by Brandon Wang, one on a wild pitch
and two on bases loaded walks to Ethan Sterkel and Jimmy
Ryerson.
Softball: MSUB Ousted 4-0 By UC San Diego
In the first game, CWU overcame a 6-0 deficit after 2 1/2
innings to tie the game in the fifth. But MSUB went back
ahead in the seventh on a single by Blake Loran before
adding the deciding runs in the eighth on a double by Colby
Robison and a single by Brody Miller.
Miller had four hits and three RBI, while Austin Rue,
Robison and Loran each had two hits. Wang, Kyle Sani,
Chris Hashimoto and Sterkel all had two hits for the
Wildcats.
One of Sterkel's hits was a two-run home run in a five-run
Central third inning off MSUB starter Brady Muller (5-2)
who also had impressive strikeout numbers.
Muller fanned 11 in 6 2/3 innings. Reliever Zachary Smith
added four strikeouts and neither 'Jacket pitcher walked a
batter.
Wood Extends Win Streak to 19, Scoreless Streak to 26
Grady Wood (11-0) ran his win streak to 19 games and his
scoreless streak to 26 innings Saturday pitching Western
Oregon (34-9, 23-3) to a 19-0 win over Saint Martin's (1533, 11-19) in the opening game of a four-game series at
Lacey.
Camille Gaito shut out Montana State Billings 4-0 Saturday
in the NCAA Division II West Regional softball
tournament.
After grabbing a 4-1 lead in its opening game of the
tournament Friday, MSUB (32-18) was outscored 15-0 the
rest of the way in losing two straight contests.
All four Triton runs off of Mary Grace Bywater were
unearned as MSUB made three errors, including two in a
three-run fourth inning.
With the loss the Yellowjackets finished the season with a
32-18 record. The 24th ranked Tritons defeated CSU
Monterey Bay 5-0 in its second game Saturday and will
play Dixie State Sunday.
Friday, May 4
Softball: Monterey Bay Rallies To Beat MSUB 12-4
Montana State Billings led 4-1 after four innings, but
second-seed Cal State Monterey scored five runs in the
fifth and six more in the sixth to beat the Yellowjackets 124 Friday in the NCAA Division II West Regional at
Seaside, Calif.
The loss sends the 'Jackets into a loser-out game against
sixth-seed UC San Diego Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
The Saints bounced back to win the second game 4-3 and
snap the Wolves' win streak at eight games. WOU's last
four losses and five of their nine defeats this season have
been by one run.
MSUB used a two-run single in the first inning by Jenna
VanEykeren, a sacrifice fly by Nicole Colpron in the third
and a RBI double by Meg Harasymczuk in the fourth to
build their early lead.
Wood's win streak ties the fourth longest in NCAA
Division II history and is two shy of the record of 21. His
scoreless inning streak is three shy of the GNAC record of
29 by Nick Waechter of Western Oregon during the 2005
season.
Kasie Conder, meanwhile, held the nationally seventhranked Otters (46-12) to one run on four hits through the
fourth inning.
Left fielder Matt Nylen and shortstop Blake Miller each
had four hits to key the victory offensively. Nylen hit two
home runs - a pair of three-run blasts in the fourth and in a
nine-run ninth - to drive in six runs.
The ninth also featured a grand slam by Garrett Harpole.
Quinn Naughtin had a two-run home run in the sixth.
Miller drove in four runs with four singles.
In the second game, Saint Martin's built a 4-0 lead through
three innings and then held on for the win. Josh Grenier had
a two-run single in the first and the Saints then added two
more runs in the third without the benefit of a base hit.
SMU starter Zach Carter pitched the first 4 2/3 innings and
got the win. Nate O'Bryan earned a save as he got pinch-
Monterey Bay, however, put together five hits with two
MSUB errors to go ahead 6-4 in the fifth, then ended the
game with a six-run sixth.
Angelina Orozco and Cori Reinhardt each had three hits for
the CCAA team. Reinhardt and Jamie Moon had three RBI
each.
Rose Harrington and Harasymczuk had two hits each for
MSUB, which was outhomered 2-0 as Orozco and Nina
Villanueva went deep for CSUMB.
Baseball: Yellowjackets Sweep Central Washington
DH Mack Unruh had three RBI in the opener and Matt
Comer's two-run single broke up a 4-4 tie in the ninth
inning of the nightcap scheduled for seven leading Montana
State Billings to a 6-2, 7-5 sweep of Central Washington
Friday at the CWU Baseball Field.
MSUB (21-19 overall) leveled its conference record at 1414 with its victories.
In the first game MSUB snapped a 2-2 tie scoring four runs
in the fifth on four different plays - a sacrifice fly by Brody
Miller and singles by Blake Loran, Unruh and Justin
Harcharik.
Unruh also had a two-run single to give MSUB a 2-0 lead
in the second inning. CWU countered in its half of that
inning on a two-run home run by David Leid.
After MSUB took command in the fifth, reliever Bobby
Ragasa shut the door allowing just two hits and no runs
over 2 1/3 innings to preserve the win for Samuel Paterson
(2-7).
Ragasa (4-0) earned the win in the second game, pitching
the final 2 2/3 innings of the extra-inning contest.
MSUB, which rallied from 3-0 and 4-1 deficits, scored
three runs in the ninth before Ragasa gave up his only run
of the day in five innings on two hits and an error.
Bo Palmer (North Vancouver, BC) was the final member of
the Clan picked in the draft. The running back went to the
Hamilton Tiger Cats, 33rd overall.
Capicciotti finished his Clan career by being named the
GNAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year.
He played in nine games for SFU in 2012 and was the team
leader in sacks with 10.
The other three players all have eligibility remaining and
are expected to return to SFU this fall.
Erdos, who is expected to anchor SFU's line this fall,
played in all 10 of the Clan’s games in 2011 and all 11 of
SFU’s games in 2010.
Berger had 46 tackles on the season and led the Clan in
interceptions with three including a 43-yarder for a
touchdown against Central Washington earning GNAC
Defensive Player-of-the-Week honors.
Palmer, who was a first team GNAC selection, finished
second in the conference with 1,219 rushing yards and was
first in average yards per carry at 5.6.
Baseball: Wood Region Pitcher of the Week
Miller led the Yellowjackets in the second game with three
hits. Loran, Comer and Colby Robison all had two RBI.
Derrick Webb had three hits and Kyle Sani had three RBI
for the Wildcats (16-28, 8-18).
Grady Wood of Western Oregon has been selected as the
National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Pitcher-of-the-Week.
Thursday, May 3
Wood blanked Central Washington 8-0 on four hits last
Saturday. The senior right hander did not walk a batter in
the nine-inning game fanning six and increasing his season
strikeout total to 70 in 75 innings.
Football: Four SFU Players Taken in CFL Draft
SFU's Justin Capicciotti was chosen by Edmonton in
Canadian Football League draft (Photo by Ron Hole)
Four Simon Fraser football players were selected in
Thursday’s Canadian Football League Canadian Draft,
tying for the most players selected from one school.
“We’re really proud of these four players,” said head coach
Dave Johnson.
“All four of them are talented individuals and have worked
hard, so it’s great to see that hard work pay off. To have
this many players chosen really shows that our program is
moving in the right direction.”
Justin Capicciotti (Toronto, ON) was the first member of
the Clan selected, going to the Edmonton Eskimos, which
selected the defensive lineman with the 14th overall pick in
the second round.
The Calgary Stampeders then drafted a pair of Clan
players, selecting offensive lineman Brad Erdos (Coaldale,
AB) with the 27th pick, and defensive back Adam Berger
(Surrey, BC) with the 30th pick.
Wood is 10-0 this season and his 18-game win streak
matches the fifth longest in NCAA Division II history. He
has been involved in four shutouts, two in which he has
gone the distance and two others he has shared with relief
pitchers. He needed just 84 pitches for his complete game
shutout.
Wednesday, May 2
Baseball: Wolves Extend Home Win Streak to 22
Games
Griff Boyd's two-run single capped a four-run sixth inning
as Western Oregon rallied for a 7-5 win over Saint Martin's
to keep alive its long home win streak Wednesday in the
opening game of a doubleheader at Monmouth.
The Wolves (33-8, 22-2) extended the streak at the WOU
Baseball Field to 22 with a 10-2 win in the nightcap.
In the opener Saint Martin's (14-32, 10-18) scored four runs
in the top of the sixth, including two on a two-out error
which gave them a 4-3 lead. Zach Leonard then singled to
extend the lead to 5-3.
But in the bottom of the inning, the Wolves had six hits,
including a RBI single by AJ Royal and Boyd's hit, one of
three for the third baseman. WOU also scored a run on a
sacrifice fly by catcher Kyle Blackwell.
Both teams homered in the game. SMU's Casey Thorpe led
off the fifth with a blast. Bo Folkinga, who had three hits,
led off the WOU fourth with a four-bagger.
Ian MacDougall (2-2) pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings,
giving up four hits, to earn the win. Grady Wood made his
first relief appearance of his career after 24 starts to get the
save, facing just two hitters but getting three outs.
In the second game, WOU scored in every inning except
the first and broke a 2-2 tie in the third on a single by
Folkinga.
The Wolves added two more runs in the inning on a ground
out by Vince Ampi and another single by Scott David.
Western Oregon outhit Saint Martin's 13-4 in the contest,
getting three each by David and Royal and two each by
Blake Miller, Folkinga and Boyd.
Boyd, who has hit in eight straight games, and Folkinga
each finished the twinbill with five hits. Miller hit safely in
both games to extend his streak to 12, while Blackwell
extended his streak to nine before sitting out Game 2.
Zack Leonard and Chandler Tracy, who had both of SMU's
second-game RBIs, led Saint Martin's with three hits each.
Reliever Travis Shigeta (1-0) got the second-game win
after getting the final out of the top of the third inning. He
was the first of four relievers who combined to no-hit the
Saints over the final 4 1/3 innings.
Wolves Maintain No. 1 Ranking in NCAA Division II
West
Western Oregon maintained its No. 1 regional ranking
Wednesday in the second of three weekly NCAA Division
II West Regional polls. One more ranking will be held next
Wednesday.
The rankings will eventually determine the three teams that
will join the CCAA champion in the West Regional. It will
also determine which team hosts the regional.
NCAA West Region - 1. Western Oregon (31-8); 2. UC
San Diego (28-20); 3. Cal State San Bernardino (25-16); 4.
Chico State (33-13); 5. Cal State L.A. (24-18); 6. Dixie
State (29-17); 7. Cal Poly Pomona (31-18); 8. Cal State
Stanislaus (26-20).
Tuesday, May 1
Track and Field: Worthen, Harrison Set Multi Records
Ali Worthen of Seattle Pacific set a meet record in winning
the heptathlon Tuesday with a point total of 5,199 in the
GNAC Multi-Events at CWU's Tomlinson Stadium.
The men's record also fell as Alex Harrison of Western
Washington erased the decathlon record scoring 6,598
points rallying from a fifth-place finish after Day 1.
Worthen added 128 points to her previous NCAA Division
II automatic qualifying score and bettered the old GNAC
meet record of 5,053 by 146 points.
That was set by Bridget Johnson of Western Oregon in
2006. Worthen's point total ranks third in GNAC history.
Kelsea Johnson of Alaska Anchorage finished second
improving her provisional national qualifying score by 102
points. She finished with 4,940 points moving into seventh
place on the GNAC all-time list.
Johnson had the best mark in two events Tuesday, long
jumping a national provisional qualifying 18-6 1/2 and
running the 800 in a time of 2:21.97.
Katie Reichert of Western Washington finished third with
4,269 points and set a GNAC record in the javelin for any
heptathlon event with a throw of 148-4.
The old records were 139-11 by Holly Conrad of Western
Oregon (2002) for the GNAC meet and 147-0 by Bridget
Johnson in 2006 for any heptathlon.
Harrison eclipsed the decathlon record of WWU's Josh
Freeman using a record throw of 200-3 in the javelin. That
was the longest throw in GNAC history in any multi-event
competition, bettering his own record of 197-10 in the 2010
conference meet.
Harrison finished with 24 more points than Freeman had in
the 2005 conference meet.
Harrison, second-place Nate Johnson of Seattle Pacific
(6,474) and first-day leader Jason Caryl of Central
Washington (6,412), who finished third all had provisional
national qualifying scores.
Both Harrison and Johnson, however, have had better
scores this year. Caryl's point total moved him into eighth
place on the GNAC All-Time Top 10 list.
Five different athletes won events Tuesday. In addition to
Harrison, top marks were posted by Brandon Roddewig of
Central Washington in the pole vault (15-1), Greyson
Kilgore of Northwest Nazarene in the discus (133-6) and
CWU's Andrew Venema in the 110 hurdles (15.42) and
Colin Alexander in the 1500 (4:34.41).
The Wildcats had a total of five athletes combine for 17 1/2
points as they took the early lead in the conference meet
which continues next Friday at Monmouth. Western
Washington earned 10 points for Harrison's victory.
Noren, who is a 1987 graduate of Western Washington
University, now has a 42-48 record in two seasons at Lacey
and is 449-193 overall. He previously coached 14 seasons
at Pacific Lutheran University.
Seattle Pacific is the early-team leader in the women's
division with 12 points. Alaska Anchorage ranks second
with eight.
Two players that played a big role in the turnaround were
Bakos and Munger. Bakos had a 9-5 record and a ranked
second to teammate Joslyn Eugenio in ERA with a 2.32
average. Munger posted a 16-7 record and had a .402
batting average, splitting her time between the circle and
shortstop. She finished second in the GNAC in wins and
third in hitting.
Women: Team Scores - Seattle Pacific 12, Alaska Anchorage 8, Western
Washington 6, Central Washington 5, Western Oregon 5, Northwest
Nazarene 3. Hepathlon - 1. Ali Worthen, SPU, 5199; 2. Kelsea Johnson,
UAA, 4940; 3. Katie Reichert, WWU, 4269; 4. Tayler Fettig, CWU, 4217;
5. Charlene Harber, WOU, 4172; 6. Jill Bennett, NNU, 4092; 7. Maliea
Luquin, SPU, 4046; 8. Brooklyn Holton, WOU, 3964. Day 1: 100 Hurdles Worthen 14.30. High Jump - Fettig 1.71 - 5-7 1/4. Shot Put - Harber 12.60
- 41-4 1/4. 200 - Worthen 25.47. Day 2: Long Jump - Johnson 5.65 - 18-6
1/2. Javelin - Reichert 45.21 - 148-4. 800 - Johnson 2:21.197.
Men: Team Scores - Central Washington 17 1/2, Western Washington
10, Seattle Pacific 8, Northwest Nazarene 3, Western Oregon 1/2.
Decathlon - 1. Alex Harrison, WWU, 6598; 2. Nate Johnson, SPU, 6474;
3. Jason Caryl, CWU, 6412; 4. Brandon Roddewig, CWU, 6118; 5. Manny
Melo, CWU, 6098; 6. Greyson Kilgore, NNU, 6075; 7. Andrew Venema,
CWU, 5701; 8. Jake Hyde, WOU, 5679. Day 1: 100 - Caryl 11.18. Long
Jump - Melo 7.09 - 23-3 1/4. Shot Put - Harrison 13.42 - 44-0 1/2. High
Jump - Roddewig 1.93 - 6-4. 400 - Alexander 50.50. Day 2: 110 Hurdles Venema 15.42. Discus - Kilgore 133-6. Pole Vault - Roddewig 15-1.
Javelin - Harrison 200-3. 1500 - Alexander 4:34.41.
Softball: Clan Sweeps Player, Pitcher of the Year
Awards
Simon Fraser first baseman Kelsey Haberl and Clan pitcher
Cara Lukawesky have been voted the 2012 GNAC Playerof-the-Year and Pitcher-of-the-Year, respectively.
Saint Martin's, meanwhile, won the GNAC's other three
major awards as Rick Noren was voted the GNAC Coachof-the-Year and Taylor Bakos and Sam Munger earned the
GNAC Newcomer-of-the-Year and GNAC Freshman-ofthe-Year awards, respectively.
Haberl led the GNAC in batting average (.465), on-base
percentage (.596) and walks (38) and ranked second in
slugging (.740) and doubles (17). Her on-base percentage
broke the GNAC record of .579 set last year by Samantha
Petrich of Central Washington and her walk total was three
shy of the conference record.
Lukawesky led the GNAC with 21 wins, in saves with four
and shutouts with seven. She also ranked second in
strikeouts with 117 and third in ERA allowing 2.38 earned
runs per seven innings pitched.
Noren orchestrated the biggest turnaround in GNAC
history as the Saints, who were picked to finish last in the
GNAC Coaches pre-season poll, posted a record of 33-18,
including 24-12 in conference games. SMU's overall record
was a 18-game improvement over last year's 9-30 mark and
its conference record was a 15-game improvement on their
8-26 record of a year ago.
The composition of the first team all-conference team
reflected the closeness of the race as Montana State
Billings edged Simon Fraser by one game and Saint
Martin's by two for the conference title.
MSUB, SFU and SMU all placed three players on the
GNAC first-team all-star team, while Western Washington
earned two first team slots. Western Oregon and Central
Washington each had one.
Four players were unanimous first team selections though
Haberl was not one of them. She was, however, one of
three repeaters from last year's first team including second
baseman Lacey McGladrey of Saint Martin's and outfielder
Meg Harasymczuk of MSU Billings.
Earning unanimous selections this spring were Lukawesky,
Harasymczuk, Saint Martin's third baseman Morgan
Klemm and Western Oregon outfielder Amanda Evola.
Also earning first team all-conference honors were Munger,
pitcher Stephanie Fox of Western Washington, MSUB
catcher Nicole Wilkerson, SFU infielder Leah Riske,
outfielders Rose Harrington of MSUB and Jessica Carey of
WWU and designated player Elena Carter of Central
Washington.
Sixteen players, including Eugenio who earned first team
honors in both 2010 and 2011, were selected to the second
team. An additional 14 other players were named to the
honorable mention list.
London Olympics: CWU's Bergman To Carry Torch
Ethan Bergman, a professor of food science and nutrition at
Central Washington University and the school's FAR
(Faculty Athletic Rep), has been selected as one of the five
people who will carry the Olympic torch when it comes to
Basingstoke, England on its trip to London on July 11.
Despite having never been to Basingstoke, the 60-year-old
said he will be proud to be part of the massive occasion.
“I am really excited. I'm sure it will be a great event with
lots of different people to meet. I am really looking forward
to coming over and seeing the towns and villages in the
area.”
APRIL
Monday, Apr. 30
Track and Field: Caryl, Worthen Multi-Event Leaders
Jason Caryl of Central Washington and Ali Worthen of
Seattle Pacific are the first-day leaders after Day 1 of the
2012 GNAC Track and Field Multi-Event Championships
that began Monday at Tomlinson Stadium in Ellensburg.
Top-seed Cal State Dominguez Hills (41-11) will host the
other regional in Carson, Calif.
The two winners will play a best-of-three series May 11-12.
That winner will advance to Knights Field in Louisville,
Ky., for the finals May 16-19.
MSUB was the only GNAC team to qualify for the West
Regional which will include five teams from the CCAA
and two from the PacWest Conference.
Caryl has 3,461 points and leads teammate Manny Melo by
90 points in the decathlon. Jake Hyde of Western Oregon is
third with 3,325 points.
Sunday, Apr. 29
In the heptathlon Worthen has a healthy 289 point lead over
Kelsea Johnson of Alaska Anchorage with 3,152 points.
CWU's Tayler Fettig, who had a provisional national
qualifying mark in the high jump (5-7 1/4) ranks third in
2,792 points.
Kirk Lind and Jason Wilson pitched Western Oregon to 102 and 5-1 victories Sunday as the Wolves wrapped up their
11th straight GNAC baseball title by sweeping a four-game
series with Central Washington at the WOU Baseball Field.
Worthen had the day's best marks in the 100 hurdles and
200 meters. Her time of 14.30 in the hurdles race was a
PNQ and was the fastest this spring in the GNAC. It also
ranks third all-time in the conference.
Fettig's high jump mark ranks second this spring in the
GNAC and fifth all-time. Also winning an individual event
Monday was Charlene Harber of Western Oregon.
Harber led the way in the shot with a put of 41-4 1/4. She
ranks fourth after Day 1 with 2,605 points.
Caryl was one of five athletes to finish first in an event
Monday in the decathlon, leading the way in the 100 meters
in a time of 11.18. Melo had the best long jump soaring 233 1/4.
CWU's Brandon Roddewig who is fourth with 3,316 points
had the best high jump (6-4) and Alex Harrison of Western
Washington had the best shot put (44-0 1/2).
Though just fifth after Day 1 with 3,283 points, Harrison
can't be overlooked going into Day 2.
Two weeks ago he scored 6,772 points in a meet in
California posting the second highest total in GNAC
history and traditionally has a strong second day.
CWU's Colin Alexander, who is ninth overall, ran the
fastest 400 Monday, clocking a time of 50.50.
Softball: MSUB Headed to Monterey Bay For Regional
Montana State Billings will travel to Seaside, Calif., this
coming weekend to play in one of two four-team NCAA
Division II West Regionals.
Head coach Lisa Allen's GNAC champion Yellowjackets
(32-16) are the No. 7 seed and will play second-seed and
host Cal State Monterey Bay (42-10) Friday at 2:30 p.m. in
their opening game.
Baseball: Wolves Win 11th Straight GNAC Title
The championship does not bring with it a ticket to the
NCAA Division II West Regional playoffs next month as
the GNAC does not have an automatic berth.
The Wolves (31-8, 20-2), however, were ranked first in last
week's regional poll and are all but assured of qualifying
for the four-team regional and have the inside track to host.
Lind allowed five hits in six hits in winning his fifth game
in seven decisions. Central Washington's lone runs came in
the fourth on a two-run home run by shortstop Brady
Kincannon.
Kincannon had three of CWU's seven hits. Catcher Kyle
Blackwell led the Wolf 13-hit attack with three safeties.
Brady Locker, Blake Miller, Bo Folkinga and Griff Boyd
had two each.
In the second game, Jason Wilson spun a five-hitter
allowing only a seventh-inning run. CWU catcher Kyle
Sani led off the final inning with a triple and scored on a
single by DH David Leid.
WOU managed just five hits off CWU's Jason Lotzer, but
had three of them during a three-run second including RBI
singles by AJ Royal and Boyd.
Matt Nylen then keyed a two-run fourth with a double.
Western's other two runs came on steals of home in the
second by Boyd and in the fourth by Royal. In all, WOU
swiped seven bases in the game.
Folkinga was hitless in the second game, bring a halt to his
15-game hitting streak. The two losses dropped the
Wildcats to 16-26 on the season, including 8-16 in the
conference.
Softball: Clan Closes Out Season With Split
Cara Lukawesky tossed a one-hit shutout as Simon Fraser
earned a split of a non-conference road doubleheader with
Great Falls Sunday to finish its season with a record of 3314.
SFU won the six-inning second inning 9-0 after losing the
opener 14-10. SFU almost rallied from a 12-1 deficit after
three innings.
Lukawesky (21-6) didn't allow a hit until UGF leadoff
hitter Kelsey Jirrels led off the sixth with a single.
Lukawesky faced just two more hitters, getting a
comebacker right before a fly ball resulted in a gameending double play.
SFU scored seven runs in the top of the inning to break
open a close game. The inning featured a leadoff home run
by Danielle Raison and a three-run blast by Rosie Murphy.
In the first game, Trisha Bouchard and Kaitlyn Cameron
each drove in four runs for the Clan, but they couldn't quite
overcome a double-digit deficit.
Cameron had a grand slam home run in the fifth and Kelsey
Haberl had a solo shot in the third.
Track and Field: Two Top Marks For SFU at Stanford
Simon Fraser had two GNAC season-best marks Sunday in
the Payton Jordan Invitational track-and-field meet at Palo
Alto, Calif.
Lindsey Butterworth ran a GNAC season-best time of
2:09.18 in the 800 meters and Jade Richardson threw the
discus 150-4.
Both of those marks exceed the NCAA Division II
provisional standard. Also bettering the standard was SFU's
Sara Sawatzky, who ran a time of 2:10.61 in the 800.
Butterworth and Sawatzky's times rank seventh and 10th in
GNAC history. Richardson has a career-best of 152-8 in the
discus from last season.
Stanford Payton Jordan Invitational (Apr. 29 at Palo
Alto, CA): Men (Top 6): 100 - 4. Dennis Nicolas, SFU,
11.32. Long Jump - 4. Dennis Nicolas, SFU, 6/66 - 21-10
1/4. Women (Top 6): 100 Hurdles - 4. Aisha Klippenstein,
SFU, 14.17. Long Jump - 6. Mercedes Thode, SFU, 5.35 17-6 3/4. Triple Jump - 3. Aisha Klippenstein, SFU, 10.96 35-11 1/2. Discus - 5. Jade Richardson, SFU, 45.83 - 150-4.
Saturday, Apr. 28
Softball: MSUB Wins GNAC Title, Automatic Berth
With the GNAC's automatic berth to the NCAA playoffs
safely tucked away, Montana State Billings defeated Simon
Fraser 8-3 in the second game of their doubleheader to
claim the GNAC title as well Saturday at Cenex Stadium in
Billings.
The Clan (32-13, 24-12) had beaten the Yellowjackets 1911 earlier in the day to deadlock the conference race, but
Northwest Nazarene (8-37, 7-29) gave MSUB (32-16, 2511) an assist by splitting a doubleheader with Saint Martin's
(33-18, 23-13) securing the automatic berth for the 'Jackets
before they took the field for their decisive contest with the
Clan.
The Saints won their opener at Nampa 8-5, but the
Crusaders then bounced SMU possibly out of playoff
contention 10-2. Saint Martin's still has a slim chance to
earn an at-large berth in the eight-team regional field.
They were ranked 10th last week and will need to move up
two slots. The playoff pairings will be announced Monday
morning at 7 a.m. Pacific time.
Elsewhere Saturday, Western Oregon (23-26, 19-17) swept
Western Washington, 11-9 and 4-2 as the conference
regular-season schedule, except for a non-conference
twinbill Sunday between Simon Fraser and Great Falls,
came to a close.
Kasie Conder (7-3) pitched a five-hitter in MSUB's win.
She didn't walk a batter and fanned five and allowed just
one run and three hits after SFU scored twice in the first on
a home run by Leah Riske.
MSUB tied the game in their half of the opening inning on
a run-scoring triple by Rose Harrington and a RBI single by
Meg Harasymczuk and then went ahead for good in the
third inning on a three-run home run by Emily Osborn in
snapping a six-game losing streak.
Harrington led MSUB's 11-hit attack with three safeties,
while Bobbie Lee, Harasymczuk and Jenna VanEykeren
had two each. Carly Lepoutre had two of SFU's five hits.
In the first game, Simon Fraser outslugged MSUB 19-11,
taking advantage of eight walks and a GNAC single-game
record six hit batsmen by 'Jacket reliever Amanda Todd.
Todd, however, wasn't the loser as SFU opened up a 7-1
lead off starter Jessyka McDonald and trailed 13-3 after
three innings.
Riske, Megan Durrant and Lauren Mew homered to lead
the Clan. Riske drove in six runs, including four with a
second-inning grand slam home run.
Lee and catcher Brittney Sanders paced MSUB offensively.
Lee homered twice and drove in four runs, while Sanders
had three hits off of SFU starter Cara Lukawesky, who
recorded her 20th win against six losses.
Saint Martin's 8-2, Northwest Nazarene 5-10
The Saints completed their most successful season in
school history earning a 8-5 win before losing via the
mercy rule.
Megan Antonovich had four hits including RBI singles in
the second and fifth. She also drove in an insurance run in
the seventh with a sacrifice fly.
SMU was also led by Joslyn Eugenio, who had two hits and
three RBI and pitched three scoreless innings, allowing just
two hits to pick up the win. She fanned four and didn't walk
a batter.
NNU, however, played the spoiler role in the second game
scoring five runs in the first inning including two on a
single by Emily Refsland, two on a triple by Chelsey
Anderson and one on a single by Baylee Jolliffe.
The Crusaders added three more in the third and two in the
fourth to build the required eight-run lead.
In all NNU banged out 14 hits including two each by
Refsland, Jolliffe, Cara Duckworth, Emily Renfrow and
Elizabeth Beaty. Sara Bakos had two for the Saints.
Renfrow and SMU's Sara Bakos led all hitters on the day
with four safeties each.
Wood is 10-0 this season and his 18-game win streak
matches the fifth longest in NCAA Division II history. He
has been involved in four shutouts, two in which he has
gone the distance and two others he has shared with relief
pitchers.
WOU didn't get on the board until the sixth inning of the
opener as two CWU pitchers combined to blank the
Wolves on three hits through five.
Western, however, scored twice in the sixth off CWU's
third pitcher getting a two-run home run from Brady
Locker before tacking on six runs in the eighth.
The big hits in that inning were a two-run single by
Michael Gange and a two-run double by Matt Nylen.
In the second game, Travis Bradshaw (8-1) blanked CWU
on two hits through six innings before the Wildcats scored
four runs on five hits in the seventh.
Western Oregon 11-4, Western Washington 9-2
Western Oregon built a 7-1 lead through four innings, but
then needed a run in the seventh to force extra innings
before winning the opener in the 11th with three runs.
Danyelle Hutchison's RBI double tied the game in the final
inning of regulation.
WOU then got a RBI single by Amanda Evola, a steal of
home by Ashley Worthey and a RBI double by winning
pitcher Hannah Pomeroy in the 11th.
WOU, however, led 9-0 by that point, banging out 15 hits
including three each by Folkinga and Locker and two by
Kyle Blackwell, Blake Miller and AJ Royal.
Folkinga had two doubles and a home run in the game
finishing the twinbill with five hits in nine at bats. Locker
and Miller each had four hits.
Brandon Wang and Derrick Webb were the only CWU
players with more than one hit. They each had two.
Northwest Nazarene 4-7, Saint Martin's 2-6
Pomeroy got a three-run double in the fifth inning of the
nightcap to snap a 1-1 tie in the nightcap earning the win
for Myranda Sawyer (9-5).
On the day, shortstop Andrea Bailey led the Wolves with
four hits. Krista Bickar had four hits for the Vikings (17-36,
13-23).
Baseball: Wolves Close In On Another GNAC Title
Grady Wood won his 18th consecutive game and Bo
Folkinga had five hits as Western Oregon closed in on its
11th consecutive GNAC baseball title Saturday by
sweeping a doubleheader from Central Washington, 8-0
and 9-4 at the WOU Baseball Field.
Meanwhile Northwest Nazarene (25-20, 14-14) completed
a four-game sweep of Saint Martin's (14-30, 10-16) earning
4-2 and 7-6 victories to remain in second place.
The two wins assured the Wolves (29-8, 18-2) of at least a
tie for the title. WOU has 12 games remaining with the
opportunity to win it outright, including another
doubleheader with the Wildcats (16-24, 8-14) Sunday.
Wood pitched a four-hitter and didn't walk a batter in the
nine-inning opener. He fanned six increasing his season
strikeout total to 70 in 75 innings. He's walked just eight
and has a microscopic 1.32 ERA.
Logan Parker had five hits and Sean McDonald picked up
two saves as Northwest Nazarene opened up a two-game
lead over idle Montana State Billings in the race for second
place.
MSUB was scheduled to play the University of Sioux Falls
in a four-game series this weekend in Billings but the entire
non-conference series was cancelled due to rain.
In the first game, Parker had three hits and scored two of
NNU's four runs. In the second inning, he led off with a
single and advanced to third on a double before Jamie
Mitchell singled to give the Crusaders a 2-0 lead.
He had a bunt single in the sixth to set up NNU's third run
and then had a single and eventually scored on a sacrifice
fly providing the Crusaders an insurance run in the eighth.
In the second game, Parker had two hits and three RBI.
Parker's RBIs came in the first on a single, in the fourth on
a sacrifice fly and in the sixth on a double. Charlie Gorzo
drove in two runs with a third-inning single.
McDonald had two hits in the first game and scored two
runs in the second, but went 0 for 3, ending his hitting
streak at 16.
He ended both games on the mound earning his second and
third saves of the series. In NNU's 4-2 win, he pitched two
hitless innings. In the 7-6 victory, he threw one inning
allowing one hit.
Saint Martin's had seven hits in both contests, including
three home runs. Chandler Tracy went deep in the fourth
inning for SMU's only RBI of the opener.
Travis Shaw led off the second and Zach Leonard had a
two-run blast in the fourth to account for SMU's first three
runs.
Trailing 7-3 in the seventh, the Saints rallied for three more
runs before McDonald came on to get the save.
Track and Field: Three Qualifying Marks at SMU
Eleanor Siler of Western Washington posted a provisional
national qualifying mark in one event and an All-Time
GNAC Top 10 in another Saturday at the Saint Martin's
Invitational track-and-field meet in Lacey.
54.15. 4x100 Relay - Central Washington 42.80. 4x400 Relay - Central
Washington 3:25.15. High Jump - Brett Watson, WWU, Karsten Schick,
WWU, and Lewis Meyers, CWU, 1.94 - 6-4 1/4. Triple Jump - Bryan Mack,
CWU, 14.06 - 46-1 1/2. Shot Put - Nelson Westlin, WWU, 15.68 - 51-5
1/2. Discus - Michael Hoffman, WWU, 48.53 - 159-3. Hammer - Michael
Hoffman, WWU, 56.00 - 183-9. Javelin - Braden Keller, CWU, 61.87 203-0. Women (GNAC Winners): 100 - Myisha Valentine, SPU, 12.32.
200 - Myisha Valentine, SPU, 24.94. 400 - Eleanor Siler, WWU, 55.94.
800 - Joscelyn Minton, SMU, 2:13.39. 10,000 - Ashley Llapitan, SMU,
42:30.40. 400 Hurdles - Alexandra McDonald, WWU, 1:04.68. 4x100
Relay - Central Washington 49.71. 4x400 - Seattle Pacific 3:56.59. Pole
Vault - Karis Anderson, WWU, 3.82 - 12-6 1/4. Long Jump - Emily
Warman, WWU, 5.52 - 18-1 1/2. Triple Jump - Katharine Lotze, CWU,
11.65 - 38-2 3/4. Hammer - Lindsay Wells, WWU, 47.40 - 155-6. Javelin Carly Andrews, SPU, 40.10 - 131-7.
Pacific Twilight (Apr. 28 at Forest Grove): Men: 10,000 - 6. Javier
Cortes, WOU, 33:22.54; 15. Bertin Cortes, WOU, 34:06.29.
Football: Slowey, Rowells Get NFL Opportunities
Western Oregon offensive lineman Jason Lowey was
drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round of the
2012 NFL draft Saturday.
Siler won the 400 meters in a PNQ and GNAC season-best
time of 55.94. That wasn't her career best as she ran a 54.59
three years ago. She did have a career-best in the 200,
finishing in a time of 25.13.
Meanwhile, Humboldt State running back Lyndon Rowells
signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free
agent, according to a number of web sites tracking
signings.
Myisha Valentine of Seattle Pacific won the 200 in a time
of 24.94, chopping .24 seconds off her best. Valentine's
time ranks fourth and Siler's time ranks seventh all-time in
the GNAC.
Rowells is the second Humboldt State player in as many
years to sign an NFL contract as an undrafted free agent.
Former All-American center Taylor Boggs was inked by
the New York Jets following the 2011 draft.
Joining Siler as national qualifiers were Joscelyn Minton of
Saint Martin's and Braden Keller of Central Washington.
Friday, Apr. 27
Minton won the women's 800 in a time of 2:13.39. She is
the eighth GNAC qualifier in that event and currently ranks
seventh in the conference.
Keller qualified in the men's javelin winning the event with
a throw of 203-0 to move into ninth place on the GNAC
All-Time Top 10 list. He ranks second in the conference
this season.
Also earning a Top 10 mark was Nelson Westlin of
Western Washington who won the event with a GNAC
season-best put of 51-5 1/2. That is No. 9 on the all-time
list.
Michael Hoffman and Valentine each won two events in
the meet. Hoffman swept the men's discus and hammer.
Valentine added a win in the 100 to her victory in the 200.
Two Western Oregon distance runners competed Saturday
in the Pacific Twilight in Forest Grove, including Javier
Cortes who finished sixth in a time of 33:22.54.
Saint Martin's Invitational (Apr. 28 at Lacey): Men (GNAC Winners):
100 - Nick Kincaid, CWU, 10.90. 200 - Edd Brown, SMU, 22.15. 400 Jonathon Poolman, WWU, 49.17. 800 - Frank Krause, SMU, 1:56.32.
1500 - Kyle Van Santen, SMU, 3:53.25. 5000 - Eric Brill, WWU, 14:49.54.
10,000 - Dak Riek, WWU, 31:43.76. 400 Hurdles - Ryan Endresen, SPU,
Softball: Vikings, Wildcats Divide Twinbill
Stephanie Fox tossed a two-hit shutout as Western
Washington won 1-0 to earn a split of a GNAC
doubleheader with Central Washington Friday at Viking
Field on the WWU campus.
The Wildcats (19-29, 15-21) won the opener 9-2 banging
out 12 hits including three by designated player Cassi Ellis.
Fox improved her record to 9-8, throwing her fifth shutout
and winning for the seventh time in the last 10 decisions.
Besides the two hits, singles by Bre Thomas and Katie
Focher, Fox walked one and hit one batter while striking
out two. Central did not get a base runner past first.
WWU's run came in the fifth inning. Meghan Carrillo led
off with a single and pinch runner Melissa Becker
advanced to second on a ground out and scored on a double
by Jackie Rothenberger.
Wildcat pitcher Maria Gau (11-17) allowed just five hits,
retiring 11 straight after a first inning double by Kristen
Allen.
In the opener, Central took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first
on a home run by pitcher Heidy Wells, her fourth of the
season.
WWU (17-34, 13-21) which concludes its season Saturday
with a home doubleheader with Western Oregon, tied it at
2-2 with a pair of runs in its half of the first. Jessica Carey
led off with a walk and went to second on a single by
Rachelle Berry.
Carey eventually scored on a ground out and Berry came
home on a sacrifice fly by Carrillo.
Central broke the game open with six runs in the second on
five hits, all singles, two walks and one error. Ellis had two
hits in the rally, scoring one run and driving in another.
Wells (5-9) did not allow another run by the Vikings over
the next five innings, retiring eight straight batters at one
point. In six innings of work, she gave up five hits and
walked two.
WWU's Jenna DeRosier came on in relief, allowing just
one run in six innings. That came in the fourth on a two-out
single by Ellis.
Western Washington Renovated Field to Be Dedicated
Saturday
Western Washington University's recently fully renovated
softball field will be formally dedicated Saturday in a
ceremony beginning at approximately 11:50 a.m., prior to
the Vikings' doubleheader with Western Oregon
University.
WWU President Bruce Shepard and WWU Foundation
Board President Jerry Thon will toss the ceremonial first
pitches.
Altogether the project is worth about $1.2 million, with
three quarters of that coming from donated work and
material. The rest came from donations of cash as no state
funds were used in the project.
Baseball: Crusaders Sweep Saint Martin's
Starting pitchers Patrick Patterson and Aaron Vaughn
delivered quality performances leading Northwest
Nazarene to a 11-4, 5-3 doubleheader sweep of Saint
Martin's Friday in the opening games of a GNAC fourgame baseball series at Nampa's Vail Field.
Patterson (5-1) went 6 1/3 innings allowing nine hits and
three runs in the opener and Vaughn (4-2) gave up eight
hits and three runs in 6 2/3 innings of the nightcap.
Sean McDonald, who had five hits to extend his hitting
streak to 15 games, got the final out of the seventh to
record his second save of the season and complete the
sweep.
In the opener, first baseman Derek Bettinson had four hits
and McDonald and Zach Steele had three each as NNU
(23-20, 12-14) banged out 17 hits. The Crusaders never
trailed opening up a 9-0 lead after six innings.
Bettinson and DH Charlie Gorzo each had three RBIs.
Gorzo's came on a three-run home run during a four-run
fifth inning. McDonald, who leads the GNAC with 67 hits 14 more than any one else in the league - homered for two
runs in the sixth.
Catcher Chandler Tracy had three hits and Spencer Dodd
and Adam Hudspeth had two each for the Saints (14-28,
10-14).
In the second game, DH Alex Barbee's two-run double
snapped a 3-3 tie in the fourth. Shortstop Jon Matos had
NNU's other RBIs with a three-run home run in the third.
Casey Thorpe had two RBI for the Saints, including a
sacrifice fly in the second and a double to tie the game in
the fourth.
McDonald had two of NNU's five hits, while Tracy and
Travis Jones had two each for Saint Martin's.
Track and Field: PNQs for Hope, Dranginis
Maurus Hope and Carly Dranginis had provisional national
qualifying marks and Northwest Nazarene earned four wins
including one in the men's 4x100 relay Friday in the Pelluer
Invitational at Cheney.
Hope won the 400 hurdles in a PNQ of 53.16 improving his
own No. 7 GNAC All-Time Top 10 ranking in the event.
Dranginis, meanwhile, finished third in the women's discus
with a PNQ of 147-1 moving into fourth on the GNAC AllTime Top 10.
NNU's relay team ran the ninth fastest time in GNAC
history - the best by a Crusader team - in finishing first in
41.86.
Kevin Rima of NNU just missed a GNAC Top 10 ranking
finishing fourth in the discus with a throw of 159-9.
The Crusaders finished second in both the men's and
women's team standings to host Eastern Washington
scoring 168 points in the men's division and 156 in the
women's.
NNU winners in addition to Hope and the 4x100 relay team
were Michael Gordon and Hailey Bradshaw in the men's
steeplechase (9:50.55) and women's steeple (12:11.13),
respectively.
EWU Pelluer Invitational (Apr. 27 at Cheney): Men - Eastern
Washington 239, Northwest Nazarene 168, Whitworth 76, Carroll 28,
Central Washington 25, Lewis-Clark State 13. GNAC Winners: 400
Hurdles - Maurus Hope, NNU, 53.16. Steeplechase - Michael Gordon,
NNU, 9:50.55. 4x100 - Northwest Nazarene 41.86. Women – Eastern
Washington 200, Northwest Nazarene 156, Spokane CC 30, Central
Washington 23, Lewis-Clark State 13, Carroll 10, Whitworth 3. GNAC
Winners: Steeplechase - Hailey Bradshaw, NNU, 12:11.13.
WOU's Potter Joins 40 Foot Triple Jump Club
The Vikings, who will be making their 14th straight NCAA
Division II post-season appearance, are the No. 3 seed from
the West, while the Saints are the 10th seed.
Ashley Potter of Western Oregon won the women's triple
jump with a provisional national qualifying leap of 40-1 1/2
Friday in the Lane CC Titan Twilight in Eugene.
WWU is led by Nick Varelia, who has a 72.9 scoring
average. He was named GNAC Player of the Year on
Wednesday after placing third at the conference
tournament.
Potter joined Emily Warman of Western Washington as the
only women in GNAC history to reach 40 feet in the event.
Warman set a GNAC record of 40-5 last week at Azusa,
Calif.
WWU has advanced to the national meet during six of their
previous 13 regionals, including 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004,
2005 and 2008.
Potter added 4 3/4 inches to her previous PNQ and No. 2
GNAC all-time ranking in the event.
The 54-hole tournament is one of four regionals taking
place across the country. The Central/West Regional host is
Grand Canyon University.
WOU's Chris Olsen and Katie Pelchar also had PNQs in
the meet. Olsen won the men's 800 in a PNQ of 1:51.99
falling .04 seconds shy of cracking the GNAC Top 10 alltime list.
Pelchar won the women's high jump with a leap of 5-7,
moving into sixth on the GNAC Top 10 list.
Each regional is composed of 20 schools and eight
additional individuals from non-qualifying schools.
The top five schools and top two individuals from nonqualifying schools advance to the NCAA II National
Championships on May 15-19 at The Cardinal Club in
Louisville, Kentucky.
WOU athletes won 12 events. The Wolf men won six in
scoring 154 points and finishing second to Lane (274 1/4).
Kody Rhodes was a double-winner sweeping the 110
hurdles (15.32) and 400 hurdles (54.80).
WWU placed sixth at regionals last year, dropping three
places on the final day to narrowly miss out on a trip to
nationals.
The Wolf women outscored Lane 200 1/2 to 134 and won
six events in the twilight meet.
The Vikings are coming off their fifth straight GNAC
championship earlier this week. In nine regular-season
tournaments, they've placed among the top three seven
times, winning one and being runner-up in four others.
Four of WOU's performances rank No. 2 in the GNAC this
spring including Olsen in the 800, Potter in the triple jump
and Pelchar in the high jump.
WOU's time in the men's 4x400 relay of 3:19.20 also ranks
second this spring in the conference.
Lane CC Titan Twilight (Apr. 27 at Eugene): Men - Lane CC 274 1/4,
Western Oregon 154, UO Running Club 50, Oregon Tech 43 1/2, SW
Oregon CC 23, Linfield 14, Shore AC 10, Willamette 4 1/2, Central
Oregon CC 1. GNAC Winners: 100 - Bobby Alexander, WOU, 11.35. 400
- Landon Burningham, WOU, 49.45. 800 - Chris Olsen, WOU, 1:51.99.
110 Hurdles - Kody Rhodes, WOU, 15.32. 400 Hurdles - Kody Rhodes,
WOU, 54.80. 4x400 Relay - Western Oregon 3:19.20. Women - Western
Oregon 200 1/2, Lane CC 134, SW Oregon 85, Oregon Tech 57 1/2,
Linfield 52, UO Running Club 31, Voleo Athletics 20, Spirit of Oregon 20,
Willamette 19, Central Oregon CC 1. GNAC Winners: 1500 - Megan
Everetts, WOU, 4:42.24.400 Hurdles - Janna Vander Meulen, WOU,
1:06.26. 4x100 Relay - Western Oregon 49.03. Triple Jump - Ashley
Potter, WOU, 12.23 - 40-1 1/2. High Jump - Katie Pelchar, WOU, 1.70 - 57. Javelin - Seabre Church, WOU, 42.78 - 140-4.
Men's Golf: Vikings, Saints Earn NCAA Bids
Western Washington and Saint Martin's will compete in the
NCAA Division II Central/West Regional which begins
Monday, May 7 at the Wigwam Golf and Country Club in
Litchfield Park, Ariz.
Women's Basketball: Johansson Jersey Displayed
Former Alaska Anchorage basketball All-American Hanna
Johansson has been selected to have her jersey displayed in
the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame's ‘Ring of Honor.'
The Seawolves' 6-2 center is one of approximately 100
collegiate and high school All-Americans from the 2011-12
campaign who will be recognized in the Hall's rotating
display in Knoxville, Tenn., which turns over at the end of
May.
“This is certainly a fitting tribute for a player of her caliber
and character,” Moser said. “Her contributions to our
program were invaluable both on and off the court, and
she'll definitely go down as one of UAA's all-time greats in
any sport.”
The Gothenburg, Sweden, native became the second player
in program history to earn All-America honors and was the
Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year,
leading UAA to a 30-5 overall record and the GNAC
regular-season and tournament titles.
Johansson finished as UAA's all-time leader in individual
victories (112) and games played (133), along with Top 10
ranks in 12 more categories, including points (7th, 1,393),
rebounds (2nd, 808), steals (5th, 195), blocks (5th, 70),
assists (9th, 247), field-goal pct. (4th, .533), free throws
made (6th, 333), games started (5th, 99) and doubledoubles (t-7th, 17).
Her other senior accolades included Capital One Third
Team Academic All-American, consensus First Team AllWest Region, and West Regional Tournament MVP.
If Central Washington (18-28, 14-20), which split two
games with Northwest Nazarene (7-36, 6-28) Thursday
losing 9-6 before earning a 4-2 win, finishes fifth in the
final standings, SMU would get the nod.
But, if Western Washington (16-33, 12-20) finishes fifth or
tied for fifth with the Wildcats, MSUB would earn the
automatic berth.
Men's Basketball: Vikings To Play Duke In Exhibition
Western Washington will face Duke University and its Hall
of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski in an exhibition game at
Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., Oct. 27.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for our players, coaches,
staff and university," said WWU coach Brad Jackson, who
directed the Vikings to the 2012 NCAA Division II
national title, the programs first in its 110-year history.
"We'll be competing against a program that everyone wants
to emulate. It will be a unique experience and we look
forward to playing one of the elite teams in Division I and
one of the game's all-time great coaches.''
The game marks the fifth time in the last six seasons that
Duke has invited the defending NCAA II champion to play
on its home court in an exhibition.
Last season, Bellarmine lost 87-62 to the Blue Devils
before a crowd of 9,314. Cal Poly Pomona fell 84-60 in
2010 and Findlay lost 84-48 in 2009.
Thursday, Apr. 26
Twice Simon Fraser was down to its final outs Thursday
against Western Oregon (21-26, 17-17).
In its opener, the Clan trailed 3-1 in the seventh before
scoring three runs, two on a two-out, game-ending home
run by Sammie Olexa, her third walk-off home run of the
season.
That was child's play compared to SFU's second-game
comeback as it rallied from a 9-0 deficit in the sixth scoring
eight runs after being just three outs from a mercy-rule
defeat.
The Clan had eight hits in the inning, including a grand
slam home run by Kelsey Haberl to cut its deficit to 9-7.
Leah Riske then singled, advanced on a passed ball and
scored on a double by Olexa to make it a one-run game.
Then in the seventh, Rosie Murphy led off the inning with a
single. After a sacrifice, Carly Lepoutre was hit by a pitch
and Trisha Bouchard doubled to drive in two runs and cap
off the improbable sweep.
Softball: Clan Keeps Alive Title Hopes With Sweep
Cara Lukawesky picked up wins in both games to improve
to 19-6. In the opener, she tossed a four-hitter allowing just
three runs, all unearned.
Simon Fraser pulled off two miraculous comebacks
Thursday keeping alive its Great Northwest Athletic
Conference title hopes with a 4-3 and 10-9 sweep of
Western Oregon at Beedie Field in Burnaby.
In the second game, she pitched a scoreless seventh, though
she did give up two hits in earning the win.
Meanwhile, Saint Martin's (32-17, 22-12) remained in
contention for the GNAC's automatic berth in the NCAA
playoffs with a 5-3, 11-8 sweep of first-place Montana
State Billings (31-15, 24-10) at Billings.
MSUB will take a one-game lead over Simon Fraser (3112, 23-11) into Saturday's home doubleheader between the
two at Cenex Stadium. A sweep would earn the Clan the
conference title, while MSUB would claim the
championship with a split.
While Saint Martin's was eliminated from title contention,
the Saints can still take the GNAC's automatic berth in the
NCAA playoffs by sweeping Northwest Nazarene if Simon
Fraser, which is ineligible for the playoffs, sweeps MSUB.
That would earn the Saints a tie for second place with the
Yellowjackets and the GNAC's automatic berth would then
be determined by the conference tiebreakers.
Bouchard led SFU on the day with four hits, including
three in the opener. Olexa and catcher Brittany Ribeiro
each had three hits.
Western Oregon was led by Amanda Evola in the opener
with two hits and two RBI. Danielle Harcourt had a threerun home run in the third and drove in four runs to lead the
Wolves to their early lead in the second game.
Saint Martin's 5-11, Montana State Billings 3-8
Saint Martin's overcame a 7-4 deficit after three innings
and then got three runs in the eighth to snap an 8-8 tie to
win the second game.
Joslyn Eugenio and Morgan Klemm each drove in three
runs in the victory. Eugenio singled to snap an 8-8 tie in the
eighth and also had a two-run double in the first.
Klemm earned all three of her RBI with a home run to tie
the game at 7-7 in the fourth.
After Eugenio's go-ahead hit in the extra inning, Megan
Antonovich provided some insurance with a two-run
double to earn Chelsea Felton the win.
Felton pitched the final 5 2/3 innings allowing just three
hits and one run. She is 4-2 on the season.
Golf: Vikings Sweep GNAC Player-of-the-Year Awards
Nick Varelia and Claire Rachor, both from Western
Washington, have earned the Great Northwest Athletic
Conference Player-of-the-Year awards.
In the first game, Saint Martin's built an early 5-0 lead as
Eugenio went three for three and drove in three runs with a
home run in the third.
Varelia finished third in the GNAC tournament Tuesday at
the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course with a 54-hole total
of 217. On the season he ranks third in the conference in
scoring averaging 72.9 strokes per round.
Sam Munger (16-7) went the distance, scattering seven hits.
She also had two hits finishing the twinbill with four
safeties in six at bats.
Rachor, who is the season scoring leader with a 77.3
average, won the conference championship Tuesday
finishing with a 36-hole total of 153.
Eugenio had five hits in seven at bats and drove in six runs.
Kelsie McGladrey also had four hits.
Both players led their respective teams to conference titles
as the Vikings remained the only school to win a GNAC
team golf title.
MSUB was led by first baseman Emily Osborn with four
hits and four RBI. In the opener she had RBI singles in the
third and fifth. In the nightcap, she slammed a two-run
home run in the first.
Northwest Nazarene 9-2, Central Washington 6-4
Also earning special awards were Marcus Drange, Eric
Gravbrot and Cayley Fish, all of Montana State Billings.
Drange was voted the GNAC Newcomer-of-the-Year,
while Gravbrot and Fish won the GNAC Male and Female
Freshman-of-the-Year awards.
The Crusaders built a 7-0 lead in snapping two long losing
streaks with a 9-6 win in the first game at Frederick Field in
Ellensburg.
Western Washington's Steve Card and Bo Stephan and
Kevin Bishop of Saint Martin's were voted the GNAC
Coaches-of-the-Year.
The win snapped a 15-game losing streak this season and
also was Northwest Nazarene's first-ever win in 30 games
in Ellensburg.
Card led the Viking men to the fifth straight conference
title also earning his fifth straight Coach-of-the-Year
award. He shared the Men's Coach-of-the-Year award with
Bishop who led SMU to a second-place team finish.
Right fielder Kristin Refsland powered NNU to the victory,
slamming her fourth and fifth home runs of the season and
driving in five runs.
In the first she homered with two on, then in the seventh
she completed the scoring with a two-run blast. NNU also
scored four runs in the fourth, two on a single by Arielle
Chao.
CWU shortstop Carrina Wagner also homered twice - her
28th and 29th of her career moving her into a tie for third
on CWU's career home run list.
She had three hits and four RBI in the first game, driving in
three runs with a fifth-inning four-bagger and one with a
seventh-inning single.
NNU led the second game 2-1 until the sixth when Elena
Carter who had doubled for first-inning run led off the sixth
with a home run to tie the game at 2-2.
Then after a single by third baseman Heidy Wells, Wagner
homered for the 12th time this season to break the tie and
give Maria Gau her 11th win against 16 losses. Gau
allowed six hits, walked four and fanned nine.
Krista Olson (3-8) got the winner in the opener for NNU,
scattering 10 hits in six innings.
Stephan led WWU's women to the title for the second year
in a row since golf was added as a conference sport earning
his second Coach-of-the-Year award in as many seasons.
Varelia and Rachor headed up the all-conference teams.
Varelia was joined on the men's first team by teammates
Craig Crawford, Jake Webb and Dylan Goodwin and by
Zach Dietz and Matt Epstein of Saint Martin's.
Varelia and Dietz earned first team honors for the third year
in a row, while Epstein and Goodwin were repeaters from
last year's first team.
Joining Rachor on the women's first team were Sophie
Elstrott and Alex Taylor of Western Washington; Karly
Olsen of Saint Martin's and Kalli Stanhope of Montana
State Billings. Rachor, Elstrott, Olsen and Stanhope were
all repeaters from last year's first team.
Softball: Twenty-Two Named To GNAC Academic
Team
A total of 22 student-athletes have been named to the 2012
Great Northwest Athletic Conference Softball Academic
all-conference team.
Heading up the softball academic team is Madison Davis of
Saint Martin's. For the second year in a row, Madison
posted the highest grade point average among the all-stars,
recording a 3.94 GPA. She is a junior psychology major
from Bothell.
Thirteen of the all-stars are repeat selections including five
– Kasie Conder of Montana State Billings, Morgan Klemm
of Saint Martin's, Emily Renfrow and Elizabeth Beaty of
Northwest Nazarene and Kendra George of Western
Oregon - who were selected for the third time.
MSU Billings Ranked Sixth, Saint Martin's 10th In
West Region
Montana State Billings is ranked sixth and Saint Martin's is
ranked 10th in the final NCAA Division II West Regional
softball poll of the season.
Following this weekend's play, the NCAA will announce
the eight-team field for next week's two four-team regional
tournaments.
Saint Martin led the selections placing seven players on the
academic all-conference team. Central Washington placed
four players on the team while Northwest Nazarene and
Western Oregon each had three.
The announcement will be at www.ncaa.com Monday
morning at 7 a.m. Pacific time.
Wednesday, Apr. 25
Five at-large teams will join the GNAC, CCAA and
PacWest champions in one of two four-team regionals. The
two winners advance to a best-of-three series the following
weekend.
Softball: Western Oregon Sweeps Vikings
Myranda Sawyer and Hannah Pomeroy limited Western
Washington to two runs and eight hits in pitching Western
Oregon to a 2-0, 3-2 sweep of the Vikings in a GNAC
softball doubleheader Wednesday at Viking Field on the
WWU campus.
In the first game, Sawyer tossed a two-hit shutout in
outdueling Jenna DeRosier. DeRosier was working on a
two-hitter of her own until the Wolves (21-24, 17-15), who
have won 15 of their last 19, scored their runs in the bottom
of the sixth.
Ninth-hole hitter Kendra George led off the frame with a
single and advanced on a bunt. Danielle Harcourt then
singled - her second safety of the game - to send George to
third where she scored on an error. Jourdan Williams then
doubled to complete the scoring.
Sawyer walked three and fanned five in improving to 8-5
on the season. DeRosier (4-14) didn't have a walk or a
strikeout.
In the second game, both teams scored single runs in the
second and third innings. WOU, which was batting last as
the games were makeups of contests originally scheduled
for Monmouth, then won it in the bottom of the fifth on a
lead-off home run by Ashlie Gardner.
WOU had eight hits in the contest including two each by
catcher Ashley Worthey and Harcourt who had four hits in
five at bats in the twinbill. Jessica Carey and Rachelle
Berry had one hit in each game for the Vikings (16-33, 1220).
Pomeroy (7-9) pitched a six-hitter for the Wolves, while
WWU pitcher Stephanie Fox (8-8) lost for just the third
time in her last nine decisions.
Montana State Billings currently leads Saint Martin's by
four games in the GNAC race for the automatic berth.
MSUB needs one win or one SMU loss this week to clinch
the berth.
Simon Fraser is just three back of MSUB and can still win
the GNAC title but is ineligible for the playoffs.
West Region – 1. Cal State Dominguez Hills (41-10); 2. Cal State
Monterey Bay (41-10); 3. Dixie State (31-10); 4. Chico State (34-13); 5.
Sonoma State (35-17); 6. Montana State Billings (31-13); 7. UC San
Diego (32-18); 8. Grand Canyon (31-16); 9, Cal State East Bay (31-24);
10. Saint Martin's (26-16). Note: Records are versus Division II
opponents.
Baseball: Western Oregon Ranked First In West
Region
Western Oregon is ranked No. 1 in the West in the first
official NCAA region poll of the season.
The Wolves pace the West with a record of 27-8, including
a mark of 27-6 against Division II opponents. They also
lead the GNAC by eight games with a conference record of
16-2.
Earlier in the season, WOU went on the road to California
and compiled a 9-4 record against the California Collegiate
Athletic Association schools, which includes taking three
out of four games at No. 2 regionally ranked UC San
Diego.
The top four teams in the West will be invited to participate
in the regional. Only the winner of the CCAA tournament
receives an automatic bid.
The remaining three spots will be filled by at-large bids as
determined by the remaining three highest ranked teams in
the final regional poll. Generally, the No. 1 ranked team
earns the right to host the regional.
Western Oregon will begin a six-game homestand starting
on Saturday at 1 p.m. to close out its home schedule.
Central Washington will be in town Saturday and Sunday
and then the Wolves will welcome in Saint Martin's for a
makeup doubleheader on Wednesday at 2 p.m.
West Region - 1. Western Oregon (27-8); 2. UC San Diego (26-18); 3.
Cal State San Bernardino (22-15); 4. Chico State (29-13); 5. Dixie State
(27-15); 6. Cal State L.A. (22-16); 7. Cal Poly Pomona (27-18); 8. Cal
State Stanislaus (25-17).
Tuesday, Apr. 24
Men's Golf: Western Washington Cruises To Victory
Western Washington placed four golfers in the Top 5 and
cruised to a 26-stroke victory at the fifth annual GNAC
Men's Golf Championships which ended Tuesday at the
Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course.
The Vikings, who have won all five GNAC titles since golf
was added as an official conference sport in 2008, shot a 1under par 283 for a 54-hole total of 4-over 856.
Rachor shot a 76 on the par-71, 5,914 yard layout to finish
with a 153 total, three ahead of teammate Alex Taylor's 156
total. WWU's Sophie Elstrott, last year's medalist, was third
at 159.
Saint Martin's placed two golfers in the Top 5 as Karly
Olsen had a pair of 80s to finish at 160 and Amanda
Wittmier, who was tied for the first-round lead with
Rachor, finished fifth with 161 total. She had a 84 Tuesday.
GNAC (Apr. 23-24 at Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course): Team
Scores - 1. Western Washington 631 (323-308); 2. Saint Martin's 650
(322-328); 3. MSU Billings 655 (332-323); 4. Simon Fraser 713 (358-355).
Top 10 (Par 71, 5,914 Yards) - 1. Claire Rachor, WWU, 153 (77-76); 2.
Alex Taylor, WWU, 156 (79-77); 3. Sophie Elstrott, WWU, 159 (83-76); 4.
Karly Olsen, SMU, 160 (80-80); 5. Amanda Wittmier, SMU, 161 (77-84); 6.
Melissa Saken, MSUB, 162 (84-78); 7. Brittany Wilcox, WWU, 163 (8479); 8. Nicole Jordan, SFU, 164 (82-82); 9. Erin Heaney, MSUN, 165 (8184) and Kalli Stanhope, MSUB, 165 (81-84).
Eighteen Named To GNAC Golf Academic Team
Saint Martin 's placed second at 882 and Northwest
Nazarene was third at 887 in the five-team field.
Eighteen players have been selected to the 2011-12 GNAC
Academic all-conference golf team, including seven men
and 11 women.
WWU sophomore Craig Crawford shot even par 71 to take
medalist honors at 1-under 212. He won by one stroke over
teammate Dylan Goodwin, , who fired a 1-under 70 for an
even par 213 total.
The men's academic all-conference team is led by
Northwest Nazarene senior Zachary Grunig, who has a 3.58
GPA.
Crawford, who earned his first collegiate win, shot a
tourney record-tying 6-under 65 in Monday's opening
round and was tied for first-day medalist honors with the
Vikings' Nick Varelia with a 36-hole total of 141.
Varelia, who took medalist honors in 2011, tied for third at
217 with Northwest Nazarene's Zach Grunig. Varelia had a
76 Tuesday, while Grunig shot a 73.
The Vikings' Jake Webb also had a Top 5 finish placing
fifth with a 226 score.
GNAC (Apr. 23-24 at Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course): Team
Scores - 1. Western Washington 856 (284-289-283); 2. Saint Martin's 882
(289-301-292); 3. Northwest Nazarene 887 (293-297-297); 4. MSU
Billings 908 (294-306-308); 5. Simon Fraser 918 (301-300-317). Top 10
(Par 71, 6,803 Yards) - 1. Craig Crawford, WWU, 212 (65-76-71); 2.
Dylan Goodwin, WWU, 213 (71-72-70); 3. Nick Varelia, WWU, 217 (7368-76) and Zach Grunig, NNU, 217 (72-72-73); 5. Sandy Vaughan, WWU,
218 (75-73-70); 6. Nick Hardy, NNU, 219 (70-77-72); 7. Michael Jaeger,
SMU, 220 (75-76-69); 8. Zach Dietz, SMU, 221 (74-73-74); 9. Michael
Belle, SFU, 222 (69-74-79); 10. Matt Sturgill, NNU, 223 (74-73-76).
Women's Golf: Rachor Leads Vikings To GNAC Title
Claire Rachor led a 1-2-3 sweep as Western Washington
rallied from a one-shot deficit to win by 19 strokes Tuesday
at the second annual GNAC Women's Golf Championships
played at the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course.
The Vikings, who are ranked 22nd, shot a final-round 308,
bettering their first-day score by 15 strokes, for a 36-hole
total of 631. First-round leader Saint Martin's shot a 328 to
finish second with a 650 total.
Grunig, who is a senior biology major, has been accepted
into a P.A. (Physician's Assistant) program at Trevecca
Nazarene University and will begin graduate school 18
days following graduation this spring.
Western Washington's Alexandria Taylor has the best GPA
among the 11 women's academic all-stars. The senior
mathematics major has a 3.78 GPA.
Four players – Grunig, Taylor and Lindsay Erickson and
Kalli Stanhope of Montana State Billings, were all named
to the team for the third year in a row. Other repeaters
included Michael Jaeger, Kim Vivian and Liz Ferry, all of
Saint Martin's, and Brian Barhanovich and Claire Rachor of
Western Washington.
Montana State Billings and Saint Martin's each placed six
on the academic team. Western Washington had four, while
Simon Fraser and Northwest Nazarene each had one.
Softball: Clan Edges UBC 6-5
Simon Fraser led 3-0 early but then needed to score two
runs to pull out a 6-5 win over British Columbia in a nonconference softball game Tuesday at London Park in
Richmond, BC.
Sammie Olexa staked SFU (29-12) to the early lead with a
three-run bases clearing double in the first inning.
But the Thunderbirds scored twice in the third, twice in the
fifth and once in the sixth to take a 5-4 lead into the final
frame.
SFU tied the game on a lead-off home run by Megan
Durrant. Olexa then doubled, advanced to third on a wild
pitch and then scored on an infield grounder in which Carly
Lepoutre was credited with her fourth hit of the game.
Olexa finished the contest with three hits, including a pair
of doubles, and four RBI. Carling Hare picked up her first
collegiate win, going the final 3 1/3 innings.
Monday, Apr. 23
Men's Golf: Vikings Up By 17 in GNAC Tournament
Western Washington has a 17-shot lead entering Tuesday’s
final round at the fifth annual Great Northwest Athletic
Conference Men's Golf Championships being held at the
Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course.
The Vikings' Nick Varelia and Craig Crawford are tied for
first after 36 holes with scores of 141, two strokes ahead of
teammate Dylan Goodwin and Michael Belle of Simon
Fraser.
Crawford had rounds of 65 and 76, matching the
tournament single-round record with his six-under par
score. Varelia shot 73 and 68 on the par-71, 6,803 yard
layout.
Western Washington, the four-time defending team
champion, had rounds of 284 and 289 for a 36-hole total of
573. Saint Martin’s and Northwest Nazarene are tied for
second in the five-team field, each shooting 590.
The Saints won the opener 11-3 before the Wildcats
bounced back to win the second game 13-4. Both games
required just five innings.
Saint Martin's (30-17, 20-12) now trails first-place MSUB
(24-8) by four games. Each team has four games
remaining.
Elsewhere Sunday second-place Simon Fraser (28-11, 2110), which is ineligible for the playoffs but still can win the
conference title, divided two games with Western
Washington (16-31, 12-18) to remain three back of the
Yellowjackets.
Cara Lukawesky tossed a two-hit shutout as the Clan won
the opener 4-0. The Vikings, however, scored six runs in
the sixth inning to overcome a 2-0 deficit and win the
second game 6-2.
Lukawesky walked three and fanned eight to win her 17th
game of the season, but then absorbed her sixth loss, giving
up seven hits and four runs in 2/3 of an inning in the second
game.
SFU scored all four of its first-game runs in the opening
inning including the first two on a home run by Trisha
Bouchard. The Clan added two more on a ground out by
Brittany Ribeiro and during a rundown on a steal attempt.
In the second game, SFU scored in the second on a single
by Rosie Murphy and in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by
Bouchard, but the Vikings exploded for six runs on nine
hits in the bottom of the frame.
“I’m a little surprised because we didn’t play a good
afternoon round and, except for Crawford, we didn’t play
that solid in the morning,” said WWU coach Steve Card. “I
don’t know if it was because of the heat and our guys got a
little tired, but we lost a lot of shots on the back nine.”
Two of the hits produced two runs each - singles by Jessica
Carey and Jackie Rothenberger. Rachelle Berry, who had
three hits, and Meghan Carrillo also had RBI singles in the
frame.
Women's Golf: Saints Grab One-Shot Lead in GNAC
WWU pitcher Stephanie Fox gave up 10 hits, but just two
runs to improve her record to 8-7.
Saint Martin's Mandy Wittmier fired a six-over par 77 and
is the first-day co-leader along with Western Washington's
Claire Rachor in the 2012 GNAC women's golf
championships at the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course.
Wittmier's score matches her best 18-hole round of the
season.
The Saints lead defending champion Western Washington
by one stroke. SMU had a 38-over-par 322 total, while the
Vikings shot 323 on the par-71, 5,914 layout.
Sunday, Apr. 22
Softball: MSUB One Win Away From Playoff Berth
Saint Martin's and Central Washington divided a
doubleheader Sunday at the SMU Softball Field reducing
Montana State Billings' magic number for clinching the
GNAC's automatic berth in the NCAA West Regional
playoffs to one.
Saint Martin's 11-4, Central Washington 3-13
Both teams used six-run innings to build early leads in their
respective victories.
In the first game, Saint Martin's scored six first-inning runs
and never trailed. The opening inning featured a two-run
double by Morgan Klemm, a RBI single by Taviah Jenkins
and a three-run home run by Lacey McGladrey.
McGladrey finished the game with four RBI. Megan
Antonovich had three hits as SMU outhit the Wildcats 127. Chelsea Felton (3-2) picked up the win allowing two hits
and a run in 3 1/3 innings of relief.
In the second game, Central snapped a 2-2 tie with six runs
in the third. Jen Schwartz had three RBI including two with
a single in that frame.
Molly Coppinger also had three RBI, two of them on a
single in CWU's four-run fifth inning. Maria Gau (10-16)
earned the win, allowing six hits, two to Klemm.
Saturday, Apr. 21
Baseball: Saints, Wildcats Split Twinbill
Central Washington's No. 1 and No. 2 hitters combined for
12 hits and Maria Gau picked up two wins as the Wildcats
swept a doubleheader from first-place Montana State
Billings Saturday at Frederick Field in Ellensburg.
Travis Shaw had RBI singles in the fourth and sixth innings
as Saint Martin's edged Central Washington 3-1 in the
opening game of a doubleheader Sunday at the SMU
Baseball Field.
Central Washington banged out 16 hits, including three by
Ethan Sterkel to win the nightcap 13-2 and salvage the final
game of the four-game series.
Saint Martin's (14-26, 10-12) won three of the four games
to move into second-place in the conference standings, one
game ahead of Northwest Nazarene (10-14), MSU Billings
(10-14) and the Wildcats (16-22, 8-12).
Thomas DeBoer (3-5) scattered eight hits to win the
opener, allowing just a single run on a first-inning double
by Kyle Sani. The Saints, however, went ahead in the
fourth scoring on a sacrifice fly by Travis Jones and Shaw's
hit.
Randy Button (3-2) went the distance in the second game
for the Wildcats, who scored four runs in the fourth
breaking a 2-2 tie on a two-run double by Brett Bielec, then
adding five more runs in the sixth one on a bunt single by
Bielec and two in the seventh.
Track and Field: Parker Qualifies For NCAA in Javelin
Softball: CWU Sweeps MSU Billings
The Wildcats (16-26, 12-18) outlasted the Yellowjackets
12-11 in the first game before winning the nightcap 5-1 as
Gau pitched a six-hitter to improve to 9-16 on the season.
Still, MSUB (31-13, 24-8) moved closer to a NCAA
playoff berth as Saint Martin's (29-16, 19-11) split two
games with Western Oregon (19-24, 15-15)losing the
second game 5-1 after winning the opener 6-5.
The 'Jackets now need two wins or two SMU loses to wrap
up the GNAC's automatic berth in the playoffs.
Elsewhere Saturday, Western Washington (15-30, 11-17)
opened up a 10-game homestand by sweeping Northwest
Nazarene 6-4 and 3-2.
Leadoff hitter Bre Thomas had seven hits in eight at bats
and No. 2 hole hitter Jen Schwartz went five for six in
CWU's sweep.
In the opener Thomas has three safeties and Schwartz had
two as the Wildcats banged out 17 safeties, never trailing
though MSUB rallied from 8-2, 10-8 and 11-10 deficits to
each time tie the game.
Alaska Anchorage freshman Cody Parker threw the javelin
a NCAA Division II automatic national qualifying distance
of 215 feet, four inches Saturday at the Long Beach State
Invitational.
The Wildcats finally secured the win in the bottom of the
seventh as pinch-hitter Elena Carter singled and Thomas
bunted safely for a hit.
Parker broke his own school record and moved into
second-place on the all-time GNAC Top 10 list with the
throw.
Schwartz then sacrificed the runner's to second and third
and Carrina Wagner's fly ball scored pinch-runner Katie
Focher for the winning run. Gau picked up the win after
pitching the top of the seventh and allowing an unearned
run.
UAA's women's 4x100-meter relay team also set a school
record running the ninth quickest time (48.00) in GNAC
history. The Seawolves also got a school-record mark from
Micah Johnson in the pole vault. Johnson vaulted 14-10.
UAA's Susan Tanui ran time of 16:39.81 improving her
previous provisional national qualifying time by 25 seconds
and recording the fifth best time in GNAC history.
Also improving his PNQ was Alfred Kangogo, who was
clocked in 3:46.43, 3 1/2 seconds better than his previous
season-best.
UAA also got a PNQ from Elliott Bauer in the men's 400
hurdles in a time of 53.47. That ranks eighth in GNAC
history.
In addition to Thomas the Wildcats got three hits each from
Molly Coppinger and Cassi Ellis. Wagner had three RBI.
Natasha Wood had two hits including a two-run home run
in the first.
Nicole Colpron paced MSUB with three hits and four RBI.
Her three-run blast keyed a five-run third inning. Tanya
Eckles also had three hits.
The second game was less dramatic as Gau took a twohitter and a 5-0 lead into the seventh before MSUB got four
hits to break up the shutout. Becca Frank's single drove in
the run.
Thomas and Schwartz had seven of CWU's 11 hits in the
game as Thomas, who raised her average 33 points on the
day to .348, went four of four, scoring twice and Schwartz
was three of three. She scored one and drove in one.
Jenna VanEykeren had two of MSUB's six hits, finishing
the doubleheader with four hits in seven at bats.
Saint Martin's 6-1, Western Oregon 5-5
In the first game, SMU (13-25, 9-11) trailed 5-1 and rallied,
pulling out a dramatic 8-7 win with the Saints scoring the
winning run in the 10th inning when Bobby Twedt beat out
a chopper to first base with a runner on third.
Saint Martin's scored five runs in the second inning, then
got what turned out to be the winning run in the sixth on a
single by Lacey McGladrey to win their opener.
In the second game, Saint Martin's trailed 7-0 before
earning a 12-10 victory by scoring six runs in the third
inning and five runs in the fifth.
The second inning featured a sacrifice fly by McGladrey, a
RBI single by Megan Antonovich and a three-run home run
by winning pitcher Sam Munger (15-6).
“We never give up,” Twedt said. “We're just good at
coming back. We're used to it.”
The Wolves, who outhit SMU 11-9, were led by catcher
Ashley Worthey with three hits. Lexi Orteza and Jourdan
Williams had two each.
Myranda Sawyer (7-5) held SMU to four hits - two by
McGladrey - in the second game. The Saints' lone run came
in the first on a single by Munger.
Western Oregon, however, scored three runs in its half of
the inning - two on steals of home by Worthey and Andrea
Bailey - and then added two more in the third taking
advantage of five Saint errors to scored five unearned runs.
Western Washington 6-3, Northwest Nazarene 4-2
Western Washington scored three runs in the fifth to
overcome a 4-3 deficit and win the opener.
Jackie Rothenberger's bases-loaded single tied the game
before the Vikings got two more runs on wild pitches.
Jenna DeRosier (4-13) scattered 10 hits to get the win for
the Vikings. Offensively, WWU got two hits each from
Krista Bickar, Rachelle Berry and Meghan Carrillo.
Northwest Nazarene (6-35, 5-27) ended a 32-inning
scoreless streak in the first inning on a single by Kristin
Refsland.
Refsland, Elizabeth Beaty and Chelsea Allsbrook each had
two hits for the Crusaders who had single runs in four
different innings.
In the second game, the Vikings' Stephanie Fox (7-7) didn't
allow an earned run to NNU. Fox gave up five innings,
walked two and fanned three.
Trailing 2-0, Western Washington got single runs in the
fifth and sixth to force extra innings, then won it in the
eighth on a RBI single by Berry. Berry also had a RBI
single in the sixth.
Baseball: Saints Rally Twice To Sweep Central
Saint Martin's followed a simple yet risky strategy Saturday
in a doubleheader against Central Washington at Saints
Field – just fall behind.
In the first game the Saints tied the score 7-7 on Travis
Shaw's 2-run single in the seventh inning. Saint Martin's
then got out of two jams with a pair of defensive gems,
turning two double plays.
In the eighth inning, Central (15-21, 7-11) had the bases
loaded with one out when SMU turned a double play.
In the 10th inning, Central had runners on first and second
with one out and the Saints turned another perfectly
performed double play to get out of another jam.
“We never panicked,” SMU coach Ken Garland said. “We
just continued to stick with the game plan. This team is
doing a good job of that.”
Casey Thorpe then singled to lead off the bottom of the
10th inning. Two outs later, Twedt hit his chopper deep
down the line that the first baseman reached then threw
high to the bag over the pitcher's head. Even with a good
throw, Twedt would have reached safely.
It was that kind of day for Twedt, who was perfect at the
plate as he went 6-for-6 tying the GNAC record for most
hits in a conference game set in 2002 by CWU's Jake Burns
against Western Oregon and equaled by WOU's Greg
McCarthy against Northwest Nazarene in 2005.
Only Sean McDonald of Northwest Nazarene who had
seven hits in a non-conference game against Hawaii Pacific
two years ago has had more.
The first game was a slugfest as the two teams combined
for 30 hits – 16 for SMU and 14 for CWU. Twedt
improved his batting average 27 points, going from .269 to
.296.
In addition to Twedt who had three RBI, Thorpe had three
hits and Shaw and Zach Leonard had two each. Zach Carter
(4-2) got the win in relief allowing just two hits and no runs
in 2 2/3 innings.
Central was led by Brady Kincannon with four hits. Derrick
Webb had three safeties.
In the second game Saint Martin's scored six runs on seven
hits in the third inning, cutting the gap to 7-6 as 10 Saints
went to the plate that inning. The first five Saints of the
inning reached base.
In the fifth inning, the Saints scored five runs on three hits,
a walk and an error.
Adam Hudspeth's 2-run single was the big gasher for the
Saints. Hudspeth went 2-for-3 and drove in two
runs. Stephen Mahnken, a freshman right fielder, went 3for-3 and drove in a run to help spark the Saints' offense.
SMU outhit the Wildcats 15-12 that game.
The record was previous shared by Amanda Alvarez of
Seattle Pacific and Ashley Potter of Western Oregon who
both leaped 39-8 3/4 in the 2010 season. Potter jumped 408 1/4 in finishing second last month in the NCAA Division
II national indoor meet.
Potter matched her previous outdoor record Friday
finishing fourth. Both Warman and Potter's distances were
provisional national qualifying marks.
Kyle Sani, David Leid, Ethan Sterkel and Jimmy Ryerson
had two hits each for the Wildcats. Brad Banker, the second
of five SMU pitchers, didn't allow a hit in 2 1/3 innings and
got the win.
Meanwhile Shaun Ward and Haleigh Lloyd, both of Alaska
Anchorage, set GNAC records in the 400 hurdles.
MSUB Sweeps Northwest Nazarene To Win Series 4-2
Ward finished second in the men's event in a time of 52.00
breaking the GNAC record of 52.05 set by Dallas Beaty of
Northwest Nazarene in 2009.
Brady Muller and Matt Eames pitched Montana State
Billings to a 1-0, 5-3 doubleheader sweep of Northwest
Nazarene (21-20, 10-14) Saturday as the Yellowjackets
(19-19, 10-14) won four of the six games in the series.
In the opener, Muller (4-2) allowed just four hits in 8 2/3
innings. Travis Vincent came on in the ninth with runners
on first and second and got Fernando Robles to bounce into
a force to earn his second save of the season.
The game's lone run came in the eighth as Ty Gilmore
singled, advanced on a bunt and scored on an error. Jeremy
Burk took the loss. He also gave up just four hits, three to
Gilmore.
In the second game, MSUB, trailing 3-2, scored a run in the
fourth on a wild pitch then won it in the fifth on a two-run
double by Austin Rue.
Matt Eames (3-2) went the distance in the seven-inning
game, allowing six hits. He walked two and fanned six.
Zach Steele had two of NNU's three RBI with a sacrifice
fly in the first and a single in the third. Derek Bettinson had
a RBI double in the latter frame.
Bettinson had two of NNU's six hits off of Eames. Gilmore
had two of MSUB's six safeties to finish the doubleheader
with five hits in eight at bats.
Friday, Apr. 20
Track and Field: Three GNAC Records Fall at Azusa
Ward set a GNAC record Friday in the 400 hurdles at the
Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif. (UAA Photo)
Three Great Northwest Athletic Conference records were
broken Friday at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa
Pacific University.
Emily Warman of Western Washington set a record in the
triple jump winning the event with a leap of 40-5 and
becoming the first woman in GNAC history to reach 40
feet in an outdoor meet.
Lloyd finished third in a time of 59.62, breaking her own
women's record of 59.98 she set three weeks ago at
Willamette.
Lloyd automatically qualified for the NCAA meet with her
time, while Ward's time reached the men's NCAA
provisional standard.
In all 11 GNAC athletes reached a NCAA national
qualifying standard Friday at Azusa.
In addition to Potter and the three record-setters, Katelyn
Steen, Lindsay Wells, Brett Watson and Shane Gruger, all
of Western Washington; Susan Tanui of Alaska Anchorage,
Ryan Brockerville of Simon Fraser and Chris Olsen of
Western Oregon all had PNQs.
Steen won the women's steeplechase in a PNQ of 10:57.61,
running the ninth fastest time in GNAC history. Wells
qualified in the women's hammer with a throw of 162-9.
Watson high jumped 6-8 3/4 finishing second and earning a
PNQ and the third best mark in GNAC history. Gruger had
a PNQ in the long jump with a leap of 23-8, which is the
fifth longest in GNAC history.
That was one of two GNAC All-Time Top 10
performances for the Viking athlete as he also ran a 10.80
in the 100 meters, improving his previous No. 9 all-time
ranking by .03 seconds.
Tanui had a PNQ in the women's 1500 with a time of
4:32.68, while Brockerville and Olsen had PNQs in the
men's 1,500 (3:51.17) and 800 (1:52.28).
Four other GNAC athletes had GNAC All-Time Top 10
marks, including Alex Tilley of Western Washington in the
men's 200 (6th, 21.77), Kishia Mitchell of Seattle Pacific in
the women's 200 (3rd, 24.96), Myisha Valentine of Seattle
Pacific in the women's 400 (7th, 56.47) and SPU's Tasia
Baldwin in the 200 (10th, 25.25).
Edd Brown of Saint Martin's just missed cracking the Top
10 in the men's 200, running the 11th fastest time in GNAC
history (21.94).
Azusa Pacific Bryan Clay Invitational (Apr. 20 at Azusa): Men (Top 3):
400 Hurdles - 2. Shaun Ward, UAA, 52.00. High Jump - 2. Brett Watson,
WWU, 2.05 - 6-8 3/4. Women (Top 3): 400 Hurdles - 3. Haleigh Lloyd,
UAA, 59.62. Steeplechase - 1. Katelyn Steen, WWU, 10:57.61. 4x100
Relay - 1. Western Washington (Eleanor Siler, Michelle Howe, Sydney
Coffey, Valle Ledtke) 48.77. Triple Jump - 1. Emily Warman, WWU, 12.32
- 40-5. Pole Vault - 1. Karis Anderson, WWU, 3.65 - 11-11 3/4. High Jump
- 3. Kelsea Johnson, UAA, 1.60 - 5-3.
"Kyle (Van Santen) ran a steady first mile at the back of a
quality field," SMU coach Julie Sullivan said. "He steadily
began to move his way up through the field as he checked
off the laps.
Van Santen ran a last 400 meters of 64 seconds to steal
second place right at the line. "Kyle has become a great
racer in his senior year," Sullivan added.
SFU's Butterworth Posts Season-Best 800 Time at Mt.
Sac Relays
Mickelsen, Potter Set School Records in 5K
Lindsay Butterworth of Simon Fraser ran a GNAC seasonbest time of 2:09.94 in the women's 800 Friday at the Mt.
Sac Relays in Walnut, Calif.
Montana State Billings' Whitney Mickelsen and Brian
Potter set school records in the men's and women's 5,000
meter races in the Dickinson State Blue Hawk Games
Friday in Dickinson, N.D.
Butterworth's time ranks eighth in GNAC history and is
better than the NCAA Division II provisional national
qualifying standard.
Michael Hoffman of Western Washington also had a PNQ
in the hammer, improving on his previous qualifying mark.
He placed third in the event with a throw of 197-1.
Also earning a PNQ was Miriam Kipng'eno of Alaska
Anchorage, who ran a 16:52.21 in the women's 5,000.
On Thursday, GNAC athletes had six NCAA qualifying
marks at Mt. Sac including two automatic marks - a
GNAC-record of 8:45.63 by Micah Chelimo of Alaska
Anchorage in the men's steeplechase and a 34:48.64 time
by Ruth Keino of UAA in the women's 10,000.
Other athletes with PNQs Thursday included Ryan
Brockerville of Simon Fraser (8:53.65) and A.J. Baker of
Seattle Pacific (9:17.36) in the steeple; Ivy O'Guinn of
Alaska Anchorage in the women's 1,500 (4:28.26) and a
10K time of 36:29.55 by Natty Plunkett of SPU.
O'Guinn's 1500 time ranks seventh in GNAC history and
Plunkett's 10K time ranks ninth. Keino's 10K time didn't
move her up the chart as she ran a career best of 34:30.53
last season.
Mt. Sac Relays (Apr. 19-21 at Walnut, Calif.): Men (Top 10): Thursday,
Steeplechase (A) – 2. Micah Chelimo, UAA, 8:45.63. Friday, Hammer – 3.
Michael Hoffman, WWU, 60.08 – 197-1. Women (Top 12): Thursday:
10,000 Invitational – 12. Ruth Keino, UAA, 34:48.64. 1. Friday, Javelin –
10. Brittany Aanstad, SPU, 44.09 – 144-8.
Van Santen Finishes Second In Oregon Invitational
Mickelsen finished second in the women's event with a
time of 18:38.74. Potter also finished second in the men's in
a time of 15:17.40.
MSUB athletes won three events in the meet as Anica
Knispel swept the women's shot put (41-8 ½) and discus
events (122-0). Justine Simons won the women's 100 meter
dash in a time of 13.46.
MSUB's men finished third in the team standings with 70
points, while the Yellowjacket women were second with
116. U-Mary swept the team titles earning 174 points in the
men's division and 228 in the women's division.
Dickinson State Blue Hawk Games (Apr. 20 at Dickinson, ND): Men Mary 174, Dickinson State 141 1/2, MSU Billings 70, South Dakota Mines
58 1/2, Valley City State 52, Black Hills State 44 1/2, Minot State 35,
Rocky Mountain 16. Individuals (Top 3): 800 - 3. Jake Iverson, MSUB,
1:57.13. 5000 - 2. Brian Potter, MSUB, 15:17.40. 400 Hurdles - 3. Lewis
Polkow, MSUB, 56.43. 4x400 Relay - 3. MSU Billings 3:25.88. Women Mary 228, MSU Billings 116, Dickinson State 116, Minot State 92, South
Dakota Mines 56, Black Hills State 36, Valley City State 19, Rocky
Mountain 18. Individuals (Top 3): 100 - 1. Justine Simons, MSUB, 13.46.
5000 - 2. Whitney Mickelsen, MSUB, 18:46.32. Steeplechase - 2. Mary
Owen, MSUB, 12:34.01. 4x100 Relay - 3. MSU Billings 53.72. High Jump
- 2. Stacy Pitt, MSUB, 1.60. Pole Vault - 3. Stacey Pitt, MSUB, 3.25 - 10-8.
Shot Put - 1. Anica Knispel, MSUB, 12.71 - 41-8 1/2. Discus - 1. Anica
Knispel, MSUB, 37.19 - 122-0; 2. Jamilea Kittelmann, MSUB, 35.25 - 1157.
Pixler Runs Fifth Fastest Time in Division I
Former Seattle Pacific distance star Jessica Pixler (now
Jessica Tebo) returned to the outdoor track on Friday at the
Mt. SAC Relays for the University of Colorado, placing
fifth in the Elite Invitational Division of the 1,500 meters.
Kyle Van Santen of Saint Martin's finished second Friday
in the men's 5,000 meters at the Oregon Relays in Eugene
in a time of 14:28.95.
Tebo, who hadn't competed for the Buffs since last April
because of an injury, finished fifth in 4:15.15.
Van Santen improved his previous provisional national
qualifying time and No. 8 all-time GNAC rank by 2.46
seconds.
Tebo led for about half of the race before Katie Flood from
the University of Washington pulled alongside and
eventually surged in front. Flood's winning time was
4:11.66.
Parker Stinson of the University of Oregon won the race in
a time of 14:02.93. Barak Watson of Northwest Nazarene
placed 14th in a time of 14:47.38.
Tebo's time put her fifth in all of NCAA Division I. In fact,
of the top seven times in the women's 1,500, five were set
in that very race on Friday night. Flood's time now leads
the country.
While at SPU, Tebo won 11 NCAA D-2 titles, including
three in cross country, six in indoor track, and two in
outdoor track.
She graduated in 2010 and now is in her second year of
graduate work at Colorado. She had one year of outdoor
eligibility left after missing her sophomore season with the
Falcons due to a back injury.
Tebo competed briefly at Colorado last spring before an
injury sidelined her. She was granted this season of
eligibility by the NCAA.
Baseball: MSUB Outlasts Crusaders In 14 Innings
Blake Loran's bunt single with the bases loaded ended the
longest game in GNAC history Friday as Montana State
Billings defeated Northwest Nazarene 6-5 in 14 innings.
The Yellowjackets (17-19, 8-14) earned a split of the
doubleheader after Northwest Nazarene (21-18, 10-12) had
won the opener 12-5.
The 14-inning contest matched a 14-inning game between
Central Washington and Western Oregon last year. The
Wolves won that contest 4-3.
Softball: MSUB Moves Closer To Playoff Berth
Loran's game-winning hit came with one out after MSUB
had loaded the bases on a single by Blake Nelson, a walk
and an error.
Montana State Billings moved a step closer to a NCAA
Division II playoff berth Friday by splitting a doubleheader
with Western Oregon at the WOU Softball Field.
The game was scheduled for seven innings but neither team
could dent the plate after MSUB scored twice in the sixth
to tie the game at 5-5 until the 14th.
The Yellowjackets' lead remained at four games over
second-place Simon Fraser (20-10) and five over thirdplace Saint Martin's (18-10), but MSUB (31-11, 24-6)
reduced its magic number to advance to the NCAA
playoffs to three.
NNU reliever Sean McDonald pitched 7 2/3 scoreless
innings, allowing six hits before leaving after the 13th.
MSUB's Bobby Ragasa (3-0) got the win, pitching five
scoreless innings and allowing three hits.
Three MSUB wins and/or Saint Martin's losses will secure
the 'Jackets the GNAC's automatic berth in the playoffs.
SFU is ineligible for the playoffs as a provisional member.
Both games ended with 5-4 scores and MSUB rallies. In
the first game, Kendra George's three-run home run in the
fourth staked Western Oregon to a 4-1 lead, but MSUB
scored twice in the sixth on Meg Harasymczuk's 15th home
run of the season.
Third baseman Ty Gilmore had four hits in seven at bats
for MSUB. McDonald, who started the game in centerfield,
had three hits and two RBI to lead the Crusaders
offensively.
Catcher Charlie Gorzo also had three hits and DH Alex
Barbee had a three-run home run as his team took a 5-1
lead in the fourth before the 'Jackets rallied.
Then in the seventh, the 'Jackets got a two-run, two-out
double by Jenna VanEykeren to win it 5-4.
In the opener, shortstop Ben Clare had two hits and three
RBI to place NNU. Rightfielder Zach Steele had two hits
and two RBI. Colby Robison had two hits, including a
three-run home run in the seventh for MSUB.
Jessyka McDonald pitched a five-hitter to record her sixth
win in eight decisions. She walked three and fanned six.
NNU's Patrick Patterson pitched the first 6 2/3 innings
getting his fourth win in five decisions.
In the second game, Western Oregon built a 5-0 lead
through four innings on a RBI single by Andrea Bailey and
a two-run double by Danielle Harcourt in the third inning
and on a two-run single by Ashley Worthey in the fourth.
Thursday, Apr. 19
This time the Wolves managed to hang on, but just barely
as MSUB got a run in the fifth on a home run by Brittney
Sanders, two in the sixth on a wild pitch and sacrifice fly
by VanEykeren and a run in the seventh on a lead-off home
run by Nicole Colpron.
Eryka Brill, however, then came on to get the next three
outs on infield grounders to earn her second save
preserving the win for Myranda Sawyer (6-5).
On the day, two hitters - WOU's Ashley Worthey and
MSUB's Rose Harrington - had three hits each.
Softball: Saints Wins Replay With Wildcats 13-0
Sam Munger tossed her third straight shutout as Saint
Martin's won its replay with Central Washington (14-26,
10-18) Thursday defeating the Wildcats 13-0 at Frederick
Field.
Elsewhere Simon Fraser (27-11, 20-10) swept Northwest
Nazarene 8-0 and 2-0, while Montana State Billings (23-5
in the GNAC) was rained out at Western Oregon leaving
MSUB's magic number to clinch a NCAA Division II West
Region playoff berth at four. Those two teams will try
again Friday at noon.
The SMU-CWU game was a replay of a 7-3 Central win
which was overturned on protest. The teams resumed
action in the first inning with the Saints (28-15, 18-10)
leading 3-0.
win to get a split of a Great Northwest Athletic Conference
doubleheader Thursday at Billings.
SMU quickly added four more runs in the second, two in
the third, three in the fourth and one in the fifth to end the
contest earning its third straight mercy rule victory during a
24-hour span. In the three games, the Saints outscored their
opponents 32-0.
The games were makeups of contests rained out earlier this
season at Nampa and thus NNU (20-17, 9-11) was the
designated home team.
Munger, who has a string of 17 consecutive scoreless
innings has allowed just five hits in 15 innings in posting
three consecutive shutouts.
Meanwhile, the Saints have played eight consecutive games
in which the loser has been shutout, winning four and
losing four.
In Thursday's win, SMU outhit Central Washington 17-2.
The only hits off Munger were a double by Carrina Wagner
(on Mar. 4 prior to the protest) and a single by Molly
Coppinger in the second inning Thursday.
Lacey McGladrey, Munger and Morgan Klemm all had
three hits to pace the Saints offensively. Klemm and Taviah
Jenkins each drove in three runs. McGladrey slammed her
fourth home run of the season in the fourth with one on.
Simon Fraser 8-2, Northwest Nazarene 0-0
Cara Lukawesky tossed a one-hit shutout in the five-inning
opener, then pitched a hitless seventh to earn a save as the
Clan handed the Crusaders their fourth and fifth
consecutive shutout losses.
Northwest Nazarene, which has lost 13 in a row, hasn't
scored in 32 consecutive innings. The five shutouts in a
row is a GNAC record, breaking their own record of four.
They did that twice during the 2003 season.
Lukawesky walked one and fanned eight in the opener
improving to 16-5 before picking up her fourth save of the
season in the nightcap.
Trisha Bouchard and Rosie Murphy each had two hits and
Murphy drove in three runs to key SFU's Game 1 win. Both
of Bouchard's hits were doubles. She also stole her 10th
base of the year.
In the second game, Simon Fraser got single runs in the
fourth on a single by Carly Lepoutre and in the fifth on a
home run by Leah Riske to account for both runs off NNU
pitcher Cara Duckworth.
Baylee Jolliffe had two of the Crusaders' four hits off
Kelsie Hawkins (11-6), who walked two and fanned four as
she combined with Lukawesky for the shutout.
Baseball: Crusaders Earn Split On Home Run By Steele
Right fielder Zach Steele homered in the bottom of the
sixth to snap a 2-2 tie as Northwest Nazarene earned a 3-2
MSU Billings (16-18, 7-13) won the opener 9-7 snapping a
7-7 tie in the seventh scoring on a bases-loaded passed ball
and in the eighth on a RBI single by Jordan Carlson.
Ty Gilmore led MSUB, which stranded 15 base runners,
with three hits. Colby Robison, Blake Nelson, Matt Comer
and Carlson each had two hits. Comer had a pair of
doubles.
Steele had two hits and drove in four runs, including two
each with first and second inning singles, to lead Northwest
Nazarene.
Steele also had two of NNU's four hits in the nightcap.
Meanwhile, Aaron Vaughan (3-2) pitched a five-hitter to
outduel MSUB's Zachary Smith (3-1), who allowed four
hits in six innings.
MSUB's Lucas Biehm was the winning pitcher in the first
game, pitching 4 1/3 innings of relief and allowing five hits
and one run. Bobby Ragasa hurled 2 1/3 scoreless innings,
giving up one hit to record his fourth save.
Track and Field: Four Provisional Marks For Vikings
Four Western Washington track and field athletes had five
NCAA Division II provisional qualifying marks Thursday,
two at the Cal State L.A. Invitational and three at the Azusa
Pacific Invitational.
At the Cal State L.A. meet, Michael Hoffman placed sixth
in the men's discus with a personal-best 164-2 and Lindsay
Wells posted a mark of 162-9 in the women's hammer. Last
year, she had a personal-record 164-0.
At the Azusa Pacific meet, Emily Warman won the
women's long jump at 19-0, becoming just the second
Viking to reach 19 feet. Her previous best was 18-4 1/2 in
2010. The WWU standard is 19-2 set by Donna Larry in
1982.
Alex Harrison qualified in both the decathlon and javelin as
he placed third at the California Invitational B Division
Decathlon.
Harrison tossed the javelin 201-10 and finished with a
WWU record 6,772 points in the decathlon. That surpassed
by 29 points the previous Viking best by Jeff Neubauer in
1986.
WWU's Nelson Westlin had two personal bests at CSULA
meet, placing fifth (50-11) in the men's shot put and
seventh in the discus (154-10).
UAA's Chelimo Sets GNAC Steeplechase Record
Micah Chelimo set a GNAC record in the men's 3,000meter steeplechase, while Ivy O'Guinn broke the Alaska
Anchorage record in the 1500 meters at the Mt. Sac Relays
at Hilmer Lodge Stadium Thursday.
In addition to league and school records, Chelimo and
UAA's Ruth Keino each qualified automatically for the
NCAA Div. II Outdoor Championships that will be held in
Pueblo, Colo., on May 24-26.
Chelimo broke his own league record of 8:49.31 - set April
15, 2010 - with a new time of 8:45.63, good for second
place in his steeplechase heat. Chelimo had already booked
a ticket to the NCAAs after setting the GNAC record in the
5,000 meters on April 6 at the Stanford Invitational.
Breaking the UAA record in the women's 1500 meters was
O'Guinn as she crossed the finish line at 4:28.26, besting
the previous record by Miriam Kipng'eno of 4:30.36. The
time provisionally qualifies her to the NCAAs.
Competing in the elite heat of the women's 10,000 meters,
Keino finished 12th with an automatic time of 34:48.64,
bypassing the required time of 34:58.20. Keino, a local of
Kapcheno, Kenya holds the UAA record in the event at
34:30.53.
The Saints had 11 hits in the opener, two each by Taviah
Jenkins, Joslyn Eugenio and Kelsie McGladrey. McGladrey
had two doubles to produce three runs.
Megan Antonovich had three hits and Munger had two to
lead the Saints to their second-game win. Four different
players had one hit on the day for Northwest Nazarene (631, 5-23).
MSUB's Harasymczuk Ranks Sixth Nationally In Home
Runs
Montana State Billings outfielder Meg Harasymczuk is
ranked sixth in home runs per game in this week's NCAA
Division II national statistical report.
Harasymczuk has a total of 14 and is averaging 0.40 per
game. Her total number ranks 14th nationally. She also
ranks 13th in RBI per game (1.23).
In addition to Harasymczuk, two other players have Top 10
national rankings. Bre Thomas of Central Washington
ranks eighth in toughest to strikeout based on both at bats
per strikeout (42.3) and percentage (.024).
Joslyn Eugenio of Saint Martin's has two No. 3 national
rankings - one as a hitter (sacrifices with 5) and one as a
pitcher (walks allowed per seven innings, 0.42).
Seattle Pacific's AJ Baker ran a provisional national
qualifying time of 9:17.36 in the men's steeplechase – a 29
second improvement on his previous best – at Mt. Sac.
In team categories, MSUB ranks eighth in home runs per
game (1.23) and ninth in runs per game (7.03). Saint
Martin's ranks sixth in doubles per game (1.93).
Also posting a PNQ was Natty Plunkett who qualified in
the 10,000 in a time of 36:29.55.
MSU Billings Fifth, Saint Martin's 10th in West
Regional Poll
Wednesday, Apr. 18
Montana State Billings is ranked fifth in this week's NCAA
Division II West Regional softball poll. The Yellowjackets
climbed two positions from last week's ranking.
Softball: Saints Sweep Northwest Nazarene
Sam Munger and Taylor Bakos pitched two-hit shutouts as
Saint Martin's swept Northwest Nazarene 11-0 and 8-0
Wednesday in a GNAC doubleheader at the Regional
Athletic Complex in Lacey.
The two wins moved the regionally 10th ranked Saints (2715, 17-10) to within one-half game of second-place Simon
Fraser (18-10) in the conference race. SMU trails firstplace Montana State Billings (23-5) by 5 1/2 games.
In the first game, Munger (13-6) walked one and fanned
five. Bakos (9-4) issued two walks and also struck out five.
Munger also had a big day with the stick driving in six
runs, three in each game. In her win, she had a sacrifice fly
in the first and a two-run single in the second.
In Bakos' victory she contributed a two-run single in a fiverun second, then ended the game via the eight-run rule with
a run-scoring double in the fifth.
Saint Martin's is ranked 10th the same spot it occupied last
week in the first poll of the season.
The poll will eventually determine the five at-large teams
that will advance to the NCAA West Regionals along with
the GNAC, PacWest and CCAA champions.
MSUB, which is among "others receiving votes" and is
28th overall in this week's NFCA national poll, needs a
combination of four wins and/or Saint Martin's losses to
clinch the GNAC's automatic berth in the playoffs.
WEST – 1. Cal State Dominguez Hills (38-9); 2. Cal State Monterey Bay
(36-9); 3. Dixie State (25-10); 4. Chico State (29-12); 5. Montana State
Billings (30-10); 6. UC San Diego (32-14); 7. Sonoma State (31-17); 8.
Grand Canyon (28-15); 9. Cal State East Bay (31-20); 10. Saint Martin's
(21-14). Note: Records are versus Division II opponents.
Track and Field: Aanstad, Chelimo Keep Top Rankings
Brittany Aanstad of Seattle Pacific and Micah Chelimo of
Alaska Anchorage have both maintained their No. 1 NCAA
Division II national rankings for another week.
Aanstad is still No. 1 in the women's javelin (161-11) and
Chelimo has the best time in the 5,000 (13:53.51) among
results reported to the NCAA through Tuesday.
The two are among 19 GNAC athletes that have
performances that rank nationally in the Top 10.
Both Chelimo (5th in the steeplechase, 8:56.37) and Ali
Worthen of Seattle Pacific (10th in the high jump, 5-7 3/4,
and fifth in the heptathlon, 5071) have Top 10 marks in two
events.
In this week's USTFCCCA Division II computer team
rankings, Alaska Anchorage is ranked eighth in the
women's division and 17th in the men's division. Seattle
Pacific is 19th in the women's division.
UAA's women's ranking was the same as last week, while
the UAA men slipped two slots and the SPU women fell
seven places from last week's rankings.
In the regional rankings, Alaska Anchorage's women are
ranked third and its men are ranked sixth.
Also ranked in the men's regional rankings are Western
Washington (7th), Western Oregon (9th) and Central
Washington (10th). Joining UAA in the women's regional
rankings are Seattle Pacific (5th) and Western Washington
(8th).
In the USTFCCCA computer conference rankings, the
GNAC is ranked fifth in the women's division, but is not
ranked in the Top 10 in the men's division.
TOP 10 TFRRS RANKINGS (Through Apr. 17): Men: 800 - 6. Nathan
Seely, SPU, 1:51.95. 1500 - 8. Alfred Kangogo, UAA, 3:50.02. 5000 - 1.
Micah Chelimo, UAA, 13:53.51. 10,000 – 7. Barak Watson, NNU,
30:24.19. Steeplechase - 5. Micah Chelimo, UAA, 8:56.37. Javelin - 6.
Cody Parker, UAA, 64.34 - 211-1. Women: 1500 - 8. Ivy O'Guinn, UAA,
4:30.83. 5000 - 4. Ruth Keino, UAA, 16:34.28; 9. Miriam Kipng'eno, UAA,
16:54.43. 400 Hurdles - 3. Haleigh Lloyd, UAA, 59.98. Steeplechase - 2.
Susan Tanui, UAA, 10:15.47; 3. Hallidie Wilt, UAA, 10:31.30. High Jump 10. Ali Worthen, SPU, 5-7 ¾ . Pole Vault - 4. Karis Anderson, WWU, 3.85
- 12-7 ½ . Shot Put - 6. Leeza Henry, MSUB, 14.39 - 47- ½ . Javelin - 1.
Brittany Aanstad, SPU, 49.35 - 161-11; 4. Amanda Schumaker, WOU,
46.17 - 151-6; 7. Katie Reichert, WWU, 44.74 – 146-9; 9. Seabre Church,
WOU, 43.31 – 142-1. Heptathlon - 5. Ali Worthen, SPU, 5071; 8. Kelsea
Johnson, UAA, 4838.
USTFCC TEAM COMPUTER RANKINGS: National: Men - 17. Alaska
Anchorage. Women - 8. Alaska Anchorage, 19. Seattle Pacific. West
Region: Men – 6. Alaska Anchorage, 7. Western Washington, 9. Western
Oregon, 10. Central Washington. Women – 3. Alaska Anchorage, 5.
Seattle Pacific, 8. Western Washington.
Tuesday, Apr. 17
Men's Golf: Three WWU Players Share Third Place
Western Washington had three players tie for fourth
at 1-under par 215 in finishing second to host Cal
Stanislaus, which had a record-setting performance
39th annual Jim Hanny Invitational Men's
Tournament at the Turlock Golf and Country Club.
place
State
at its
Golf
The seventh-ranked Vikings, shot a final-round 1-over par
289 Tuesday for a 54-hole total of 868. No.4-rated Cal
State Stanislaus, which captured its sixth tourney title of the
season, won by 23 strokes at 19-under 845, breaking its
own tourney record by 16 shots. The Warriors fired a finalround 11-under 277.
It was the 25th victory by Cal State Stanislaus at its own
tourney, and 14th for the Warriors in the last 17 years.
“Cal State Stanislaus is a quality team and on its home
course is very tough to beat,” said WWU coach Steve Card,
whose team was six shots behind the Warriors after the first
round and 11 after the second.
“Overall I'm pleased with our performance as we beat some
good teams, and I'm encouraged by our continued
improvement.”
The trio of Vikings in a seven-way tie for fourth were
Dylan Goodwin. Craig Crawford and Nick Varelia.
Goodwin and Crawford had 73 in the final round, while
Varelia shot a 3-under 69 to move up 10 places.
Trevor Blair from Cal State Stanislaus took medalist honors
at 7-under 209, winning by four strokes after shooting a 6under 66. Tying for second at 213 were Hawaii-Hilo's
James Hall and Chico State's Kyle Souza.
Crawford's finish was his best in five events with the
Vikings this season and only his second Top 10 finish. He
was seventh two weeks ago at Grand Canyon.
Saint Martin's, Montana State Billings and Northwest
Nazarene placed seventh, 16th and 20th, respectively.
SMU's Brandon Moore was 21st with a 54-hole total of
221.
Hanny Stanislaus Invitational (Apr. 16-17 at Turlock Golf & CC,
Turlock, CA): Team Scores - 1. CSU Stanislaus 845 (282-286-277); 2.
Western Washington 868 (288-291-289); 3. Chico State 872 (289-296287; 4. Point Loma Nazarene 884 (301-290-293); 5. CSU East Bay 886
(295-292-299) and CSU Monterey Bay 886 (296-298-292); 7. Saint
Martin's 887 (301-292-294); 16. Montana State Billings 918 (305-303310); 20. Northwest Nazarene 937 (321-309-307). Individuals (Par 72,
6,641 Yards) - 1. Trevor Blair, CSUS, 209 (70-73-66); 4. Dylan Goodwin,
WWU, 215 (70-72-73), Nick Varelia, WWU, 215 (72-74-69) and Craig
Crawford, WWU, 215 (71-71-73); 21. Brandon Moore, SMU, 221 (75-7670); 26. Ben Fosnick, SMU, 222 (76-72-74) and Michael Jaeger, SMU,
222 (74-72-76); 38. Sandy Vaughan, WWU, 224 (76-74-74); 48. Marcus
Drange, MSUB, 227 (75-77-75); 52. Jake Webb, WWU, 228 (75-79-74)
and Gage Huft, MSUB, 228 (77-76-75); 68. Preston Richards, MSUB, 231
(75-77-79); 70. Patrick Whealdon, SMU, 232 (76-82-74); 77. Eric
Gravbrot, MSUB, 234 (78-75-81); 80. Zach Grunig, NNU, 235 (81-79-75)
and Matt Sturgill, NNU, 235 (82-74-79); 82. Nick Hardy, NNU, 236 (81-7778) and Brock Sargeent, NNU, 236 (77-80-79); 85. Thomas Hanacek,
NNU, 237 (83-79-75); 91. Brad Harrelson, MSUB, 238 (78-75-85); 95.
Jack Whealdon, SMU, 239 (78-72-89); 103. +Chase Richards, MSUB,
249 (81-82-87). +Competed as individual.
Monday, Apr. 16
Men's Golf : WWU's Crawford, Goodwin Tied For 2nd
Western Washington’s Dylan Goodwin and Craig
Crawford are tied for third place, three shots off the lead,
and the Vikings are second, 11 shots off the pace, following
first-day action Monday at the 39th annual Cal State
Stanislaus Jim Hanny Invitational Men’s Golf Tournament.
The third and final round at at the Turlock Golf and
Country Club begins at 8 a.m. Tuesday.
WWU, ranked No.7, had rounds of even par 288 and 291
for a 36-hole total of 579. The Vikings are 11 strokes
behind leader and No.4-rated Cal State Stanislaus, which is
8-under par at 568.
Saint Martin's is eighth at 593, while Montana State
Billings and Northwest Nazarene are 14th (608) and 20th
(630), respectively.
Goodwin (70-72) and Crawford (71-71) are tied for third at
142 with Kyle Souza (71-71) from Chico State.
Dixie State’s Nick Drost tops the field at 5-under 139 (6772) with Hawaii-Hilo’s James Hall is second at 4-under
140 (71-69).
The Vikings' Nick Varelia (72-74) and Michael Jaeger of
Saint Martin's (74-72) are also in the Top 20, tied for 14th
with 146 totals.
Hanny Stanislaus Invitational (Apr. 16-17 at Turlock Golf & CC,
Turlock, CA): Team Scores - 1. CSU Stanislaus 568 (282-286); 2.
Western Washington 579 (288-291); 3. Chico State 585 (289-296); 4.
Dixie State 587 (293-294) and CSU East Bay 587 (295-292); 8. Saint
Martin's 593 (301-292); 14. Montana State Billings 608 (305-303); 20.
Northwest Nazarene 630 (321-309). Individuals (Par 72, 6,641 Yards) 1. Nick Drost, Dixie State, 139 (67-72); 3. Dylan Goodwin, WWU, 142 (7072) and Craig Crawford, WWU, 142 (71-71); 14. Nick Varelia, WWU, 146
(72-74) and Michael Jaeger, SMU, 146 (74-72); 29. Ben Fosnick, SMU,
148 (76-72); 41. Sandy Vaughan, WWU, 150 (76-74) and Jack Whealdon,
SMU, 150 (78-72); 49. Brandon Moore, SMU, 151 (75-76); 56. Preston
Richards, MSUB, 152 (75-77 and Marcus Drange, MSUB, 152 (75-77);
60. Eric Gravbrot, MSUB, 153 (78-75); Brad Harrelson, MSUB, 153 (7875) and Gage Huft, MSUB, 153 (77-76); 68. Jake Webb, WWU, 154 (7579); 81. Matt Sturgill, NNU, 156 (82-74); 85. Brock Sargent, NNU, 157
(77-80);87. Patrick Whealdon, SMU, 158 (76-82) and Nick Hardy, NNU,
158 (81-77); 93. Zach Grunig, NNU, 160 (81-79); 100. Chase Richards,
MSUB, 162 (81-81) and Thomas Hanacek, NNU, 162 (83-79).
Sunday, Apr. 15
Softball: Vikings, Wolves; Clan, Wildcats Split
Western Washington got clutch hitting from Jessica Carey
and Krista Bickar and solid pitching from Janelle Kasch
and Devyn Baker as it edged Western Oregon 3-2 in the
opener of a GNAC softball doubleheader Sunday at the
WOU Softball Field.
Western Oregon (17-22, 13-13), which had won eight
straight, bounced back to win the second game 5-2.
Elsewhere in the GNAC Sunday, second-place Simon
Fraser (25-11, 18-10) and Central Washington (14-25, 1017) split two games. The Clan won the opener 4-3 before
losing 3-1 to the Wildcats in the nightcap.
SFU's loss reduced Montana State Billings' magic number
to clinch the GNAC title to four.
Western Washington broke a 1-1 tie with two runs in the
top of the fifth inning in its win.
Cheyenne Best led off with a single, advanced to second on
a sacrifice and scored in a double by Carey. Carey, who
had three hits in the game, then went to third on a wild
pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Bickar.
The Wolves got back to within one (3-2) with a run in the
bottom of the fifth, and had the bases loaded with one out
in the sixth.
But Baker came in to pitch and ended the inning with a fly
out to right field. She then blanked WOU in the seventh in
notching her first career save.
Kasch, who posted her first collegiate win (1-8), worked
the first 5 2/3 innings for WWU, giving up four hits.
In the second game, WOU took an early lead with three
runs in the second including two on a double by third
baseman Ashlie Gardner.
The Vikings got a home run from Krista Bickar in the
fourth and a bases-loaded walk in the fifth to pull with 3-2,
but the Wolves then scored twice in their half of the fifth on
singles by Jourdan Williams and Ashley Worthey.
WWU loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth after
WOU relief pitcher Myranda Sawyer walked the first batter
she faced. But Sawyer, who got a save, ended the threat
with three strikeouts and walked just one batter in a
scoreless seventh.
Best had four hits in the two games to lead Western
Washington. Berry's 13-game hitting streak, the Vikings'
longest this season, was snapped in the opener. She singled
in the second game.
Worthey and Danielle Harcourt each had three hits for
Western Oregon. All three of Worthey's came in the second
game.
Simon Fraser 4-1, Central Washington 3-1
Megan Durrant had a RBI single in the first inning and
homered in the third to lead Simon Fraser to an early 3-0
lead in their win.
The Clan went ahead 4-0 in the fifth scoring on an error,
then barely held on as the Wildcats scored two in the fifth
on errors and one in the sixth on a ground out by Bre
Thomas.
In the seventh, Heidy Wells walked and Liz Jusko doubled
but pinch-runner Adrienne DeLay was thrown out at the
plate and SFU pitcher Cara Lukawesky (15-5) then got
Natasha Wood to ground out to end the game.
MSUB reduced its magic number for clinching the GNAC's
automatic berth in next month's NCAA West regionals to
four (a combination of MSUB wins and Saint Martin's
losses).
In the second game, Wells (4-8) pitched a five-hitter and
drove in two first-inning runs with a single to key Central's
win. Elena Carter had three of CWU's six hits.
Its magic number for clinching the GNAC title is five (a
combination of MSUB wins and Simon Fraser losses).
Durrant had one of SFU's hits and finished the twinbill with
three hits in six at bats.
Baseball: Saints, Yellowjackets Split 1-0 Decisions
Saint Martin's and Montana State Billings divided the
lowest scoring doubleheader in GNAC history Sunday each
taking a 1-0 victory.
The Saints (11-25, 7-11) won the opener scoring on an
unearned run in the ninth as Mario Sanelli reached on an
error, advanced to second on a two-out balk and scored on
a double by designated hitter Travis Jones.
Thomas DeBoer (2-5), who walked one and fanned six, got
the win allowing just four hits in eight innings. Zach Carter
retired MSUB (15-17, 6-12) in order in the ninth to earn the
save.
Samuel Patterson (1-6) gave up seven hits in 8 2/3 innings
in absorbing the loss. He didn't walk anyone and struck out
seven. Both Sanelli and Zach Leonard had two of SMU's
seven hits.
In the second game, Matt Eames (2-2) blanked the Saints
on two hits - both by Josh Grenier - as he outdueled SMU's
Kaleb Wilson who gave up four hits in 5 1/3 innings
including a RBI single by Blake Loran in the fourth inning.
Eames walked one and fanned 10.
Sanelli went 0 for 3 ending his 20-game hitting streak
which equaled the fifth longest in the 11-year history of the
conference.
Saint Martin's (25-15-1, 15-10) dropped 6 1/2 back of the
'Jackets by splitting 8-0 decisions (Game 1/ Game 2) with
Western Washington (12-29, 8-16) Saturday. Simon Fraser
(17-9 in the GNAC), which was idle, is five back but is
ineligible for the playoffs.
George snapped a scoreless deadlock with a one-out home
run to center field off CWU pitcher Maria Gau, who took a
one-hitter into the final frame before surrendering a leadoff pinch hit single to Ali Parkerson.
Following a fielder's choice in which CWU (13-24, 9-16)
got a force on pinch-runner Ashlie Gardner at second,
George ended it with her slam making a winner out of
Hannah Pomeroy for the fourth time this week.
Pomeroy allowed seven hits - two to CWU lead-off hitter
Breanna Thomas, to raise her won-loss record to 6-7 after
starting the week at 2-7.
In the second game, the Wolves built a 6-0 lead after four
innings as Amanda Evola had three hits and Jourdan
Williams and Desiree Villegas each drove in two runs.
Williams homered for two runs in the first and Villegas had
a two-run single during a two-run third inning. George
doubled in the fourth and scored an insurance run on a
single by Lexi Orteza.
Carrina Wagner had a three-run home run for CWU's runs
in the fifth. Wagner, Thomas and Elena Carter all had two
hits off of WOU pitcher Brittany Reeves (4-3) who
scattered nine hits in going the distance.
Montana State Billings 9-9, Northwest Nazarene 4-0
The previous lowest scoring doubleheader in GNAC
history was a non-conference twinbill last season between
Lewis-Clark State and Western Oregon. WOU scored three
runs in sweeping 2-0 and 1-0.
Saturday, Apr. 14
Softball: Wolves Extend Win Streak To Eight Games
Kendra George had a game-ending home run in the first
game and two hits in the second contest as Western Oregon
ran its win streak to eight games sweeping Central
Washington 2-0 and 6-3 at the WOU Softball Field
Saturday.
The Wolves (16-21) leveled their conference record at 1212 but stayed nine back of first-place Montana State
Billings (30-10, 23-5), which swept Northwest Nazarene,
9-4 and 9-0.
Shortstop Becca Frank, who came in hitting .118 (11 of
93), had six hits in seven at bats and Kasie Conder and
Amanda Todd combined for 20 strikeouts leading Montana
State Billings to a sweep of Northwest Nazarene (6-28, 520).
Frank and catcher Brittney Sanders, the No. 9 and No. 8
hitters in the MSUB lineup each had three hits in four at
bats in the opener and combined for five RBI.
Frank singled for a run in the second and had a RBI double
in the fourth. Sanders also had a RBI double in the fourth
and completed the scoring with a two-run home run in the
seventh.
Conder (6-1) went the distance striking out 11 while
allowing seven hits and walking one.
In the second game, Frank went three for three and
outfielders Rose Harrington and Meg Harasymczuk each
had two hits to back the three-hit pitcher of Todd (7-3) who
walked one and fanned nine.
Frank had a RBI single in the fourth and a run-scoring
triple in the sixth inning.
Harrington slammed a three-run home run and
Harasymczuk had a solo shot - her 14th of the season - as
MSUB snapped a scoreless tie with four runs in the third.
Shortstop Arielle Chao had two of NNU's three hits off of
Todd finishing the day with four hits in seven at bats.
Saint Martin's 8-0, Western Washington 0-8
Stephanie Fox pitched her fourth shutout in her last five
starts as Western Washington bounced back for a 8-0 win
over Saint Martin’s in the nightcap of a GNAC
doubleheader at the SMU Softball Field.
Saint Martin’s won the opener 8-0 in five innings as Sam
Munger tossed a one-hit shutout for the Saints.
Fox, who had a school-record 29-inning scoreless streak
snapped Thursday at Billings, evened her record at 6-6. She
scattered five hits, striking out three and not issuing a walk.
WWU scored twice in the first on a sacrifice fly by
Rachelle Berry and a run-scoring single by Meghan
Carrillo.
The Vikings got another run in the second as Amanda
Flores led off with a single and scored on a two-out single
by Kristen Allen.
They scored five more in the seventh, the big blow a threerun homer by Flores, her team-leading fifth of the season.
In the opener, Munger improved to 12-6, walking two and
striking out three. The Vikings’ only hit came in the
second, a lead-off single by Rachelle Berry.
The Saints scored one run in the first, six in the second and
another in the fourth. Megan Antonovich and Morgan
Klemm led SMU, each going 2-for-3, scoring two runs and
driving in one.
Berry extended her hitting streak to 13 games, the longest
by a Viking this season. The school record is 18.
Baseball: Northwest Nazarene Ends WOU Streak at 10
Pinch-hitter Greg Hata delivered a two-out game-ending
RBI single in the bottom of the ninth as Northwest
Nazarene scored two runs in the inning to defeat Western
Oregon 9-8 in the opening game of a doubleheader at Vail
Field in Nampa Saturday.
The Crusader win ended a 10-game Wolf winning streak.
WOU (27-8, 16-2), however, bounced back to hit seven
home runs and win the second game 22-3 to maintain an
eight-game lead over NNU (19-16, 8-10) and Central
Washington (15-19, 7-9) in the conference race.
The Wildcats swept a non-conference home doubleheader
Saturday from Corban by scores of 8-2 and 20-3.
Meanwhile, Saint Martin's (10-24, 6-10) and Montana State
Billings (14-16, 5-11) divided a pair of conference contests
at Billings. The Saints won the opener 8-5 before MSUB
bounced back for a 12-5 win in the nightcap.
Hata's hit capped a comeback from 6-2 deficit after 4 1/2
innings. NNU closed to within one run in the fifth scoring
three runs on a bunt by catcher Jamie Mitchell, on a wild
pitch and on a single by DH Sean McDonald.
NNU tied the game in the seventh on a two-run home run
by third baseman Kaleb DeHaas only to fall behind 8-7 in
the eighth on a RBI single by first baseman Bo Folkinga.
But in the ninth, McDonald tied the game with a single
right before Hata delivered the game-winner.
McDonald had four of NNU's 10 hits. First baseman Derek
Bettinson hit a two-run home run in the fourth for the
Crusaders' first two runs.
Folkinga led WOU with three hits and two RBI, while third
baseman Griff Boyd had two hits and three RBI. Center
fielder AJ Royal and second baseman Josh Solemsaas hit
solo home runs for the Wolves in the second and sixth
innings.
NNU led briefly in the second game going ahead 2-0 in the
second on a two-run home run by right fielder Zack Morse,
but Western Oregon then exploded for 11 runs in the third.
That frame featured a pair of two-run doubles by right
fielder David Amberson and shortstop Blake Miller, a
three-run home run by DH Brady Locker, a solo shot by
catcher Kyle Blackwell, a two-run blast by Boyd and
another solo home run by Gange.
Folkinga then led off a four-run fourth inning with a solo
home run and Gange completed the inning with a three-run
four-bagger. Folkinga homered again for a run in the fifth.
The Wolves tacked on two runs in the sixth on a double by
Eric Copenhagen and four in the seventh, one on a wild
pitch, two on a single by Garrett Harpole and one on a
double by Miller.
Aaron Vaughn (2-2) pitched the final four innings of the
opener to earn the win for NNU. AJ Burke hurled four
innings in the second game to improve to 3-0 for Western
Oregon.
Central Washington 8-20, Corban 2-3
Central Washington had 30 hits including five by center
fielder Brett Bielec and four by left fielder Brett Gray in
sweeping Corban.
Bielec scored seven runs, including a GNAC-record tying
five in the nightcap when the Wildcats scored their most
runs in a single game since beating Corban 22-2 exactly
one year ago.
Bielec is the 14th player in GNAC history to score five
runs in a game. Meanwhile, Gray scored four runs and
drove in four, all in the nightcap.
In the opener second baseman Brandon Wang had three of
CWU's 11 hits and drove in three runs. Bielec, third
baseman Glen Reser and Gray all had two hits. Catcher
Kyle Sani hit a two-run home run to stake the Wildcats to a
3-0 lead in the opening frame.
Kyle Long went the distance, pitching a six-hitter to
improve to 4-3 on the season. He didn't walk a batter and
fanned three.
Second baseman Derrick Webb had a single, double and
home run and drove in five runs in CWU's second-game
win. Webb's home run, with a runner on board, tied the
game at 2-2 in the first.
CWU then took the lead for good scoring five runs in the
second, one on a double by Ethan Sterkel, one on a fielder's
choice by Gray, two on a single by Webb and one on a
single by Sani.
Central, which had 19 hits including three each by Bielec
and Webb in the contest, later added a run in the third, two
in the fourth and 10 in the fifth making it an easy afternoon
for starter Jason Lotze (3-2), who gave up eight hits and
three runs in six innings.
Saint Martin's 8-5, Montana State Billings 5-12
Catcher Chandler Tracy had four hits including a pair of
doubles and drove in four runs leading Saint Martin's to an
8-5 win in the opening game of a doubleheader at Dehler
Park in Billings.
Tracy doubled for a run in the first to give the Saints a lead
they never relinquished. He then had a two-run single in a
four-run third inning and a RBI double in a three-run
eighth.
The Saints were also led by center fielder Zach Leonard
with three hits and infielders Bobby Twedt and Mario
Sanelli with two each.
Nate O'Bryan (2-6) got the win allowing seven hits and
three runs (one earned) in five innings. Zach Carter pitched
the final 1 1/3 innings to record save.
Center fielder Matt Comer had three hits and third baseman
Ty Gilmore had two hits and two RBI to pace MSUB.
In the second game, second baseman Brody Miller had
three hits and catcher Orrin Pyrah and DH Mack Unruh had
two each for the Yellowjackets.
Comer and first baseman Blake Loran had three RBI.
Loran's all came on a bases-loaded double to give MSUB a
3-1 lead in the first inning.
Comer blasted a three-run home run in the fifth to key a
four-run inning and give the 'Jackets a 12-2 lead at the
time. Trevor Wilson also homered for two runs in the
fourth.
Sanelli, who extended his hitting streak to 19 games
equaling the sixth longest in GNAC history, and Twedt
each had three hits for the Saints to each finish with five on
the day.
Brian Hutchings went six innings allowing 11 hits but just
two runs and evened his record at 3-3.
Track and Field: CWU's Lotze Soars 39-7 in Triple
Jump
Katharine Lotze of Central Washington set meet, stadium,
and school records in winning the triple jump Saturday at
the 19th Spike Arlt Invitational at Tomlinson Stadium in
Ellensburg.
Lotze jumped 39-7 – nearly two feet farther than anyone
else - posting the third best mark in GNAC history and
qualifying provisionally for the NCAA Division II national
meet next month.
Lotze was one of five athletes to either earn a PNQ or
improve on a previous PNQ.
Terra Schumacher of Seattle Pacific and Cheyanna Pinley
of Western Washington had PNQs of 11-9 ¾ in finishing
first and third, respectively, in the women's pole vault.
CWU's Katie Davis, who has a season-best of 11-11 ¾,
also vaulted 11-9 ¾ to finish second.
Joe Cruise of Northwest Nazarene won the men's javelin
with a PNQ of 196-6. WWU's Katie Reichert improved on
her previous PNQ in winning the women's javelin with a
throw of 146-9.
In addition to Lotze's triple jump, CWU's Andrew Venema
and Brett Watson of Western Washington also had GNAC
All-Time Top 10s.
Venema won the men's 110 high hurdles in a GNAC
season-best time of 14.91. That ranks eighth all-time in the
conference.
Watson finished second to CWU's Brennan Boyes in the
high jump. Both athletes cleared 6-6 ¾. That earned
Watson a No. 10 all-time GNAC rank. Boyes has a careerbest of 6-8 from last year.
SFU's Kirstin Stewart also bettered the NCAA standard in
finishing fourth in the women's javelin with a throw of 1337.
Central Washington won the men's team title for the eighth
consecutive year and 13th time overall with 256 points.
Western Washington finished second with 218 ½. CWU's
point total was its highest since 2008.
Seattle Pacific's Brittany Aanstad, who is the NCAA
national leader with a best of 161-11, placed second with a
toss of 150-3.
The two long-time rivals switched positions in the women's
division with the Vikings outpointing the Wildcats 226 ½
to 156 ½.
GNAC athletes won a total of 10 events, including all four
relays. Simon Fraser won the men's and women's 4x100
relays (44.27 and 50.27) and the men's 4x400 (3:25.17).
In addition to winning the triple jump, Lotze also won the
long jump with a leap of 16-5 ¼.
Seattle Pacific finished first in the women's 4x400 in a
GNAC season-best time of 3:51.86. That ranks 10th in
GNAC history.
Eleanor Siler of Western Washington was also a two-event
winner sweeping the women's 200 and 400 in times of
26.20 and 58.30. Siler also ran the lead legs as the Vikings
won the 4x100 (49.28) and 4x400 (4:11.02) relays.
Two meet records were set in addition to Lotze's new
standard in the triple jump. Jordan Stray, competing
unattached, had a throw of 205-3 in the hammer and Sierra
Brisky of Western Washington won the women's 10,000meter run in a hand-held time of 38:34.5.
CWU Spike Arlt Invitational (Apr. 14 at Ellensburg): Men - Central
Washington 256, Western Washington 218 1/2, Northwest Nazarene 105,
Green River CC 32, Whitworth 18, Northwest University 18, Skagit Valley
5, Eastern Washington 4. Individuals (GNAC Winners): 100 - Alex Tilley,
WWU, 10.97. 200 - Maurus Hope, NNU, 22.28. 400 - Scott Morrison,
CWU, 49.58. 800 - Nathan Power, CWU, 1:58.84. 5000 - Manuel Santos,
CWU, 15:53.50. 10,000 - Tabor Reedy, WWU, 33:52.1. Steeplechase Matt Nodine, CWU, 10:21.9. 110 Hurdles - Andrew Venema, CWU, 14.91.
400 Hurdles - Gabriel Morales, WWU, 57.28. 4x100 Relay - Western
Washington 42.66. 4x400 Relay - Central Washington 3:25.28. High Jump
- Brennan Boyes, CWU, 2.00 - 6-6 3/4. Long Jump - Will Hallberg, CWU,
6.74 - 22-1 1/2. Pole Vault - Thomas Guidon, WWU, 4.40 - 14-5 1/4.
Javelin - Joe Cruise, NNU, 59.90 - 196-6. Shot Put - Mike Jensen, CWU,
15.37 - 50-5 1/4. Women - Western Washington 226 1/2, Central
Washington 156 1/2, Northwest Nazarene 148, Northwest University 82,
Green River CC 26 1/2, Eastern Washington 25, Seattle Pacific 10.
Individuals (GNAC Winners): 200 - Eleanor Siler, WWU, 26.20. 400 Eleanor Siler, WWU, 58.30. 800 - Connie Morgan, CWU, 2:22.20. 5000 Mary Rogers, WWU, 18:46.00. 10,000 - Sierra Briskey, WWU, 38:34.5.
Steeplechase - Kelsey Kreft, CWU, 11:58.5. 100 Hurdles - Chelsea
Genther, CWU, 15.12. 400 Hurdles - Amber Dodd, WWU, 1:07.74. 4x100
Relay - Western Washington 49.28. 4x400 Relay - Western Washington
4:11.02. Long Jump - Katharine Lotze, CWU, 5.01 - 16-5 1/4. Triple Jump
- Katharine Lotze, CWU, 12.06 - 39-7. Pole Vault - Terra Schumacher,
SPU, 3.60 - 11-9 3/4. High Jump - Courtney Schroeder, NNU, 1.60 - 5-3.
Javelin - Katie Reichert, WWU, 44.74 - 146-9.
SFU's Butterworth Posts GNAC Best Time in 800
Simon Fraser's Lindsey Butterworth posted the best time in
the women's 800 in the GNAC this season Saturday
finishing second (2:11.55) at the Emile Mondor Invitational
in Burnaby.
Butterworth and teammate Sarah Sawatzky, who finished
third in a time of 2:13.02, both ran faster than the NCAA
Division II provisional qualifying mark.
Other GNAC winners included SFU's Ryan Brockerville in
the men's 800 (1:52.85), SPU's Ryan Endresen in the 400
hurdles (55.61) and SFU's Ben Coles in the javelin (175-4).
Three Seattle Pacific women won individual events Robyn Zeidler in the 5,000 meters (18:26.32), Ali Worthen
in the 100 hurdles (14.82) and Trinna Miranda in the triple
jump (35-11 1/2).
Simon Fraser Emile Mondor (Apr. 14 at Burnaby): Men (GNAC
Winners): 800 - Ryan Brockerville, SFU, 1:52.85. 400 Hurdles - Ryan
Endresen, SPU, 55.61. 4x100 Relay - Simon Fraser 44.27. 4x400 Relay Simon Fraser 3:25.17. Javelin - Ben Coles, SFU, 53.44 - 175-4. Women
(GNAC Winners): 5000 - Robyn Zeidler, SPU, 18:26.32. 100 Hurdles - Ali
Worthen, SPU, 14.82. 4x100 Relay - Simon Fraser 50.27. 4x400 Relay Seattle Pacific 3:51.86. Triple Jump - Trinna Miranda, SPU, 10.96 - 35-11
1/2.
Polkow Sets MSUB School Record in 400 Hurdles
Lewis Polkow won the men's 400 meter hurdles Saturday
in the Montana Open in a school-record time of 55.86 as
Montana State Billings won three individual events in the
meet.
Tanner Rottrup and Anica Knispel also won events
sweeping the shot with puts of 48-7 ½ and 43-9 ¾,
respectively.
The Yellowjackets also won both the 4x100 and 4x400
relays in times of 44.74 and 3:36.15.
Montana Open (Apr. 14 at Missoula): Men (GNAC Winners): 400
Hurdles - Lewis Polkow, MSUB, 55.85. 4x100 Relay - MSU Billings 44.74.
4x400 Relay - MSU Billings 3:36.15. Shot Put - Tanner Rottrup, MSUB,
1482 - 48-7 1/2. Women (GNAC Winners): Shot Put - Anica Knispel,
MSUB, 13.35 - 43-9 3/4.
Friday, Apr. 13
Track and Field: Three Provisional Marks at Knight
Meet
Three provisional national qualifying marks were
established Friday by GNAC athletes at the John Knight
Twilight meet at Monmouth.
Barak Watson of Northwest Nazarene had a provisional
qualifying and GNAC season-best time of 30:24.19 in
winning the men's 10,000. His mark ranks seventh in
GNAC history.
WOU's Dan Sprinkle had a PNQ and No. 6 GNAC all-time
mark of 9:07.50 in winning the steeplechase.
Seabre Church added nearly 10 feet to her previous
provisional qualifying mark finishing second in the
women's javelin with a throw of 142-1.
Also earning GNAC Top 10 all-time marks were WOU's
Jake Hyde, who won the men's long jump with a GNAC
season-best leap of 23-4 3/4 to move into sixth place on the
GNAC all-time list.
Joining Watson, Sprinkle and Hyde in the winner's circle in
the twilight meet were WOU's Chris Olsen in the men's 800
(1:54.50) and Katie Pelchar in the women's high jump (55). WOU also won the women's 4x400 relay in a time of
3:58.41.
WOU John Knight (Apr. 13 at Monmouth): Men (GNAC Winners): 800
- Chris Olsen, WOU, 1:54.50. 10,000 - Barak Watson, NNU, 30:24.19.
Steeplechase - Dan Sprinkle, WOU, 9:07.50. Long Jump - Jake Hyde,
WOU, 7.13 - 23-4 3/4. Women (GNAC Winners): 4x400 - Western
Oregon 3:58.41. High Jump - Katie Pelchar, WOU, 1.65 - 5-5.
Baseball: Wolves Extend GNAC Lead to Eight Games
Western Oregon extended its win streak to 10 games and
Grady Wood stayed unbeaten as the Wolves opened up an
eight-game lead in the conference race sweeping Northwest
Nazarene 9-0 and 10-2 at Vail Field Friday.
In a non-conference doubleheader Central Washington split
with Corban winning the opener 6-4 before losing 10-8 in
eight innings.
Wood allowed just two hits in seven innings in running his
win streak to 17, including 9-0 this season. That matches
the seventh longest streak in NCAA Division II history.
Central Washington 6-8, Corban 4-10
Catcher Kyle Sani's three-run home run gave the Wildcats a
6-2 lead in the seventh and Central Washington held on to
beat Corban in the first game of their doubleheader.
Brandon Rohde picked up the win allowing four hits in five
innings as he improved to 4-2 on the season. He didn't walk
a batter and fanned three.
CWU had 10 hits including two each by Brett Bielec,
Brandon Wang,Derrick Webb and David Leid. Wang drove
in two runs with a triple in the first inning and a single in
the second frame.
In the second game Colby Sokel had three doubles and a
home run to power Corban (22-15) to the victory.
Sani and Chris Hashimoto had two hits each for CWU.
Sani and Glen Reser each drove in two runs.
Thursday, Apr. 12
Softball: Western Washington Homers Five Times In
Win
Western Washington homered a school-record five times,
including four times in the sixth inning, to rally from a 5-0
deficit in defeating Montana State Billings 9-5 Thursday in
the opening game of a twinbill at Cenex Stadium in
Billings.
The Yellowjackets (28-10, 21-5) earned a split winning the
second game 7-4 and ending Viking pitcher Stephanie
Fox's school-record scoreless inning streak at 29, the fourth
longest in GNAC history.
Trailing 5-0 in the opener the Vikings (11-28, 7-15) got on
the board in the fifth on a home run by second baseman
Kristen Allen. Then in the sixth WWU exploded for eight
runs.
Both of NNU's hits off Wood, who walked one and struck
out six, came in the third inning. The Crusaders added two
more hits in the final two innings off reliever Brian Pisca.
Catcher Jackie Rothenberger led off the frame with a home
run. Following two pop ups for outs, Allen walked and
Jessica Carey, Krista Bickar and Rachelle Berry followed
with consecutive home runs to give the Vikings a 6-5 lead.
Shortstop Blake Miller led WOU with four hits, including a
pair of doubles. Bo Folkinga gave the Wolves an early 2-0
lead with a first-inning home run. DH Quinn Naughtin had
three RBI including two with a double in the sixth.
The inning then continued with consecutive singles by
Meghan Carrillo, designated player Amanda Flores and
Rothenberger to produce another run. Fox then doubled to
drive in two runs and complete the scoring.
Travis Bradshaw improved his record to 7-1 in the second
game, allowing four hits and two runs in four innings.
Folkinga had four RBI, three with a fifth-inning home run.
Devyn Baker pitched the final three innings for WWU,
allowing just two hits and no runs to earn her first win in
two decisions.
NNU finished the doubleheader with just nine hits,
including two each by Sean McDonald, Derek Bettinson
and Logan Parker.
Western had 14 hits, including four by Carey and three by
Carrillo. MSUB had 11 as Bobbie Lee, Emily Osborn,
Taylor Hoke and Nicole Wilkerson each had two.
Wilkerson homered for MSUB's two runs in the fourth
inning after it had scored three in the third on consecutive
doubles by Meg Harasymczuk, Osborn and Jenna
VanEykeren.
In the second game, the Vikings jumped to a 3-0 lead in the
third, scoring twice on a single by Berry and a double by
Carrillo. But, Lee ended Fox's streak with a lead-off home
run in the bottom of the inning.
Later, MSUB overcame a 4-3 deficit scoring four runs in
the fifth, two on a single by Nicole Colpron to go ahead 54. Tanya Eckles then added two insurance runs with a
home run.
The 'Jackets, who maintained a four-game lead over second
place Simon Fraser with the split, outhit the Vikings 13-8
as Rose Harrington had three and Lee, VanEykeren and
Eckles had two each.
Eight different players had one hit each for the Vikings
including Carey who finished the day with five hits in eight
at bats.
MSUB's Jessyka MacDonald (5-2) earned the win pitching
four scoreless innings of relief and allowing three hits. She
walked one and struck out four.
Wolves Complete Sweep of Four-Game Series With
Crusaders
Hannah Pomeroy picked up two wins giving her three in
the series as Western Oregon completed a four-game sweep
of Northwest Nazarene Thursday with 4-2 and 17-9 wins at
Halle Field in Nampa.
The Wolves (14-21, 10-12) have won six straight and seven
of eight. Northwest Nazarene (6-27, 5-19) has lost seven in
a row.
Pomeroy won the first game going the distance and
allowing just six hits. WOU snapped a 2-2 tie in the
seventh scoring twice in the inning without a hit. Both runs
scored on wild pitches.
The Wolves had just four hits, including two by catcher
Ashley Worthey, who finished the series with seven hits in
eight at bats.
In the second game, WOU put up crooked numbers in five
of their six at bats, scoring four in the first, three in the
second and fourth, five in the fifth and two in the sixth.
Shortstop Andrea Bailey went four for four and scored five
runs, while first baseman Jourdan Williams had three hits
and drove in five runs. She got her team off to a quick start
with a three-run home run in the first inning.
Kendra George also went deep in the fourth to drive in two
runs, while Arielle Chao and Chelsea Allsbrook homered
for NNU.
Chao drove in four runs, two with a fourth-inning circuit
blast. Allsbrook's home run came in the sixth with no one
one.
Pomeroy pitched 2 2/3 innings, the most of any of the four
WOU pitchers, and was deemed the most effective by the
official scorer and thus was credited with the win.
Yellowjackets, Saints Ranked In Top 10 in NCAA
Regional Poll
Meg Harassymczuk. who ranks fourth in the nation in
home runs per game with 13 in 31 contests, has helped lead
MSUB to a No. 7 regional ranking (MSUB Photo)
Montana State Billings and Saint Martin's are ranked
seventh and 10th in the first of three NCAA Division II
West Regional softball polls. The ranking is the first ever
for the Saints in the official NCAA West Regional poll.
The regional poll will eventually determine the five at-large
teams that will join the GNAC, PacWest and California
Collegiate Athletic Association champions in the regionals
in May.
Currently the top three teams and five of the top six are
CCAA schools. Cal State Dominguez is No. 1.
The qualifiers will be determined Sunday, Apr. 29 and will
be announced in a selection show at www.ncaa.com on
Monday, Apr. 30 at 7 a.m.
West – 1. Cal State Dominguez (38-9); 2. Cal State Monterey Bay (32-9);
3. Chico State (27-12); 4. Dixie State (21-10); 5. UC San Diego (32-14); 6.
Sonoma State (27-17); 7. Montana State Billings (27-9); 8. Cal State East
Bay (26-19); 9. Grand Canyon (28-13); 10. Saint Martin's (20-11). (Note:
Records listed are versus Division II schools and include games through
Sunday).
Track and Field: NNU's Smith Fourth In ISU Multis
Marie Smith of Northwest Nazarene finished fourth and
NNU's Jill Bennett finished seventh in the heptathlon with
scores of 3,888 and 3,747 Thursday at the Idaho State
Multi-Events in Pocatello.
In the decathlon, NNU's Greyson Kilgore and Rory Bauer
of Montana State Billings placed seventh (5,195) and
eighth (5,187).
Idaho State Multi-Events (Apr. 11-12 at Pocatello): Decathlon - 7.
Greyson Kilgore, NNU, 5195; 8. Rory Bauer, MSUB, 5187; 13. Tim
Greene, NNU, 4971; 15. Mark Wade, NNU, 4151. Heptathlon - 4. Marie
Smith, NNU, 3888; 7. Jill Bennett, NNU, 3747; 9. Lacy Wilkins, MSUB,
3502; 11. Leah Berry, MSUB, 3266.
Wednesday, Apr. 11
Softball: Western Oregon Sweeps Northwest Nazarene
Catcher Ashley Worthey had five hits and drove in five
runs to lead Western Oregon to a 15-4, 5-4 sweep of
Northwest Nazarene in a Great Northwest Athletic
Conference doubleheader at Halle Field in Nampa
Wednesday.
The games were makeups of contests rained out earlier this
season in Monmouth and thus WOU was the designated
home team.
In the opener, Worthey had three hits and drove in four
runs. She had a two-run single during an eight-run second
inning then tripled for two more runs in the third.
The third also featured a two-run home run by Danielle
Harcourt. Andrea Bailey homered for WOU's final run in
the fourth inning. Arielle Chao had a two-run double in the
first inning when the Crusaders built a 4-0 lead.
In the second game, Worthey had two hits including a RBI
triple in the third. She then scored on a wild pitch to tie the
game at 3-3.
WOU took the lead in the fifth scoring two more runs on an
error and a double by Harcourt.
Myranda Sawyer went the distance, giving up eight hits in
leveling her record at 5-5. Chelsea Allsbrook had two of
NNU's eight hits.
Western Oregon has won four straight to raise its overall
record to 12-21 and its GNAC mark to 8-12. Northwest
Nazarene dropped to 6-25, 5-17 in the conference.
Baseball: Wolves Climb in Polls, Earn Regional Awards
Western Oregon leaped seven slots in both this week's
Collegiate Baseball and National Collegiate Baseball
Writers Association national polls and also earned two
NCBWA Regional Player-of-the-Week awards.
fanned eight in two appearances. Lind is 4-2 on the season
and has a 4.34 ERA.
Both players earlier were named the GNAC Player and
Pitcher-of-the-Week. Miller shared his award with
Fernando Robles of Northwest Nazarene.
Western Oregon (24-7, 13-1) currently leads the GNAC
race by six games over second-place Northwest Nazarene
(18-13, 7-7). The Wolves travel to Nampa this Friday and
Saturday for a four-game series with the Crusaders.
Friday's games mark the midway point of the conference
season.
Track and Field: Aanstad, Chelimo Rank No. 1
Two GNAC athletes currently rank No. 1 in the nation in
their events, based on reports through Wednesday to
TFRRS (the NCAA Track and Field Results Reporting
system).
Seattle Pacific's Brittany Aanstad ranks first in the women's
javelin by a healthy margin. Her season best of 161-11 is
almost nine feet farther than the No. 2 mark.
Micah Chelimo of Alaska Anchorage is the national leader
in the men's 5,000 with a season-best of 13:53.51. Chelimo
also ranks fifth in the steeplechase with a best of 8:56.37.
Chelimo is one of two GNAC athletes that rank in the Top
10 in two events. SPU's Ali Worthen ranks fifth in the
heptathlon (5071) and ninth in the high jump (5-7 3/4).
A total of 22 GNAC athletes have Top 10 ranks in 24
events, including six in the Top 3.
In addition to the two No. 1 rankings, UAA's Susan Tanui
and Hallidie Wilt rank second (10:15.47) and third
(10:31.30) in the women's steeplechase.
Anchorage's Haleigh Lloyd ranks third in the women's 400
hurdles (59.98) and Karis Anderson of Western
Washington is third in the women's pole vault (12-7 1/2).
The Wolves climbed from 26th to 19th in the Collegiate
Baseball poll and from 22nd to 15th in the NCBWA poll.
In this week's USTFFCCA national team computer
rankings, Alaska Anchorage's men were ranked 15th and its
women were ranked eighth. Seattle Pacific's women were
ranked 12th.
Wolf shortstop Blake Miller and pitcher Kirk Lind swept
the regional awards, the third and fourth of the year for
Western Oregon. Earlier this spring pitcher Travis
Bradshaw and first baseman Bo Folkinga earned the
NCBWA awards.
In the conference computer rankings, the GNAC was
ranked fifth in the women's division. The conference was
not ranked in the men's Top 10 rankings.
Miller, a transfer from Sacramento State, had 11 hits in 19
at bats to lead WOU to a 6-0 record last week. Among his
hits were four doubles and three home runs. He also had
team-highs of 11 runs scored and eight RBI. On the season
he leads the GNAC in batting with a .394 average.
Lind allowed just eight hits and one run in 11 innings
earning a save and a victory last week. He walked one and
This week's GNAC Athletes-of-the-Week included
Chelimo in the men's division and Aanstad and Tanui in the
women's division.
TOP 10 NATIONAL RANKINGS
Men: 800 - 5. Nathan Seely, SPU, 1:51.95. 1500 - 4. Alfred Kangogo,
UAA, 3:50.02. 5000 - 1. Micah Chelimo, UAA, 13:53.51. 400 Hurdles - 10.
Shaun Ward, UAA, 52.74. Steeplechase - 5. Micah Chelimo, UAA,
8:56.37; 10. Dan Sprinkle, WOU, 9:11.28. Pole Vault - 7. Cal Rosenberg,
WWU, 4.80 - 15-9. Hammer - 8. Michael Hoffman, WWU, 59.82 - 196-3.
Javelin - 5. Cody Parker, UAA, 64.34 - 211-1. Decathlon - 10. Nate
Johnson, SPU, 6537.
Women: 1500 - 5. Ivy O'Guinn, UAA, 4:30.83. 5000 - 4. Ruth Keino, UAA,
16:34.28; 9. Miriam Kipng'eno, UAA, 16:54.43. 400 Hurdles - 3. Haleigh
Lloyd, UAA, 59.98. Steeplechase - 2. Susan Tanui, UAA, 10:15.47; 3.
Hallidie Wilt, UAA, 10:31.30. High Jump - 9. Ali Worthen, SPU, 5-7 3/4.
Pole Vault - 3. Karis Anderson, WWU, 3.85 - 12-7 1/2. Shot Put - 4. Leeza
Henry, MSUB, 14.39 - 47- 1/2. Javelin - 1. Brittany Aanstad, SPU, 49.35 161-11; 4. Amanda Schumaker, WOU, 46.17 - 151-6; 8. Katie Reichert,
WWU, 43,59 - 143-0. Heptathlon - 5. Ali Worthen, SPU, 5071; 8. Kelsea
Johnson, UAA, 4838.
NNU's Smith Third in Heptathlon
Marie Smith of Northwest Nazarene is in third place after
the first four events of the heptathlon at the Idaho State
Multi-Events in Pocatello.
Smith scored 2,482 points in Wednesday's four events. Her
best event was the 100 hurdles where she earned 826 points
with a time of 15.12. That time ranks sixth in the GNAC
this spring in all 100 hurdle competitions.
In the decathlon, Rory Bauer of Montana State Billings
ranks seventh with 2,909 points.
Idaho State Multi-Events: Decathlon (Day 1): 7. Rory Bauer, MSUB,
2909; 8. Tim Greene, NNU, 2877; 12. Greyson Kilgore, NNU, 2542; 14.
Mark Wade, NNU, 2250. Heptathlon (Day 1): 3. Marie Smith, NNU, 2482;
5. Jill Bennett, NNU, 2446; 8. Leah Berry, MSUB, 2121; 10. Lacy Wilkins,
MSUB, 2081.
Tuesday, Apr. 10
Baseball: Ragasa, Smith Pitch Yellowjackets to Sweep
Second baseman Brody Miller and Loran each had three
hits for the 'Jackets and third baseman Ty Gilmore had two
hits, including a two-run double to stake MSUB to an early
2-0 lead in the third.
Wildcats Split Two Games By Double-Digit Margins
Kyle Long pitched seven scoreless innings allowing four
hits in hurling Central Washington (12-18) to a 13-0 win
over Whitworth at Merkel Field in Spokane Tuesday.
The Pirates, however, rebounded to earn a split of the
twinbill beating the Wildcats 12-1 in the second seveninning contest.
Long got ample support in his win (3-3) before two
relievers finished up as the Wildcats banged out 15 hits.
Ethan Sterkel had three safeties, including a two-run home
run in the fourth. He drove in a third run when he was hit
by a pitch with the bases-loaded in the eighth.
Catcher Kyle Stani also had three RBI with a four-bagger
in the fifth inning, one of his two hits. Shortstop Brady
Kincannon had three safeties.
In the second game, the tables were turned as Whitworth
banged out 17 hits. Seven different players hit two or more
hits. Third baseman Glen Reser led CWU with two hits,
including a home run for the 'Cats only run in the fifth.
Women's Golf: Rachor Tied For Second At Tarleton
Claire Rachor tied for eighth place to lead Western
Washington to a sixth-place team finish at the Tarleton
State Invitational Women's golf tournament which ended
Tuesday at the Harbor Lakes Golf Club in Granbury, Tex.
Bobby Ragasa and Zachary Smith pitched Montana State
Billings to a 7-4, 5-1 doubleheader sweep of Dickinson
State Tuesday at Dehler Park in Billings.
The Vikings, ranked No.17 in the latest NCAA Division II
Top 25, had a 36-hole total of 617 after a final-round 312.
In the first game Ragasa came on in the second inning and
after giving up a single that scored two inherited runners,
Ragasa (2-0) pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just
five hits.
Host and No.5-rated Tarleton State moved up one spot to
take top honors in the 14-team field at 589. No.12
Midwestern State was second, four strokes back at 593 and
first-round leader St. Edward's, ranked No.3, was third at
594.
He didn't walk a batter and fanned seven and got credit for
a win when MSUB (13-15) rallied from a 4-1 deficit
scoring three runs in the third to tie it and three in the
eighth to win it.
Rachor shot 76 to finish with a 149 total. Tarleton State's
Sharon Lau tied for medalist honors at 142 with St.
Edward's Wallis Spears and then won the playoff.
In the latter inning, first baseman Blake Loran doubled for
the game-winning RBI. Right fielder Trevor Wilson then
homered to provide a pair of insurance runs. Wilson,
shortstop Colby Robison and left fielder Blake Nelson, who
doubled in the first and singled in the third for runs, each
had two hits.
Smith went the distance in the nightcap though his day was
one-third of an inning less than Ragasa's relief appearance.
In his seven innings, he allowed just four hits and had a
two-hitter goiing before giving up a run in the final frame.
Saint Martin's finished 10th with a 636 total. The Saints'
top placer was Karly Olson who was 11th with a 151 total.
Tarleton State Don Housewright (Apr. 9-10 at Harbor Lakes GC,
Granbury, Tex.): Team Scores - 1. Tarleton State 589 (297-292); 2.
Midwestern State 593 (298-295); 3. St. Edward's 594 (296-298); 4.
Western Texas CC 607 (305-302); 5. Cameron 615 (305-310); 6. Western
Washington 617 (305-312); 10. Saint Martin's 636 (325-311). Individuals
(Par 72, 5,810 Yards) - 1. Sharon Lau, Tarleton, 142 (71-71); 8. Claire
Rachor, WWU, 149 (73-76); 11. Karly Olson, SMU, 151 (76-75); 21. Kara
Zitzman, WWU, 153 (76-77); 25. Jennifer Kent, SMU, 156 (80-76); 28.
Alex Taylor, WWU, 157 (77-80); 37. Mandy Wittmier, SMU, 159 (82-77);
49. Sophie Elstrott, WWU, 165 (79-86); 59. Brittany Wilcox, WWU, 168
(89-79); 65. Liz Ferry, SMU, 173 (90-83); 68. Kim Vivian, SMU, 179 (8792).
Men's Golf: Hardy, Grunig In Top 10 at C of I Invite
Nick Hardy and Zach Grunig of Northwest Nazarene both
finished in the Top 10 in the College of Idaho Invitational
at the River Bend Golf Course in Wilder, Idaho.
Hardy had a 73 Tuesday to finish sixth with a 221 total,
while Grunig ended up ninth at 222 after shooting a 76.
Jesse Heinly of Concordia won medalist honors shooting
68 in the final round to end up with a two-under par score
of 214.
Concordia also won the team title with a 879 total, nine
ahead of North Idaho and 20 ahead of third-place
Northwest Nazarene.
College of Idaho Invitational (Apr. 9-10 at River Bend GC, Wilder,
Idaho): Team Scores - 1. Concordia 879 (302-290-287); 2. North Idaho
888 (298-293-297); 3. Northwest Nazarene 899 (300-301-298); 4. Corban
903 (306-299-298); 5. Warner Pacific 906 (295-303-308). Individuals
(Par 72, 6,871 Yards) - 1. Jesse Heinly, Conc, 214 (74-72-68); 6. Nick
Hardy, NNU, 221 (73-75-73); 9. Zach Grunig, NNU, 222 (74-72-76); 18.
Thomas Hanacek, NNU, 228 (78-76-74); 29. Brock Sargent, NNU, 233
(75-79-79); 31. Matt Sturgill, NNU, 235 (82-78-75).
Softball: Vikings Playing This Spring on Renovated
Field
Western Washington University's softball team is playing
this spring on a fully renovated field. The much-needed
improvements give players a new artificial turf outfield –
and give Western officials a new way to fund capital
projects with private donations.
The renovations included re-grading the infield, improving
drainage in the outfield and replacing the potholed outfield
grass with Sport Turf. Workers also renovated the dugouts,
replaced outfield poles and fencing to meet NCAA
standards, and built new double bullpens.
They removed fencing backstops and replaced with new
brick and backstop pads, and also replaced the backstop
netting.
Altogether the project is worth about $1.2 million, with
about three quarters from donated work and material. The
rest came from donations of cash; no state funds were used
in the project.
“This project is an example of how the University was able
to complete a badly needed project, which likely would not
have been accomplished without this innovative approach,”
said Richard Van Den Hul, vice president for Business and
Financial Affairs at Western.
“We're in different times. They call for creative measures
to maintain excellence and move our university forward.”
State funding simply isn't available for projects like
renovating the softball fields, so players' families began
brainstorming with Western officials about how to improve
the fields with private money.
The university and the Western Washington University
Foundation entered into a “gift-in-place” agreement
essentially giving the Foundation the power to coordinate
the project. Now complete, the Foundation has given the
project back to the university.
This method of using private donations to build projects on
university campuses is common at other universities. For
example, the University of Washington recently renovated
its softball fields using a gift-in-place agreement. But this is
Western's first such project.
The improvements will mean a great deal to Western's
softball team, which finished last season with a 36-16
record despite having to cancel or reschedule games and
practices because of unsafe field conditions.
“We could not be more thankful to all who made this
project ‘dream' come true…University, Foundation,
community, friends and family of WWU Softball, and all
the people who put countless work hours in on the field.
This gives WWU Softball an opportunity to develop our
program and also grow softball in this area,” said WWU
softball coach Amy Suiter.
With the success of the softball field project, there likely
will be more such public-private funding projects in the
future at Western.
Monday, Apr. 9
Softball: Simon Fraser Sweeps Saint Martin's
Cara Lukawesky and Kelsie Hawkins tossed shutouts as
Simon Fraser swept Saint Martin's, 2-0 and 1-0 Monday to
move into second place in the GNAC ahead of the Saints.
The Clan (24-10, 17-9) are now 1 1/2 games ahead of Saint
Martin's (24-14-1, 14-9) in the GNAC race.
Lukawesky pitched a five-hitter in the opener. She walked
two and struck out six. Hawkins hurled a three-hitter in the
nightcap. She didn't walk a batter and struck out five.
SFU scored the only runs in the first game in the third
inning on a double by Kelsey Haberl and in the fifth inning
when Carly Lepoutre reached home on a double steal
attempt when Haberl was caught in a rundown.
In the second game, the Clan got the only run in the fifth as
Lauren Mew scored on a passed ball.
Sam Munger and Joslyn Eugenio were the hard-luck losers
for the Saints in the circle. Munger allowed just five hits in
the opener, while Eugenio gave up six hits in the second
game.
On the day, Lepoutre paced SFU offensively with three hits
in seven at bats. Taviah Jenkins had three for the Saints.
Women's Golf: Rachor Tied For Second At Tarleton
Western Washington's Claire Rachor is in an eight-way tie
for second place, two strokes off the lead, and the Vikings
are in a three-way tie for fourth in the team standings at the
Tarleton State University Invitational Women's Golf
Tournament.
Tuesday's final round at the Harbor Lakes Golf Club in
Granbury, Tex., begins at 8:30 a.m.
The Vikings, ranked No.17, shot 17-over par 305 and are
tied with Cameron, Okla., and Western Texas CC in the 14team field.
Sunday, Apr. 8
Baseball: Wolves Blank Yellowjackets Twice
Four pitchers combined to hold Montana State Billings
scoreless Sunday as Western Oregon swept a GNAC home
baseball doubleheader.
In the first game, Kirk Lind and Brian Pisca shutout the
Yellowjackets 12-0. AJ Burke and Ian MacDougall tossed
a 5-0 shutout in the second game.
Lind pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing seven hits
and striking out seven, before Pisca finished up the ninth,
fanning two of the three hitters he faced.
Two strokes separate the top three teams. Third-ranked St.
Edward's, Tex., leads at 296, followed by No. 5 Tarleton
State 297 and No.12 Midwestern State at 298.
Burke allowed two hits in four innings in the nightcap.
MacDougall then pitched three hitless innings to earn a
save as Western Oregon (24-7, 13-1) completed a fourgame sweep of the series opening up a six-game lead in the
conference race.
Rachor shot a 1-over 73 with five birdies. Her runner-up
score came despite a double-hit on a bunker shot and a ball
in the water on No.18.
Shortstop Colby Robison led Montana State Billings (1115, 4-10) on the day with three hits. He was the only player
to hit safely for the 'Jackets in both games.
The medalist leader is Tarleton State 's Sharon Lau, who
fired a 1-under 71.
First baseman Bo Folkinga, who has hit safely in eight
consecutive games, paced Western Oregon with five hits.
Tarleton State Don Housewright (Apr. 9-10 at Harbor Lakes GC,
Granbury, Tex.): Team Scores - 1. St. Edward's 296; 2. Tarleton State
297; 3. Midwestern State 298; 4. Western Texas CC 305, Cameron 305
and Western Washington 305. Individuals (Par 72, 5,810 Yards) - 1.
Sharon Lau, Tarleton, 71; 2. Claire Rachor, WWU, 73; 17. Kara Zitzman,
WWU, 76; 24. Alex Taylor, WWU, 77; 30. Sophie Elstrott, WWU, 79; 64.
Brittany Wilcox, WWU, 89.
Folkinga had three hits, including a three-run fourth-inning
home run to snap a scoreless deadlock, in the opener. He
also had a lead off double in the fifth when WOU scored
five runs.
Men's Golf: Grunig Two Back in C of I Invitational
Zach Grunig of Northwest Nazarene shot rounds of 74 and
72 and is two strokes back of co-leaders Jed Dalton of
Concordia and Andrew Johnson of Warner Pacific in the
College of Idaho Invitational at the River Bend Golf
Course in Wilder, Idaho.
Grunig had a two-over par score on the 6,871 layout in the
first round before firing an even par in the second. Nick
Hardy is also in the Top 10 ranking 10th at 148. The thirdand-final round is set for Tuesday.
College of Idaho Invitational (Apr. 9-10 at River Bend GC, Wilder,
Idaho): Team Scores - 1. North Idaho CC 591 (298-293); 2. Concordia
592 (302-290); 3. Warner Pacific 598 (295-303); 4. Northwest Nazarene
601 (300-301); 5. Corban 605 (306-299). Individuals (Par 72, 6,871
Yards) - 1. Jed Dalton, Conc, 144 (74-70) and Andrew Johnson, Warner
Pacific, 144 (70-74); 3. Zach Grunig, NNU, 146 (74-72); 10. Nick Hardy,
NNU, 148 (73-75); 24. Brock Sargent, NNU, 154 (75-79) and Thomas
Hanacek, NNU, 154 (78-76); 37. Matt Sturgill, NNU, 160 (82-78).
That inning featured RBI singles by catcher Kyle Blackwell
and second baseman Michael Gange and a two-run double
by outfielder Matt Nylen. Nylen also earned a RBI with a
bunt in the fifth.
In the second game, Folkinga had two hits and scored two
runs. He tripled and scored on a wild pitch for the game's
first run in the second.
In the fourth, Blake Miller homered to make it 2-0.
Folkinga, DH Quinn Naughtin and catcher Scott David
then singled to load the bases. David's hit was a bunt.
Folkinga scored on a sacrifice fly by AJ Royal, Naughtin
then scored on a wild pitch and David scored on a ground
out by Boyd to complete the four-run inning.
Saturday, Apr. 7
Softball: Fox Extends Scoreless Streak to 27 Innings
Stephanie Fox pitched her third straight shutout as Western
Washington blanked Saint Martin's 2-0 in the nightcap of a
Great Northwest Athletic Conference softball doubleheader
Saturday at Viking Field.
The Saints (24-12, 14-7) won the opener 7-3. Elsewhere in
the GNAC Saturday Montana State Billings won two of
three games with Central Washington and Western Oregon
swept Simon Fraser.
Montana State Billings 7-5-1, Central Washington 5-216
The Yellowjackets (27-9, 20-4), who lead SMU by four
games in the GNAC race, posted 7-5 and 7-2 wins over
CWU before the Wildcats (13-22, 9-14) salvaged the final
game of the four-game series winning 16-1.
Montana State Billings used a pair of four-run innings to
win the first two games of a tripleheader at Cenex Stadium
and maintain control of the conference race.
Western Oregon (10-21, 6-12) beat Simon Fraser 10-1 and
1-0 winning three of four games with the Clan (22-10, 159)
In the opener the Yellowjackets scored four runs in the
second, two on a single by Becca Frank, and two in the
third on a single by catcher Brittney Sanders, who also had
a RBI double in the earlier frame, to go ahead 6-1.
Fox extended her scoreless innings streak to a schoolrecord 27, surpassing the mark of 22 1/3 set by Erika Quint
last season. The GNAC standard is 36 1/3 innings
established by Humboldt State's Tracy Motzny in 2006.
After CWU scored twice in the fourth and fifth to close
within one, Taylor Hoke homered in the sixth to provide an
insurance run for Amanda Todd who pitched the seventh to
save the game for starter Jessyka MacDonald (4-2).
Fox, who was solely an infielder for WWU (10-27, 6-14)
prior to this season, is also working on a string of 41
consecutive innings without allowing an earned run though
she has given up nine unearned runs during that stretch.
Heidy Wells homered in the second, Carrina Wager led off
the fourth with a four-bagger and Natasha Wood had a tworun blast in the fifth to account for most of CWU's firstgame offense.
Fox evened her record at 5-5 Saturday giving up just six
hits, all singles. She worked out of a jam in the third inning
when the first two Saint Martin's hitters singled and
advanced to second and third, respectively, on a sacrifice
bunt.
In the second game with MSUB leading 3-2, the 'Jackets
scored four runs in the sixth, two on a home run by Bobbie
Lee to take command.
But Fox bore down to get the out of the jam with two
ground outs. The Saints had only one other runner in
scoring position. That was in the first when they put a
runner on second with two outs.
WWU scored the only run it needed in the second. Rachelle
Berry led off with a double, advanced to third on a single
by Meghan Carrillo and scored on a sacrifice fly by
Amanda Flores.
In the fourth, the Vikings scored an unearned run off Saint
Martin 's pitcher Joslyn Eugenio, who suffered her first loss
in four decisions.
In the opener, WWU took an early lead with a run in the
bottom of the first. Cheyenne Best led off with a walk and
scored on a double by Kristen Allen.
That run held up until the fifth when Saint Martin's scored
four times. The big blow of the inning was a two-run
double by Megan Antonovich. Antonovich also had a runscoring single in the Saints' three-run seventh
Lee had three hits and scored three runs and Emily Osborn
had two hits and two RBI to back the three-hit pitching of
Amanda Todd (6-2).
Breanna Thomas had two of CWU's three hits, then added
three more safeties and scored four runs as the Wildcats
won the final game.
Central had three home runs in that contest, including a
two-run blast in the first inning by Liz Jusko, another tworun circuit blow by Molly Coppinger in a 12-run second
inning and a solo shot by Wells in the third.
Nicole Colpron led off the third inning with a home run to
account for MSUB's only run off of Wells (3-7), who
pitched a three-hitter.
Jusko also had a pair of RBI singles in CWU's double-digit
inning and finished the game with three hits and four RBI.
On the day, Thomas was CWU's most productive hitter
banging out seven hits in 11 at bats. Lee led MSUB with
four safeties in nine official at bats.
Western Oregon 10-1, Simon Fraser 1-0
The Vikings scored two runs in the fifth on a two-out,
bases-loaded single by Jackie Rothenberger. Chelsea Felton
(2-2) got the win in relief for Saint Martin 's, and Eugenio
picked up her second save of the season.
Berry, who had three singles for WWU in the opener and
four hits on the day, ran her hitting streak to a team seasonhigh nine games.
Western Oregon scored during all four of its at bats in
defeating Simon Fraser in the opening game of its
doubleheader.
The Wolves scored single runs in the first and second
innings on a double by Jourdan Williams and a ground out
by Amanda George before ending the game early with a
pair of four-run frames in the third and fourth innings.
Amanda Evola and Ashley Worthey led WOU with two
hits each while Ali Parkerson and George each drove in
four runs. Brittany Reeves was the benefactor pitching a
four-hitter.
MSUB got its lone run in the sixth off Wilson on a single
by Brody Miller. Griff Boyd led WOU with two hits,
including a solo home run in the second inning.
Northwest Nazarene 12-7, Central Washington 3-3
Sammie Olexa had two hits and scored the Clan's only run
of the day in the third on an error.
WOU's Myranda Sawyer and SFU's Kelsie Hawkins each
tossed three-hitters in the nightcap.
The Wolves got the only run in the third when Danielle
Harcourt led off with a single, advanced on a sacrifice bunt
by Desiree Villegas and a ground out and scored on a wild
pitch.
Baseball: Wood Extends Win Streak to 16 Games
Grady Wood won his 16th consecutive game Saturday
pitching Western Oregon to a 10-4 win over Montana State
Billings in the opening game of a GNAC doubleheader at
the WOU Baseball Field in Monmouth.
The Wolves (22-7, 11-1) also won the second game 5-1 to
extend their win streak to six games and their lead in the
GNAC race to five games.
Northwest Nazarene (18-13, 7-7) took over second by
sweeping a doubleheader from Central Washington (11-17,
7-9) by 12-3 and 7-3 scores. The Wildcats trail by six and
MSUB (11-13, 4-8) is seven back.
Wood, who allowed eight hits and four runs in seven
innings, is 8-0 this season after finishing the 2011 season
with eight consecutive wins. His win streak equals the ninth
longest in NCAA Division II history. The record is 21.
The WOU ace struck out 10 equaling his season-high. He
also had 10 strikeouts on Mar. 24 against Central
Washington.
Shortstop Blake Miller and catcher Kyle Blackwell each
drove in three runs and Miller, first baseman Bo Folkinga
and second baseman Michael Gange each had two hits to
pace a 10-hit attack.
All three of Miller's RBI came on a sixth-inning home run.
Blackwell had sacrifice flies in the first and third and
doubled for a run in the fifth.
Blake Nelson homered for MSUB's first two runs in the
fourth. That is the only home run Wood has given up in
159 2/3 career innings.
The 'Jackets also scored twice in the fifth on a double by
Matt Comer and a sacrifice fly by Colby Robison.
In the second game, Travis Bradshaw pitched 4 1/3
scoreless innings, allowing three hits and fanning seven
before Jason Wilson came on to pick up the save. Wilson
fanned six in 2 2/3 innings.
Northwest Nazarene overcame 2-0 first-inning deficits to
win both games and win three of the four games in the
series.
NNU took the lead for good in the first game scoring twice
in the sixth as Fernando Robles singled to tie the game and
then later scored on a double steal involving pinch-runner
Alex Barbee.
Robles had four hits, including a solo home run in the
fourth and a two-run double in the eighth. Zach Steele had
three hits including a two-run home run in the seventh and
a two-run single in the eighth.
Barrett Nielsen came on in the second inning and pitched
four hitless innings to earn his second win against no
losses. David Leid had all three of CWU's RBIs with
singles in the first and seventh.
The Wildcats got two runs off Sean McDonald in the first
inning of the nightcap on a wild pitch and ground out by
Brady Kincannon, but McDonald blanked CWU on three
hits the rest of the way to pitch a four-hitter.
Trailing 3-2, NNU scored four runs in the fifth, two on a
single by Derek Bettinson. Bettinson also had a RBI single
in the third.
Track and Field: Vikings Dominate UPS Shotwell
Western Washington dominated the 27th annual University
of Puget Sound J.D. Shotwell Invitational Track and Field
meet Saturday at Baker Stadium.
The Vikings won both divisions by large margins in the 12team competition. They had a 180-112 edge in the men's
division over second-place Puget Sound and a 263 1/2 113 advantage in the women's division over runner-up
Pacific Lutheran.
Emily Warman had WWU's best performance, bettering
her NCAA Division II provisional national qualifying mark
in winning the women's triple jump with an effort of 39-1
1/4. That mark ranks fourth in GNAC history.
Michelle Howe was a triple-event winner for the Vikings.
She placed first in the women's 100 meters (12.93) and ran
the second leg on both the winning 4x100 (49.65) and
4x400 (4:05.71) relays.
Double-event winners for the WWU men included Shane
Gruger, Nathan Schmidt and Nelson Westlin.
Gruger led 1-2-3-4 sweeps in the 100 (10.93) and 200
(22.04), Schmidt won the 400 (49.58) and helped the 4x400
relay (3:25.91) to victory, and Westlin took both the shot
put (49-8 1/4) and discus (145-2).
400 - Myisha Valentine, SPU, 57.29. 100 Hurdles - Maliea Luquin, SPU,
14.95. 4x400 Relay - Seattle Pacific 3:54.26. Javelin - Brittany Aanstad,
SPU, 49.35 - 161-11.
In all the Vikings won a total of 21 events, 11 in the men's
division and 10 in the women's division.
Four National Qualifiers at Stanford Invitational
UPS Shotwell (Apr. 7 at Tacoma): Men - Western Washington 180,
Puget Sound 112, Mt. Hood CC 74, Everett CC 73, Pacific Lutheran 68
1/2, Saint Martin's 48 1/2, Olympic 42, Washington 41, Green River 16,
Skagit Valley 14, Evergreen State 8. GNAC Winners: 100 - Shane
Gruger, WWU, 10.93. 200 - Shane Gruger, WWU, 22.04. 400 - Nathaniel
Schmidt, WWU, 49.58. 1500 - Braden Timpe, WWU, 4:01.22. 5000 - Eric
Brill, WWU, 14:56.79. 400 Hurdles - Jeff Sloat, WWU, 56.30. 4x400 Western Washington 3:25.91. High Jump - Brett Watson, WWU, 1.91 - 6-3
1/4. Shot Put - Nelson Westlin, WWU, 15.14 - 49-8 1/4. Discus - Nelson
Westlin, WWU, 44.25 - 145-2. Hammer - Michael Hoffman, WWU, 57.59 188-11. Women - Western Washington 263 1/2, Pacific Lutheran 113,
Everett CC 57, Puget Sound 42, Saint Martin's 38, Green River CC 32,
Olympic 29, Washington 19, Mt. Hood CC 14 1/2, Club Northwest 8,
Skagit Valley 1. GNAC Winners: 100 - Michelle Howe, WWU, 12.93.
5000 - Katelyn Steen, WWU, 17:56.41. 4x100 - Western Washington
49.65. 4x400 - Western Washington 4:05.71. High Jump - Brittany
Grandy, WWU, and Laura Tesch, SMU, 1.59 - 5-2 1/2. Pole Vault Cheyanna Pinley, WWU, 3.35 - 10-11 3/4. Long Jump - Emily Walters,
WWU, 5.51 - 18-1. Triple Jump - Emily Warman, WWU, 11.92 - 39-1 1/4.
Hammer - Lindsay Wells, WWU, 47.95 - 157-4. Javelin - Katie Reichert,
WWU, 43.42 - 142-5.
Four GNAC athletes, including three in the women's 800,
posted NCAA Division II provisional national qualifying
times at the Stanford Invitational track and field meet
Saturday.
Ivy O'Guinn and Susan Bick of Alaska Anchorage and
Janelle Everetts of Western Oregon had PNQs in the 800.
O'Guinn and Bick had times of 2:12.26 and 2:13.98, while
Everetts was timed in 2:13.98.
Also earning a PNQ was Ashley Potter of Western Oregon
in the women's triple jump with a ninth-place leap of 39-1
3/4. O'Guinn's 800 and Potter's triple jump are the best
marks in the conference this season in those events.
Saturday's qualifiers brought the number of qualifying
performances for the weekend at Stanford to 12, including
three AQs - UAA's Micah Chelimo in the men's 5,000 and
Susan Tanui and Hallidie Wilt in the women's steeplechase
- on Friday.
Automatic Mark for SPU's Aanstad in Javelin
Brittany Aanstad of Seattle Pacific took the NCAA
Division II lead in the women's javelin Saturday (pending
results elsewhere in the nation) with a career-best throw of
161-11 in the War V meet at Spokane Falls Community
College.
The winning toss by Aanstad beat her previous career best
of 159-4 set last May. It was also the second best mark ever
in the GNAC.
Aanstad's mark was one of three in the meet that rank in the
Top 10 all-time in the GNAC.
Nate Seely had a career-best time of 1:51.95 in the men's
800 meters that was good for second place and an NCAA
provisional qualifying time. It ranks 10th in GNAC history.
Seattle Pacific's women also ran the eighth fastest 4x100
relay in GNAC history placing second in a time of 47.94.
Stanford Invitational (Apr. 6-7 at Palo Alto, CA): Men (Top 8): 5000
(Section 1) - 1. Micah Chelimo, UAA, 13:53.51. Long Jump (4 Jumps) - 3.
Matson Hardie, WOU, 6.95 - 22-9 3/4; 7. Kyle Lane, WOU, 6.55 - 21-6.
Triple Jump (4 Jumps) - 4. Matson Hardie, WOU, 14.47 - 47-5 3/4.
Women (Top 8): 1500 (Section 5) - 8. Ivy O'Guinn, UAA, 4:30.83. 5000
(Section 3): 8. Ruth Keino, UAA, 16:34.28. 400 Hurdles - 5. Haleigh Lloyd,
UAA, 1:00.52. Steeplechase (Section 3) - 6. Hallidie Wilt, UAA, 10:31.30.
Steeplechase (Section 2) - 5. Susan Tanui, UAA, 10:15.47. Javelin - 6.
Amanda Schumaker, WOU, 43.61 - 143-1. Javelin (4 Throws) - 4. Seabre
Church, WOU, 39.47 - 129-6. Note: Placings for events ran in sections
are based on section finish. Placings for events ran in heats are
determined by combining heats.
Butterworth Wins 800 at UBC Invitational
Lindsey Butterworth of Simon Fraser won the women's 800
Saturday at the UBC Invitational in Vancouver, B.C.
Butterworth's time of 2:13.89 bettered the NCAA Division
II provisional national qualifying standard.
In all, GNAC athletes won seven events in the meet
including five by Seattle Pacific.
She was one of five Simon Fraser winners in the meet. Also
finishing first were Stuart Ellenwood in the men's 400
(50.25) and Ryan Brockerville in the 1500 (3:58.47) along
with both of SFU's 4x400 relay teams.
In addition to Aanstad winners for the Falcons included
Seth Pierson in the men's 1500, Myisha Valentine in the
women's 400, Maliea Luquin in the 100 hurdles and SPU's
women's 4x400 relay team.
The Clan men won the relay in a time of 3:30.22, while the
women were clocked in a winning time of 4:00.30.
Maurus Hope and Barak Watson, both from Northwest
Nazarene, won the men's 400 hurdles and 5000,
respectively.
CC of Spokane War 5 (Apr. 7 at Spokane): Men (GNAC Winners):
1500 - Seth Pierson, SPU, 3:55.21. 400 Hurdles - Maurus Hope, NNU,
53.68. 5000 - Barak Watson, NNU, 14:37.29. Women (GNAC Winners):
UBC Open (Apr. 7 at Vancouver, BC): Men (Top 3): 400 - 1. Stuart
Ellenwood, SFU, 50.25. 1500 - 1. Ryan Brockerville, SFU, 3:58.47; 3.
Travis Vugteveen, SFU, 4:00.94. 4x400 Relay - 1. Simon Fraser 3:30.22.
Long Jump - 2. Dennis Nicolas, SFU, 6.69 - 21-11 1/2. Women (Top 3):
400 - 2. Sarah Sawatzky, SFU, 59.89; 3. Abbey Vogt, SFU, 1:01.55. 800 1. Lindsey Butterworth, SFU, 2:13.89. 4x400 - 1. Simon Fraser 4:00.30.
Long Jump - 3. Charlotte Crombeen, SFU, 5.20 - 17-0 3/4. Triple Jump 3. Aisha Klippenstein, SFU, 10.86 - 35-7 3/4.
Firestone, Mickelsen Earn Wins at Bozeman
Taylor Firestone won the men's long jump with a leap of
22-1 1/2 and Whitney Mickelsen finished first in the
women's 10,000 in a time of 39:38.76 to high MSU
Billings' performances Saturday in the Montana State Open
at Bozeman.
The Yellowjackets also earned three second-place finishes.
Riley Winebrenner placed second in the men's 400 hurdles
(56.25) and Daniel Lombardi finished second in the 10,000
(33:19.32).
Mary Owen earned a second-place finish in the women's
10,000 in a time of 41:33.56.
Mickelsen and Winnebrenner's times were school records.
Rory Bauer also set a school-record in the 400, finishing
third in 50.28.
Montana State Open (Apr. 7 at Bozeman): Men (Top 3): 400 - 3. Rory
Bauer, MSUB, 50.28. 400 Hurdles - 2. Reiley Winebrenner, MSUB, 56.25;
3. Lewis Polkow, MSUB, 56.28. 10,000 - 2. Daniel Lombardi, MSUB,
33:19.32. Long Jump - 1. Taylor Firestone, MSUB, 6.74 - 22-1 1/2. 4x400
- 3. MSU Billings 43.74. Women (Top 3): High Jump - 3. Stacey Pitt,
MSUB, 1.55 - 5-1. Shot Put - 3. Leeza Henry, MSUB, 13.13 - 43-1. Discus
- 3. Leeza Henry, MSUB, 40.58 - 133-2. 10,000 - 1. Whitney Mickelsen,
MSUB, 39:38.76; 2. Mary Owen, MSUB, 41:33.56.
Friday, Apr. 6
Track and Field: Seawolves Break Two Records
Alaska Anchorage's Micah Chelimo and Susan Tanui set
Great Northwest Athletic Conference records Friday at the
Stanford Invitational.
Chelimo won his heat of the 5,000 meters in a GNAC
record time of 13:53.51, while Tanui ran a GNAC-record
time of 10:15.47 in the steeplechase.
UAA's Hallidie Wilt also broke the former GNAC women's
steeplechase mark posting a time of 10:31.30. All three
times bettered the NCAA Division II automatic qualifying
standards.
Four other UAA athletes established provisional national
qualifying marks including Ruth Keino who set a schoolrecord with the third fastest 5,000 meter time in GNAC
history. She was timed in 16:34.28. Miriam Kipng'eno ran
a PNQ of 16:54.43.
Ivy O'Guinn cut 1.10 seconds off her previous PNQ in the
1500 meters in a time of 4:30.83. Her time ranks ninth in
GNAC history.
In the men's 1,500, Alfred Kangogo had a PNQ of 3:50.02.
Kangogo is the GNAC record holder with a career best of
3:44.67 set last year.
Dan Sprinkle of Western Oregon posted a PNQ in the
men's steeplechase with the 10th best time in GNAC
history. He had a time of 9:11.28.
UAA's Bryn Haebe earned a PNQ in the women's
steeplechase at the San Francisco Distance Carnival
finishing eighth in a time of 11:08.23.
Yonatan Yilma placed fourth in the men's 10,000 running
the 10th best time (30:48.97). The top finisher at SFSU
among the men was Chris Olsen of Western Oregon who
had the second best time in the 800 (a GNAC season-best
1:54.02).
On the women's side, Diane Chong of UAA finished
second in the 100 (12.87) and UAA's 4x400 relay team also
finished second (4:06.14).
San Francisco State Distance Carnival (Apr. 6 at San Francisco): Men
(Top 6): 800 - 2. Chris Olsen, WOU, 1:54.02; 4. Isaac Kangogo, UAA,
1:54.58. 10,000 - 4. Yonatan Yilma, UAA, 30:48.97. Women (Top 6): 100
- 2. Dianne Chong, UAA, 12.87; 3. Kelsea Johnson, UAA, 12.93; 4.
Shanai Campbell, WOU, 12.95. 200 - 4. Kelsea Johnson, UAA, 26.30; 6.
Shanai Campbell, WOU, 26.49. 4x400 Relay - 2. Alaska Anchorage
4:06.14.
Softball: Fox Extends Scoreless Streak to 20 Innings
Stephanie Fox pitched her second straight shutout
extending her scoreless streak to 20 innings and Rachelle
Berry singled in the game's only run as Western
Washington defeated Saint Martin's 1-0 to earn a split of a
GNAC softball doubleheader Friday at Viking Field.
Saint Martin's (23-11-1, 13-6) won the first game 4-1. The
split cost the Saints half a game in the GNAC race as firstplace Montana State Billings (25-8, 18-3) defeated Central
Washington 9-1.
The Yellowjackets (25-8, 18-3), who now lead SMU by
four games, will play a tripleheader Saturday with the
Wildcats (12-20, 8-12) beginning at 10 a.m.
Simon Fraser (22-8, 15-7) also split two games losing their
opener with Western Oregon 4-3 before bouncing back for
a 6-1 win. The Clan are just 3 1/2 behind MSUB, but are in
third place, two percentage points back of SMU.
Fox (4-5), who survived a scare in the seventh inning,
scattered nine hits, did not walk a batter, hit one and struck
out one. Last Sunday, she blanked nationally No.20-ranked
UC San Diego 1-0.
Fox is also working on a string of 34 consecutive innings
without allowing an earned run though she has given up
nine unearned runs in that stretch.
That is the fifth longest streak in GNAC history, but well
short of the record of 67 by WWU's Amanda Grant in
2002.
WWU's run came in the bottom of the fourth when Krista
Bickar walked with one out. She advanced to third on a
double down the left field line by Meghan Carrillo and
scored on a single to right field by Berry .
In the top of the seventh, Saint Martin 's put runners on
second and third with no outs on back-to-back doubles by
Taviah Jenkins and Aubree Pocklington.
But Fox settled down and got a fly out to left and two
ground outs to close out the game.
Berry and Carrillo each had two hits for WWU (9-26, 5-13)
off Saints' pitcher Taylor Bakos (8-4), who allowed just
five hits and worked out of a bases-loaded situation in the
second.
In the opener, Saint Martin's Joslyn Eugenio doubled home
two runs in a three-run first inning and singled across
another in the third. She also pitched the final 2 1/3 innings,
picking up her first save of the season.
Samantha Munger (11-5), who pitched the first 4 2/3
innings, got the win. Megan Antonovich also had two hits
for the Saints, doubling home the game's first run in the
first and scoring after a single in the third.
WWU pitcher Jenna DeRosier faced the minimum number
of batters possible for the last 4 1/3 innings following
Eugenio's RBI single in the third. The only base runner
during that stretch reached on a single, but was thrown out
trying to steal.
Krista Bickar had two hits, including a double for the
Vikings. She drew a lead-off walk in the fifth and scored on
a two-out single by Rachelle Berry.
Bailey's single drove in Ashlie Gardner who had a pinch-hit
double with two out. Brittany Reeves went the distance
allowing just six hits to earn her second win against three
losses.
WOU had 10 hits off SFU ace Cara Lukawesky (13-4),
including two each by Amanda Evola, Jourdan Williams
and Ashley Worthey. Carly Lepoutre and Kelsey Haberl
each had two hits for Simon Fraser.
Kelsie Hawkins (9-4) tossed a three-hitter in the nightcap,
allowing Western Oregon only a single run on a fifthinning home run by Danielle Harcourt.
Leah Riske had two RBI for the Clan, including one during
a four-run third inning on a ground out and one on a double
during a two-run sixth inning.
Megan Durrant had three hits and Rosie Murphy and Carly
Lepoutre each had two hits for SFU. Lepoutre singled for
Simon Fraser's first run in the third inning.
Wildcats, Crusaders Trade Lopsided Wins
Left fielder Logan Parker had four hits in the opener to lead
Northwest Nazarene to a 15-1 win over Central
Washington, but the Wildcats bounced from their largest
loss ever to the Crusaders to defeat NNU 10-1 in the
nightcap of the doubleheader Friday at the CWU baseball
field.
Montana State Billings 9, Central Washington 1
The margin in the first game was the largest in 114 all-time
meetings between the two schools. CWU (11-15, 7-7), with
its win in the second game, leads the all-time series 60-54.
Jenna VanEykeren and Annaleisha Parsley hit home runs
and Mary Grace Bywater didn't allow an earned run in
pitching Montana State Billings to a 9-1 win over Central
Washington.
Zeb Sneed and Randy Button had strong outings to pitch
their respective teams to victory.
VanEykeren led off the second inning with a solo home run
to key a five-run frame. The inning also featured a two-run
single by Rose Harrington and a two-run double by Meg
Harasymczuk.
Parsley hit a two-run home run to give MSUB a 7-0 lead.
The 'Jackets then ended the game in the sixth on a two-run
triple by Emily Osborn.
Bywater allowed seven hits - two each to leadoff hitter
Breanna Thomas and first baseman Liz Jusko- but just one
run. That run scored on an error in the sixth inning.
Harrington had three of MSUB's nine hits, while Osborn
had two.
NNU's Sneed had a shutout until Brett Gray's RBI single,
his second safety of the day, got the Wildcats on the board
in the eighth inning.
By that time the Crusaders (16-13, 5-7) led 15-0. Seven of
their runs came in the sixth and four more came in the
seventh. Sneed ended up allowing nine hits in 7 2/3 innings
in earning his fifth win against three losses.
Parker had a triple and three singles and was one of five
players - along with Ben Clare, Charlie Gorzo, Fernando
Robles and Kaleb DeHaas - to drive in two runs.
Gray and Derrick Webb led CWU with two hits each.
Webb also was charged with four miscues at third base as
the Wildcats committed seven errors leading to eight
unearned runs.
Western Oregon 4-1, Simon Fraser 3-6
Andrea Bailey's RBI single to left center in the bottom of
the seventh snapped a 3-3 tie and gave the Wolves a 4-3
victory in the opener.
In the second game, CWU led 2-1 before scoring eight runs
on six hits in the bottom of the sixth. Spencer Humphrey
who scored the first run of the inning as a pinch-runner had
a two-run single after the Wildcats batted around.
Button evened his record at 2-2 as he scattered nine hits,
but gave up just a single run on a RBI single by Derek
Bettinson in the third inning.
Robles had three of NNU's hits, while catcher Kyle Sani
and DH David Leid had two each for the Wildcats. Webb
had a hit to extend his hitting streak to nine games.
Thursday, Apr. 5
Hall of Fame: Bishop Inducted Into Utah Shrine
Central Washington University Athletic Director Jack
Bishop was among four new inductees into the Utah Sports
Hall of Fame during ceremonies last month in Salt Lake
City, Utah.
“This is certainly the greatest award I've received and I'm
very excited about it,” Bishop said. “I spent a lot of time in
Utah, 32 years coaching high school and at the [Southern
Utah] university in several different roles.”
“As I grew up, my first ‘idol' in coaching and the person I
tried to emulate was [BYU football coach] LaVell
Edwards; I always believed in a lot of the things he did,”
Bishop said. “I've always been a huge Jerry Sloan [former
Utah Jazz coach] fan and to think that you're in the same
Hall of Fame is incredible.”
Bishop was a standout athlete in Utah, participated in
football and rodeo at both Ricks College and SUU before
receiving his Bachelor of Science in zoology there in 1970.
In 1980, he completed his Master of Science degree at Utah
State .
Still active in rodeo, Bishop, 64, has been married to his
wife , Carol , for 41 years. They live in Ellensburg,
Washington, and have three children: sons Ryan, 38, and
Brock, 27; and daughter Jacqueline.
Wednesday, Apr. 4
Softball: Saints Sweep Northwest Nazarene
From 1969-76, Bishop was one of Utah's most successful
high school football, wrestling, and track coaches. His
Cedar [City, Utah] High School (CHS) football team was
regional champion in 1976.
Sam Munger had six hits and Joslyn Eugenio and Taylor
Bakos tossed 11 scoreless innings from the circle to lead
Saint Martin's to a 11-3, 4-0 sweep of Northwest Nazarene
in a GNAC doubleheader Wednesday at Lacey.
He coached two CHS teams to state track titles and won
one state wrestling championship at Heber City's Wasatch
High. Bishop also coached at Hurricane and Panguitch high
schools.
The games were makeups of a four-game series postponed
last month. The third and fourth games will be rescheduled
for later this season.
“I was also heavily involved as an official in wrestling, but
I also officiated [junior varsity] basketball,” Bishop noted,
adding with a laugh, “I was a little trimmer then.”
Bishop is the winningest football coach in history at his
alma mater, Southern Utah University (SUU), and served
as the school's athletic director.
He led the progression of the school's athletic program
from NAIA to NCAA Division II status, and then to SUU's
present classification at the NCAA Division I-Football
Championship Subdivision (FCS) level.
In addition, he was a driving force behind construction of
SUU's 5,300 seat Centrum Arena.
While at SUU, Bishop was also heavily involved in the
initial development of the Utah Summer Games, which is a
mock Olympics competition for people of all ages.
“I've always been blessed to be around great people,”
Bishop said. “Who you're surrounded by has a lot to do
with your success. It's amazing what a group of people can
do when they don't care who gets the credit. I've been lucky
to have good players, good coaches, good administrators,
and good friends around me.”
Upon his induction, Bishop joined several previously
inducted members of the Utah Sports Hall of Fame whom
he holds in high esteem.
Eugenio allowed just one hit over the final four innings
after NNU had jumped to a 3-0 first-inning lead against
Munger getting two of its runs on a single by Kristin
Refsland.
The rest of the afternoon, however, belonged to the Saints
as they scored four runs in their half of the first, five more
in the second, then ended the game on the eight-run rule
with single runs in the third and fifth.
The final game-ending run came on a double by Madison
Davis. Munger had three hits in three at bats and Eugenio
drove in three runs, two with a first-inning double. She also
walked with the bases loaded to force in a run in the
second.
In the second game, Taylor Bakos tossed her second
shutout of the season improving to 8-3 and allowing just
four hits to the Crusaders, two by Arielle Chao.
Saint Martin's scored all four of its runs in the fifth as
Munger, who had another three-hit game, and Megan
Antonovich had RBI singles and Eugenio and Tiffany
Griffiths had sacrifice flies.
Saint Martin's, which has won 13 of its last 15, improved to
22-10 with the win, including 12-5 in the GNAC. The 22
wins is the most for a Saint team in the 11-year history of
the conference. SMU posted a 21-33 record in 2008 for its
previous high win total.
Two players had long hitting streaks halted in the first
game. SMU's Lacy McGladrey went 0 for 1, snapping her
streak at 11, while NNU's Arielle Chao was 0 for 3, end her
string at 12.
The Crusaders fell to 6-23 on the season, including 5-15 in
the conference with their two losses.
Tuesday, Apr. 3
Track and Field: Two Records Fall In Weekend Action
Two all-time GNAC records were broken in last weekend's
track and field action around the Pacific Northwest.
All-Sports: UAA 10th, WWU 18th in National
Standings
Alaska Anchorage sophomore Haleigh Lloyd set a
conference record in winning the 400 hurdles in the
Willamette Invitational.
Alaska Anchorage is in 10th place at the end of the winter
sports season in the Division II Learfield Sports Directors'
Cup standings.
She ran a provisional national qualifying time of 59.98,
becoming the first GNAC athlete to break the 60 second
barrier in the event.
Points are awarded based on finishes in NCAA Division II
regional and national competition. The competition is under
the direction of the National Association of Collegiate
Directors of Athletics (NACDA),
Lloyd broke the old record of 1:00.31 set by Heidi Dimmitt
of Western Washington in the 2009 season.
Alaska Anchorage scored 198 points during the winter
sports season, including 73 in women's basketball (5th
place), 50 in men's basketball (17th place) and 75 in skiing
(5th place), to increase its season point total to 361.
Grand Valley State (Mich.) is the current leader with 550 ½
points. Other West Region teams ranked in the Top 10
include Grand Canyon (2nd, 527) and UC San Diego (6th ,
388).
Western Washington, which earned 100 points for winning
the men's basketball national title, 50 points in women's
basketball (17th place) and 39 points in women's indoor
track and field (33rd place), ranks 18th with 303 points.
In the GNAC all-sports standings, Western Washington has
a 14-point lead (128-114) over Seattle Pacific in the overall
standings.
Western Oregon and Western Washington are tied in the
men's standings for first place with 50 points each. The
Vikings lead Seattle Pacific by two points (78-76) in the
women's standings.
Directors' Cup Standings (Through Apr. 1) – 1. Grand Valley State 550
½, 10. Alaska Anchorage 361, 18. Western Washington 223 ½, 29.
Seattle Pacific 245 ½, 34. Alaska Anchorage 223 ½, 99. Western Oregon
103, 184. Central Washington 25 ½, 185. Montana State Billings 25.
GNAC: Overall (8 of 16 Sports) – Western Washington 128, Seattle
Pacific 114, Western Oregon 100, Alaska Anchorage 95, Northwest
Nazarene 84, Simon Fraser 75, Central Washington 74, MSU Billings 74,
Saint Martin's 58, Alaska Fairbanks 24, Humboldt State 10, Dixie State 2.
Men (5 of 8 Sports) – Western Oregon 50, Western Washington 50,
Central Washington 40, Seattle Pacific 38, Alaska Anchorage 38, Saint
Martin's 35, MSU Billings 34, Northwest Nazarene 33, Simon Fraser 30,
Humboldt State 10, Alaska Fairbanks 4, Dixie State 2. Women (5 of 8
Sports) –Western Washington 78, Seattle Pacific 76, Alaska Anchorage
57, Northwest Nazarene 51, Western Oregon 50, Simon Fraser 45, MSU
Billings 40, Central Washington 34, Saint Martin's 23, Alaska Fairbanks
20.
Lloyd also finished second in the 100 hurdles in a time of
14.49 moving into fifth place on the GNAC all-time Top 10
and ran the lead leg on UAA's 4x100 meter relay team that
equaled the eighth fastest time (48.04) in GNAC history in
finishing second.
She also ran the anchor leg on UAA's 4x400 relay team that
finished first in a GNAC season-best time of 3:55.41. Both
her 100 and 400 hurdle times were school records. UAA's
4x100 relay mark is also a school-best.
Meanwhile at Bellingham, Karis Anderson of Western
Washington set a GNAC record in winning the women's
pole vault with a provisional national qualify mark of 12-7
1/2. Anderson broke the old record of 12-6 3/4 set by
Melissa Peaslee of Seattle Pacific last year.
In all GNAC athletes posted eight GNAC All-Time Top 10
marks and had 10 provisional national qualify marks.
In addition to Lloyd in the two hurdle events, Anderson in
the pole vault and UAA in the women's 4x100 relay,
GNAC Top 10 marks were also established by Grace
Morgan of Alaska Anchorage, Kyle Van Santen of Saint
Martin's, Western Washington's Cal Rosenberg and the
Vikings' 4x100 men's relay.
Morgan ran the seventh fastest time in GNAC history in
winning the women's 200 (25.22) at the Willamette
Invitational.
Van Santen finished second and was the top collegian in
the 5,000 meters at Willamette in a PNQ of 14:31.41. That
ranks eighth in GNAC history.
Rosenberg also moved into eighth in the men's pole vault
finishing second with a PNQ of 15-9 at the Vernacchia
meet. The Viking 4x100 relay team had the 10th best time
in conference history winning the event in 41.97.
Joining Lloyd in the 400 hurdles, Van Santen in the 5000
and Rosenberg and Anderson in the pole vault as national
qualifiers were Ivy O'Guinn of Alaska Anchorage in the
women's 1500, UAA's Hallidie Wilt in the 5000, Katie
Pelchar of Western Oregon in the high jump, Kati Davis of
Central Washington in the pole vault, Joy Warrington of
Northwest Nazarene in the shot put and Michael Hoffman
of Western Washington in the men's hammer.
At Willamette, O'Guinn won the 1500 in a PNQ of 4:31.93.
Wilt finished third in the 5,000 in a 17:06.14 and Pelchar
won the high jump with a leap of 5-6.
At Bellingham, Davis finished second in the pole vault (1111 3/4) and Hoffman won the hammer (196-3). At Nampa,
Warrington won the shot with a put of 45-11 1/4.
WWU Ralph Vernacchia Invitational (Mar. 30-31 at Bellingham): Men Western Washington 217 1/2, Central Washington 119 1/2, Everett CC
70, British Columbia 62, Saint Martin's 52 1/2, Seattle Pacific 51, Simon
Fraser 43, Club Northwest 40, Green River 32, Pacific Lutheran 30,
Olympic 10 1/2, Valley Royals 10, Skagit Valley 5, Northwest 3.
Individuals (GNAC Winners): 200 - Jason Nokes, WWU, 22.34. 400 Nathaniel Schmidt, WWU, 49.20. 800 - Frank Krause, SMU, 1:55.90. 1500
- Seth Pierson, SPU, 3:55.84. 400 Hurdles - Ryan Endresen, SPU, 55.93.
Steeplechase - Ryan Brockerville, SFU, 9:03.95. 4x100 Relay - Western
Washington 41.97. 4x400 Relay - Western Washington 3:24.12. Shot Put
- Nelson Westlin, WWU, 15.09 - 49-6 1/4. Discus - Michael Hoffman,
WWU, 47.53 - 155-11. Hammer - Michael Hoffman, WWU, 59.82 - 196-3.
Women - Seattle Pacific 142, Western Washington 140, British Columbia
125, Simon Fraser 103, Central Washington 97, Saint Martin's 34, Everett
CC 25, Olympic 23, Northwest 16, Pacific Lutheran 15, Green River 11,
Valley Royals 10, Skagit Valley 4. Individuals (GNAC Winners): 100 Kishia Mitchell, SPU, 12.73. 200 - Myisha Valentine, SPU, 26.09. 400 Eleanor Siler, WWU, 57.42. 800 - Sarah Sawatzky, SFU, 2:14.77. 100
Hurdles - Andrea Abrams, SFU, 15.29. Steeplechase - Kelsey Kreft,
CWU, 11:37.80. 4x400 - Seattle Pacific 4:00.52. High Jump - Brittany
Grandy, WWU, 1.62 - 5-3 3/4. Pole Vault - Karis Anderson, WWU, 3.85 12-7 1/2. Long Jump - Emily Warman, WWU, 5.60 - 18-4 1/2. Shot Put Kaylee Baumstark, CWU, 11.83 - 38-9 3/4. Javelin - Brittany Aanstad,
SPU, 43.27 - 141-11.
WWU Multi-Events (Mar. 30-31 at Bellingham): Decathlon - 1. Brandon
Roddewig, CWU, 6128; 2. Scott Hunter, CWU, 5632; 3. Manny Melo,
CWU, 5499. Heptathlon - 2. Brooklyn Holton, WWU, 4023; 3. Sydney
Coffey, WWU, 3911.
Idaho Cup (Mar. 30-31 at Nampa): Men: Boise State 210, Idaho State
206, Northwest Nazarene 111, College of Idaho 61. Individuals (Top 3):
100 - 2. Rimar Christie, NNU, 11.08. 5000 - 1. Jesse Baggenstos, NNU,
15:31.52. Triple Jump - 2. Stephen Larlee, NNU, 13.84 - 45-5. Discus - 3.
Greg Cruise, NNU, 48.02 - 157-6. Hammer - 3. Greg Cruise, NNU, 48.12 157-10. Javelin - 3. Joe Cruise, NNU, 555.00 - 180-5. Women: Boise
State 259, Idaho State 173 1/2, Northwest Nazarene 108, College of
Idaho 36 1/2. Individuals (Top 3): 100 Hurdles - 3. Marie Smith, NNU,
15.51. 5000 - 2. Hailey Bradshaw, NNU, 19:28.93. 4x400 Relay - 3.
Northwest Nazarene 4:08.10. High Jump - 2. Courtney Schroeder, NNU,
1.60 - 5-3. Long Jump - 3. Molly Reid, NNU, 5.22 - 17-1 1/2. Triple Jump 2. Jasmyn Jewett, NNU, 11.63 - 38-2. Shot Put - 1. Joy Warrington, NNU,
14.00 - 45-11 1/4.
Montana Al Manuel Invitational (Mar. 31 at Missoula): Men (Top 6):
200 - 6. Rory Bauer, MSUB, 22.66. 400 Hurdles - 4. Lewis Polkow,
MSUB, 56.38; 5. Reiley Winebrenner, MSUB, 56.75; 6. Nick Kozub,
MSUB, 57.81. 4x100 Relay - 4, MSU Billings 43.75. 4x400 Relay - 5. MSU
Billings 3:28.50. Long Jump - 2. Taylor Firestone, MSUB, 6.79 - 22-3 1/2;
4. Shae Stein, MSUB, 6.51 - 21-4 1/2. Triple Jump - 4. Taylor Firestone,
MSUB, 13.54 - 44-5 1/4. Shot Put - 5. Tanner Rottrup, MSUB, 14.77 - 485 1/2. Women (Top 6): 400 Hurdles - 5. Emili Crowder, MSUB, 1:10.09.
Steeplechase3 - 4. Mary Owen, MSUB, 12:51.47; 6. Melanie Bock,
MSUB, 14:28.76. 4x100 Relay - 5. MSU Billings 54.00. 4x400 Relay - 5.
MSUB Billings 4:27.38. High Jump - 2. Stacey Pitt, MSUB, 1.60 - 5-3.
Shot Put - 4. Anica Knispel, MSUB, 12.96 - 42-6 1/4. Discus - 4. Corrie
Holm, MSUB, 39.30 - 128-11.
Willamette Invitational (Mar. 30-31 at Salem): Men (Top 3): 400 - 1.
Ethan Hewitt, UAA, 48.58. 800 - 2. Alfred Kangogo, UAA, 1:54.11; 3.
Isaac Kangogo, UAA, 1:54.22. 1500 - 1. Alfred Kangogo, UAA, 3:53.61; 2.
Dan Sprinkle, WOU, 3:54.00. 5000 - 2. Kyle Van Santen, SMU, 14:31.41.
100 Hurdles - 2. Brett Campbell, WOU, 15.47; 3. Kody Rhodes, WOU,
15.48. 400 Hurdles - 3. Nick Blackburn, UAA, 54.79. 4x100 Relay - 1.
Alaska Anchorage 42.51. 4x400 Relay - 2. Western Oregon 3:19.43; 3.
Alaska Anchorage 3:20.24. Long Jump - 2. Kyle Lane, WOU, 6.47 - 21-2
3/4. Triple Jump - 1. Matson Hardie, WOU, 14.18 - 46-6 1/4. Women (Top
3): 200 - Grace Morgan, UAA, 25.22. 800 - 2. Ivy O'Guinn, UAA, 2:15.02.
1500 - 1. Ivy O'Guinn, UAA, 4:31.93. 5000 - 3. Hallidie Wilt, UAA,
17:06.14. 100 Hurdles - 2. Haleigh Lloyd, UAA, 14.49. 400 Hurdles - 1.
Haleigh Lloyd, UAA, 59.98. 4x100 Relay - 2. Alaska Anchorage 48.04.
4x400 Relay - 1. Alaska Anchorage 3:55.41; 3. Western Oregon 4:03.85.
High Jump - 1. Katie Pelchar, WOU, 1.68 - 5-6. Long Jump - 2. Dianne
Chong, UAA, 5.33 - 17-6. Triple Jump - 1. Dianne Chong, UAA< 11.46 37-7 1/4.
Worthen Posts NCAA Automatic Score In Heptathlon
Ali Worthen of Seattle Pacific became an automatic
qualifier for the NCAA Division II track and field
championships Tuesday when she finished fifth with 5,071
points in the women's heptathlon at the Sam Adams MultiEvent meet in Santa Barbara. Calif.
The total for Worthen (Coos Bay, Ore.) was two more than
the 5,069 need for a trip to Pueblo, Colo., for nationals on
May 24-26.
Katy Gross finished eighth with 4,513 points to get onto the
NCAA provisional qualifying list.
Falcons junior Nate Johnson made it onto the NCAA
provisional list in the men's decathlon with a career-high
6,537 points. That gave him ninth place among 18
competitors on Tuesday.
Former Seattle Pacific star Chris Randolph won the
decathlon on Tuesday with 7,840 points. He now competes
for California-based Team Skechers.
Men's Golf: Goodwin Eighth In Florida Tournament
Dylan Goodwin fired a 2-under par 69 to place eighth and
lead Western Washington to a sixth place team finish at the
Barry University Buccaneer Invitational which ended
Tuesday at the Normandy Shores Golf Club at Miami
Beach, Fla.
WWU shot 284, its best round of the two-day tournament,
for a 54-total of 863.
No.1-ranked Barry won its own tourney for the fifth
straight year, shooting 279 for an 841 total. That was four
strokes better than runner-up Laval, located in Quebec,
Canada .
Goodwin had a 54-hole total of 209, three shots back of a
trio of golfers that tied for medalist honors.
They included Ricardo Celia from Nova Southeastern, who
shot a final-round 64; Marcelo Rozo from Lynn and Nova
Southeastern's Oscar Lengden.
The Wolves won the first game 13-0 as starting pitcher
Grady Wood extended his personnal win streak to 15
games.
Barry Buccaneer Invitational (Apr. 2-3 at Normandy Shores GC,
Miami Shores, Fla.): Team Scores - 1. Barry 841 (281-281-279); 2.
Laval 845 (278-284-283); 3. Nova Southeastern 846 (287-281-278); 4.
CSU Stanislaus 851 (285-283-283) and Lynn 851 (284-286-281); 6.
Western Washington 863 (288-291-284). Individuals (Par 71, 6,805
Yards) - 1. Oscar Lengden, Nova, 206 (69-65-72); Ricardo Celia, Nova,
206 (72-70-64) and Marcelo Rozo, Lynn, 206 (69-69-68); 8. Dylan
Goodwin, WWU, 209 (68-72-69); 26. Jake Webb, WWU, 217 (73-74-70);
33. Craig Crawford, WWU, 218 (74-74-70); 38. Nick Varelia, WWU, 219
(73-71-75); 63. Brian Barhanovich, WWU, 226 (75-74-77).
Jason Wilson and Kirk Lind combined to limit the Saints to
three hits in a 5-2 win in the second contest.
Women's Golf: Vikings 11th at Grand Canyon
Wood, who walked one and fanned six, is now 7-0 on the
season and has a microscopic 1.21 earned run average.
Western Washington placed 11th, its lowest finish in a
tournament since 2007, at the Grand Canyon Spring
Invitational which ended Tuesday at the Wigwam Golf
Course in Litchfield Park, Ariz.
On the day Saint Martin's had just five hits, three of them
by second baseman Mario Sanelli.
Sanelli had both of SMU's first game hits, one off of Wood
in seven innings and one off of reliever Brian Pisca in his
two innings of work.
Amberson, who has hit in eight consecutive games, hit a
grand slam home to key an eight-run first inning. He also
tripled to lead off the first frame.
The Vikings shot a final-round 324 for a 36-hole total of
646. Host and No.7-rated Grand Canyon shot 298, the best
round of the two-day event, to win by 10 shots at 604.
Miller went three for four and scored four runs. First
baseman Bo Folkinga and catcher Kyle Blackwell each
drove in two runs.
Montana State Billings placed 15th with a 665 team score
and Saint Martin's was 17th at 670.
In the second game Miller went three for three and drove in
two runs to finish the twinbill with six hits in seven at bats
and raise his batting average to .392.
Alex Taylor was the only Western Washington player to
break 80 as she shot a 75 to finish 19th with a 157 total.
The medalist was Grand Canyon's Ashley Mooney who
had a 75 to finish with a 148 total.
Karly Olsen of Saint Martin's was the only other GNAC
player in the Top 40. She finished 23rd with a 159 total.
Grand Canyon Invitational (Apr. 2-3 at Wigwam GC, Litchfield Park,
Ariz.): Team Scores - 1. Grand Canyon 604 (306-298); 2. Sonoma State
614 (311-303); 3. CSU Monterey Bay 621 (318-303); 4. St. Edward's 622
(319-303); 5. Tarleton State 624 (312-312); 11. Western Washington 646
(322-324); 15. MSU Billings 665 (345-320); 17. Saint Martin's 670 (337333). Individuals (Par 71) - 1. Ashley Mooney, GCU, 148 (73-75); 19.
Alexandria Taylor, WWU, 157 (82-75); 23. Karly Olsen, SMU, 159 (80-79);
42. Sophie Elstrott, WWU, 162 (81-81) and Cayley Fish, MSUB, 162 (7983); 49. Claire Rachor, WWU, 163 (78-85) and Jennifer Kent, SMU, 163
(80-83); 54. Kalli Stanhope, MSUB, 164 (88-76); 60. Anna Bourland,
WWU, 165 (82-83); 62. Kara Zitzman, WWU, 166 (81-85); 66. Melissa
Saken, MSUB, 167 (89-78); 78. Katie Fish, MSUB, 172 (89-83) and
Kimberly Vivian, SMU, 172 (89-83); 85. Capri Ingram, MSUB, 177 (90-87);
87. Elizabeth Ferry, SMU, 179 (91-88); 89. Amanda Wittmier, SMU, 184
(88-96).
Monday, Apr. 2
Baseball: Western Oregon Extends Lead To Four
Games
Shortstop Blake Miller and right fielder David Amberson
led Western Oregon offensively Monday as the Wolves
swept a Great Northwest Athletic Conference baseball
doubleheader from Saint Martin's.
Miller doubled for two runs in the third as WOU overcame
a 1-0 deficit scoring four times including two on a double
by Folkinga. Folkinga completed the twinbill with three
hits and four RBI.
The two wins enabled Western Oregon (20-7, 9-1) to open
a four-game lead over Central Washington in the
conference race. The Saints (9-22, 5-9) dropped six back.
Track and Field: Worthen Goes 5-7 3/4 in High Jump
Seattle Pacific's Ali Worthen leaped a career-best 5 feet, 7
¾ inches in the high jump, and is in fifth place with 3,064
points at the midpoint of the women's heptathlon
competition in the Sam Adams Multi-Event at Westmont
College.
Halfway through the men's decathlon, Falcons junior Nate
Johnson is in 11th place with 3,298 points. Former Seattle
Pacific star Chris Randolph, now with California-based
Team Skechers, leads with 3,920.
Worthen will need another 1,336 points in Tuesday's three
events – the long jump, javelin and 800 meters – to meet
the minimum total of 4,400 she needs for consideration for
the national meet. The automatic qualifying score is 5,069.
Johnson, who set personal bests of 11.45 in the 100 meters
and 6-1 1/2 in the high jump, will need at least set 3,002
points in Tuesday's five events – 110 hurdles, discus, pole
vault, javelin, and 1,500 – to get to the 6,300 minimum for
inclusion on the NCAA provisional qualifying list.
Women's Golf: Vikings Seventh at Grand Canyon
Western Washington is in seventh place, 16 strokes off the
lead, following first-round action Monday in an 18-team
field at the Grand Canyon University Spring Invitational
Tournament.
Final-day play at the Wigwam Golf Course in Litchfield
Park, Ariz., Tuesday begins at 7 a.m.
Barry Buccaneer Invitational (Apr. 2-3 at Normandy Shores GC,
Miami Shores, Fla.): Team Scores - 1. Laval, Quebec, 562 (278-284)
and Barry 562 (281-281); 3. CSU Stanislaus 568 (285-283) and Nova
Southeastern 568 (287-281); 8. Western Washington 579 (288-291).
Individuals (Par 71, 6,805 Yards) - 1. Oscar Lengden, Nova, 134 (6965); 7. Dylan Goodwin, WWU, 140 (68-72); 25. Nick Varelia, WWU, 144
(73-71); 37. Jake Webb, 147 (73-74); 44. Craig Crawford, WWU, 148 (7474); 48. Brian Barhanovich, WWU, 149 (75-74).
Sunday, Apr. 1
The 17th ranked Vikings shot 322. Host and No.7-rated
Grand Canyon leads at 306. WWU's Claire Rachor is tied
for 11th after shooting 7-over par 78.
Softball: Eugenio, Klemm Named To All-Tourney
Team
The individual leader at 1-over 72 is Tarleton State's
Sharon Lau, one stroke ahead of Grand Canyon 's Ashley
Mooney.
Saint Martin's shortstop Morgan Klemm and first baseman
Joslyn Eugenio were named to the all-tournament team at
the 11th annual Cal State Stanislaus Tournament of
Champions softball tournament Sunday.
Saint Martin's is in 15th place and Montana State Billings
is 18th after the first round. MSUB's Cayley Fish shot a 79
and is tied for 17th. SMU's Karly Olsen and Jennifer Kent
had 80s and are tied for 26th.
The Saints (20-10-1) finished the three-day event with a 42 record losing 5-1 in the Gold Bracket semifinals Sunday
to Cal State Monterey Bay. The Otters then beat Grand
Canyon 6-5 in the championship match.
Grand Canyon Invitational (Apr. 2-3 at Wigwam GC, Litchfield Park,
Ariz.): Team Scores - 1. Grand Canyon 306; 2. Sonoma State 311; 3.
Tarleton State 312; 4. CSU Monterey Bay 318; 5. St. Edward's and
Northeastern 319; 7. Western Washington 322; 15. Saint Martin's 337; 18.
MSU Billings 345. Individuals (Par 71) - 1. Sharon Lau, Tarleton, 72; 11.
Claire Rachor, WWU, 78; 17. Cayley Fish, MSUB, 79; 26. Karly Olsen,
SMU, and Jennifer Kent, SMU, 80; 34. Sophie Elstrott, WWU, and Kara
Zitzman, WWU, 81; 44. Alex Taylor, WWU, and Anna Bourland, WWU,
82; 74. Mandy Wittmier, SMU, and Kalli Stanhope, MSUB, 88; 79. Kim
Vivian, SMU, Melissa Saken, MSUB, and Katie Fish, MSUB, 89; 86. Capri
Ingram, MSUB, 90; 88. Liz Ferry, SMU, 91.
Klemm batted .556 banging out 10 hits in 18 at bats.
Including two pre-tournament wins over Humboldt State,
Klemm had 14 hits in 24 at bats and drove in eight runs in
eight contests, tying Kelsie McGladrey for the team high in
that category.
Men's Golf: Goodwin Under Par at Miami Shores
Western Washington's Dylan Goodwin shot 2-under par
140 over 36 holes and is tied for seventh and the Vikings
are eighth in a 14-team field at the Barry University
Buccaneer Invitational.
Final-round play at the Normandy Shores Golf Club in
Miami Shores, Fla., begins at 7:15 a.m. Tuesday.
Goodwin posted rounds of 68 and 72 on Monday. He is six
shots behind leader Oscar Lengden from Nova
Southeastern, who shot 8-under 134 (69-65).
WWU, ranked No.10 in the latest NCAA Division II Top
25 Poll, had rounds of 288 and 291 for a 579 total.
Laval (278-284), located in Quebec, Canada , is tied with
nationally No.1-ranked Barry (281-281) for the team lead
at 6-under 562. Barry is the four-time defending champion.
No.3-ranked Cal State Stanislaus (285-283) is tied with
No.4 Nova Southeastern (287-281) for third at 568 and
No.2 Lynn (284-286) is fifth at 570.
Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead and Peter Thompson are a few
of the golf legends who played Normandy Shores regularly.
Eugenio batted .529 in the tournament with nine hits in 17
at bats. Including the HSU games, she hit .520 (13 of 25).
Six of her hits were doubles.
In Sunday's other games, Central Washington (12-19)
posted a pair of victories, defeating CSU Stanislaus 4-2 and
then edging arch-rival Western Washington 4-3 to win the
consolation bracket title.
The Vikings (8-25) lost their final round-robin game
Sunday morning to Chaminade 5-4, then blanked nationally
20th ranked UC San Diego 1-0 prior to losing to the
Wildcats.
Montana State Billings (24-8) split its two Bronze bracket
contests, defeating San Francisco State 5-3, then losing 2-1
to Chaminade in the bracket title contest.
Western Oregon (6-19) fell to Sonoma State 4-0 in the
Platinum bracket semifinal contest.
CSU Monterey Bay 5, Saint Martin's 1: Sara Bakos had
two of Saint Martin's six hits. Monterey Bay, however,
scored twice in the fourth and three times in the fifth to
open up a 5-0 lead before the Saints got on the board in the
seventh on a single by Lacey McGladrey.
Chaminade 5, Western Washington 4: The Vikings took
a 4-3 lead in the sixth on a RBI single by leadoff hitter
Kristen Allen, but the Silverswords won the game in the
seventh scoring twice on singles by Anuhea Yamaguichi
and designated player Aja Keyes. Jackie Rothenberger and
Kaleigh Keating each had two hits and a RBI for the
Vikings.
Western Washington 1, UC San Diego 0: Pitcher
Stephanie Fox tossed a four-hit shutout and drove in the
game's only run with a seventh-inning double as the
Vikings dropped the Tritons to 29-13 on the season.
Cheyenne Best had three hits and Jessica Carey and Fox
each had two for WWU.
Central Washington 4, CSU Stanislaus 2: Maria Gau
hurled a four-hitter and Breanna Thomas and Carrina
Wagner each had two hits for the Wildcats who scored
single runs in the first, second, third and fifth innings.
Wagner drove in two runs with a homer in the second and a
double in the fifth.
Central Washington 4, Western Washington 3: Wagner
homered in the second and the Wildcats snapped a 2-2 tie
in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Heidy Wells before adding
what turned out to be the winning run on a double by Elena
Carter. The Vikings outhit their rivals 8-3, including two by
Rachelle Berry. Krista Bickar homered in the second for
WWU's first run.
MSU Billings 5, San Francisco State 3: Rose Harrington
had three hits and Mary Grace Bywater took a shutout into
the seventh in the 'Jackets' win. MSUB also got two hits
from catcher Britney Sanders. Bywater improved to 5-1
with the victory.
Chaminade 2, MSU Billings 1: Chaminade catcher
Anuhea Yamaguchi drove in both runs with a single in the
first inning and a home run in the fourth to back the threehit pitching of Brett Aspel. Bobbie Lee had two of MSUB's
three hits. Meanwhile, Amanda Todd tossed a four-hitter,
taking her second loss of the season against five wins.
Sonoma State 4, Western Oregon 0: The Wolves had
seven hits (including two each by Andrea Bailey and
Amanda Evola), but stranded nine as Sonoma's Samantha
Lipperd fanned 10 and won her 20th game against seven
losses.
Clan Finish 3-0 in Simon Fraser Invitational
Simon Fraser won a pair of five-inning contests defeating
Great Falls 11-1 and British Columbia 8-0. In three
tournament games, SFU outscored its opponents 26-2.
Second baseman Lauren Mew had three hits and three RBI
and designated player Sammie Olexa and shortstop Leau
Riske each drove in two runs in SFU's win over Great
Falls.
Cara Lukawesky tossed a two-hit shutout and Olexa had
two hits and drove in four runs against UBC. Kelsey Haberl
had three hits, including a pair of doubles, as SFU (21-7)
ran its win streak to seven games.
MARCH
had three hits and McGladrey had two, including a two-run
home run in the third and a RBI double in the first inning.
Saturday, Mar. 31
MSU Billings 5, Chico State 1: Amanda Todd pitched a
six-hitter as MSUB beat No. 11 Chico State. Rose
Harrington and Emily Osborne each drove in a pair of runs
for the Yellowjackets who scored twice in the second and
three times in the seventh.
Softball: Saint Martin's Advances To Gold Bracket
Saint Martin's split two games Saturday to finish the roundrobin portion of the Cal State Stanislaus Tournament of
Champions softball event with a 4-1 record.
The Saints (20-9) will face Cal State Monterey Bay in
Sunday's Gold Bracket semifinal at 12:15 p.m.
The Saints lost to nationally 11th ranked Chico State 2-1
before shutting out the host Warriors 8-0.
Montana State Billings (23-7) won two of three games to
finish at 3-2, defeating Chico State 5-1 and Dominican 9-1
and losing to CSU Stanislaus 1-0.
The Yellowjackets will play San Francisco State Sunday at
2:30 in a Bronze bracket semifinal game.
Western Oregon (6-18) split its two contests Saturday,
upsetting nationally ninth ranked CSU Dominiguez Hills 32 in nine innings after losing to CSU San Bernardino 12-1.
The Wolves ended up 2-3.
Northwest Nazarene (6-21) split two games beating Chico
State on a walk-off home run by Kristin Refsland, to finish
1-4, while Central Washington (10-19) also ended up 1-4
after losing twice.
The Crusaders edged Sonoma State 3-2 and lost to San
Francisco State 10-8. Central Washington lost 13-3 to Cal
State East Bay and 3-1 to Cal State Monterey Bay.
Western Washington (7-23) improved to 1-3 in the
tournament with a 12-4 win against Dominican.
The Vikings will complete their round-robin schedule
Sunday morning at 8 a.m. against Chaminade.
The bracket matchups for Western Oregon, Central
Washington and Western Washington will all be dependent
on the result of Sunday morning's WWU/Chaminade game.
Northwest Nazarene will not compete in bracket play due
to its university policy of not playing games on Sunday.
Chico State 2, Saint Martin's 1: Chico State scored twice
in the fourth on a double by Rachel Failla and a single by
pitcher Sam Baker and Baker tossed a four-hitter to beat the
Saints. SMU's lone run came in the second on a fielder's
choice by Tiffany Griffiths.
Saint Martin's 8, CSU Stanislaus 0: Sam Munger tossed
a three-hit shutout for her 10th win against four losses and
Kelsie McGladrey and Taviah Jenkins homered to power
the Saints to their 20th win of the season. Morgan Klemm
CSU Stanislaus 1, MSU Billings 0: Kristan Burns singled
for the game's only run in the first inning and Natalie
Rendon blanked MSUB on five hits, including four singles
and a double by Brittney Sanders. Kasie Conder gave up
nine hits in losing her first game of the season in six
decisions.
MSU Billings 9, Dominican 1: Annaleisha Parsley had
three hits, one more than she allowed in the circle as she
improved her record to 4-1 in the five-inning contest.
Parsley had two doubles and two RBI. Shortstop Becca
Frank had a three-run triple in the second as MSUB built an
early 4-1 lead.
CSU San Bernardino 12, Western Oregon 1: Shortstop
Britney Butler had a grand slam home run and drove in six
runs and catcher Alex Mitchell had five hits and four RBI
to pace the Coyotes, WOU scored its lone run in the third
on a single by Amanda Evola.
Western Oregon 3, CSU Dominguez Hills 2: Amanda
Worthey had a RBI double and then scored on a single by
Ashley Worthey as the Wolves scored two in the ninth.
Kendra George homered for WOU's first run in the opening
inning and Brittany Reeves went the distance, allowing
eight hits.
Northwest Nazarene 3, Sonoma State 2: Kristin
Refsland's two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the
seventh earned the Crusaders a walk-off victory. NNU,
which didn't leave anyone on base, also scored in the
second inning on a home run by Elizabeth Beaty.
Meanwhile, Krista Olson evened her record at 2-2,
scattering nine hits,
San Francisco State 10, Northwest Nazarene 8: Ashley
Huff and Kelsey Murakami had RBI singles as the Gators
broke a 8-8 tie with two runs in the eighth. Arielle Chao hit
two home runs and drove in five runs to pace NNU,
Cal State East Bay 13, Central Washington 3: The
Pioneers banged out 19 hits in defeating the Wildcats in
five innings. East Bay scored eight runs in the first and
added four more in the second, plenty for pitcher Talia
Ferrari who limited the Wildcats to six hits, including a
double by Breanna Thomas.
CSU Monterey Bay 3, Central Washington 1: The Otters
scored single runs in the first, second and fourth and three
pitchers limited the Wildcats to two hits, singles by Liz
Jusko and Molly Coppinger.
Western Washington 12, Dominican 4: The Vikings
scored nine runs in the fifth to overcome a 4-3 deficit.
Jessica Carey and Cheyenne Best each had three hits, while
Carey, Meghan Carrillo and Krista Bicker all drove in two
runs in the win.
Kincannon had three hits, including two singles and a
double, and scored four runs. Comer had two hits and three
RBI for MSUB.
Simon Fraser Outscores Great Falls 7-1
Softball: Saints Unbeaten in Tournament of Champions
Kelsie Hawkins pitched six scoreless innings to lead Simon
Fraser to a 7-1 win over Great Falls Saturday in the SFU
Invitational at Beedie Field.
Saint Martin's ran its win streak to 10 games Friday
winning three games, including a 8-0 victory over
nationally ninth-ranked Cal State Dominiguez in the
Tournament of Champions softball tournament at Turlock,
Calif.
The Clan was led offensively by third baseman Sammie
Olexa, right fielder Rosie Murphy and second baseman
Lauren Few with two hits each. Murphy drove in two runs.
Hawkins allowed six hits, walked one and fanned two in
improving to 7-4. UGF scored its only run in the seventh
off reliever Carling Hare.
SFU's second game against British Columbia was rained
out. The tournament continues Sunday.
Baseball: Wildcats, Yellowjackets Split
Designated hitter Jordan Carlson doubled to drive in two
runs in the bottom of the seventh earning Montana State
Billings a 6-5 win over Central Washington and a split of a
doubleheader Saturday at Dehler Park in Billings.
The Wildcats (10-14, 6-6) won the first game 15-12
building a 15-4 lead then surviving a five-run eighth and
three-run ninth by the Yellowjackets who won three of the
four games in the series.
Prior to Carlson's game-winning hit, Matt Comer had
provided most of MSUB's second-game offense, driving in
three runs with a pair of home runs.
His solo shot in the first gave the 'Jackets (11-11, 4-6) a 1-0
lead and his two-run blast in the third extended MSUB's
lead to 4-1.
Central, however, took the lead in the fifth scoring four
times on a RBI triple by Brett Bielec, RBI single by
Brandon Wang and RBI doubles by Derrick Webb and
Brady Kincannon.
MSUB, however, got singles from Brody Miller and Comer
and an intentional walk following a sacrifice to set up
Carlson's game-winner in the seventh earning the victory
for reliever Bobby Ragasa, who allowed just one hit in 2
2/3 innings.
In the first game, Jimmy Ryerson had three hits and six
RBIs to power the Wildcats. Ryerson had homers in both
games and finished the twinbill with five hits in eight at
bats and seven RBI.
DH David Leid and Kincannon also keyed the first game
win. Leid had three hits, scored three runs and drove in
four, three with a second-inning home run.
Friday, Mar. 30
The Saints (19-8-1) also beat Dominican (Calif.) 7-2 and
Chaminade 4-3 to emerge as the only GNAC team to win
more than one game Friday.
Montana State Billings, Central Washington and Western
Oregon all won just one contest, while Western
Washington and Northwest Nazarene were winless. Overall
GNAC teams went 6-11.
Sam Munger blanked Dominguez (33-7) on just one hit in
SMU's five-inning mercy rule victory.
The Saints ended the contest with four runs in the fifth
inning. First baseman Joslyn Eugenio had three hits and
third baseman Sara Bakos drove in three runs to pace the
Saints.
SMU overcame a 3-1 deficit against Chaminade scoring
two runs in the sixth before Sara Bakos won the game in
the seventh with a game-ending single.
Munger improved to 9-4 picking up the win in relief,
allowing just one hit in 1 2/3 innings. Morgan Klemm and
Eugenio led the offense with three hits each. On the day
Eugenio went seven of nine.
Munger had four hits and three RBI and Lacey McGladrey
had three hits to back the four-hit pitching of Eugenio
against Dominican.
Montana State Billings Split Two Contests
Chaminade got a two-out two-run double in the fourth
inning from Rayna Strom-Okimoto to beat Montana State
Billings 2-0 and snap the Yellowjackets 11-game win
streak.
MSUB (21-6) managed just five hits, two by Jenna
VanEykeren. Jessyka MacDonald allowed one hit in three
innings in relief, but that allowed the two inherited runners
to score pinning the loss on starter Jessica Campbell.
The Yellowjackets bounced back to beat Cal State San
Bernardino 3-1, scoring twice in the first on a double by
Emily Osborn and in the fifth on a leadoff home run by
Bobbie Lee.
Mary Grace Bywater scattered eight hits and benefited
from two double plays to pick up the win and improve to 41.
Central Washington Beats Humboldt, Loses To UCSD,
SFSU
Maria Gau tossed a four-hitter and Cassi Ellis drove in all
three of her team's runs with a RBI single in the fourth and
a two-run home run in the sixth as the Wildcats beat
Humboldt State 3-1.
Gau didn't walk a batter and fanned eight in the victory.
The Wildcats also got three hits from Bre Thomas.
CWU (10-17) managed just three hits, two by Jen
Schwartz, in a 5-0 loss to UC San Diego.
The Wildcats then dropped a 5-4 decision to San Francisco
State as the Gators scored all five of their runs in the third.
CWU scored its runs on a two-run home run by Heidy
Wells in the first and a two-run single by Ellis in the sixth.
Five RBI for Evola As Wolves Win One of Three
Amanda Evola drove in five of Western Oregon's eight
runs as the Wolves won one of three games.
Evola hit a three-run home run in the third inning in a 3-1
defeat of Dominican. Myranda Sawyer scattered seven hits
and didn't walk a batter in the win while fanning six.
NNU Drops A Trio to East Bay, Humboldt, Monterey
Sara Holdridge hit two home runs and drove in five runs to
lead Cal State East Bay to a 10-8 win over Northwest
Nazarene.
The Crusaders (5-20) also lost to Humboldt State 7-3 and
Cal State Monterey Bay 5-0.
Chelsea Allsbrook had a three-run double in the first inning
and Arielle Chao had a three-run home run in the fourth
inning to lead the Crusaders.
Nina Villanueva hit a home run and drove in two runs in
Monterey Bay's victory. NNU scored all three of its runs in
the seventh against Humboldt State.
Chao and Emily Renfrow each had four hits to lead NNU
on the day.
Baseball: Montana State Billings Sweeps CWU
Blake Loran drove in five runs in the opener and Colby
Robison had four hits in the nightcap as Montana State
Billings (10-10, 3-5) ran its win streak to six, sweeping
Central Washington, 11-10 and 4-2 Friday at Dehler Park.
The 'Jackets scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth,
including the final three on a home run by Loran to win the
opener.
Natalie Rendon blanked WOU (6-17) on two hits as Cal
State Stanislaus scored a 2-0 win over the Wolves.
CWU (9-13, 5-5) had taken the lead with three runs in the
top of the inning. Zachary Smith got the final three outs and
wasn't charged with a run to earn in second win against no
losses.
WOU rallied from a 6-1 deficit, getting four runs in the
sixth, including two on a double by Evola, but Chaminade
then held on for the 6-5 win. Evola went three of four and
Andrea Bailey and Jourdan Williams each had two hits.
Derrick Webb had four hits and Chris Hashimoto had a
home run and four RBI to lead Central.
Vikings Lose Three, Two to Nationally Ranked Teams
No. 9 Cal State Dominguez Hills blanked Westen
Washington on four hits and No. 11 Chico State edged the
Vikings 5-1 in extra innings as WWU fell to 6-23.
WWU started the tripleheader Friday morning with a 6-2
loss to Cal State San Bernardino, which used a five-run
second inning to gain the advantage. Jessica Carey led
WWU with three hits.
CSUDH used a three-run first-inning to beat the Vikings 30. Chico State then snapped a 1-1 tie scoring in the eighth
inning on a two-run home run by designated player Sam
Baker and two more on a single by Britt Wright.
Carey had two more hits for WWU, finishing the day with
six hits in 11 at bats.
In the second game, Robison had MSUB's only two RBI
and half of its eighth hits to back the seven-hit pitching of
Brian Hutchings, who evened his record at 2-2. Brandon
Wang had three hits for the Wildcats.
Football: Wildcats Hire Roberson To Lead Defense
Malik Roberson, a standout defensive lineman for two
seasons at Central Washington University and a former
assistant coach at three NCAA Division I schools in the
Pacific Northwest, has been hired as CWU's defensive
coordinator.
Roberson, 40, replaces Joe Lorig, who resigned from CWU
in January to take a coaching position at Arizona State
University.
"I am excited to have Malik join our staff," CWU coach
Blaine Bennett said. "He has great experience from his time
coaching at the Division I level, and being a Washington
native, he has great connections within our state.
With his affiliation to CWU (a 2001 graduate and former
Wildcat player), it's nice to bring someone back into our
program who has had success both here and elsewhere."
Roberson spent the 2011 season as the defensive line coach
at Portland State University of the Big Sky Conference. His
stop at PSU was the third of his collegiate coaching career,
which dates back to 2000 and also includes stops at Eastern
Washington University (2000-07) and Washington State
University (2008-10).
As the defensive line coach at Portland State last fall,
Roberson helped the Vikings to a 7-4 overall finish. PSU
had an improvement of nearly 100 yards per game in both
rushing defense and total defense from the previous
campaign. Roberson was also previously the defensive line
coach for Paul Wulff at both Washington State and at
Eastern Washington.
As a student-athlete, Roberson played defensive end at both
CWU and at WSU. He played for the Wildcats during the
1994 and 1995 seasons and was a member of the school's
NAIA Division II national championship team in 1995.
Roberson led the Wildcats in tackles for losses (16) and
quarterback sacks (9) as a junior in 1994.
A Spokane native, Roberson prepped at Lewis and Clark
High School, where he graduated in 1989. After playing for
two seasons at Washington State in 1990 and 1991,
Roberson then went back to Lewis and Clark as an assistant
coach for two years before resuming his playing career
with the Wildcats in 1994.
Roberson, who will officially begin at CWU on Monday,
Apr. 2, will be joined in Ellensburg by his wife, Ondria,
and twin daughters, Madison and Makayla. The Robersons
also have a 20-year-old son, Nick.
Men's Basketball: Vikings To Be Honored At Five
Events
The NCAA Division II national champion Western
Washington University men's basketball team will be
honored at a number of events over the next five weeks.
On Thursday, Apr. 5, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., there will be a
campus celebration at a site to be determined. More
information on this event will be released Monday.
The team will be recognized at the WWU Board of
Trustees meeting on Friday, Apr. 13, at 8 a.m.; and will be
introduced with head coach Brad Jackson throwing the
ceremonial first pitch at the Seattle Mariners' baseball game
Saturday, Apr. 14 (6 p.m.) at Safeco Field.
On Monday, Apr. 16, the Vikings will be the dinner guests
of WWU President Bruce Shepard and his wife Cyndie at
their home.
The WWU men's basketball banquet is slated for Sunday,
Apr. 29 (4:30-6:30 p.m.), at the Best Western Lakeway Inn.
More details will be released next week.
And on Friday, May 4, the team will travel to Olympia to
receive congratulations from Governor Christine Gregoire.
Thursday, Mar. 29
Softball: Munger Leads Saints To Sweep of Humboldt
Sam Munger had five hits and also pitched a four-hitter
leading Saint Martin's to a 11-1, 10-7 sweep of Humboldt
State Thursday in a neutral site doubleheader at Pedretti
Park in Turlock, Calif.
In the opener, Munger (7-4) walked one and fanned five as
the Saints won the five-inning contest. Munger and first
baseman Joslyn Eugenio led the Saint offense with three
hits each.
Munger, Megan Antonovich, Morgan Klemm and Sara
Bakos all had two RBI. SMU scored in all four of its at bats
getting three runs in the first, four in the second one in the
third and three in the fourth.
In the second game, the Saints led 8-3 after five innings
before the Lumberjacks scored four runs in the sixth. SMU,
however, added two insurance runs in the seventh on a
double by Morgan Klemm.
Klemm finished the contest with three RBI also singling for
a run in the third frame.
SMU finished the contest with 13 hits getting two each
from Lacey McGladrey, Munger, Klemm, Kelsie
McGladrey and Madison Davis. That gave them 27 on the
day.
Taylor Bakos got the win, giving up five runs and 10 hits in
5 1/3 innings to improve to 7-2.
The Saints, who are now 16-8-1, will begin play in the Cal
State Stanislaus 11th annual Tournament of Champions
Friday at Turlock. HSU fell to 10-25 on the season with the
losses.
Wednesday, Mar. 28
Softball: Harasymczuk National Player-of-the-Week
Outfielder Meg Harasymczuk of Montana State Billings
has been named the Louisville Slugger Division II National
Player-of-the-Week.
Harasymczuk was nearly unstoppable last week as she went
five for seven at the plate with 11 walks, 10 of which were
intentional.
She finished the week with 11 RBIs, 10 runs, four home
runs, two stolen bases and a double.
Her numbers on the week bordered the absurd with a .714
batting average, a .889 on-base percentage, and a 2.517
slugging percentage.
While given limited opportunities at the plate, the Spring
Creek, Nevada native made each one count by going for
extra bases with each hit, including four round-trippers.
Harasymczuk was also the hero of Game 2 on Saturday
against Western Oregon when she hit a walk-off grand
slam to give the Yellowjackets a 13-10 win.
Harasymczuk is currently batting .407 so far this season
and leads the GNAC with 13 home runs and 39 RBIs.
Montana State Billings is 20-5 overall and 17-3 in
conference play. The Yellowjackets will look to keep their
11-game win streak alive this weekend when they travel to
Turlock, Calif., for the annual Tournament of Champions.
Baseball: Folkinga West Region Hitter of Week
Bo Folkinga of Western Oregon has been selected at the
West Region Hitter of the Week by the NCBWA.
Folkinga, a senior first baseman from Twin Falls, Idaho,
had nine hits in 15 at bats and drove in 11 runs as the
Wolves won three of four games last week with Central
Washington.
Among Folkinga's hits were four doubles and two home
runs. Folkinga now leads the GNAC in doubles (11) and
runs batted in (31).
Montana State Billings 894 (302-297-295); 19. Northwest Nazarene 911
(304-309-298). Individuals (Par 72) - 1. Trevor Blair, CSU Stanislaus,
207 (72-66-69) and Eddie DeLashmutt, UCCS, 207 (69-69-69); 3. Nick
Varelia, WWU, 209 (71-66-72); 7. Craig Crawford, WWU, 211 (64-75-72)
and Dylan Goodwin, WWU, 211 (71-71-69); 14. Zach Dietz, SMU, 213
(71-70-72); 32. Brandon Moore, SMU, 218 (73-73-72); 40. Marcus
Drange, MSUB, 220 (73-72-75) and Brad Harrelson, MSUB, 220 (77-7370); 45. Jake Webb, WWU, 221 (74-76-71) and Ben Fosnick, SMU, 221
(75-74-72); 51. Mark Strickland, WWU, 222 (74-73-75) and Matt Epstein,
SMU, 222 (70-77-75); 61. Eric Gravbrot, MSUB, 225 (76-74-75) and Nick
Hardy, NNU, 225 (77-78-70); 66. Michael Jaeger, SMU, 226 (74-75-77)
and Zach Grunig, NNU, 226 (75-78-73); 77. Preston Richards, MSUB, 229
(76-78-75); 81. Brock Sargent, NNU, 230 (77-75-78) and Matt Sturgill,
NNU, 230 (75-78-77); 95. Thomas Hanacek, NNU, 238 (77-79-82); 97.
Houston Bradbury, MSUB, 245 (80-80-85).
Baseball: Crusaders Fall to College of Idaho
Freshman Parker Vernon took a shutout into the sixth
inning of his first collegiate start and Jeffrey Harris went 3for-5 as NAIA No. 22 ranked College of Idaho defeated
Northwest Nazarene 11-4 at Wolfe Field in Caldwell.
Harris roped a two-run double in the first to give C of I (239) an early lead, extending it to 9-0 with a five-run fifth keyed by a two-run triple from Tyler Andazola.
NNU (15-12) had chances early, but hit into three double
plays in the first five innings.
Tuesday, Mar. 27
The Crusaders finished the contest with 15 hits, but
stranded 10. Sam Cook and Charlie Gorzo each had three
base hits for NNU.
Men's Golf: Vikings Finish Second At Grand Canyon
Monday, Mar. 26
Western Washington had three players place among the top
seven in finishing second among 20 teams at the Grand
Canyon Thunderbird Spring Invitational at the Wigwam
Red (Heritage) Golf Course at Litchfield Park, Ariz.
Men's Basketball: Vikings Return Home Triumphant
The Vikings shot a final-round 4-under par 284 Tuesday
for a 54-hole total of 15-under 849. They were nine shots
behind champion and No.3-rated Cal State Stanislaus,
which finished 24-under par at 840 after shooting 278, the
best round of the tournament.
WWU's Nick Varelia tied for third with a seven-under par
total of 209, including a 72 Tuesday. Craig Crawoford and
Dylan Goodwin tied for seven with five-par par totals of
211.
Tying for medalist honors at 9-under 207 were Trevor Blair
from Cal State Stanislaus and Eddie DeLashmutt from
Colorado-Colorado Springs.
Saint Martin's, Montana State Billings and Northwest
Nazarene finished ninth, 17th and 19th, respectively, in the
tournament.
Grand Canyon Invitational (Mar. 26-27 at Wigwam GC, Litchfield
Park, AZ): Team Scores - 1. Cal State Stanislaus 840 (279-283-278); 2.
Western Washington 849 (280-285-284); 3. Colorado - Colorado Springs
851 (288-284-279); 4. Abilene Christian 853 (287-284-282); 5. Grand
Canyon #2 857 (282-283-292); 9. Saint Martin's 871 (288-292-291); 17.
BY ANDREW LANG (Bellingham Herald)
When five-year senior Rory Blanche began his Western
Washington basketball career as a freshman, he was simply
trying to make a strong impression on coach Brad Jackson.
Little did he know he'd be one of the key components in
giving Western its first NCAA Division II basketball
national championship in program history.
"I definitely didn't think as a freshman that we would ever
get here," Blanche said.
But perhaps even more important to the senior engineering
major, as WWU Senior Vice President Eileen Coughlin
said in her welcome home address to the men's team and
the couple hundred fans who welcomed the team home
Sunday afternoon, is the fact he helped "put Western on the
map."
"I think that is the biggest accomplishment I could make
here, being able to leave Western at a better place than
where it was when I got here," Blanche said. "This is a
testament to all the hard work. I couldn't imagine ending
my career any better. Having that confetti fall made me
think we didn't do something special, we did something
incredible."
Blanche and the rest of the national champion Vikings were
met by roughly 200 spectators who turned out Sunday to
welcome the basketball team home behind the SMATE
building on the campus of WWU.
Fans, family members and school officials dressed in
Western blue and white waved flags, held signs and
cheered loudly as a police escort led the team bus to the
back of the building.
Senior Zach Henifin was the first player of the bus and held
the NCAA Division II championship trophy over his head
to a rousing applause.
"Coach wanted one of the seniors to get off first with the
trophy," Henifin said. "We talked about it on the bus, and
Rory got to get off the plane with it, so they said I should
get off the bus with (the trophy.) I said all right as long as
you film me."
Onlookers began chanting "Dub Dub U, Dub, Dub U" as
players one-by-one climbed down the bus' steps and made
their way to a podium set up behind the SMATE building,
stopping along the way for a picture and an autograph or
two.
"One of the cutest stories I was told was that an NCCA
official told the guys after the semifinal game that they
would be getting a charter flight home. One of the kids
asked, 'Is that if we win, or do we get it if we lose, too?"
After beating Montevallo 72-65 in front of a national CBS
viewing audience, a private jet home was one of many
perks the Vikings had enjoyed in the last 24 hours.
While many school officials and family members
exchanged congratulatory handshakes and hugs, fans and
WWU students such as 22-year-old Laurie Wolf and 25year-old Logan Johnson went around congratulating the
players they had watched and rooted for all season long.
"I love basketball, and it's my favorite sport," Wolf said.
"It's been so fun this year. I've been to almost every game. I
was in disbelief yesterday when we won a national
championship. This is my proudest moment as a Western
student. I was almost in tears when they won."
"It's been a blast cheering them on all season," Johnson
said. It's cool to see how they've improved all year. It was
crazy seeing them on CBS and hearing Greg Gumbel talk
about Western Washington University."
For Henifin, two of three Western seniors who played their
final game in blue and white Saturday, the past two weeks
have been full of impressive accomplishments.
Coughlin was the first to address the team and the crowd.
"You have put Western on the map, and you have set the
bar higher" Coughlin exclaimed to the newly anointed
national champions. "You won because you believed in
yourself and one another."
Following Coughlin's words, Jackson gave a message to all
those in attendance.
"This is not only for these players, but this is for all the
players who have played here before," Jackson said to the
crowd. "We're on top of the world right now. I'm so excited
for our national champions."
Finally, Jackson called his team captain up to the podium to
say a word.
"I'm truly honored to be a part of this team," Blanche said.
"I told myself at the beginning of the year that I wanted to
go out with a win, but I didn't know it would be a national
title."
WWU President Bruce Shepard, who was in Kentucky to
watch the Vikings win their title Saturday, was also in
attendance to welcome the team home. He expressed his
pride in the team and Jackson's accomplishment.
"This is absolutely, truly an experience of a lifetime,"
Shepard said. "You could see steel in these guys' eyes.
They got the job done."
Shepard shared an anecdote he heard while in Kentucky.
The day Western won the West Regional and advanced to
the Elite Eight, Henifin graduated from WWU with his
general studies degree.
"I'm actually done at Western now," said Henifin with a
smile. "I have nothing to do."
Although Henifin may be done with his career as a Viking,
along with Blanche and Dan Young, as Jackson put it, what
Henifin and the rest of WWU accomplished this season
will not be forgotten anytime soon.
"There's only been one other national champion in
Washington, and that was (University of Puget Sound) in
1976," Jackson said. "We've had some very good seasons
here, but I think this year really validates everything."
Rohde Selected as National Player of the Year by DII
Bulletin
Taylor Rohde of Alaska Anchorage as been named the
NCAA Division II National Player of the Year by the
publication Division II Basketball.
The All-American award is the fourth for Rohde, who
earlier was selected to the NABC (Coaches), Daktronics
(SIDs) and Basketball Times All-American teams.
Rohde led the GNAC in scoring (19.8), field-goal
percentage (62.7) and double-doubles (9), and finished in a
virtual three-way tie for the rebounding lead with 8.0 per
game.
Rohde was one of two West Region players named to the
first team along with Jet Chang of BYU-Hawaii. Rory
Blanche of Western Washington was an honorable mention
pick.
Jackson Named National Coach-of-the-Year Twice
Brad Jackson has been named NABC Division II National
Coach of the Year by both the National Association of
Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the publication Division
II Bulletin.
Jackson will receive his NABC award at the AT&T NABC
Guardians of the Game awards show Apr. 1 at the New
Orleans Theatre at the Ernest Morial Convention Center in
New Orleans , La.
In his 27th season as head coach at WWU, Jackson 's teams
have reached postseason play 19 times.
In the second contest, all six of Central's runs off Viking
pitcher Stephanie Fox (2-4) were unearned as WWU
committed five errors.
The Wildcats scored two runs in the third, both on a double
by Cassi Ellis. They added four more in the sixth, two on a
single by Jen Schwartz.
WWU's only run off Heidy Wells (2-5), who pitched a
complete game, was a home run by Amanda Flores in the
fourth, her third of the season.
Wells gave up just five hits including three to Bickar. Ellis
and Schwartz paced Central with three each.
Schwartz got all of her hits in the nightcap. The Wildcats
had 10 in all, two each by Wells and Molly Coppinger.
Allen, Carrillo and Fox each had two hits for WWU in the
opener.
His teams have an overall won-lost record of 518-279 and
Jackson was selected as the NABC West District Coach of
the Year.
Sunday, Mar. 25
He also won that award in 2010 and ranks among the top
20 Division II coaches nationally in winning percentage.
Kalli Stanhope had a final round of 77 and easily won the
individual title Sunday in the Colorado State Pueblo
Thuderwolf Spring Invitational golf tournament on the
Desert Hawk Golf Club in Pueblo.
The Vikings had a 31-5 record this season, a WWU record
for wins in a season, and the national title was the first in
the 110-year history of the program.
Jackson is a past chair of the NCAA Men's Basketball
Rules Committee, where he served for five years as a
Division II representative. He is also a Division II
congressman for the NABC.
Softball: Vikings Debut New Field With Win, Loss
Women's Golf: Stanhope Leads MSUB To Victory
Stanhope finished with a 36-hole score of 149, finishing six
shots ahead of runnerup Maria Manrque of Colorado
Christian. Manrque shot a 74 Sunday to finish at 155.
Stanhope led MSUB to a one-stroke team victory on the
par-72, 6,263 yard layout. MSUB had a 317 team score on
Sunday to finish with a 643 total, one ahead of Colorado
Mesa.
Jenna DeRosier pitched a three-hit shutout as Western
Washington debuted on its new artificial-surfaced field
with a 5-0 win over Central Washington Monday.
MSUB's Melissa Saken also finished in the Top 10 placing
seventh with a 162 total.
The Wildcats (9-15, 8-11) bounced back to win the
nightcap 6-1 over the Vikings (6-20, 4-12).
Stanhope's 36-hole total enabled her to take over the season
scoring lead in the GNAC. She is averaging 76.5 strokes
per round. Claire Rachor of Western Washington ranks
second at 77.2.
DeRosier (3-8) gave up just three singles in her win,
striking out five and walking one. She retired 17 straight
batters after allowing a lead-off base hit in the second
inning and did not allow a Central runner past second.
WWU scored all of its runs in the first two innings, three in
the first and two in the second.
Kristen Allen plated both second inning runs with a double.
In the first, she drew a one-out walk, went to second on a
single by Meghan Carrillo and scored on a double by Krista
Bickar.
Carrillo then scored on a wild pitch and Bickar came home
on a ground out by Rachelle Berry.
Stanhope shot a 72 on Saturday equaling the fourth best
round this spring in the conference.
CSUP Thunderbird Spring Invitational (Mar. 24-25 at Desert Hawk
GC, Pueblo, Colo.): Team Scores - 1. Montana State Billings 643 (326317); 2. Colorado Mesa 644 (328-316); 3. Colorado State Pueblo 658
(326-332); 4. Adams State 677 (343-334); 5. Regis 678 (346-332).
Individuals (Par 72, 6,263 Yards) - 1. Kalli Stanhope, MSUB, 149 (7277); 7. Melissa Saken, MSUB, 162 (83-79); 12. Cayley Fish, MSUB, 166
(86-80) and Capri Ingram, MSUB, 166 (85-81); 22. Katie Fish, MSUB, 174
(89-85).
Saturday, Mar. 24
Men's Basketball: Vikings Win NCAA National Title
Woodworth (far right) battles Montevallo players for ball in
Elite Eight championship game Saturday.
Western Washington defeated Montevallo, Ala., 72-65, in
the championship of the NCAA II Elite Eight Saturday in a
nationally televised contest at The Bank of Kentucky
Center at Highland Heights, Kent.
Guard John Allen led five WWU players in double figures
with 14 points as the Vikings concluded their season with a
31-5 record, posting the most victories in school history.
Guard D.J. Rivera, who was named Most Outstanding
Player of the Elite Eight, led Montevallo (29-8) with a
game-high 20 points.
“I'm very proud of our players, very excited for them,” said
27-year head coach Brad Jackson. “They've worked very
hard, they've maintained their focus throughout the year.
They came here believing they could accomplish this.”
WWU held a 33-26 lead early in the second half before
Montevallo hit seven straight shots from the field to go on a
14-2 run and take a 40-35 lead with 15:20 to play.
But the Vikings immediately responded with a run of their
own, putting together a 14-4 charge in less than five
minutes to go ahead 49-44 with 10 minutes left, and
eventually extending the margin to 61-49 on a three-pointer
by Paul Jones with 6:19 left.
“They had not shot it well the whole tournament and
tonight they shot it really well,” said Montevallo coach
Danny Young of WWU's hot stretch. “It got to be one time
there when they were really rolling, even if you had your
hand up it didn't matter. It was going in.”
Forward Zach Henifin and center Chris Mitchell played a
key role in building the lead, combining for 20 of WWU's
first 26 points of the second half.
The Vikings, who shot 54 percent (27-of-50) from the field,
led the rest of the way. Montevallo pulled to within four on
a free throw by Antoine Davis, who finished with 16
points, with 58.3 seconds left, but got no closer.
“We've had other teams that had a lot of blowout wins, and
we didn't have many of those this year,” said Jackson, who
claimed his 500th career victory (current total 518) earlier
this season.
“But we were good down the stretch of games, and it built
a lot of confidence that we could get the job done.”
Mitchell finished 13 points, Henifin had 12. Jones and
guard Richard Woodworth each had 10 points and forward
Rory Blanche added nine. Woodworth also had team-highs
of nine rebounds and four assists.
“(Montevallo) is a tremendous team with tremendous
athletes,” Woodworth said. “They made a run or two, but
our guys never got down, we still had confidence and really
felt we were going to pull it out.”
The first half was tightly contested, with no lead larger than
five points. Montevallo held a 23-21 lead after a Rivera
three-pointer with 6:21 left in the period, but the Vikings
held the Falcons without a field goal the rest of the half and
took a 30-26 lead at halftime after a jumper by Rico
Wilkins at the buzzer.
In all, the contest featured 16 lead changes, 12 in the first
half, and five ties.
WWU held an opponent under 41 percent field goal
shooting for the fifth straight game, as Montevallo shot just
37.5 percent (24-of-64) from the floor.
The Falcons did have a 39-35 advantage in rebounds,
grabbing 20 of their boards at the offensive end.
“We just couldn't get anything going,” said Young. “We
got a lot of attempts at the basket from five feet away and
couldn't put it in the hole. (Western) played great, they
deserve all the credit. That's just how it went.”
It was just the second trip to the NCAA II Elite Eight for
the Vikings, who reached the national semifinals in 2001. It
was, however, the fourth straight time a West Region
representative played in the championship contest. Cal Poly
Pomona reached the title game in 2009 and won it in 2010,
and BYU-Hawaii reached the final last season.
The championship is the first NCAA basketball title at any
level for a school from the state of Washington since
University of Puget Sound won the NCAA II title in 1976.
The Vikings return to Bellingham on Sunday, landing at
Bellingham International Airport on a charter flight at
about 2 p.m.
To read more about WWU's historic victory in a special
section put together by tournament host Northern
Kentucky, click here.
Baseball: Wolves, Wildcats Remain Tied For First Place
Grady Wood and Kyle Long pitched their teams to wins
Saturday as Western Oregon and Central Washington
remained tied for first place in the GNAC with 5-1
conference records.
WOU's Wood took a one-hitter and a 12-0 lead into the
bottom of the eighth on the way to a 12-6 victory in the
opener. But, Central bounced back to win the second game
2-1 as Long pitched a five-hitter.
Saint Martin's and Northwest Nazarene also split as the
Saints (9-21, 5-7) won their opener 7-3. Northwest
Nazarene (15-11, 4-6) earned a split of the four-game series
winning the second contest 6-4.
In a non-conference doubleheader, Montana State Billings
swept Minot State by scores of 8-4 and 6-5. The latter
game, scheduled for seven, went 11 innings.
Wood fanned 10 in extending his two-season win streak to
14 games. He allowed four hits before being replaced with
no out in the eighth by Zach Nuno.
First baseman Bo Folkinga paced WOU's 11-hit first-game
attack with four safeties, driving in seven runs. Folkinga
singled for a run in the first, doubled for a run in the third,
had a two-run double in the fourth and a three-run home
run in the eighth.
Western Oregon (16-7) also got a two-run home run from
David Amberson in the second and a solo shot from Kyle
Blackwell in the seventh. Ethan Sterkel homered for
CWU's final two runs in the ninth.
In the second game the Wildcats (9-9), snapped a 1-1 tie in
the fourth scoring on a sacrifice fly by catcher Kyle Sani.
CWU also scored in the second inning as Sani singled,
advanced on a bunt and wild pitch and scored on an error.
WOU's lone run off of Long (2-2) came in the third on a
single by Amberson. Long, however, was able to pitch out
of jams in both the fifth and seventh innings.
Montana State Billings 8-6, Minot State 4-5
Montana State Billings rallied from a 4-0 deficit to win the
opener, then overcame three deficits to win the nightcap
and complete a sweep of Minot State.
MSUB (6-10) used a five-run fifth to take command of the
opener, going ahead for good on a single by Brody Miller.
Colby Robison drove in two run with a fielder's choice in
the fifth and a solo home run in the seventh. The 'Jackets
had eight hits including two by Ty Gilmore.
Brady Muller pitched the first six innings to get the win and
improve to 3-0. Bobby Ragasa pitched three scoreless
innings to earn his third save. He gave up two hits.
In the second game, MSUB tied the game in the fifth at 1-1
on a single by DH Mack Unruh. In the 10th, the 'Jackets
overcame a 4-1 deficit on a three-run home run by Blake
Nelson.
Then in the 11th, Brody Miller and Nelson had RBI singles
after Minot had taken the lead in the top of the inning.
Nelson's hit, which produced his fourth RBI of the game,
earned Zachary Smith, who pitched just one inning, the
victory.
In the fifth with two runners on, he got Eric Tinnell to
bounce into a double play. Then in the seventh, he pitched
out of a 1st and 2nd, one out situation, getting a fly out and
a ground out to end the game.
Softball: Harasymczuk Powers MSUB To Sweep of
WOU
Saint Martin's 7-4, Northwest Nazarene 3-6
Three times previously, Knox ordered an intentional walk
to Montana State Billings slugger Meg Harasymczuk twice leading off an inning.
Thomas DeBoer tossed a six-hitter and Mario Sanelli had
three hits including a go-ahead single in the sixth to snap a
3-3 tie as the Saints won their opener.
Sanelli delivered a single through the right side to drove in
Adam Hudspeth with the go-ahead run. The Saints added
three more runs in the inning on a double by DH Travis
Jones and an error. Two runs scored on the miscue.
DeBoer didn't walk a batter and fanned two in the nineinning contest. Zach Steele and Charlie Gorzo led NNU
with two hits apiece.
In the second game, NNU scored three runs in the second
and added three more in the fifth going ahead 6-0 before
the Saints rallied for four runs in their half of the fifth.
Ryan Brown, however, then came on to retire the final
seven Saint hitters, two on strikeouts, to secure the win for
Charles Pollock.
Derek Bettinson had two of NNU's seven hits. Sanelli had
his fourth hit of the day to extend his hitting streak to 15.
SMU catcher Chandler Tracy, after going 2 of 2 in the
opener, went 0 for 4 in the second game ending his streak
at 17 games.
Western Oregon coach Pam Knox had the right idea.
But with the bases loaded and WOU holding on to a slip
10-9 lead in the bottom of the seventh, Knox had no choice.
Harasymczuk took advantage of the situation hitting a
walk-off grand slam home run as the first-place
Yellowjackets (18-5, 15-3) completed a 11-5, 13-10 sweep
increasing their lead in the GNAC race over second-place
Saint Martin's (14-8, 10-5) to 3 1/2 games.
The Saints had the day off from conference play, but were
not idle as they shut out Division III Lewis and Clark twice
by 4-0 and 8-0 counts.
Simon Fraser (16-7, 12-6) moved into a tie for secondplace with the Saints (percentage-wise) by sweeping
Central Washington, 12-1 and 3-1. Western Washington (519, 3-11) and Northwest Nazarene (5-17, 5-13) split two
contests by identical 5-3 scores as NNU won the opener
and WWU took the second game.
Harasymczuk hit three home runs - her 10th, 11th and 12th
of the season - and drove in nine runs.
In the opener, she hit a two-run home run during a six-run
second inning and she also doubled in a two-run fourth.
First baseman Emily Osborn had three hits and a pair of
RBI in the victory.
Kendra George led the Wolves with two hits, including
two-run home run in the fourth as WOU pulled to within 65 at that point. Mary Grace Bywater, however, came on to
hurl the final four innings, allowing just two hits and no
runs to earn the win.
Simon Fraser 12-3, Central Washington 1-1
Cara Lukawesky (10-3) allowed just one hit - a RBI single
in the fifth by Breanna Thomas - and third baseman
Sammie Olexa had a double, home run and four RBI in
Simon Fraser's 12-1 victory.
The Clan also got two hits and three RBI from Leah Riske
and two hits from Megan Durrant.
Western Oregon built an 8-0 first-inning lead in the
nightcap getting a two-run home run from Amanda Evola, a
two-run single by Danyelle Hutchison and a three-run
home run from Andrea Bailey in the big frame.
Olexa had a three-run double in the third and a solo homer
in the fourth. Riske homered for three runs in the fourth and
Bouchard also homered in the fourth.
MSUB slowly chipped away scoring three in the first (one
on a leadoff homer by Bobbie Lee and two on a home run
by Harasymczuk), one in the fourth, two in the fifth and
one in the sixth.
In the second game, Kelsie Hawkins (6-4) allowed four hits
and a single run in six innings before Lukawesky retired all
three hitters she faced in the seventh to earn her third save
of the season.
Then in the seventh, trailing 10-7, MSUB exploded for six
runs including the final four on Harasymczuk's slam. Kasie
Conder got the win allowing just two runs on a fourthinning home run by Jourdan Williams, in 6 1/3 innings of
relief.
CWU pitcher Heidy Wells had two of her team's four hits.
SFU snapped a 1-1 tie in the fifth, scoring on singles by
Carly LePoutre and Riske.
Each team had 12 hits in the contest. Lee and Taylor Hoke
had three for MSUB, while Evola had three for the Wolves.
Catcher Elizabeth Beaty drove in three runs with a pair of
doubles as Northwest Nazarene won the first game of the
doubleheader.
Northwest Nazarene 5-3, Western Washington 3-5
Saint Martin's 4-8, Lewis and Clark 0-0
Joslyn Eugenio and Chelsea Felton allowed just four hits in
pitching the Saints to shutouts.
Beaty doubled for two runs in the first and also had a
double to snap a 2-2 tie in the third. Baylee Jolliffe and
Chelsey Anderson had RBI singles in the fifth to provide
some insurance.
Eugenio pitched a three-hitter in the opener. She didn't
walk anyone and fanned two. Meanwhile, the Saints had
seven hits, two each by Lacey McGladrey and Sam
Munger.
Cara Duckworth got the win scattering seven hits. She
didn't walk a batter and fanned five.
SMU scored a run in the first on an error, two in the fifth
on a single by Morgan Klemm and once in the seventh on a
sacrifice fly by Munger.
In the second game, NNU jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first,
scoring twice on a single by Kinghorn and once on a single
by Jolliffe, but the Vikings rallied for four runs in the
fourth, taking the lead on a single by leadoff hitter
Cheyenne Best.
In the second game, the Saints banged out 13 hits in ending
the game early. Lacey McGladrey, Munger, Kelsie
McGladrey, Taviah Jenkins and Sara Bakos all had two
hits.
Munger drove in three runs, one with a third inning single
and two with a fourth inning double. Tiffany Griffiths had a
two-run home run in the fourth.
Felton allowed just one hit, a leadoff single in the fourth.
She walked two and fanned five.
Best, Meghan Carrillo and Jackie Rothenberger all had two
hits for the Vikings. Duckworth and Arielle Chao had three
each for the Crusaders.
Women's Golf: MSUB Tied For Lead at Pueblo
Montana State Billings and host Colorado State Pueblo are
tied for the first round lead in the Thunderbird Ladies
Spring Invitational at the Desert Hawk Golf Club at Pueblo,
Colo.
Both teams had scores of 38-over-par 326 in Saturday's
opening round on the par 72, 6,263 yard layout.
MSUB's Kalli Stanhope is the individual leader with an
even-par 72. She's four shots ahead of the field.
Thunderbird Spring Invitational (Mar. 24-25 at Desert Hawk GC,
Pueblo, Colo.): Team Scores - 1. Montana State Billings and Colorado
State Pueblo 326; 3. Colorado Mesa 328; 4. Adams State 343; 5. Regis
346. Individuals (Par 72, 6,263 Yards) - 1. Kalli Stanhope, MSUB, 72; 9.
Melissa Saken, MSUB, 83; 13. Capri Ingram, MSUB, 85; 17. Cayley Fish,
MSUB, 86.
Friday, Mar. 23
Softball: Crusaders, Vikings Trade Slugfests
Western Washington and Northwest Nazarene combined
for 42 runs and 52 hits in splitting a doubleheader Friday at
Nampa.
The Vikings (4-18, 2-10) won the opener 10-9 scoring six
runs in the seventh inning to rally from a 7-3 deficit before
getting the game-winner in the eighth inning on an error.
The Crusaders (4-16, 4-12) used a nine-run second inning
to overcome a 7-0 deficit and went on to post a 12-11
victory in the nightcap.
Meghan Carrillo, Jackie Rothenberger and Kristen Allen all
had four hits for the Vikings, while Amanda Flores had
four RBI.
In the second game, Tracy had three hits to extend his
hitting streak to 16 games and Jones had a two-run single in
the fourth.
The Saints added three more runs in the sixth, two on a
double by Adam Hudspeth to go ahead 5-1.
But in the seventh NNU got a two-run single by Derek
Bettinson, an RBI single by Alex Barbee and a two-run
double by Jon Matos to go ahead.
Saint Martin's got singles from Tracy and Corey Bassi in
the bottom of the inning, but Aaron Vaughn got the final
out to save the game for Barrett Nielson.
SMU's Mario Sanelli had a hit in each game to extend his
hitting streak to 13 games.
Women's Golf: Vikings Finish Second at Spring Fling
Western Washington finished Friday's final round where it
started, claiming second place in a 10-team field in the
Augustana Spring Fling at Desert Princess Country Club in
Cathedral City, Calif.
Northwest Nazarene was led by Arielle Chao with four hits.
Baylee Jolliffe drove in six runs.
The 19th ranked Vikings had a 31-over par 319 in the final
round to end up at 632, six shots ahead of third-place
Drury.
In the opener, WWU's big hits in its six-run seventh were a
three-run home run by Flores and a two-run single by
Stephanie Fox.
St. Edward's, Tex., which led after the opening round,
pulled away from the field with a 295 on Friday to finish at
601.
After RBI singles by Jolliffe and Brianna Kinghorn in the
bottom of the seventh tied the game at 9-9, Western
Washington got singles by Allie Crowe and Jackie
Rothenberger and a fielder's choice to set up the gamewinning run on the error.
Claire Rachor led the Vikings by finishing in a tie for third,
two shots off the lead. Rachor, who was tied for the lead
after an opening round 73, shot a 3-over par 75 in the final
round and finished at 4-over 148.
Jolliffe had a three-run triple to cap off NNU's nine-run
second inning in the nightcap.
Kinghorn led off the sixth with a home run providing what
turned out to be the winning run when the Vikings rallied
for three runs in the top of the seventh.
Baseball: Saints, Crusaders Split Twinbill
Nate O'Bryan pitched a four-hitter in the opener as Saint
Martin's earned a split of a doubleheader with Northwest
Nazarene Friday at the SMU Baseball Field.
O'Bryan hurled the Saints (8-20, 4-6) to an 8-1 victory.
SMU led the second game 5-1 going into the final inning,
but the Crusaders (14-10, 3-5) rallied for five runs in the
seventh to win it 6-5.
O'Bryan walked one and fanned five in his victory. The
Saints had 12 hits, including three by Zach Leonard and
two by DH Travis Jones. Catcher Chandler Tracy keyed a
five-run third with a three-run home run.
Western's Alexandria Taylor and Kara Zitzman finished
tied for 14th at 162. Taylor had a final-round 83, while
Zitzman shot an 82.
Sophie Elstrott had an 83 to finish at 164, and Anna
Bourland shot a 79 to end up at 167.
Hailey Haught of St. Edward's and Maggie Leland of
Augustana finished tied for the individual lead at 142.
Haught grabbed medalist honors in a three-hole playoff.
Augustana Spring Fling (Mar. 22-23 at Desert Princess Country Club,
Cathedral City, Calif.): Team Scores - 1. St. Edward's 601 (306-295); 2.
Western Washington 632 (313-319); 3. Drury 638 (317-321), 4.
Augustana 640 (315-325); 5. South Dakota State 652 (318-334) and Cal
State San Marcos 652 (330-322). Individuals (Par 72, 5,942 Yards) - 1.
Haley Haught, St. Edward's, 146 (74-72); 3. Claire Rachor, WWU, 148
(73-75); 14. Alexandria Taylor, WWU, 162 (79-83) and Kara Zitzman,
WWU, 162 (80-82); 20. Sophie Elstrott, WWU, 164 (81-83); 25. Anna
Bourland, WWU, 167 (88-79).
Men's Basketball: Rohde Produces Double-Double In
All-Star Game
Alaska Anchorage's Taylor Rohde scored 18 points and
pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds Friday to help the
West squad to a 120-110 victory over the East in the 2012
Reese's NCAA Division II All-Star Game at the KFC Yum!
Center.
The 6-9, 255-pound center shot 9 of 19 from the field and
tallied two assists, two steals and a game-high three blocks,
doing most of his damage in the first half to help the West
build a 56-42 lead at the break. His double-double was the
only one recorded in the contest.
Rohde scored eight of his points during a 13-5 run late in
the first half when the West stretched its lead from 36-26 to
49-31.
Thursday, Mar. 22
Men's Basketball: Vikings To Play For Title on CBS
“This is a dream come true for us,” said Blanche, who
moved into 13th in Western career scoring with 1,264
points. “At the end, we were able to execute. John Allen
has been great in that situation all season.”
Guard Richard Woodworth had 12 points and nine
rebounds for the Vikings, and forward Zach Henifin had 10
points and a game-high 12 rebounds, helping Western
establish a 39-29 advantage on the boards.
“Zach had a great game,” said Western coach Brad Jackson
. “He was a real catalyst for us. He has been the guts of our
team with his quiet leadership.”
Stonehill opened up an 11-4 lead less than six minutes into
the game, but the Vikings took control of the contest by
holding the Skyhawks scoreless for more than six minutes,
running off 16 consecutive points to take a 20-11 lead with
8:27 left in the first half. Six different Western players
scored in the charge, which helped the Vikings hold a 3222 lead at halftime.
Henifin soars for two of of his 10 points. He also had 12
rebounds to key semifinal win.
“I was pleased with how we started the game and how we
stretched out the lead in the second half,” said Jackson. “In
the second half, we got a little tired and Stonehill made a
nice run at us.”
Western Washington opened up a 20-point lead then
survived a late rally to defeat Stonehill College 71-66 in a
semifinal game of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball
Elite Eight Thursday at The Bank of Kentucky Center on
the campus of Northern Kentucky University .
Western held the Skyhawks to 40.4 percent (23-of-57) field
goal shooting, including just 30.8 percent (8-of-26) in the
first half.
The Vikings (30-5) will play Montevallo Saturday at 10
a.m. PDT. for the championship.
Saturday's championship contest will be televised on CBS.
An average audience of 3.1 million people has watched the
NCAA II Championship in recent years.
Forward Rory Blanche led Western with 16 points on 7-of10 field goal shooting.
Stonehill, based in Easton, Mass. , had a 10-game winning
streak snapped and completed its season 25-9. Guard Brian
Hamor led the Skyhawks with a game-high 22 points, and
forward Patrick Lee added 14.
Western led 47-27 with a little over 13 minutes to play, but
Stonehill went on a 19-5 run to close the margin to six (5246) with 5:32 to left.
The lead was never more than nine after that, and
eventually shrank to four three times in the last 1:23, the
final one at 65-61on two free throws by Hamor with 38
seconds left.
But Western was able to convert from the foul line,
knocking down 8-of-10 free throws in the final 46
seconds. Guard John Allen, who finished with 13 points,
was 4-of-4 in that stretch.
“I think our guys have been working hard on defense the
entire season, but we've really stepped it up the last four
games,” Jackson said.
The Vikings, the champions of the West Region, reached
the semifinal with a 64-63quarterfinal triumph over
Midwestern State.
Another All-American Team For Rohde
Taylor Rohde of Alaska Anchorage collected his third AllAmerica honor this season when the NABC unveiled its
2012 NCAA Division II team Thursday.
After receiving first-team honors from Basketball Times on
Monday and Daktronics (sports information directors)
second-team honors on Tuesday, Rohde was one of 16
choices on the coaches' team, which does not differentiate
between first, second or third teams.
The only other West Region selection was Reggie Jones of
Cal State Stanislaus.
Rohde led the GNAC in scoring (19.8), field-goal
percentage (.627) and double-doubles (9), and finished in a
virtual three-way tie for the rebounding lead with 8.0 per
game.
Rohde, who was the only GNAC players selected to the
three All-American teams, will represent UAA one more
time on the court when he plays in Friday's NCAA
Division II All-Star game.
from the right corner to give Western Washington its
largest lead of the game, 53-48.
ALL-AMERICAN: NABC (Coaches): First Team Taylor Rohde, Alaska Anchorage (C, 6-9, Sr., Phoenix,
AZ). Daktronics (SIDs): Second Team - Taylor Rohde,
Alaska Anchorage (C, 6-9, Sr., Phoenix, AZ), Basketball
Times - Taylor Rohde, Alaska Anchorage (C, 6-9, Sr.,
Phoenix, AZ). NABC All-Star Game - Taylor Rohde,
Alaska Anchorage (C, 6-9, Sr., Phoenix, AZ).
“We were able to get up a little bit and sustain that lead the
rest of the game,” Blanche said.
Women's Golf: Rachor Shoots 73, Tied For Lead
Claire Rachor shot a 1-over par 73 to tie for the individual
lead, helping the Western Washington to a second-place
ranking after Thursday's opening round in the Augustana
University Spring Fling at Desert Princess Country Club in
Cathedral, Calif..
The Vikings shot a 25-over par 313, and are just seven
shots behind St. Edward's, Tex., which is at 306. Host
Augustana is third with a 315.
Rachor, who tied her season-best round, is tied with
Maggie Leland of Augustana for the lead.
“Overall, I was pretty pleased,” said Western coach Bo
Stephan. “Claire had our round of the day. She made some
birdies and hit the ball well.”
Alexandria Taylor is tied for 10th after shooting a 79. Kara
Zitzman had an 80 for the Vikings, Sophie Elstrott shot 81
and Anna Bourland carded an 88.
Augustana Spring Fling (Mar. 22-23 at Desert Princess Country Club,
Cathedral City, Calif.): Team Scores - 1. St. Edward's 306; 2. Western
Washington 313; 3. Augustana 315, 4. Drury 317, 5. South Dakota State
318. Individuals (Par 72, 5,942 Yards) - 1. Maggie Leland, Augustana,
73, and Claire Rachor, WWU, 73; 10. Alexandria Taylor, WWU, 79; 12.
Kara Zitzman, WWU, 80; 18. Sophie Elstrott, WWU, 81; 44. Anna
Bourland, WWU, 88.
Wednesday, Mar. 21
Vikings Rally To Reach Semifinals
By Tom Ramsetter
Western Washington rallied from an early 14-point deficit,
shot 61 percent from the field in the second half, and
slipped past Midwestern State 64-63 Wednesday afternoon
in an NCAA Division II national quarterfinal game at
Northern Kentucky University's Bank of Kentucky Center.
The Vikings (29-5) will play Stonehill College, a 91-90
winner over West Liberty Wednesday, in Thursday's
national semifinal at 7 p.m. (4 p.m. Pacific) at NKU.
Forward Rory Blanche hit a jump shot with less than eight
minutes to play to give the Vikings, who set a school record
with their 29th victory of the season, the lead for good at
50-48 and guard Rico Wilkins followed with a 3-pointer
The three-time defending South Central region champion
Mustangs (29-4) cut the lead to one twice in the final two
minutes, but the Vikings held on.
Forward Kevin Grayer had a chance to drive for a winning
bucket after rebounding the second of two missed free
throws by Paul Jones, but Grayer never got a shot off
before time expired.
The Vikings made 14 of 23 shots in the second half after
hitting only 10 of 30 in the first half, but made only 12 of
25 free throws in the game.
“We were a little rattled by their defense early on,”
Western Washington head coach Brad Jackson said. “It
took us awhile to adjust, but we shot the ball a lot better
from the perimeter in the second half.
"We didn't shoot it very well from the free throw line. We'd
like to think we can do a little better there, but at this point
you take them any way that you can and we're pleased to be
advancing.”
Midwestern State shot better from the field in the second
half at 45 percent than it did in the first (36 percent), but
could not keep Western Washington off the scoreboard.
“Our guys really competed,” Midwestern State head coach
Nelson Haggerty said. “I felt we started the game guarding
really well. We got rebounds. We finished stops. We made
some baskets underneath.
"As they started to get offensive rebounds on us, they really
started to get their confidence and make some baskets.”
Blanche led Western Washington with 15 points. John
Allen scored 14 and Richard Woodworth added a seasonhigh 13 points to go with eight rebounds.
“We have a lot of weapons on our team,” Woodworth said.
“We have a lot of guys that score and do a lot of things.
We're a real deep team.
"I feel like tonight, I saw an opportunity and took
advantage of that opportunity," Woodworth added. "We
were a little flat, I just thought start crashing the boards,
start being a little more aggressive, get the team going a
little bit. It was just one of those nights that it was my
night.”
It wasn't the Vikings' day early on.
Midwestern State opened the game with an 11-0 run as
Western Washington struggled to make shots. The Vikings
started went 1-for-8 from the field and had only one
offensive rebound.
“We just made a couple of substitutions just to change
things up a bit and see if we could get going, trying to get
guys to relax,” Jackson said.
“We knew that we weren't playing as we could and we
certainly weren't shooting as we could," Jackson added.
"Most of the year we've been a team that has pretty good
composure and I really didn't sense a lot of panic on our
players' part. They just felt like it was a matter of time.”
The Vikings finally righted themselves and scored seven
straight points to pull within 16-12 before eventually tying
the game at 27-27 at the final buzzer of the first half on a
put-back by Blanche.
“They were playing really good defense in the first half,”
Blanche said. “They have some really big, physical
forwards down low. Hats off to them, they came out with a
lot of intensity. After that we were able to get our feet
underneath us in the first half. I told the team it was time to
make our run.”
TheVikings scored on their final four possessions of the
first half, then took their first lead of the game on a
Woodworth jumper to start the second half.
“When we started to make a run, when we closed the gap at
halftime, that was really big for us,” Jackson said.
“I didn't think we executed very well in the first half. In the
second half we started to loosen up and were able to move
the ball better. I felt like the second part of the game we
started running things and got a mixture of shots that
helped us a great deal.”
Forward David Terrell led all scorers with 21 points for the
Mustangs, most in the paint as Midwestern State held a 3820 advantage down low. But it wasn't enough.
“In the second half, we just couldn't keep those guys out of
the paint for some reason,” Haggerty said. “They were able
to get second-chance shots. A team in the second half
shooting 61 percent from the field and 43 percent from
three, that's not something we're used to. I think that was
the game.”
Next up for the Vikings is Stonehill, who rallied from a 10point second-half deficit Wednesday.
“They have really good balance, they pay really good
defense,” Jackson said. “There's a lot of hustle on that
team. It will be a very interesting matchup between two
ball clubs.”
Tuesday, Mar. 20
Women's Basketball: Seawolves Lose In Quarterfinals
Hanna Johansson scored 17 points as eighth-ranked Alaska
Anchorage fell to No. 2 Ashland (Ohio) 71-51 in the
NCAA Division II Elite 8 quarterfinals at Bill Greehey
Arena in San Antonio Tuesday.
In a game that matched two of the top offensive teams in
Division II, the Eagles (32-1) got a game-high 18 points
from guard Jenna Stutzman, while National Player-of-theYear finalist Kari Daugherty added to her national lead in
double-doubles with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Ashland will move on to face 5th-ranked Bentley in
Wednesday's semifinals.
“It's disappointing right now, but my hat goes off to Coach
(Sue) Ramsey and her team for playing a great game,” said
UAA head coach Tim Moser. “Ashland is really efficient
offensively and they really came to play.”
Meanwhile, the Seawolves (30-5) also got double figures
from point guard Sasha King, who scored 14 points and
grabbed a game-high four steals, however UAA could not
find another offensive weapon as it scored a season-low
point total and shot just 31.7 percent on the day.
“It wasn't our night,” Moser added. “We did some things
tonight that we haven't done all year. I don't know what to
attribute that to, but I'll take the blame as the head coach.
"I'm so proud of this group of seniors – Hanna is here for
the second time in her career and that's an amazing
accomplishment.”
UAA – which was making its third trip to the Elite Eight in
five years – jumped to an early 6-2 lead before the Eagles
roared back to take a 15-point lead with 4:33 left in the
opening half.
The Seawolves scrapped back within 32-23 at the break
and started to cut into the deficit with tenacious defense in
the second half.
King sliced it to a 43-40 game on a driving layup with
13:03 remaining and UAA had a chance to tie when Tijera
Mathews stole the ball on the next possession, but King's
three-pointer was off the mark and Ashland sharpshooter
Lindsay Tenyak nailed a trey on the opposite end.
Tenyak, who shot just 2 of 13 on three-pointers in
Ashland's three Midwest Regional games, nailed 5 of 6
from distance against the Seawolves and finished with 17
points and six rebounds.
Her timely three-pointer also started a game-clinching 17-2
run for the Eagles, who won their 32nd game in a row after
a season-opening loss to Minnesota State.
Forward Kaylie Robison had seven points and a team-high
11 rebounds in her last game for UAA.
UAA managed a 39-32 advantage in rebounding and
outscored the Eagles 19-0 in second-chance points, but the
Eagles' hot shooting (9 of 16 on threes) proved too much in
the end.
UAA's final record of 30-5 matches its 2007-08 NCAA
Semifinalist squad as the second-best in program history,
while UAA's three Division II losses (29-3 vs D-II
competition) were also the least suffered in 34 years of
Seawolf women's basketball.
During her tenure, she served as the team's recruiting
coordinator and also oversaw student-athlete academics and
in 2010 was a recipient of the American Volleyball
Coaches' Association (AVCA) Thirty Under 30 Award.
Johansson WBCA, Daktronics All-American
Hanna Johansson of Alaska Anchorage has been selected to
the WBCA All-America first team.
She is just the second GNAC player in the 11-year history
of the conference to earn first team WBCA All-American
honors joining UAA's Rebecca Kielpinski, who was a first
team pick in 2009.
Johansson also earned Daktronics third team All-American
honors becoming the third GNAC player to be honored by
the nation's sports information directors.
Valerie Gustafson of Seattle Pacific (2004) and Kielpinski
(2009) also previously were third team selections.
Johansson, who earlier was named the GNAC Player-ofthe-Year, finished her season ranking ninth in the
conference in scoring (14.3), fourth in rebounding (8.6),
sixth in field goal percentage (8.6) and eighth in blocked
shots (0.7).
Joining Johansson on the WBCA All-American team were
UAA guard Haley Holmstead and Montana State Billings
guard Bobbi Knudsen. Both players were honorable
mention selections.
ALL-AMERICANS: WBCA (Coaches): First Team –
Hanna Johansson, UAA (C, 6-2, Sr.). Honorable Mention
– Haley Holmstead, UAA (G, 5-7, Jr.); Bobbi Knudsen,
MSUB (G, 5-8, So.). Daktronics (SIDs): Third Team Hanna Johansson, UAA (C, 6-2, Sr.).
Volleyball: Metro State's Axel New MSUB Coach
Metro State assistant coach Lisa Axel as been hired as the
new head volleyball coach at Montana State University
Billings.
“Coach Axel brings a wealth of experience from one of the
top NCAA Division II programs in the country," MSUB
athletic director Dr. Gary Gray said.
"She played at a very high level and has learned from some
of the best mentors in intercollegiate volleyball. She is a
strong proponent of Division II and has recruited well in
our geographical region.
"I am very confident she will advance our volleyball
program in the GNAC and the West Region.”
Axel spent the last six seasons as the top assistant at Metro
State where she helped lead the Roadrunners to six NCAA
Division II tournament appearances, including six NCAA
Tournament wins.
The Roadrunners were 130-57 (.695) during her six seasons
at Metro.
Prior to her time at Metro State, Axel spent two seasons as
the first assistant coach at Division I institution North
Dakota State and also served as the interim head coach of
the Bison from January 2006 until May of that same year.
As the first assistant, she served as the recruiting
coordinator as well as coordinated the scouting of
opponents and planning travel arrangements.
A native of Buffalo, Minn., Axel played four seasons at the
University of Minnesota, where she led the Golden
Gophers to the school's first and only Big Ten
championship in 2002 as the starting libero her senior year.
She participated in four NCAA Division I tournaments
which included making three Sweet 16 appearances.
She received her Bachelor of Sciences degree from
Minnesota in Biology and was a three-time Academic AllBig Ten selection (2000-02).
In high school, Axel was named Ms. Minnesota Volleyball
in 1998 and was named the Gatorade Circle of Champions
Minnesota High School Volleyball Player of the Year.
She was a three-time all-state selection (1996-98), a fivetime all-conference selection (1994-98) and was a two-time
conference player-of-the-year her junior and senior seasons
(1997-98).
Axel replaces Steve Smith who had a record of 33-50 in
three seasons at MSUB.
Men's Basketball: Rohde To Play In All-Star Game
Alaska Anchorage center Taylor Rohde has been selected
to play in the Reese's Division II College All-Star College
All-Star Game this week in Highland Heights, Ky.
The game features 22 invitees from around the nation.
Rohde is one of just two West Region players on the squad,
along with Reggie Jones of Cal State Stanislaus.
The game, which is held in conjunction with men's D-II
Elite Eight, will be held on Friday at 4 p.m. (PDT).
Rohde led the GNAC in scoring (19.8), field goal
percentage (.627) and double-doubles (9), and finished in a
virtual three-way tie for the rebounding lead (8.0).
Rohde has also been named to two All-American teams. He
was a first team Basketball Times selection and a second
team Daktronics pick, which is selected by the region's
sports information directors.
He was the only GNAC player named to either team. Jet
Chang of BYU-Hawaii was also a first team Basketball
Times and a second team Daktronics pick.
Meanwhile, Simon Fraser finished fourth with a 1092 total
in the Concordia Cavalier Classic at Camas, Wash. Nicole
Jordan led the Clan finishing 11th with a 251 total on the
Camas Meadows layout.
Softball: Wildcats Score 10 In Sixth To Sweep Vikings
Central Washington scored 10 of its 14 runs in the sixth
innings to sweep a GNAC doubleheader from Western
Washington 4-3 and 10-2 Tuesday at Gary & Bobbi
Frederick Field.
The Wildcats (8-10, 7-6) rallied from a 3-1 deficit scoring
three runs in the bottom of the sixth to steal the first game.
Bre Thomas led off the decisive frame with an infield
single, then scored on a dropped fly ball. Designated player
Elena Carter doubled to tie the game. First baseman Liz
Jusko's RBI ground out then brought home the winning
run.
In the second game, the Wildcats trailed 2-0, but tied the
game with two runs in the third on a single by shortstop
Carrina Wagner and a bases-loaded walk to Carter.
Central went ahead in the fifth on a homer by second
baseman Molly Coppinger, then ended the game in the
sixth combining eight hits for seven runs including a
leadoff home run by catcher Cassi Ellis, a RBI triple by
Jordan Zurfluh and a RBI double by Coppinger.
Ellis had three hits in the game, including two in the final
inning as her RBI single brought a halt to the game via the
eight-run rule.
Coppinger also had three hits, while Carter had two
completing the twinbill with four hits in six at bats and
driving in four runs.
Maria Gau won both games in the circle to level her record
at 5-5. In the opener, she pitched a three-hitter. Then in the
nightcap, she pitched 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief,
allowing four hits and fanning five.
Jessica Carey and Rachelle Berry each had two hits in the
twinbill - one in each game - to lead the Vikings (3-17, 19).
Women's Golf: Vikings Fifth, Saints Sixth at Chico
Western Washington chopped 20 strokes off its first-round
score - its worst in more than three years - and finished fifth
in the Chico State Invitational Tuesday at the Canyon Oaks
CC in Chico, Calif.
Megan Woodland of Victoria won medalist honors with a
229 score. Concordia was the team champion with a 964
score, 11 ahead of Victoria.
Chico State Invitational (Mar. 19-20 at Canyon Oaks CC, Chico, CA):
Team Scores - 1. Academy of Art 631 (324-307); 2. Grand Canyon 635
(320-315); 3. Cal State Monterey Bay 640 (318-322); 4. Chico State 658
(330-328); 5. Western Washington 662 (341-321); 6. Saint Martin's 663
(332-331). Individuals (Par 72, 5,941 Yards) - 1. Lyra Yoe, AAU, 151
(76-75); 9. Karly Olsen, SMU, 160 (81-79); 11. Claire Rachor, WWU, 162
(82-80); 13. Sophie Elstrott, WWU, 163 (83-80); 17. Alexandria Taylor,
WWU, 167 (88-79); 22. Elizabeth Ferry, SMU, 169 (84-85); Kimberly
Vivian, SMU, 169 (83-86) and Amanda Wittmier, SMU, 169 (84-85); 26.
Anna Bourland, WWU, 170 (88-82); 29. Jennifer Kent, SMU, 174 (92-82)
and Kara Zitzman, WWU, 174 (88-86).
Concordia Cavalier Classic (Mar. 19-20 at Camas Meadows, Camas,
WA): Team Scores - 1. Concordia 964 (318-326-320); 2. Victoria 975
(332-327-316); 3. College of Idaho 1024 (344-340-340); 4. Simon Fraser
1092 (372-359-361); 5. Warner Pacific 1101 (366-360-375). Individuals
(Par 72, 5,784 Yards) - 1. Megan Woodland, Victoria, 229 (78-81-70); 11.
Nicole Jordan, SFU, 251 (89-83-79); 22. Xyleen Haban, SFU, 275 (91-9490); 24. Andria Machada, SFU, 278 (103-84-91); 30. Jane Edwards, SFU,
297 (96-98-103); 33. Erin Shklanka, SFU, 305 (96-108-101).
Men's Golf: Belle Finishes Seventh, Clan Third at
Camas
Led by Michael Belle, Simon Fraser placed three golfers in
the Top 10 in finishing third in the Concordia Cavalier
Classic at Camas, Wash. Monday and Tuesday.
Belle had a 54-hole total of 224 at Camas Meadows. John
Mlikotic finished ninth with a 226 total and Calum Miller
was 10th at 228.
The Clan ended up with a 916 team total. Victoria won the
team title with a 857 score as UVic's Carson Kallis took
medalist honors with an eight-under-par 208.
Concordia Cavalier Classic (Mar. 19-20 at Camas Meadows, Camas,
WA): Team Scores - 1. Victoria 857 (294-287-276); 2. Concordia 904
(306-303-295); 3. Simon Fraser 916 (305-309-302); 4. Corban 919 (304303-312); 5. College of Idaho 938 (312-311-315). Individuals (Par 72,
5,784 Yards) - 1. Carson Kallis, UVIC, 208 (69-71-78); 7. Michael Belle,
SFU, 224 (75-74-75); 9. John Mlikotic, SFU, 226 (74-79-73); 10. Calum
Miller, SFU, 228 (77-75-76); 18. *Jordan Melanson, SFU, 232 (83-74-75);
28. TJ McColl, SFU, 239 (79-81-79); 32. Ben Chase, SFU, 243 (84-8178); 38. *Chris Lee, SFU, 249 (86-78-85). *Individuals
Baseball: Crusaders Sweep Montana State Billings
Academy of Art won the tournament with a 631 team
score, four ahead of Grand Canyon. The Vikings shot 321
Tuesday to finish with a 662 team score, one ahead of Saint
Martin's.
Zach Steele's sixth-inning solo home run powered
Northwest Nazarene to a 1-0 victory over Montana State
Billings in the opening game of a twinbill at Vail Field
Monday.
SMU's Karly Olsen was the lone GNAC player in the Top
10, finishing ninth with a 160 total. Lyra Yoe of Academy
of Art won medalist honors with a 151 score.
NNU (13-9, 2-4) claimed the second game 13-2 to
complete the sweep.
Games 3 and 4 of the series scheduled for Tuesday were
snowed out and will be played as part of a six-game series
on Thursday, Apr. 19 when NNU visits MSUB.
Schumaker's mark was one of two GNAC All-Time Top 10
marks. Western Washington ran the 10th fastest men's
4x100 relay time in GNAC history finishing third in 41.99.
Steele's blast to left field gave NNU starter Zeb Sneed (4-2)
all the offense he needed as Sneed worked six shutout
innings and Aaron Vaughn earned his first save with three
innings of scoreless relief.
Oregon Preview (Mar. 18 at Eugene): Men (Top 3): 400 Hurdles - 1.
Kody Rhodes, WOU, 54.88; 3. Ryan Endresen, SPU, 55.92. 2000
Steeplechase - 3. Dan Sprinkle, WOU, 5:54.40. 4x100 - 3. Western
Washington 41.99. 4x400 - 2. Western Washington 3:20.07. High Jump 3. Brett Watson, WWU, 6-5 1/2. Long Jump - 2. Kyle Lane, WOU, 22-1.
Shot Put - 2. Sam Washington, SMU, 49-9 3/4. Discus - 1. Sam
Washington, SMU, 144-5. Women (Top 3): 400 - 3. Eleanor Siler, WWU,
56.91. 800 - 2. McKayla Fricker, SPU, 2:12.53. 100 Hurdles - 3. Michelle
Howe, WWU, 14.71. 400 Hurdles - 2. Michelle Howe, WWU, 1:05.14; 3.
Natalie Nobbs, SPU, 1:07.59. 2000 Steeplechase - 3. Robin Zeidler, SPU,
7:30.38. 4x100 Relay - 3. Seattle Pacific 48.45. 4x400 - 2. Western
Oregon 3:59.33. Long Jump - 2. Emily Warman, WWU, 18-3. Triple Jump
- 1. Emily Warman, WWU, 38-5; 3. Katharine Lotze, CWU, 37-7 1/4.
Javelin - 1. Amanda Schumaker, WOU, 151-6; 2. Brittany Aanstad, SPU,
148-5; 3. Katie Reichert, WWU, 135-4.
Vaughn didn't allow a hit and struck out six batters in his
three innings of work.
Samuel Paterson (0-3) took the loss for the Yellowjackets.
Paterson pitched effectively, surrendering just six hits to
the Crusaders, but MSUB could not generate any run
support for the lefty.
Steele was the only player to record multiple hits in the
opener, going 2 for 4.
In the second game, the Crusaders scored four runs in the
third inning and six in the fourth to cruise to a 13-2 victory.
Charles Pollock (3-1) earned the win, giving up only four
hits in 5 2/3 innings. Freshman Nate Forseth closed out the
final four outs in the non-save situation.
Logan Parker had four hits and three RBIs to lead the
Crusaders 12-hit attack.
Sean McDonald and Derek Bettinson each had two hits and
Bettinson, Steele and Ben Clare had two RBIs. Justin
Harcharik went 2 for 4 to lead MSUB (4-10, 1-5) at the
plate.
Sunday, Mar. 18
Track and Field: WOU's Schumaker Qualifies In
Javelin
Amanda Schumaker of Western Oregon automatically
qualified for the NCAA Division II national meet in the
women's javelin with a winning throw of 151-6 Sunday at
the Oregon Preview in Eugene.
Schumaker's throw ranks eighth in GNAC history and was
one of three javelin national qualifying marks at Eugene.
Brittany Aanstad of Seattle Pacific and Katie Reichert of
Western Washington had provisional national qualifying
marks of 148-5 and 135-4 leading a 1-2-3 GNAC sweep of
the event.
Schumaker was also one of four GNAC winners. Kody
Rhodes of Western Oregon finished first in the men's 400
hurdles (54.88). Sam Washington of Saint Martin's won the
men's discus (144-5) and Emily Warman of Western
Washington won the women's triple jump (38-5).
Warman's triple jump mark was also a PNQ. Also
establishing a PNQ was McKayla Fricker of Seattle Pacific
in the women's 800 with a second-place time of 2:12.53.
UAA's Tanui Wins Steeple at Oxy Carnival
Susan Tanui of Alaska Anchorage won the women's
steeplechase in a provisional national qualifying time of
10:37.65 Friday in the Occidental Distance Carnival in Los
Angeles.
Tanui's time ranks third in GNAC history and was just 2.33
seconds off the GNAC record.
Tanui was one of three UAA athletes to earn PNQs in the
meet. Ivy O'Guinn finished second in the 1500 in a PNQ of
4:32.34 and Micah Chelimo won the men's steeplechase in
a PNQ of 8:56.37.
Three other UAA athletes posted PNQs at Northridge. On
Thursday and Friday, Kelsea Johnson finished second in
the heptathlon with a PNQ of 4,838 points. That total ranks
ninth in GNAC history.
On Saturday, Shaun Ward and Haleigh Lloyd had PNQs in
winning the men's 400 hurdles (52.74) and women's 400
hurdles (1:01.51).
Occidental Distance Carnival (Mar. 16 at Los Angeles): Men (Top 3):
1500 - 3. Alfred Kangogo, UAA, 3:52.57; 3000 - 1. Micah Chelimo, UAA,
8:56.37. 10,000 - 1. Dylan Anthony, UAA, 30:52.53; 3. Yonatan Yilma,
UAA, 31:19.69. Women (Top 3): 1500 - 2. Ivy O'Guinn, UAA, 4:32.24.
Steeplechase - 1. Susan Tanui, UAA, 10:37.65.
CSU Northridge Invitational (Mar. 17 at Northridge): Men: 800 - 3.
Alfred Kangogo, UAA, 1:55.27. 400 Hurdles - 1. Shaun Ward, UAA, 52.74.
Women: 100 - 3. Grace Morgan, UAA, 12.85. 400 Hurdles - 1. Haleigh
Lloyd, UAA, 1:01.51. Heptathlon - 2. Kelsea Johnson, UAA, 4838. (Multis)
GNAC Athletes Earn Six Runner-Up Finishes at Dusty
Lane
Michael Davis and Edd Brown of Saint Martin's and Jason
Caryl, Brennan Boyes and Erik Lee of Central Washington
had second-place finishes Saturday in the Dusty Lane Open
at Spokane Falls CC.
Davis and Brown finished second in the 100 and 200
meters, respectively, in times of 11.52 and 22.98, while,
Caryl, Boyes and Lee finished second in the long jump (216 1/4), high jump (6-4) and triple jump (42-4 1/4).
Saint Martin's women's 4x100 relay team also finished
second in a time of 51.38.
Dusty Lane Open (Mar. 17 at Spokane): Men (Top 3): 100 - 2. Michael
Davis, SMU, 11.52. 200 - 2. Edd Brown, SMU, 22.98; 3. Erik Lee, CWU,
23.02. 4x400 - 3. Central Washington 3:35.53. Long Jump - 2. Jason
Caryl, CWU, 21-6 1/4; High Jump - 2. Brennan Boyes, CWU, 6-4; 3. Ethan
Meikle, CWU, 6-4. Triple Jump - 2. Erik Lee, CWU, 42-4 1/4. Women
(Top 3): 4x100 - 2. Saint Martin's 51.38. High Jump - 3. Laura Tesch,
SMU, 5-1 3/4.
With the wins the Saints (12-8, 10-5) moved into second
place, one-half game ahead of Simon Fraser (14-7, 10-6).
SMU trails first-place MSU Billings by 2 1/2 games.
In the opener, Munger (6-4) tossed a six-hitter. Meanwhile,
the Saints banged out 10 hits, including three by shortstop
Morgan Klemm and two each by Megan Antonovich and
Joslyn Eugenio.
Leading 3-1, the Saints broke the game open with a fourrun fifth. Antonovich gave SMU a 1-0 lead in the first
inning with a home run, a lead they never surrendered.
Baseball: Central Washington Sweeps Saint Martin's
Bakos gave up 10 hits in the second game, but just two
unearned runs in improving to 6-2 on the season.
Chris Hashimoto's three-run home run in the sixth inning
gave Central Washington a 6-5 lead and the Wildcats
tacked on three more runs in the seventh in defeating Saint
Martin's 9-6 Sunday in the opening game of a GNAC
doubleheader at the CWU Baseball Field.
SMU snapped a 2-2 tie in the third going ahead 3-2 on a
RBI single by Tiffany Griffiths. Lacey McGladrey
provided an insurance run with a fourth-inning home run.
The Wildcats (8-8, 4-0) completed a sweep of the
doubleheader - and the four-game series - winning the
nightcap 19-12 as catcher Kyle Sani and the third base
position combined for 12 RBI.
Saturday, Mar. 17
The Wildcats banged out 11 hits in the first contest,
including two each by Hashimoto, Derrick Webb, Sani and
Brady Kincannon in the win.
McGladrey and Griffiths each had three hits for the Saints,
while Leah Riske led the Clan with three safeties.
Softball: Yellowjackets Open Up Two-Game Lead
Montana State Billings hit six more home runs Saturday
completing a four-game series sweep of Northwest
Nazarene in which they hit 12 circuit blasts.
The Saints (7-19, 3-5) had 13 hits - three by Chandler
Tracy and two by Travis Jones, Bobby Twedt and Adam
Hudspeth. Twedt had three RBI, two with a fourth-inning
single.
Meg Harasymczuk, Bobbie Lee and Aubrey Conceicao all
hit two home runs in a 6-4, 11-7 doubleheader sweep at
MSUB's Cenex Stadium.
In the second game the Wildcats used a 10-run fourth
inning in building an early 15-3 lead.
The Yellowjackets (16-5, 13-3) ran their win streak to
seven in opening up a two-game lead over second-place
Simon Fraser.
Sani singled for a run in the first and third innings and
homered for three runs in the fourth. Webb and Glen Reser
split the third base duties and combined for seven RBI.
Webb had a RBI double in the third and a two-run single
and a sacrifice fly in the fourth. Reser then took over at
third base in the fifth and homered for three runs in the
sixth.
Leadoff hitter Brett Bielec led CWU's 18-hit attack with
four hits, while Sani and David Leid, who homered in the
fifth, each had three hits.
Mario Sanelli led Saint Martin's offensively, driving in six
runs, four with a grand slam in the sixth. Sanelli has hit
safely in 11 consecutive games. Tracy went one for three
extending his hitting streak to 14 games.
Softball: Saints Beat Simon Fraser, 8-2, 4-2
Sam Munger and Taylor Bakos each allowed two runs in
pitching Saint Martin's to a doubleheader sweep of Simon
Fraser by 8-2, 4-2 scores Sunday at Beedie Field in
Burnaby, BC.
The Clan (14-5, 10-4) divided a pair of mercy-rule shutouts
with Saint Martin's (10-8, 8-5) winning the opener 9-0
before losing the nightcap 8-0.
Harasymczuk, who had four home runs in the series to run
her season total to nine, had solo shots in both the first and
second innings of the opener. Lee also homered in the first
as MSUB scored four runs in the opening inning.
Taylor Hoke drove in two runs in the opening inning with a
single. NNU also went deep twice as Arielle Chao and
Elizabeth Beaty had solo shots in the third and seventh.
Beaty's seventh inning blast was the only hit off of Kasie
Conder in four innings of relief. Conder picked up the win
improving to 4-0.
Conceicao drove in four runs in the nightcap, with a pair of
two-run home runs in the first and third innings. Lee had
another solo shot in the fifth.
Conceicao led a 14-hit attack with three safeties. Rose
Harrington, Emily Osborn, Jenna VanEykeren and Hoke all
had two hits.
Emily Renfrow paced NNU (3-15, 3-11) with three hits.
Baylee Jolliffe, Cara Duckworth and Beaty had two hits
each. Beaty drove in three runs with a two-run home run in
the first and a leadoff home run in the fifth.
Simon Fraser 9-0, Saint Martin's 0-8
Cara Lukawesky and Taylor Bakos traded shutouts as the
Clan and Saints split at Beedie Field.
In the opener, Lukawewky tossed a four-hitter in improving
to 9-2. Lukawesky walked three and fanned three.
Kelsey Haberl led the SFU offense driving in four runs,
three with a home run in the sixth to end the game on the
eight-run rule. The Clan had 10 hits, two each by Carly
Lepoutre and Trisha Bouchard.
Lacey McGladrtey had two of Saint Martin's four hits.
McGladrey also had two hits in the second game including
a two-run home run in the third to stake SMU to a 2-0 lead.
Joslyn Eugenio drove in three runs, two with a fifth-inning
double and one with a solo home run in the fourth. The
Clan outhit the Saints 11-2 as Kelsie McGladrey had three.
Bakos went the distance, fanning three to improve to 5-2 on
the season. She gave up singles in the second and fifth to
Megan Durrant and Sammie Olexa.
Baseball: Wildcats Debut With Doubleheader Sweep
Central Washington earned its first shutout against Saint
Martin's in five years and opened its conference season
with two wins for the first time in the 11-year history of the
GNAC Saturday sweeping the Saints 11-5 and 2-0.
The Wildcats (6-8, 2-0) built an 8-0 lead in the opener
behind starter Brandon Rohde. Rohde pitched seven
innings, allowing five hits and three runs in winning his
third game in four decisions.
The Saints (7-17, 3-3) got on the board for the first time in
the seventh on a three-run home run by Chandler Tracy.
CWU had 13 hits including two each by Brett Bielec, Kyle
Sani, Brady Kincannon, Ethan Sterkel and Jimmy Ryerson.
Ryerson hit a solo home run in the fourth.
Kyle Long pitched a four-hit shutout in the nightcap,
walking one and fanning six, earning his first win of the
season against two losses. Last year Long went 1-8.
CWU scored the game's only runs in the first on a double
by Brady Kincannon and in the third on a single by
Kincannon. The shutout snapped a string of 42 consecutive
games in which the Saints had scored against CWU dating
back to Apr. 28, 2007.
The two teams complete the four-game series with another
doubleheader Sunday.
Friday, Mar. 16
Softball: MSUB Sweeps Northwest Nazarene
Amanda Todd pitched a one-hitter in the opener and
Montana State Billings banged out six home runs in
sweeping a doubleheader from Northwest Nazarene 11-0
and 12-4 Friday at Cenex Stadium in Billings.
Todd allowed a two-out first-inning single by Arielle Chao,
but no-hit the Crusaders (3-13, 3-9) over the final 4 1/3
innings. She acquired nine of the 15 outs on strikeouts.
First baseman Emily Osborn, left fielder Meg
Harasymczuk, right fielder Rose Harrington and pinchhitter Tanya Eckles all homered for MSUB (14-5, 11-3),
which opened up a one-game lead over Simon Fraser for
first place in the GNAC.
Osborn staked the 'Jackets to a 2-0 lead in the first inning
with a two-run blast. Harasymczuk homered for two runs
during a six-run third inning. Then in the fourth, Harrington
had a two-run home run and Eckles had a solo shot.
In the second game, Harasymczuk and second baseman
Aubrey Conceicao each had two-run four-baggers during a
six-run second inning.
NNU also went deep twice as catcher Elizabeth Beaty had a
solo shot in the fourth inning and pitcher Cara Duckworth
had a two-run blast in the fifth.
The teams continue their four-game series with another
doubleheader on Saturday.
Women's Golf: MSUB Posts Top Two Team Scores
Kalli Stanhope of Montana State Billings successfully
defended her individual title winning the MSU Billings
Spring Invitational Friday at the Pryor Creek Golf Club in
Billings.
Stanhope finished six shots ahead of Melissa Saken, who
was competing for the MSUB B team, with a 36-hole total
of 151. Stanhope's 75 on the par 73, 5,905 yard layout
Friday was the second best round of the tournament.
Saken rebounded from a first-round 81 to card a 76 to
finish second one shot ahead of Cayley Fish of MSUB and
Katy Peterson of Rocky Mountain who tied for third with
158 totals. Peterson's 73 on Friday was the tournament's
best round.
MSUB's No. 1 team had a team score of 324 to overcome a
four-stroke deficit and win the team title with a score of
650. MSUB's B team finished second with a 658 score.
Stanhope's individual win was her second of the season and
her fourth in the past two years.
MSUB Spring Invitational (Mar. 15-16 at Pryor Creek GC, Billings,
MT): Team Scores - 1. MSU Billings 650 (326-324); 2. MSU Billings B
658 (322-336); 3. Rocky Mountain 662 (337-325); 4. Black Hills State 702
(367-335); 5. Carroll 725 (371-354); 6. South Dakota Mines 770 (393377). Individuals (Par 73, 5,905 Yards) - 1. Kalli Stanhope, MSUB, 151
(76-75); 2. Melissa Saken, MSUB B, 157 (81-76); 3. Cayley Fish, MSUB,
158 (78-80); 6. Katie Fish, MSUB B, 162 (82-80); 7. Capri Ingram, MSUB,
163 (76-87); 11. BreAnne Cameron, MSUB, 170 (85-85); 12. Erin Heaney,
MSUB, 171 (87-84); 15. Lindsay Erickson, MSUB, 176 (89-87); 19. Carlan
Campbell, MSUB B, 180 (87-93); 22. Mariah Cleveland, MSUB B, 181
(83-98).
Men's Golf: Yellowjackets Finish Second in MSUB
Invite
Daniel Thomsett won medalist honors with a 36-hole score
of three-over par 147 to lead Rocky Mountain to a fivestroke team victory over Montana State Billings Friday in
the MSUB Yellowjacket Spring Invitational at the Pryor
Creek Golf Club.
The Bears overcame a two-shot first-round deficit to
outscored the Yellowjackets 599-604. MSUB had rounds of
306 and 298.
Marcus Drange and Eric Gravbrot led MSUB with 149
totals, tying for fourth place. Preston Richards also finished
in the Top 10, placing ninth with a 151 total.
MSUB Spring Invitational (Mar. 15-16 at Pryor Creek GC, Billings,
MT): Team Scores - 1. Rocky Mountain 599 (308-291); 2. Montana State
Billings 604 (306-298); 3. Rock Mountain B 610 (312-298); 4. Carroll 623
(317-306); 5. Miles CC 634 (326-308); 6. South Dakota Mines 666 (334332). Individuals (Par 72, 6,981 Yards) - 1. Daniel Thomsett, RMC, 147
(74-73); 4. Eric Gravbrot, MSUB, 149 (75-74) and Marcus Drange, MSUB,
149 (76-73); 9. Preston Richards, MSUB, 151 (79-72); 18. Houston
Bradbury, MSUB, 157 (77-80) and Brad Harrelson, MSUB, 157 (78-79);
23, Jake Letman, MSUB B, 160 (82-78); 26. Chase Richards, MSUB B,
162 (86-76); 33. Clark Swan, MSUB B, 175 (90-85); 34. Laith Wilson,
MSUB B, 199 (103-96).
Men's Basketball: Rohde, Blanche on NABC Team
Taylor Rohde of Alaska Anchorage and Rory Blanche of
Western Washington have been selected to the NABC
NCAA Division II West Region first team all-star team.
Two Seattle Pacific players were named to the second team
- center Andy Poling and guard David Downs.
In addition to being selected to the coaches' NABC team,
both Rohde and Blanche were earlier named to the
Daktronics team which is selected by sports information
directors.
Western Washington coach Brad Jackson, who led the
Vikings to the West Region title, was voted the NABC
West Region Coach of the Year. It is the third NABC
Coach of the Year honor for Jackson, who also was named
in 2001 and 2010.
NABC (Coaches): First Team - Taylor Rohde, Alaska Anchorage (C, 6-9,
Sr., Phoenix, AZ); Reggie Jones, Cal State Stanislaus (C, 6-9, Sr.,
Paterson, NJ); Rory Blanche, Western Washington (F, 6-6, Sr., Ashland,
OR); Randy Hunter, Humboldt State (F, 6-6, Sr., Santa Maria, CA);
Tsung-Hsien (Jet) Chang, BYU-Hawaii (G, 6-4, Sr., Yilan, Taiwan); Jay
Flores, Chico State (G, 6-0, Sr., Sacramento, CA). Second Team - Andy
Poling, Seattle Pacific (C, 6-11, Jr., Portland, OR);Mitchel Anderson, Cal
Poly Pomona (G, 6-4, Jr., Temecula, CA); David Downs, Seattle Pacific
(G, 6-2, So., Kirkland, WA); Steven Pratt, Sonoma State (G, 6-4, Sr.,
Pleasanton, CA); Maurice Cole, Dixie State (G, 6-0, Sr., Norwalk, CA).
Daktronics (SIDs): First Team - Taylor Rohde, Alaska Anchorage (C, 69, Sr., Phoenix, AZ); Rory Blanche, Western Washington (F, 6-6, Sr.,
Ashland, OR); Tsung-Hsien (Jet) Chang, BYU-Hawaii (G, 6-4, Sr., Yilan,
Taiwan); Jay Flores, Chico State (G, 6-0, Sr., Sacramento, CA); Antoine
Proctor, Montana State Billings (G, 6-3, Sr., Washington, DC). Second
Team - Reggie Jones, Cal State Stanislaus (C, 6-9, Sr., Paterson, NJ);
Mitchel Anderson, Cal Poly Pomona (G, 6-4, Jr., Temecula, CA); Blair
Wheadon, Western Oregon (G, 6-3, Sr., Junction City, OR); Kwame
Alexander, Cal State San Bernardino (F, 6-7, Jr., Moreno Valley, CA);
Damario Sims, Chico State (G, 6-0, Jr., Oakland, CA).
Thursday, Mar. 15
Indoor Track & Field: Hope, Potter Voted Top Athletes
Maurus Hope of Northwest Nazarene and Ashley Potter of
Western Oregon have been voted the Great Northwest
Athletic Conference Indoor Track-and-Field Male and
Female Athletes-of-the-Year .
Both are the first athletes from their school of their gender
to win the award in the nine-year history of the GNAC's
indoor track-and-field awards program.
Hope (Sr., Adrian, OR) was the men's top point producer in
the conference meet, winning the 400 meters in a meet
record time of 48.45 and the 200 in a time of 21.91. He also
finished second in the 60 hurdles in a time of 8.52.
Potter (Sr., Springfield, OR) was the GNAC's top finisher
in last week's NCAA Division II Indoor national meet at
Mankato, Minn., finishing second in the women's triple
jump with a GNAC record jump of 40-8 ¼. She smashed
the old conference record by 8 ¾ inches and bettered her
previous school-record by more than a foot.
In the conference meet, she won the triple jump with a
meet-record mark of 39-7 and finished third in the long
jump with a leap of 18-2 ½.
Ryan Hansen of Western Oregon, Leeza Henry of Montana
State Billings, Logan Myers of Western Washington and
Tasia Baldwin of Seattle Pacific also won special awards.
Hansen (So., Dallas, OR), who was the lone GNAC male
athlete to qualify for the national meet, and Henry (Jr.,
Scottsbluff, Neb.) were voted the GNAC Male and Female
Newcomers-of-the-Years . Myers (Olympia, WA - Capital)
and Baldwin (Tacoma, WA - Foss) won the GNAC Male
and Female Freshman-of-the-Year awards.
Before finishing ninth in the national meet, Hansen finished
second in the 800 in the conference meet in a time of
1:55.61. He also anchored WOU's 4x400 meter relay team
that won the conference title in a meet record time of
3:18.60. He had a season-best time of 1:51.55 in a meet at
the University of Washington. That time ranks second in
conference history.
Wednesday, Mar. 14
Men's Golf: Crusaders Edge College of Idaho 387-391
Henry finished fourth in the weight throw (47-5 ¼) and
second in the shot put (44-8 ¼) at the conference meet. Her
shot put mark ranks fifth on the GNAC's all-time Top 10
chart.
Myers placed second in the high jump (6-8) and sixth in the
hurdles (8.73) in the conference meet, while Baldwin
placed third in the 60 meters (7.92), fourth in the 200
(25.82) and fifth in the long jump (17-11 ¾). Myers high
jump mark ranks fourth and Baldwin's 60 time ranks ninth
on the GNAC Top 10 chart.
Mike Johnson and Karl Lerum, who guided Western
Oregon and Seattle Pacific to GNAC team titles were voted
the GNAC Male Team and Female Team Coaches-of-theYear , respectively.
Johnson led Western Oregon to its fifth straight men's
indoor team title and its sixth overall. Johnson, a 1972
graduate of Eastern Washington, has now won a total of 12
GNAC Coach-of-the-Year awards also winning for men's
indoor in 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011; women's
outdoor in 2004, 2005 and 2008 and men's outdoor in 2004,
2008 and 2011.
Lerum, a 1998 graduate of Pacific Lutheran, has won 10
Coach-of-the-Year awards, also winning for women's
indoor in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 and women's
outdoor in 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011. SPU's team title
was its ninth in a row.
Men's Golf: Yellowjackets Lead By Two in MSUB
Invite
Brock Sargent fired a 2-under par 70 to lead Northwest
Nazarene to a 287-291 dual match victory over The
College of Idaho Wednesday at Centennial Golf Course in
Nampa.
Sargent claimed medalist honors and joined teammates
Nick Hardy and Zach Grunig, who each finished at evenpar 72 and Thomas Hanacek who shot 73 for the one-under
par team total of 287 over the 6,590-yard, par 72
Centennial Golf Course layout.
The College of Idaho was led by Tyler Thurston's 1-under
par 71. Austin Giesie and Kyle DeLorey each shot 72 and
Ben Hersh completed the Coyote team scoring with a 76.
The win was the second straight dual victory for the
Crusaders over their county rivals. NNU beat College of
Idaho 307-318 last Thursday in a dual in Wilder, Idaho.
Northwest Nazarene 287, College of Idaho 291 (Mar. 14 at Centennial
Golf Course, Nampa, Idaho): Individuals (Par 72, 6,570 Yards) – 1.
Brock Sargent, NNU, 70; 3. Zach Grunig, NNU, and Nick Hardy, NNU, 72;
7. Thomas Hanacek, NNU, 73; 8. *Davis Halle, NNU, 75; 10. *Matt
Sturgill, NNU, 76; 12. Justin McAfee, NNU, and *Nic Gibson, NNU, 77.
*Competed as individual
Northwest Nazarene 307, College of Idaho 318 (Mar. 8 at River Bend
GC, Wilder, Idaho): Individuals (Par 72, 6,884 Yards) – 1. Tyler
Thurston, CI, 71; 2. Zach Grunig, NNU, 75; 3. Brock Sargent, NNU, 77;
Justin McAfee, NNU, 77; and *Nic Gibson, NNU, 77; 6. Nick Hardy, NNU,
78; 7. *Davis Halle, NNU, 80; 8. Matt Sturgill, NNU, 81. *Competed as
individual
Tuesday, Mar. 13
Montana State Billings has a two shot lead after 18 holes of
the Montana State Billings Spring Invitational.
Baseball: Crusaders Lose to Coyotes 13-11
The Yellowjackets carded a team score of 306 in the
opening round, two ahead of Rocky Mountain.
Northwest Nazarene built an 11-2 lead through three
innings, but College of Idaho rallied for a 13-11 win
Tuesday at Vail Field in Nampa.
Daniel Thompsett of Rocky and Conner Hausauer of
Carroll are tied for medalist honors with one-under-par 71s.
Women's Golf: MSUB Posts Top Two Team Scores
Montana State Billings' posted the top two team scores
Thursday in the MSUB Spring Invitational.
The Yellowjackets' No. 2 teams has a four-shot lead over
the No. 1 team after carding a 322 total.
Capri Ingram, playing for the No. 2 team and Kalli
Stanhope of the No. 1 team are tied with Rachel Hosterman
of Rocky Mountain with three over par totals of 76.
In Tuesday's only other game, Concordia (Ore.) defeated
Saint Martin's 12-5 at Portland.
The Coyotes (17-6) scored three runs in the fifth, five in the
sixth and one in the seventh to tie the game, then won it in
the eighth on a sacrifice fly by DH Zach Fabricius and a
RBI single by Brett Ward.
Fabricius pitched the final three innings in relief allowing
just one hit to improve to 4-1 on the season.
C of I banged out 18 hits, including 14 by their 3, 4, 5 and 6
hitters. Izaac Garsez, Tanner Hodges and Jeffrey Harris all
had four safeties. Hodges drove in five runs.
Sean McDonald had four hits, while Derek Bettinson and
Greg Hata each had three for NNU (11-9). McDonald and
Charlie Gorzo drove in three runs. Gorzo staked the
Crusaders to an 8-0 lead in the second with a three-run
home run.
DH Jared Young drove in four runs as Concordia (12-8)
built an 11-1 lead in its win against Saint Martin's.
The Saints (7-15) rallied for four runs in the eighth,
including three on bases loaded walks. Adam Hudspeth,
Bobby Twedt and Travis Jones all had two hits for the
Saints.
Men's Golf: Saints, Epstein Fifth at Notre Dame
Matt Epstein shot a 54-hole total of 220 to lead Saint
Martin's to a fifth-place finish Monday in the Notre Dame
de Namur Invitational Tuesday at the Poppy Ridge Golf
Course in Livermore, Calif.
Epstein also finished fifth, four shots back of Kyle Souza of
Chico State and Jordan Arndt of Colorado Mines, who
finished tied with even-par totals of 216. Souza won the
playoff.
Epstein had a 75 Tuesday on the 6,958 yard layout after
shooting 72 and 73 on Monday.
Notre Dame de Namur Invitational (Mar. 12-13 at Livermore, CA):
Team Scores - 1. Chico State 883 (293-298-292); 2. Colorado Mines 893
(299-296-298); 3. Notre Dame De Namur 904 (293-305-306); 4. CSU East
Bay 908 (308-306-294); 5. Saint Martin's 909 (301-305-303). Individuals
(Par 72, 6,958 Yards) - 1. Kyle Souza, CSUC, 216 (71-74-61); 5. Matt
Epstein, SMU, 220 (72-73-75); 11. Zach Dietz, SMU, 225 (77-75-73); 28.
Brandon Moore, SMU, 235 (76-78-81); 32. Patrick Whealdon, SMU, 237
(79-84-74); 35. Jack Whealdon, SMU, 238 (76-79-83).
Monday, Mar. 12
Men's Basketball: Allen Leads Vikings To Region Title
Guard John Allen scored a game-high 16 points and was
named the Tournament MVP as Western Washington
defeated Seattle Pacific 56-50 to win the NCAA Division II
West Region title Monday at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
The top-seeded Vikings improved to 28-5 and now advance
to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the first time since
2001.
WWU held a 30-23 lead at halftime, but SPU (23-8)
opened the second half with a 9-2 run to tie the game at 3232 just 2:07 into the period.
Wall scored all his points from the arc, making four of
eight treys, and was also effective inside grabbing a gamehigh 10 rebounds.
Forwards Zach Henifin and Rory Blanche had 11 and 10
points, respectively, for the Vikings, who reached the
regional final by defeating No.8 seed Grand Canyon 79-73
in first round and No. 5 seed Chico State 74-65 , in
semifinals.
SPU reached the final edging No.6 seed Dixie State 70-68
in the first round and No.2 Alaska Anchorage 80-67 in the
semifinals.
The Falcons shot a season-low 28.1 percent (16-of-57)
from the field, but stayed close by having a 45-32
advantage in rebounds and making 14-of-20 free throws
(70.0 percent).
Allen was joined on the all-tournament team by Blanche,
Henifin, Poling and SPU'S Jake Anderson, who had eight
points and nine rebounds.
“To have this kind of accomplishment is a feather in our
players' caps,” said WWU coach Brad Jackson . “I'm real
proud of their effort and their fight; I thought we really
came together down the stretch.”
The NCAA II Elite Eight begins Mar. 21 at Highland
Heights, Kentucky. The Vikings will face the South Central
Region champion - Midwestern State or Arkansas Tech –
in the national quarterfinals. Those two teams play Tuesday
night.
The regional final was the third for the Vikings since
becoming a NCAA II member in 1998. They defeated Cal
State San Bernardino 58-55 in 2001 when they eventually
reached the national semifinals and lost 81-77 to Seattle
Pacific in 2006 at Seattle .
Monday's triumph pushed the Vikings to 17-1 at home,
setting a new WWU standard for home victories in a
season.
It was also their third victory of the season over SPU,
having claimed a 79-71 triumph at Seattle on Dec. 3, and
72-70 win at Bellingham on Feb. 23.
Women's Basketball: Seawolves Win Third West Title
However, fastbreak layins by Rory Blanche and Allen, who
scored 53 points in three tournament games, triggered a 144 run, and the Vikings opened up a 46-36 lead with 10:23
left, the biggest margin of the game.
Tournament MVP Hanna Johansson had 20 points and
seven rebounds lifting 2nd-seed Alaska Anchorage to a 6863 victory over top-seed UC San Diego in the NCAA
Division II West Regional Women's Basketball title game
Monday.
Seattle Pacific, which was led by Andy Poling and Jobi
Wall with 15 and 12 points, respectively, rallied again with
seven straight points, pulling to within three (46-43) with
7:23 left, but never got that close again.
The Seawolves (30-4), ranked No. 8 nationally, also got big
games from all-tourney selections Kaylie Robison and
Sasha King as they advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite
Eight for the third time in five seasons.
UAA will take on Midwest Regional winner Ashland
(Ohio) in the national quarterfinals on Mar. 20 in San
Antonio.
Despite coming in 59 percent from the stripe, King also
showed little nervousness, swishing the clinching free
throws.
The nationally 4th-ranked Tritons (30-3) were led by 22
points from guard Daisy Feder and 17 points and five
assists from West Region Player-of-the-Year Chelsea
Carlisle, but the Seawolves held Carlisle to just five points
on 2-of-7 shooting in the second half.
Robison finished with 10 points and six rebounds, while
Mathews added four points and five rebounds to help the
Seawolf bench outscore its Triton counterparts 15-0.
“We knew we had to take the air out of the ball and control
the paint,” said UAA head coach Tim Moser, who is now
14-5 all-time in the NCAA tournament, including 12-3 in
the West Regional. “Every one of our kids gave us a
championship effort.”
Alysa Horn scored all nine of her points in the first half and
Robison shot 4 of 4 from field to give UAA an early lead,
and King – who finished with 13 points, five rebounds, four
assists and just one turnover – nailed a three-pointer just
before the buzzer to put the Seawolves ahead 38-28 at
halftime.
After sitting most of the first half with two fouls, Johansson
scored the first basket out of the break to give UAA its
largest advantage.
Led by the long-range shooting of Feder, the Tritons sliced
their deficit to 46-43 at the 14:28 mark, and game would
stay within two possessions the rest of the way.
A layup by Lauren Freidenberg sliced it to 51-50 with 9:34
left, however Johansson answered with a three-point play,
and the Tritons could never take the lead.
“We knew they would make a run,” Moser said. “If you
don't get back, they will burn you.
“Gritt (Ryder) and Sasha did a great job of putting the
brakes on, walking the ball up court and controlling the
tempo. We needed to grind it out and keep it in the half
court, and for the most part, we did.”
UCSD pulled within a single possession five times in the
last six minutes, with Johansson answering with either a
basket or free throws on each occasion.
Leading 64-63 with 22 seconds left, Johansson rebounded
her own miss and was fouled on the putback attempt. The
63 percent free-throw shooter calmly drained both shots,
and the Seawolves were able to set up on defense.
After Feder missed an off-balance three-pointer off the side
of the backboard, the Tritons got a break when they forced
a 5-second call on the inbounds attempt.
Feder got off another try, but Seawolf forward Tijera
Mathews was there for a clear block and King grabbed the
rebound.
UAA won the statistical battle in shooting percentage (.462
to .421) and rebounding (39-26) as it won despite forcing
only four UCSD turnovers.
In San Antonio, the Seawolves will face the team with the
nation's longest winning streak as the nationally 2nd-ranked
Ashland enters with a 31-1 record after losing its seasonopener.
The Eagles defeated Wisconsin-Parkside 78-58 Monday to
advance.
Saturday, Mar. 10
Men's Basketball: Vikings, Falcons To Play For Title
Forwards Rory Blanche and Zach Henifin combined for 25
of their 34 points in the second half to lead top-seeded
Western Washington to a 74-65 win over fifth-seed Chico
State Saturday in the second semifinal game of the NCAA
Division II Men's Basketball Regional Tournament at Sam
Carver Gymnasium.
The nationally 12th-ranked Vikings (27-5) will play thirdseeded Seattle Pacific (23-7) in Monday's championship
game at 7 p.m. Seattle Pacific advanced with an 80-67 win
over second-seeded Alaska Anchorage in Saturday's first
semifinal.
Blanche scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and
Henifin had 10 of his 17 after the intermission. WWU also
got 13 points from John Allen and 11 from Richard
Woodworth.
Forward Sean Park led Chico State (25-8) with 13 points
and a game-high five assists, while Amir Carraway had 11
points and Jason Conrad scored 10.
The Vikings trailed 35-30 early in the second half, but took
the lead for good on a tip-in by Henifin, the first of six
consecutive Viking points by the WWU forward.
Henifin added a jumper to put his team ahead 45-42, then
added two free throws a few moments later for a 47-44
lead.
WWU still led by just three with nine minutes left (54-51),
but the Vikings then scored seven consecutive points
getting a jumper from Woodworth, a three-pointer from
Rico Wilkins and a two-point jumper from Paul Jones to go
ahead by 10 (61-51) with 6:37 left.
Chico State climbed back to within five points (63-58) on a
three-pointer by Damario Sims with 3:43 remaining, but
Allen hit a three-pointer to re-establish an eight-point lead
just inside the two-minute mark.
11 minutes due to foul trouble the finally forced him to
leave the game with 2:38 left to play.
The Wildcats cut that deficit to six on two free throws by
Park with 1:42 remaining, but two free throws by
Woodworth and a spectacular tip-in by Henifin with 58
seconds left gave WWU a double-digit lead effectively
sealing the victory.
In the second half, Anchorage drew within 46-44 on a 3pointer by Lonnie Ridgeway with 10:31 remaining. SPU
scored six straight points on free throws to extend its lead
to 52-44.
WWU shot 50 percent from the floor (29-of-58), while
holding Chico State to a 35.8 percentage (19-of-53)
including just 33.3 percent (9-of-27) in the second half,
while also earning a draw on the backboards (36-36) and
having seven fewer turnovers (8-15).
"They're a pretty methodical team and I think we were not
doing a very good job on the defensive glass in the first
half, but I think our defense finally started to get to them in
the second half,” said WWU coach Brad Jackson.
Inside the final 2:38, SPU drained 10 consecutive free
throws to finish hitting 15-of-17 during that game-ending
span.
For the game, SPU converted on 40 of 47 and had a 15minute stretch in the second half in which it didn't make a
two-point field goal, hitting on three treys and 24 free
throws.
Riley Stockton poured in a career-high 14 points for the
Falcons, including 2-of-3 shooting on treys.
WWU had just five assists in the contest. "It's a little
deceiving because of the way they play,” Jackson
said. “We'd like to see that stat come up but in the second
half, I think we only had one turnover and I think our
defensive effort was just the key tonight."
Ridgeway paced the Seawolves with 14 points and Travis
Thompson added 13. Gibcus recorded his first doubledouble of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Seattle Pacific 80, Alaska Anchorage 67
David Downs and Andy Poling combined for 40 points and
Seattle Pacific never trailed en route to a 13-point win over
Alaska Anchorage in reaching the regional final for the first
time since 2006.
Hanna Johansson led four players in double figures with a
game-high 22 points as Alaska Anchorage earned a
convincing 77-58 win over Grand Canyon in the semifinals
of the NCAA Division II West Regional Women's
Basketball Championships at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla,
Calif., Saturday.
Downs tallied seven of his game-high 21 points on free
throws inside the final 2:17. The sophomore point guard
converted 10 of 12 shots from the line.
UAA (29-4) advances to Monday night's West Regional
championship game versus top-seed UC San Diego (30-2)
which eliminated Western Washington 81-66.
Poling was also productive from the charity stripe, hitting
13 of 16 attempts. He scored 11 of his 19 points during the
first half.
"We were fortunate to defeat a very good basketball team
tonight," said UAA head coach Tim Moser. "I was really
proud of our kids in the second half – we were the
aggressors and we played to win, not to avoid losing.
Five points from Poling sparked a nine-point run that put
the Falcons ahead 13-3 with 16:11 left in the first half.
They hit 5 of their first 8 shots while forcing four turnovers
in UAA's first five possessions.
The Seawolves trimmed the margin to 15-14 with their own
nine-point surge, capped by a Travis Thompson layup with
12:44 on the clock.
Riley Carel turned back that rally with a 3-pointer on SPU's
next possession.
Anchorage forged the game's only tie, at 25-25, on a putback shot by Liam Gibcus with 3:34 left in the half. The
Falcons answered with a hook shot from Poling and
registered their next six points from the free throw line to
claim a 33-30 halftime edge.
UAA's Taylor Rohde, the GNAC's MVP, was held 15
points below his league-leading 20.3-point average with
five points. The 6-foot-9 senior center was limited to only
Women's Basketball: Seawolves Reach Title Game
"We did a good job of keeping them off the glass and made
them earn everything."
The second-seeded Seawolves broke open a tight affair in
the second half, outscoring the Antelopes 20-0 over a
seven-minute period to go from trailing 42-37 at 15:05 to a
57-42 lead at 8:52.
Alysa Horn had 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting and six
rebounds, Sasha King added 11 points and five steals and
Kaylie Robison had 11 point.
Grand Canyon, which came into the game ranked No. 13
nationally and allowing a nation-leading 50.3 points per
game, finished its season with a 24-4 record.
The Antelopes got a team-high 18 points from allconference guard Maylinn Smith.
The Seawolves shot a sizzling 55 percent from the field and
outrebounded the Antelopes 34-25 to advance to their third
regional final in five seasons.
Brittany Ribeiro and Sammie Olexa each had two RBI.
Ribeiro had a RBI single in a four-run first inning and in
the fourth. Olexa had a two-run single in the first frame.
UAA was the West Region champion in 2008 and 2009,
making it as far as the national semifinals both years.
In the second game, the Clan scored five runs in the second
inning including two on a single by Kelsey Haberl. Riske
completed the scoring with a two-run single in the fourth.
UC San Diego 81, Western Washington 66
Center Britt Harris scored a career-high 23 points, but
Western Washington couldn't overcome a big first-half by
UC San Diego.
Guard Chelsea Carlisle, the Daktronics West Region Player
of the Year, had 20 points and seven assists and center
Lauren Freidenburg added 14 points, 12 in the first half,
and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to lead the Tritons
(30-2) to a 15-point win.
The Vikings led only once at 5-4 a little over two minutes
into the game. UCSD then ran off eight straight points, and
quickly extended the margin to 23-9 with 11:42 left in the
first half.
The Tritons, who also got 19 points from guard Daisy
Feder, held a 50-27 lead at halftime, scoring16 points off
13 WWU turnovers.
Western Washington battled back in the second half,
holding UCSD to 31.8 percent (7-of-22) shooting from the
floor.
WWU pulled within 11 (77-66) on a layin by Erika
Ramstead with 2:32 to go, but didn't score again.
Harris was 11-of-13 from the field and had a team-high
eight rebounds. Kristin Schramm, WWU's lone senior,
completed her collegiate career with 21 points, hitting five
three-pointers.
Softball: SFU's Lukawesky No-Hits NNU
Cara Lukawesky tossed a no-hitter Saturday as Simon
Fraser completed a four-game sweep of Northwest
Nazarene with 6-0 and 7-1 wins at Halle Field in Nampa.
Elsewhere Saturday, Montana State Billings swept a
twinbill at Saint Martin's by scores of 7-4 and 3-1 leaving
the Yellowjackets (12-5, 9-3) and Clan (13-4, 9-3) tied for
first place in the GNAC.
Lukawesky (8-2) walked four and fanned seven in not
allowing the Crusaders (3-11, 3-7) a hit in their opener. The
Clan banged out 13 hits including three each by Kelsey
Haberl and Leah Riske.
SFU's Kelsie Hawkins pitched a four-hitter. She fanned six
and didn't walk a hitter in improving to 5-2.
Montana State Billings 7-3, Saint Martin's 4-1
Emily Osborn had three hits to pace an 11-hit attack as the
Yellowjackets won Saturday's opener. MSUB also got two
hits each from Bobbie Lee, Nicole Wilkerson and Taylor
Hoke.
Lee led off the game with a double and eventually scored
on a double by Osborn, then keyed a three-run second
inning with a two-run single as MSUB built an early 5-0
lead.
Annaleisha Parsley pitched the first six innings, allowing
six hits to record the win. In the second game, Amanda
Todd also gave up six hits in MSUB's 3-1 win.
The 'Jackets scored single runs in the first, fifth and sixth.
Two of the runs scored on sacrifice flies by Osborn and
Taylor Hoke and the third run scored on an error.
Saint Martin's got its lone run in the sixth on a single by
Joslyn Eugenio. Morgan Klemm led SMU in the
doubleheader with four safeties.
Baseball: Western Oregon Sweeps Northwest Nazarene
David Amberson banged out four hits in the opener and
Travis Bradshaw pitched a five-hit shutout in the nightcap
as Western Oregon (15-6, 4-0) completed a four-game
sweep of Northwest Nazarene (11-8, 0-4) Saturday at
Monmouth.
WOU won the opener 8-3 as Amberson went four-for-four
and accounted for six of the runs, scoring four and driving
in two. Matt Nylen and AJ Royal each had two hits for the
Wolves. Nylen also had three RBI.
Kirk Lind allowed three hits and an unearned run in six
innings to even his record at 2-2. Derek Bettinson had two
of NNU's six hits off of three WOU pitchers.
Bradshaw didn't walk a batter and fanned one in hurling a
shutout in winning the nightcap 6-0. WOU, which scored
five first-inning runs, got two hits each from Nylen, Kyle
Blackwell and Quinn Naughtin in winning the nightcap.
Lukawesky's masterpiece was the first seven-inning nohitter in the GNAC since Sara Badgley of Central
Washington no-hit Western Oregon 4-0 on Mar. 5, 2005.
Saints Win Three of Four Against Montana State
Billings
There have been 12 other no-hitters since, but all ended
before the seventh due to the eight-run rule.
Catcher Chandler Tracy accounted for 12 of Saint Martin's
26 runs as the Saints (7-14, 3-1) won three of four games in
a GNAC baseball series last weekend at home against
Montana State Billings.
Tracy had eight hits in 13 at bats, scored five runs and
drove in eight as SMU swept a doubleheader 9-8 and 9-7
on Friday, then split a twinbill on Saturday, winning 4-3
before losing 7-4.
Friday's second game was actually completed on Saturday
as the two teams were tied 2-2 after four innings when it
was suspended due to darkness.
Among Tracy's eight hits, were three doubles, one triple
and one home runs as he slugged at a 1.231 rate. Second
baseman Mario Sanelli had six hits in the series in 15 at
bats.
MSUB was led by Ty Gilmore and Brody Miller. Gilmore
went eight for 18, while Miller had seven hits in 16 at bats.
Saint Martin's won all three of its games in its final at bat.
Tracy's two-run eighth inning double gave it a 9-8 victory
in Friday's opener.
The Saints then scored five runs in the sixth inning to win
the seven-inning contest 9-7. Sanelli snapped a 7-7 tie with
a RBI single and then Tracy provided an insurance run with
another RBI single.
The Saints then went 10 innings to win the third game 4-3,
tying the contest in the ninth on an error after Adam
Hudspeth had tripled.
Then in the 10th, Tracy scored the winning run on an error
after reaching base earlier in the inning when he was hit by
a pitch.
MSUB scored three runs in the first and four in the second
to win the final contest as Brian Hutchings pitched a sixhitter. Gilmore had three hits and Justin Harcharik and
Blake Nelson each had two RBI for the 'Jackets.
Tracy accounted for three of SMU's four runs on a home
run in the first inning.
Track and Field: Potter Second In Indoor Triple Jump
Ashley Potter of Western Oregon finished second in the
triple jump Saturday at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track
& Field Championships at Mankato, Minn., with a GNAC
record leap of 40-8 1/4.
Potter broke the GNAC record of 39-11 1/2 set by Emily
Warman of Western Washington in 2010. Potter's previous
best had been 39-7.
Seattle Pacific's McKayla Fricker and Ali Worthen also had
All-American finishes Saturday.
Fricker placed fifth in the women's 800 in a time of
2:11.69. Worthen placed sixth in the women's pentathlon
with a 3,763 point total. That bettered her previous career
high of 3,729, which she set on Jan. 27 at the UW
Invitational in Seattle improving her own GNAC all-time
No. 2 mark.
Two GNAC pole vaulters earned All-American honors on
Friday. Western Washington's Karis Anderson finished
fifth with a GNAC and school record vault of 12-9 ½.
Anderson's record vault came on her third effort at that
height.
Earlier this season, Anderson tied the WWU standard of
12-5 ½ set by Christy Miller in 2009. The previous GNAC
best was 12-9 by SPU's Melissa Peaslee in 2008. Kati
Davis of Central Washington finished eighth with a vault of
12-1 ½.
WOMEN: Team Scores - 19. Western Oregon 8; 20. Seattle Pacific 7, 33.
Western Washington 4; 47. Central Washington 1. Friday: Pole Vault – 5.
Karis Anderson, WWU, 3.90 – 12-9 ½; 8. Kati Davis, Central Washington,
3.70 - 12-1 ½ ; 14. Terra Schumacher, SPU, 3.50 - 11-5 ¾. Saturday: 800
- 5. McKayla Fricker, SPU, 2:11.68 (2:14.17); 10. Janelle Everetts, WOU,
2:16.35. Triple Jump - 2. Ashley Potter, WOU, 12.40 - 40-8 1/4. High
Jump - 14. Brittany Grandy, WWU, 16.4 - 5-4 1/2. Pentathlon – 6. Ali
Worthen, SPU, 3763 (60 Hurdles – 8.93; High Jump – 1.67 - 5-5 ¾; Shot
Put – 10.39 - 34-1 ¼; Long Jump – 5.43 - 17-9 ¾; 800 – 2:22.84); 13. Katy
Gross, SPU, 3071 (60 Hurdles – 9.51; High Jump – 1.55 – 5-1; Shot Put –
10.28 – 33-8 ¾; Long Jump – 5.03 – 16-6; 800 – 2:49.19). MEN:
Saturday: 800 - 9. Ryan Hansen, WOU, 1:57.40 (1:54.81). Note: Friday
prelim times in parentheses.
Eight Qualifying Marks For Alaska Anchorage
Alaska Anchorage posted eight NCAA Division II
provisional qualifying times and broke three schools
records at the Ben Brown Track & Field Invitational
Saturday at Fullerton, Calif.
Four of the qualifiers were in the 5,000 including Micah
Chelimo in the men's event (14:08.91) and Ruth Keino
(16:56.83), Susan Tanui (17:05.10) and Ivy O'Guinn
(17:05.56) in the women's race.
Chelimo's time moved him into second place on the GNAC
men's all-time list, while Tanaui and O'Guinn took over
eighth and ninth place on the women's Top 10. Keino has a
career-best of 16:38.24 which ranks fourth.
Qualifying provisionally in the men's and women's 400meter hurdles were Shaun Ward (53.27) and Haleigh Lloyd
(1:01.51).
Freshman Cody Parker qualified in the javelin with a
school-record toss of 211-1. That ranks third in GNAC
history.
Also setting UAA records were Hallidie Wilt and Micah
Johnson in the women's steeplechase (10:42.9) and men's
pole vault (13-6 1/2). Wilt's time was a PNQ and ranks
third in GNAC history.
CSU Fullerton Ben Brown Invitational: Men (Top 6): 5000 - 1. Micah
Chelimo, UAA, 14:08.91. 400 Hurdles - 5. Shaun Ward, UAA, 53.27.
Javelin - 1. Cody Parker, UAA, 211-1. Women (Top 6): 5000 - 2. Ruth
Keino, UAA, 16:56.83; 3. Susan Tanui, UAA, 17:05.10; 4. Ivy O'Guinn,
UAA, 17:05.56. 400 Hurdles - 2. Haleigh Lloyd, UAA, 1:01.51.
Steeplechase - 1. Hallidie Wilt, UAA, 10:42.9; 2. Bryn Haebe, UAA,
11:14.3; 4. Katie Krehlik, UAA, 11:43.9. High Jump - 3. Kelsea Johnson,
UAA, 5-2 1/4. Long Jump - 5. Dianne Chong, UAA, 17-9 3/4. Triple Jump 4. Diane Chong, UAA, 35-7 1/4.
Friday, Mar. 9
Saints Win 10 Events at PLU Invitational
Center Taylor Rohde scored 32 points tying his career high
in leading Alaska Anchorage to a 80-68 victory over
Montana State Billings Friday in the opening round of the
NCAA Division II West Regionals at WWU's Sam Carver
Gymnasium.
Saint Martin's Sam Washington won both the shot put and
discus Saturday in the Pacific Lutheran University
Invitational at Tacoma.
Washington had marks of 48-10 3/4 in the shot and 143-9
in the discus. Those were among 10 victories for SMU in
the invitation. Central Washington won six events in the
meet.
Pacific Lutheran Invitational (Mar. 10 at Tacoma): Men (GNAC
Winners): 800 - Joseph Patti, SMU, 1:55.34. 1500 - Kyle Van Santen,
SMU, 3:56.43. Steeplechase - Spencer Hunt, SMU, 9:45.60. 4x100 - Saint
Martin's 44.38. 4x400 Relay - Saint Martin's 3:27.01. High Jump - Brennan
Boyes, CWU, 6-6. Pole Vault - Joseph Keeton, SMU, 13-5 3/4. Long Jump
- Michael Davis, SMU, 22-1. Shot Put - Sam Washington, SMU, 48-10 3/4.
Discus - Sam Washington, SMU, 143-9. Hammer - Quinton Agosta, CWU,
168-11. Women (GNAC Winners): 400 - Seanna Pitassi, CWU, 1:00.83.
5000 - Kelsey Kreft, CWU, 18:38.00. 4x100 - Central Washington 50.21,
High Jump - Laura Tesch, SMU, 5-2. Long Jump - Katharine Lotze, CWU,
16-2 1/2.
Franklin, Pola Among WOU Winners at Mt. Hood
Zach Franklin won the men's triple jump and Lexi Pola
won the women's 400 Saturday in the Saints Open at
Mount Hood Community College.
Both Franklin (44-9 1/2) and Pola (58.69) grabbed the
GNAC early-season lead in their events.
The Wolves won a total of six events in the meet. Other
winners were Landon Burningham in the men's 400
(49.49), Rachel Shelley in the 1500 (4:50.12), Kayla Dolby
in the high jump (4-11) and Rebecca Laible in the triple
jump (34-1 1/2).
Mount Hood CC Saints Open (Mar. 10 at Gresham): Men: 400 Landon Burningham, WOU, 49.49. Triple Jump - Zach Franklin, WOU, 449 1/2. Women: 400 - Lexi Pola, WOU, 58.69. 1500 - Rachel Shelley,
WOU, 4:50.12. High Jump - Kayla Dolby, WOU, 4-11. Triple Jump Rebecca Laible, WOU, 34-1 1/2.
Kilgore Posts GNAC Automatic Score in Decathlon
Greyson Kilgore of Northwest Nazarene record an
automatic qualifying score of 6,116 points for this spring's
GNAC championship meet in the decathlon at NNU's
Combined meet.
All five participatns in the meet posted provisional marks
for the GNAC championship including NNU's Tim Greene
and Mark Wade in the decathlon and Jill Benson and Marie
Smith in the heptathlon.
NNU Combined (Mar. 8-9 at Nampa): Decathlon - 1. Greyson Kilgore,
NNU, 6116; 2. Tim Greene, 5052; 3. Mark Wade, NNU, 4188. Heptathlon
- 1. Jill Bennett, NNU, 4014; 2. Marie Smith, NNU, 3664.
Men's Basketball: Seawolves, Falcons, Vikings To
Semis
The Seawolves (23-6), the No. 2 seed, avenged a loss to the
Yellowjackets in last Saturday's GNAC championship
game at Lacey. They'll play No. 3 seed Seattle Pacific
which eliminated Dixie State 70-68 in Saturday's first
semifinal game at 5 p.m.
The second semifinal at 7:30 p.m. will match top-seed
Western Washington which built a 25-point first-half lead
and then helnd on to defeat Grand Canyon 79-73 and fifthseed Chico State, which eliminated Humboldt State76-68.
UAA never trailed after two Rohde free throws put the
Seawolves ahead 10-8 with 13:40 left in the first half, but
never had the game securely in its grasp until the final
moments either.
The Seawolves' biggest lead until the final minute was 11
points. After grabbing a 32-26 lead at halftime, a threepointer by Kyle Fossman early in the second half put the
Seawolves up 44-33 with 15:33 remaining.
MSUB climbed back to within three first at 48-45 and then
later at 50-47 but Travis Thompson hit a trey to put UAA
ahead 53-47 with 10:58 remaining.
UAA rebuilt its lead to 10 (67-57) with 5:29 left. Forward
Robert Mayes, who led MSUB with 29 points, then scored
the next five points cutting his team's deficit to five points
(67-62) with 4:07 left.
UAA, however, quickly re-established its double-digit
advantage scoring the next six points, as Rohde, the GNAC
and Daktronics West Region Player-of-the-Year, hit two
free throws, guard Colton Lauwers nailed his third trey of
the game and point guard Steve White added a foul shot for
a 73-62 lead with 2:24 left.
In addition to Rohde, who reached 30 points for the third
time in six career games with MSUB, Alaska Anchorage
also got 18 points from Fossman, who made four of six
treys, and 10 from White.
Antoine Proctor joined Mayes in double figures for MSUB
with 13 points. Proctor also had nine rebounds and seven
assists.
Alaska Anchorage blistered the nets at a 60 percent pace,
making 27 of 45, including 10 of 17 from the arc.
“Any time you shoot close to 60 percent you're going to
win most of those,” UAA coach Rusty Osborne said.
“Taylor (Rohde) did a good job inside and our guards
showed a lot of poise every time Billings made a run.”
A three-pointer by Cole at the buzzer established the final
two-point margin.
“You have to credit Anchorage, they were, by far, the
better team today,” MSUB first-year coach Jamie Stevens
said. “Rhode played like the all-region player he is. We
didn't have an answer for him, we tried to do a couple of
things differently defensively on him, but he's just hard to
stop one-on-one.”
Anderson ended up converting on seven of nine shots,
including four of six pointers and also tied Poling, who
made seven of nine shots, for game-high rebounding
honors with eight.
Montana State Billings, which pulled three upset wins last
week to win the GNAC title and qualify for the West
Regional tournament, finished its season at 18-12.
Seattle Pacific 70, Dixie State 68
Forward Jake Anderson scored a career-high 24 points
including 15 in the final 11:40 of the second half leading
Seattle Pacific to a win over Dixie State. The Falcons, the
No.3 seed in the West Regional, improved to 22-7.
In addition to Anderson, Seattle Pacific also got 18 points
each from center Andy Poling and guard David Downs.
Forward Griffon Jones and guard Maurice Cole led sixthseeded Dixie State (20-7) with 19 points each.
Anderson's 24 points bettered his previous career high of
17 against Saint Martin's on Jan. 1, 2011. His season high
was just 11, which he accomplished just twice this season.
With his team trailing 52-49 with less than 12 minutes left,
Anderson scored 15 of SPU's next 18 points.
Dixie, which fell behind early 20-2 before rallying to go
ahead 40-39 at halftime, got 14 points from Massey and
also had 10 fewer turnovers (20-10)
However, the Red Storm, was outrebounded 38-25 and was
outscored 30-18 from the three-point lead as SPU
converted on 10 of 25 compared to six of 17 by Dixie.
Western Washington 79, Grand Canyon 73
Guard John Allen scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in
the first half as Western Washington built a 25-point lead,
but the Vikings had to hold off a furious comeback from
Grand Canyon in the second half before earning the
victory.
Western Washington jumped to a 14-1 lead in the first 3:44
of the game. After Rory Blanche hit a jumper to start the
game, Allen scored WWU's next seven points.
Grand Canyon finally got on the board with a free throw,
but Blanche hit a jumper and Chris Mitchell nailed a three
to stretch the lead to 13 points. Later in the half, the
Vikings had runs of 7-0 to ahead 25-9 and 6-0 to stretch
their lead to 31-11.
He hit two free throws with 11:40 left, then put his team
ahead 53-52 on a jumper with 9:17 remaining. He then
extended SPU's lead to four at 56-52 on a trey with 8:17
remaining.
The Vikings eventually went on top by 25 at 42-17 with
four minutes left in the first half and were up by 21 at
halftime (48-27).
Guard McKay Massey scored the next five points,
regaining the lead for Dixie State on a three-pointer with
5:58 left.
But, Grand Canyon (19-8) chipped away in the period half
cutting its deficit to a dozen points on four different
occasions.
Anderson, however, then put SPU back on top 58-57 with
two free throws. Griffon Jones gave Dixie's its last lead 5958 on a layup with 4:54 remaining.
Western rebuilt its lead to 18 at 63-45 on a layup by Allen
with 12:41 remaining and maintained a double-digit
advantage until a three-pointer by reserve Blake Davis at
5:54 and a layup by forward Jerome Garrison pulled the
Antelopes within nine (70-61) with 5:19 remaining.
Jobi Wall then gave SPU the lead for good with a threepointer (61-59) with 4:38. Anderson scored the next six
points including a trey with 1:22 left to stretch the Falcons
lead to eight at 57-49.
Dixie got a jumper from Landon Clegg and a three-pointer
by Massey to pull within three in the final minute.
The Red Storm got the ball back and Maurice Cole hit one
of two foul shots to cut his team's deficit to two.
After a free throw by Downs re-established a three-point
lead, Dixie missed two three-points shots. Poling got a
rebound with 5.9 seconds and hit two free throws left to
clinch the win.
Davis added a layup at 4:26 to pull the PacWest school to
within seven with 4:26 remaining. The Antelopes climbed
to within six at 71-65 with 3:46 left on two free throws by
Blake and again at 73-67 on a jumper by Justin
Wesolowski with 3:05 left.
But, Blanche's jumper with 1:47 left re-established the lead
at eight. Two baskets by Braylon Pickrel cut the Vikings'
lead to four with 44 seconds remaining.
Western then finally was able to put the game away at the
foul line as Cameron Severson made two with 28 seconds
left and Blanche converted two more with 16 seconds
remaining to open the lead back to eight.
Allen made six of seven shots in the opening period
finishing the contest with 10 field goals in 16 attempts.
Blanche was also in double figures with 16 points, making
all six of his field goal attempts.
Grand Canyon was led by Pickrel with 18 points, including
16 in the second half. Davis came off the bench to add 11,
nine after the intermission.
The Antelopes, who had won nine straight, made 19 of 29
second-half shots to key their comeback and also benefited
from a 12 of 26 free throw percentage by the Vikings, who
converted just seven of 18 in the second half.
For the game, Western Washington shot 52.5 percent (3159) after firing at a 59.4 percent clip (19-32) in the opening
20 minutes. Grand Canyon rebounded from a 34.8 percent
first half (8 of 23) to finish the game with a 51.9 percentage
(27-52).
Women's Basketball: UAA, WWU Advances To Semis
CSULA played a more aggressive defense in the second
half, forcing UAA to commit 24 turnovers in the game.
But the Seawolves took advantage of the Eagles' closinghalf shooting woes by draining their shots from both the arc
and the charity stripe. The Eagles shot a dismal 8 for 29
(27.6 percent) from the paint in the second half.
UAA maintained its lead throughout the second half,
leading by as many as 14 when senior guard/forward Tijera
Mathews hit a free throw with 3:04 remaining to make it
56-42.
The Eagles whittled the lead down to eight at 59-51 when
Johnson drilled both of her free throws with 52 seconds to
play, but they could get no closer.
Point guard Sasha King tallied 12 points and tied her
career-high with six rebounds for UAA, while guard Haley
Holmstead overcame early foul trouble to finish with 10
points, two assists and three steals.
Center Hanna Johansson scored 13 points to lead a
balanced Alaska Anchorage effort Friday as the Seawolves
outlasted seventh-seed Cal State L.A. for a 65-56 victory in
the NCAA Division II West Regional Women's Basketball
Championships at UC San Diego's RIMAC Arena.
Western Washington 65, Cal State Monterey Bay 58
With the victory, nationally eighth-ranked UAA (28-4)
advances to the regional semifinals for the sixth straight
year, where it will meet third seed and nationally 13th ranked Grand Canyon (24-3) at 5 p.m. Saturday. Grand
Canyon eliminated Cal Poly Pomona 49-48.
Guard Jessica Fontenette led the Otters (21-8) with 15
points, six assists and five steals.
The 7:30 p.m. semifinal will send fourth-seed Western
Washington, a 65-58 winner against Cal State Monterey
Bay, against top-seed UC San Diego, which beat No. 8
Chico State 84-66.
But CSUMB stormed back early in the second half, using
an 18-6 burst over the first six minutes to pull within two at
42-40. The Otters eventually tied the game at 50-50 on a
fastbreak layin by Fontenette with 9:50 to play.
Cal State L.A. (18-12) was led by a game-high 17 points
from guard Jazzi Johnson, but the Golden Eagles could not
keep up with the Alaska Anchorage on the boards, getting
outrebounded 49-31.
From there, there were three ties and six lead changes
before Waltrip hit a driving layin from the left side to give
WWU a 59-58 lead.
“We're fortunate that we got out of that game,” said
Seawolves head coach Tim Moser, who improved to 12-5
in NCAA tournament play.
“I thought Cal State L.A. had a great game plan for us and
they knew some of our stuff. I give them a lot of credit.
Coach (Janell) Jones did a tremendous job.
"They put us under a lot of pressure, but we'll learn from it
and hopefully we'll do better against a very good Grand
Canyon team tomorrow.”
Johansson helped the Seawolves overcome an early 9-4
deficit to forge a 29-23 halftime lead, tallying 11 of her 13
points and all of her seven rebounds and three assists in the
opening 20 minutes.
Guard Corinn Waltrip had 15 points, including the goahead basket with 2:35 to play, as Western Washington
(22-7) earned a seven-point win.
The Vikings shot 50.0 percent (14-of-28) from the field in
the first half and held a 36-22 halftime lead.
The Vikings then held the Otters scoreless the rest of the
way, forcing turnovers on the next two possessions and
securing the final margin by hitting six consecutive free
throws.
“Monterey Bay played great in the second half, and it
seemed like we were playing not to lose,” said WWU
coach Carmen Dolfo. “But we showed a lot of composure
to recover. Our blocking out was key, we were able to keep
them to one shot.”
Forward Kristin Schramm had 14 points for the Vikings
and center Britt Harris added 12. Guard Trishi Williams
netted nine points and had a game-high 10 rebounds as the
Vikings had a 46-30 advantage on the boards.
WWU trailed only once in the first half (2-0) but led just
14-13, with 11 minutes left in the period before scoring
nine straight points to take a 23-13 lead on a three-pointer
by Katie Colardwith just under seven minutes left in the
half.
Danielle Padilla and Brittani Jefferson came off the bench
to contribute 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Otters,
who were held to 35.5 percent (22-of-62) field goal
shooting, including 28.1 percent (9-of-32) in the first half.
The victory was WWU's first opening-round regional win
since 2007.
WOU scored four runs in the third inning combining five
hits, including a pair of two-run singles by Matt Nylen and
AJ Royal, and an error.
In the second game, WOU managed just three hits, but got
the winning run in the ninth when Michael Gange was hit
with the bases loaded to force in the winning run.
NNU's Patrick Patterson allowed just two hits and two
unearned runs in seven innings. WOU starter Jason Wilson
gave up just three hits in 6 1/3.
Softball: Saints Maintain Narrow Lead in GNAC Race
Saint Martin's maintained a one-half game lead over both
Montana State Billings and Simon Fraser Friday by
splitting a doubleheader with MSUB at the Saint softball
field.
SMU (9-5, 7-2) won the opener 2-1 before MSUB (10-5, 73) bounced back to win the second game 5-3.
Western Oregon took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second
inning on a pair of NNU errors. The Crusaders (11-6) tied
the game in the fifth inning as Fernando Robles doubled to
plate two runners.
Thursday, Mar. 8
Men's Golf: Crusaders Win Spring Opener 307-318
Simon Fraser (11-4, 7-3) moved into a tie for second with
the Yellowjackets sweeping a twinbill from Northwest
Nazarene, 9-2 and 2-0 at Nampa.
Northwest Nazarene defeated College of Idaho 307-318 in
a dual match Thursday at River Bend Golf Course in
Wilder, Idaho.
Sam Munger scattered eight hits and didn't allow an earned
run in hurling the Saints to their first game win stranding
11 runners on base. SMU scored both of its runs in the first
inning on a single by Taviah Jenkins and an error.
College of Idaho's Tyler Thurston earned medalist honors
with a 1-under par 71 over the 6,884-yard, par 72 layout,
but the Crusaders posted the next four best scores to grab
the team win.
In the second game, MSUB snapped a 3-3 tie scoring twice
in the sixth without the benefit of a hit as they took
advantage of a pair of Saint errors.
Zach Grunig led the Crusaders with 75, Brock Sargent and
Justin McAfee had 77's and Nick Hardy finished with 78.
Leadoff hitter Carly Lepoutre had four hits leading Simon
Fraser to its first game victory. The Clan also got two hits
and a pair of RBIs from Leah Riske to back the four-hit
pitching of Cara Lukawesky, who fanned 10 in improving
to 7-2.
Kelsie Hawkins tossed a five-hit shutout in the nightcap as
SFU completed the sweep. Kelsey Haberl and Trisha
Bouchard had RBI singles in the first and seventh to
account for all the scoring in the contest.
Baseball: Wolves Sweep Northwest Nazarene
Grady Wood needed just 79 pitches in tossing a three-hit
shutout as Western Oregon swept a doubleheader from
Northwest Nazarene Friday at Monmouth.
The Wolves (13-6) won the opener 5-0 as Wood improved
to 5-0 extending his two-season win streak to 13 games.
WOU also won the second game 3-2 as the two teams
opened their conference seasons.
Wood induced 15 groundball outs, struck out six and didn't
walk a batter in his masterpiece. Two of NNU's three hits
were infield singles, and between the Crusaders' second and
third hits Wood retired 12 straight batters.
Northwest Nazarene 307, College of Idaho 318 (Mar. 8 at River Bend
GC, Wilder, Idaho): Individuals (Par 72, 6,884 Yards) – 1. Tyler
Thurston, CI, 71; 2. Zach Grunig, NNU, 75; 3. Brock Sargent, NNU, 77;
Justin McAfee, NNU, 77; and *Nic Gibson, NNU, 77; 6. Nick Hardy, NNU,
78; 7. *Davis Halle, NNU, 80; 8. Matt Sturgill, NNU, 81. *Competed as
individual
Wednesday, Mar. 7
Softball: Yellowjackets Sweep Vikings 15-1, 11-3
Montana State Billings had 31 hits in sweeping a
doubleheader from Western Washington by 15-1 and 11-3
scores Tuesday at Skagit Valley Fields in Mount Vernon.
Rose Harrington and Jenna VanEykeren each had six hits
and Annaleisha Parsley had five in the two wins as MSUB
(9-4, 6-2) pulled to within one-half game of first-place
Saint Martin's going into their four-game series at Lacey
this weekend.
Parsley drove in seven runs, including five in the nightcap.
She had a sacrifice fly in the third, a three-run home run in
the sixth and a RBI double in the seventh as the 'Jackets
pounded out 17 hits in the contest, including four by
Harrington and three each by VanEykeren and Parsley.
Amanda Todd pitched the final 3 2/3 innings getting the
win for MSUB and acquiring nine of her 11 outs on
strikeouts.
In the opener, VanEykeren had three hits and four RBI.
Nicole Wilkerson also had three hits, while Harrington,
Emily Osborn and Parsley had two each.
Meg Harasymczuk had a two-run home run during a fiverun second inning. MSUB then added seven more runs in
the third.
Meanwhile, Kasie Conder allowed just five hits and one
run to the Vikings, including two to Krista Bickar. Meghan
Carrillo had three hits to lead WWU (3-15, 1-7) in the
second game.
Baseball: Saints Score Three In Ninth To Beat Loggers
Saint Martin's scored three runs in the ninth, the final two
on an error to pull out a 9-8 win over Puget Sound Tuesday
in a non-conference game at the SMU Baseball Field.
The Saints led 6-1 before UPS scored three runs in the sixth
and four in the eighth to go ahead 8-6. SMU, however,
loaded the bases in the ninth on singles by Zach Leonard
and Bobby Twedt and a walk.
Mario Sanelli flied out to right to drive in one run and then
Travis Shaw reached on an error as the tying and winning
runs scored.
Leonard reached base four times - three times on walks and also had a sacrifice fly to officially go 1 for 1 in his
five plate appearances. Adam Hudspeth had two of SMU's
nine hits.
Eight different pitchers took the ball with Zach Carter (2-0)
earning the win after pitching a scoreless ninth.
Men's Basketball: Rohde Region Player-of-the-Year
Alaska Anchorage center Taylor Rohde has been voted the
Daktronics NCAA Division II West Region Men's
Basketball Player-of-the-Year.
Rohde currently leads the GNAC in scoring (19.9),
rebounding (8.1) and field goal percentage (62.8) and has
led the Seawolves to a 22-6 record.
Joining Rohde on the West Region first team all-star team
were Western Washington forward Rory Blanche, BYUHawaii guard Tsung-Hsien (Jet) Chang, Chico State guard
Jay Flores and Montana State Billings guard Antoine
Proctor.
Selected to the second team were guards Mitchel Anderson
of Cal Poly Pomona, Blair Wheadon of Western Oregon
and Damario Sims of Chico State, forward Kwame
Alexander of Cal State San Bernardino and center Reggie
Jones of Cal State Stanislaus.
Rohde and Chang were the only repeaters from last year's
team when both were selected to the second team.
DAKTRONICS WEST REGION: First Team - +Taylor Rohde, Alaska
Anchorage (Center, 6-9, Sr., Phoenix, AZ); Rory Blanche, Western
Washington (Forward, 6-6, Sr., Ashland, OR); +Tsung-Hsien (Jet) Chang,
BYU-Hawaii (Guard, 6-4, Sr., Yilan, Taiwan); Jay Flores, Chico State
(Guard, 6-0, Sr., Sacramento, CA); Antoine Proctor, Montana State
Billings (Guard, 6-3, Sr., Washington, DC). Second Team - Reggie Jones,
Cal State Stanislaus (Center, 6-9, Sr., Paterson, NJ); Mitchel Anderson,
Cal Poly Pomona (Guard, 6-4, Jr., Temecula, CA); Blair Wheadon,
Western Oregon (Guard, 6-3, Sr., Junction City, OR); Kwame Alexander,
Cal State San Bernardino (Forward, 6-7, Jr., Moreno Valley, CA); Damario
Sims, Chico State (Guard, 6-0, Jr., Oakland, CA). +Second team in 2011
Women's Basketball: Johansson, Knudsen on West
Team
Center Hanna Johansson of Alaska Anchorage and guard
Bobbi Knudsen of Montana State Billings have been voted
to the 2011-12 Daktronics NCAA Division II West Region
Women's Basketball team .
Chelsea Carlisle of UC San Diego, who was selected to
first team for the third year in a row, was voted the Region
Player-of-the-Year.
Also named to the first team were Megan Ford of Cal Poly
Pomona and Shayla Washington of BYU-Hawaii. Ford and
Johansson were selected to the second team last year, while
Knudsen, who is a sophomore, is the lone underclassmen,
selected to the first team.
Selected to the second team were Emily Osga and Daisy
Feder of UC San Diego, Maylinn Smith of Grand Canyon,
Synchro Bull of Chico State and Haley Holmstead of
Alaska Anchorage. All five players are guards.
DAKTRONICS WEST REGION: First Team - **Chelsea Carlisle, UC San
Diego (Guard, 5-7, Sr., Agoura Hills, CA); +Megan Ford, Cal Poly Pomon
(Center, 6-1, Sr., Newhall, CA); +Hanna Johansson, Alaska Anchorag
(Center, 6-2, Sr., Gothenburg, Sweden); Bobbi Knudsen, Montana State
Billing (Guard, 5-8, So., Malta, MT); Shayla Washington, BYU-Hawai
(Forward, 5-9, Jr., Phoenix, AZ). Second Team - Emily Osga, UC San
Diego (Guard, 5-9, Jr., San Diego, CA); Maylinn Smith, Grand Canyo
(Guard/Forward, 5-9, So., Mesa, AZ); Daisy Feder, UC San Dieg (Guard,
5-7, Sr., Santa Monica, CA); Synchro Bull, Chico Stat (Guard, 5-6, Jr.,
Oakland, CA); Haley Holmstead, Alaska Anchorag (Guard , 5-7, Jr.,
American Fork, UT) **Selected to first team in 2010 and 2011 +Selected
to second team in 2011
Tuesday, Mar. 6
Softball: Vikings Earn First Conference Win
Western Washington scored the winning run on a wild
pitch in the bottom of the sixth inning in a 3-2 win over
Montana State Billings Tuesday to earn a split of a
doubleheader at Skagit Valley Fields in Mount Vernon.
The Yellowjackets (7-4, 4-2) won the first game 6-3 as
catcher Nicole Wilkerson led the way with three hits.
The Vikings (3-13, 1-5) snapped a seven-game losing
streak in earning their first conference victory of the season
in below freezing weather conditions.
WWU's Jenna DeRosier scattered seven hits in earning her
first win in six decisions. She was working on a three-hit
shutout until giving up two runs in the sixth - one on a
leadoff home run by Bobbie Lee.
Later in the inning after singles by Rose Harrington and
Meg Harasymczuk, MSUB tied the game on a ground out
to first by Emily Osborn.
But in the bottom of the inning. a walk, sacrifice and error
brought pinch-runner Kristen Allen to third base where she
scored on pitcher Jesskyka MacDonald's wild pitch.
MacDonald allowed just five hits and only one of WWU's
runs off her was earned. She fanned 11 while giving up just
the one walk which eventually led to the winning run.
In Tuesday's opener, MSUB jumped to a 6-0 lead after 2
1/2 innings, getting single runs in the first and third and
four in the second.
Baseball: Crusaders Hold On For 5-4 Victory
Northwest Nazarene scored five runs in the second inning
and then held on to defeat College of Idaho 5-4 in nonconference baseball game Tuesday at Wolfe Field in
Caldwell, Idaho.
The Crusaders (11-4) grabbed a 5-0 lead scoring twice on a
single by catcher Jamie Mitchell, and on a bases-loaded hit
batter, a fielder's choice and an error, then fought off a late
challenge by the Coyotes, who scored twice in the seventh
and once in the ninth.
Sean McDonald pitched the final two frames after starting
the game in center field to get a save.
Offensively, NNU was led by DH Charlie Gorzo with three
hits and by third baseman Kaleb DeHass and right fielder
Zach Steele with two hits each.
Men's Golf: Western Washington Fourth at East Bay
Three walks and a fielder's choice led to the first inning
run. MSUB had three hits, including RBI singles by
Harrington and Harasymczuk in the second. Lee drove in
MSUB's final run in the third with a sacrifice fly.
For the game, WWU losing pitcher Janelle Kasch walked
nine batters while giving up seven hits. The Vikings had
nine hits off MSUB's Annaleisha Parsley, who also walked
six but managed to score just the three runs as both teams
stranded 12.
Nick Vareli finished third and teammate Dylan Goodwin
tied for seventh to lead Western Washington to a fourthplace team finish at the Cal State East Bay Pioneer
Shootout Tuesday at the Hiddenbrooke Golf Club in
Vallejo, Calif.
It is the first time this season that the Vikings, ranked No.8
in the latest Golf Coaches Association of America/NCAA
Division II Top 25, had finished lower than third in a
tournament.
Saint Martin's Protest Upheld
Saint Martin's protest of its 7-3 Great Northwest Athletic
Conference softball loss last Sunday to Central Washington
in Ellensburg has been upheld.
Saint Martin's was leading 3-0 in the bottom of the first
inning when CWU first baseman Liz Jusko hit a ball down
the right field line that was originally ruled foul by the plate
umpire.
Following the play, at the request of the CWU coaching
staff, the home plate umpire consulted with both base
umpires and the call was reversed allowing one run to
score.
“A batted ball declared foul cannot be reassessed and ruled
fair even if there is consensus that the original call is
incorrect,” NCAA Softball Committee Secretary-Rules
Editor Dee Abrahamson said in upholding the protest by
Saint Martin's head coach Rick Noren.
The game will be resumed in the first inning with Saint
Martin's leading 3-0 on a date to be determined, GNAC
Commissioner Dave Haglund said.
With the game removed from their records, Saint Martin's
is now 8-4 on the season, including 6-1 in the GNAC.
Central Washington is 6-10, including 5-6 in the
conference.
Host Cal State East Bay entered Tuesday's play in second
place, seven shots behind leader Grand Canyon . The
Pioneers not only overcame that with a final-round 306, but
won by seven strokes over the runner-up Antelopes 907914.
Varelia shot 78 Tuesday to finish third at 10-over par 226.
Goodwin shot 82 to tie for seventh at 228. Western
Washington had a final round of 313 to finish with a 919
total.
Simon Fraser, meanwhile, placed 10th in the Point Loma
Invitational at Steele Canyon Golf Club in Jamul, Calif.
The Clan had a final round of 308, its best of the
tournament, to finish with a 940 total.
Michael Belle led SFU with a 224 total to finish 13th. Belle
carded a final round of even par 71 Tuesday.
Cal State East Bay Pioneer Shootout (Mar. 5-6 at Hiddenbrooke Golf
Course, Vallejo, CA): Team Scores - 1. CSU East Bay 907 (299-302306); 2. Grand Canyon 914 (288-306-320); 3. CSU Monterey Bay 918
(313-303-302); 4. Western Washington 919 (302-304-313); 5. Sonoma
State 927 (304-310-313). Individuals (Par 72, 6,765 Yards) - 1. Chris
Herzog, CSUEB, 221 (72-71-78); 3. Nick Varelia, WWU, 226 (70-78-78);
7. Dylan Goodwin, WWU, 228 (72-74-82); 12. Jake Webb, WWU, 230 (8175-74); 35. Brian Barhanovich, WWU, 236 (79-77-80); 52. Evan
Needham, WWU, 244 (84-79-81).
Point Loma Invitational (Mar. 5-6 at Steele Canyon GC, Jamul, CA):
Team Scores - 1. Cal State San Marcos 880 (299-286-295); 2. Point
Loma Nazarene 882 (295-290-297); 3. Victoria, B.C. 891 (299-297-295);
4. Wayland Baptist, Tex. 899 (302-294-303); 5. Our Lady of the Lake 904
(296-308-300); 10. Simon Fraser 940 (311-321-308). Individuals (Par 71,
6,834 Yards) - 1. Steven Watson, Cal Baptist, 214 (72-70-73); 13.
Michelle Belle, SFU, 224 (76-77-71); 44. Calum Miller, SFU, 238 (75-8182); 45. John Mlikotic, SFU, 239 (84-82-73); 61. T.J. McColl, SFU, 247
(82-83-82); 62. Jordan Melanson, SFU, 249 (78-81-90).
Monday, Mar. 5
Track and Field: Top Performances For MSUB
Athletes
Leeza Henry and Taylor Firestone had three of the top
performances in GNAC history for Montana State Billings
in the UNLV Track Classic at Las Vegas Saturday.
Henry finished second in the women's shot put (47-2 1/2)
and third in the discus (146-5).
Softball: MSUB Outscores Simon Fraser 18-6
Her shot put mark ranks third on the GNAC all-time list
and her discus throw ranks fourth. Both met the provisional
national qualifying standard.
Meg Harasymczuk had three hits and drove in four runs to
lead Montana State Billings to a 18-6 win over Simon
Fraser Monday as the two teams completed a game
suspended after one inning on Sunday.
Firestone equaled the sixth best long jump in GNAC
history, winning the long jump with a leap of 23-4 1/2. He
fell just one inch short of the national standard.
MSUB, which won the series three games to one, led just
7-6 after four innings, but tacked on two runs in the fifth,
two in the sixth and seven in the seventh. Harasymczuk had
a two-run double in the final frame as she finished the fourgame series with eight RBI.
The Yellowjackets (6-3, 3-1) had 19 hits in the game,
including four by Bobbie Lee and three by Nicole
Wilerson. Emily Osborn, Jenna VanEykeren and
Annaleisha Parsley had two each.
Simon Fraser (9-4, 5-3) was led by Trisha Bouchard,
Kelsey Haberl, Brittany Riberio and Megan Durrant with
two hits each. Riberio has hit in nine consecutive games.
Kasie Conder pitched the final four innings to record the
win for the Yellowjackets.
Baseball: Yellowjackets Split With Dixie State
UNLV Track Classic (Mar. 2-3 at Las Vegas): Men (Top 3): 400 Hurdles
- 3. Reiley Winebrenner, MSUB, 56.81. 4x100 - 3. MSU Billings 44.59.
High Jump - 2. Nick Kozub, MSUB, 6-0 3/4. Long Jump - 1. Taylor
Firestone, MSUB, 23-4 1/2. Shot Put - 3. Tanner Tottrup, MSUB, 47-1 3/4.
Women (Top 3): Pole Vault - 3. Tiffany Thomas, MSUB, 9-6 1/4. Shot Put
- 2. Leeza Henry, MSUB, 47-2 1/2. Discus - 3. Leeza Henry, MSUB, 1465.
Three Wins For WWU's Hoffman at UPS Quad Meet
Michael Hoffman won three events, posting a NCAA
Division II provisional national qualifying mark and meet
record in the men's hammer throw as Western Washington
dominated both the men's and women's divisions to open its
season at the University of Puget Sound Quadrangular
Track and Field meet Saturday at Baker Stadium.
In all, the Vikings won 12 of 19 men's events as they
totaled 110 points. WWU placed first in 11 women's
events, finishing with 92 points.
Trevor Wilson's grand slam home run in the fifth inning
powered Montana State Billings to a 7-6 win over Dixie
State in the opening game of a doubleheader Monday at
Saint George, Utah.
Hoffman tossed the hammer 185-7, breaking his own meet
standard set last year. He also placed first in the shot put
(44-8) and discus (139-5).
Dixie won the second game 5-0 as Sam Friend allowed just
two hits in six innings. The Red Storm won the series three
games to one.
Another Viking having a national provisional mark was
Katie Reichert in the women's javelin, placing second with
a throw of 134-4. Seattle Pacific's Brittany Aanstad won
the event with a PNQ of 141-4.
Wilson's slam capped off a six-run inning and gave MSUB
(3-5) a 7-3 lead at that point.
Dixie (11-5) struck back for three runs in the seventh as
reliever Bobby Ragasa gave up a three-run home run to
Tyson Littlewood.
Ragasa, however, then retired the game's final seven hitters
to save the game for starter Brady Muller, who improved to
2-0. MSUB had eight hits including two by Colby Robison.
Also setting meet records for WWU were Lindsay Wells in
the women's hammer (158-9) and Nathan Schmidt in the
men's 400 meters in 49.76.
UPS Quad Meet (Mar. 2-3 at Tacoma): Men - Western Washington 110,
Seattle Pacific 39, Puget Sound 29, Lewis & Clark 15. GNAC Winners:
100 - Alex Tilley, WWU, 10.88. 200 - Shane Gruger 22.49. 400 - Nathaniel
Schmidt, WWU, 49.76. 800 - Ashkon Nima, WWU, 1:59.17. 1500 - Alex
Horton, SPU, 4:07.24. 10,000 - Eric Brill, WWU, 31:37.22. 100 Hurdles Karsten Schick, WWU, 15.47. 400 Hurdles - Ryan Endresen, SPU, 56.54.
Steeplechase - AJ Baker, SPU, 9:57.01. 4x400 Relay - Western
Washington 3:28.07. High Jump - Karsten Schick, WWU, 6-2. Pole Vault Tyler Will, WWU, 13-11 3/4. Long Jump - Nate Johnson, SPU, 21-2. Shot
Put - Michael Hoffman, WWU, 44-8. Discus - Michael Hoffman, WWU,
139-5. Hammer - Michael Hoffman, WWU, 185-7. Javelin - Nate Johnson,
SPU, 185-8. Women - Western Washington 92, Puget Sound 44, Lewis &
Clark 39, Seattle Pacific 18. GNAC Winners: 100 - Valle Ledtke, WWU,
12.70. 200 - Sydney Coffey, WWU, 26.07. 100 Hurdles - Michelle Howe,
WWU, 14.89. 400 Hurdles- Amber Dodd, WWU, 1:08.14. Steeplechase Robin Zeidler, SPU, 11:30.0. 4x400 - Western Washington 4:12.25. High
Jump - Amanda Overdick, WWU, 5-1 3/4. Pole Vault - Cheyanna Pinley,
WWU, 10-11 3/4. Long Jump - Callie Reff, WWU, 15-9 1/2. Triple Jump Shandel Yanney, WWU, 33-8. Discus - Maggie Roe, WWU, 104-1.
Hammer - Lindsey Wells, WWU, 158-9. Javelin - Brittany Aanstad, SPU,
141-4.
The Vikings (25-5), who won the GNAC regular-season
title, are the No. 1 seed and will take on Grand Canyon
from the PacWest Conference.
Eleven Wins For Wolves at Willamette
Four GNAC teams, two PacWest teams and two CCAA
squads comprise the eight-team field.
Western Oregon athletes won 10 individual events and one
relay Saturday in the Willamette Opener at Salem.
The WOU men won four events and the Wolf women won
six in addition to finishing first in the 4x100 relay.
Grand Canyon (19-7) brings a nine-game winning streak
into the regional. It is the sixth regional for the Vikings
since joining the NCAA and remarkably they are hosting
for the fifth time.
GNAC champion Montana State Billings (18-11) is the No.
7 seed and will face second-seed Alaska Anchorage (22-6)
in the opening round in a rematch of the GNAC
championship game won by MSUB.
Willamette Opener (Mar. 3 at Salem): Men (WOU Winners): 200 - Josh
Moore, WOU, 22.56. 110 Hurdles - Brett Campbell, WOU, 15.37. 400
Hurdles - Kody Rhodes, WOU, 56.05. High Jump - Eric Gaines, WOU, 60. Women (WOU Winners): 400 - Meryl Butcher, WOU, 59.50. 1500 Janelle Everetts, WOU, 4:49.18. 100 Hurdles - Janna VanderMeulen,
WOU, 14.90. 4x100 Relay - Western Oregon 48.78. Long Jump - Katie
Pelchar, WOU, 15-11 1/2. Shot Put - Charlene Harber, WOU, 37-6 3/4.
Javelin - Amanda Schumaker, WOU, 145-11.
Seattle Pacific (21-7) is the third seed and will play Dixie
State (20-6) in their opening game.
Sunday, Mar. 4
West Regional (Mar. 9-12 at Bellingham): Friday - #3 Seattle Pacific
(21-7) vs. #6 Dixie State (20-6), 12:30 p.m.; #2 Alaska Anchorage (22-6)
vs. #7 Montana State Billings (18-11), 2:30 p.m.; #4 Humboldt State (22-7)
vs. #5 Chico State (24-7), 5:30 p.m.; #1 Western Washington (25-5) vs. #8
Grand Canyon (19-7), 7:30 p.m.. Saturday - Semifinals at 5 and 7.
Monday - Championship game at 7 p.m.
Women's Basketball: Seawolves Open With CSLA
GNAC champion Alaska Anchorage is the No. 2 seed and
will take on No. 7 seed Cal State L.A. in the opening round
of the NCAA Division II West Regional Women's
Basketball Championships Friday in La Jolla, Calif.
The Seawolves (27-4), who are ranked eighth nationally,
will be making their sixth straight NCAA appearance and
the 12th in program history.
Western Washington (21-7) is the No. 4 seed and will play
fifth-seed Cal State Monterey Bay (21-8) in the opening
round. The Vikings are making their 13th appearance in 14
seasons as a NCAA member.
Top-seeded and nationally top-ranked UC San Diego (282), which was upset in the CCAA semifinals by CSLA (1811), will host the eight-team regional and will play Chico
State (18-10) in the first round.
The other quarterfinal will match third-seeded Grand
Canyon (23-3) and No. 6 Cal Poly Pomona (19-8).
West Regional (Mar. 9-12 at La Jolla, Calif): Friday - #3 Grand Canyon
(23-3) vs. #6 Cal Poly Pomona (19-8), noon; #2 Alaska Anchorage (27-4)
vs. #7 Cal State. L.A. (18-11), 2:30 p.m.; #4 Western Washington (21-7)
vs. #5 Cal State Monterey Bay (21-8), 5 p.m.; #1 UC San Diego (28-2) vs.
#8 Chico State (18-10), 7:30 p.m. Saturday - Semifinals at 5 and 7:30
p.m. Monday - Championship game at 7 p.m.
Men's Basketball: Vikings Host West Regional
Western Washington will host the NCAA Division II West
Regional beginning Friday at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
The only game which doesn't involve a GNAC team is
fourth-seed Humboldt State (22-7) versus fifth-seed Chico
State (24-7). That game matches the only two CCAA teams
in the field.
Softball: Saints Split Series With Central Washington
Saint Martin's pounded Central Washington 16-3 Sunday to
earn a split of a four-game Great Northwest Athletic
Conference softball series at Frederick Field. Central won
Sunday's first game 7-3.
The teams also split a twinbill Saturday with the Saints (85, 6-2) winning the opener 5-1 before the Wildcats (7-10,
6-6) bounced back to take the second game 8-7 on a tworun, walk-off home run by Liz Jusko in the bottom of the
seventh.
The Saints outscored CWU 31-19 in the series and outhit
them .383 to .263. Center fielder Megan Antonovich led
SMU with seven hits in 12 at bats, while Sam Munger had
seven hits in 13 at bats.
The Saints also were paced by Morgan Klemm with eight
hits in 16 at bats and Lacey McGladrey with six hits and six
RBI.
Jordan Scherer (5 of 10 including four doubles and five
RBI) paced CWU's attack, while Carrina Wagner had seven
hits in 15 at bats.
In Saturday's first game, Munger tossed a five-hitter and
Lacey McGladrey gave the Saints a 2-1 lead with a two-run
home run in the fifth.
CWU overcame a 7-3 deficit to win the second game,
scoring three runs in the fifth, including two on a single by
Scherer before Jusko won it in the seventh with a two-out
blast.
Wagner had three hits, including a two-run home run to
snap a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning in Sunday's first game. She
also drove in an insurance run in the sixth on a force out.
The Saints then ended the second game scoring five runs in
the third, five in the fourth and sixth in the fifth.
McGladrey had a pair of doubles and four RBI, while
Antonovich and Tiffany Griffiths each drove in three runs.
one on a sacrifice bunt by Kendra Day and one on a wild
pitch.
NNU got what turned out to be the winning run in the
fourth on another wild pitch. Meanwhile, Cara Duckworth
scattered eight hits to pick up the win.
Anderson pitched a six-hitter in NNU's second game
victory, while Duckworth and Brianna Kinghorn led the
Crusader offense with three hits each.
For the twinbill, Duckworth led NNU with four hits, while
Kendra George, Ashley Worthey and Andrea Bailey had
three each for Western Oregon.
MSUB Wins Two of Three With Simon Fraser
Baseball: Central Washington Sweeps Whitworth
Montana State Billings (5-3, 2-1) and Simon Fraser (9-3, 52) split a pair of last at-bat decisions Saturday in a GNAC
doubleheader at Beedie Field in Burnaby.
MSUB won the opener 5-4 in eight innings before SFU
bounced back for a 3-2 win in the nightcap.
On Sunday, MSUB earned a 6-2 victory and was ahead 4-2
after one inning in the nightcap before rain halted the
contest. That game will be completed Monday beginning at
3 p.m.
Jenna VanEykeren led off the eighth inning with a home
run to snap a 4-4 tie in the first game of the series.
Meg Harasymczuk drove in three of MSUB's first four runs
with a single in the third and a two-run double in the
seventh.
Simon Fraser trailed 2-1 in the nightcap before getting a
run in the sixth on a single by Brittany Ribeiro. Leah Riske
ended the game in the seventh with a leadoff home run.
Trisha Bouchard also homered for the Clan in the fourth
inning.
Kelsie Hawkins pitched a two-hitter to get the win. Third
baseman Taylor Hoke had both of MSUB's hits.
In Sunday's first game, designated player Annaleisha
Parsley had three hits and two RBI to lead the
Yellowjackets. Riske had two hits, including a two-run
home run in the fourth.
That cut MSUB's lead to 5-2. Amanda Todd then came on
to pitch three hitless innings to earn a save.
Northwest Nazarene Sweeps Western Oregon
Northwest Nazarene (3-7, 3-3) built early leads and went
on to sweep a Great Northwest Athletic Conference
doubleheader from Western Oregon (4-11, 3-7) Saturday at
Monmouth by 4-3 and 7-3 scores.
In the opener, the Crusaders scored three runs in the second
inning, including one on a double by Chelsey Anderson,
Central Washington (4-8) banged out 29 hits, including 11
doubles in sweeping a non-conference doubleheader from
Whitworth Sunday at the CWU Baseball Field.
Brady Kincannon and Derrick Webb each had five hits in
10-7 and 9-7 victories.
In the opener, Webb and Kincannon each had three hits.
Kincannon tied the GNAC single-game record with three
doubles. It is the 22nd time in GNAC history a player has
had three doubles in a game.
After falling behind 4-0 in the second, CWU went ahead in
the fourth scoring five runs including the final two on a
two-run double by Brandon Wang.
Brandon Rohde improved to 2-1, pitching six innings and
allowing just four hits and no earned runs.
In the second game, Kincannon, Webb, Brett Bielec and
David Leid all had two hits for the Wildcats. Kincannon
and Leid each drove in two runs.
Ryan Hastings got the win allowing just four hits and one
run in three innings of relief.
Dixie State swept Montana State Billings by 14-3 and 4-2
scores. Ty Gilmore had three of the Yellowjackets' nine
hits and three of its five RBI.
Dixie put the first game away with an eight-run first inning,
then won the second game on a two-run home run by
Cedric Johnson in the bottom of the seventh.
On Saturday Division I Seattle University used a four-run
first inning to defeat Saint Martin's 6-3. The Saints (3-13)
scored all their runs in the ninth on a home run by Chandler
Tracy.
Saturday, Mar. 3
Men's Basketball: Mayes MVP As MSUB Wins Title
Tournament MVP Robert Mayes had 16 points and 10
rebounds to lead Montana State Billings to a 74-70 win
over Alaska Anchorage Saturday in the GNAC
championship game at Marcus Pavilion in Lacey, Wash.
The win earns the Yellowjackets (18-11), who were seeded
fifth, an automatic berth in the NCAA Division II West
Regional which begins Friday, probably in Bellingham.
Stevens and Myaer answered back with consecutive threes
of their own to make it 68-67 in favor of UAA, and
Antoine Proctor made a go-ahead trey at the 1:09 mark.
After a Seawolf turnover, the Yellowjackets clinched the
game from free throw line as guard David Arnold went 4 of
4 in the last 49 seconds.
Mayes had 55 points and 27 rebounds in three tournament
games, including wins over fourth-seed Western Oregon,
No. 1 Western Washington and No. 2 Alaska Anchorage.
Women's Basketball: Seawolves Repeat as Champions
The Yellowjackets, under rookie coach Jamie Stevens, also
were led by guard Jaxon Myaer and Taylor Stevens, who
both had 15 points, all from the three-point line.
Tournament MVP Haley Holmstead scored 19 points to
lead eighth-ranked Alaska Anchorage to a 67-52 victory
over Western Washington in the Great Northwest Athletic
Conference Women's Basketball Championship title game
Saturday at Marcus Pavilion.
Mayes earned the MVP award after not receiving a single
vote in the all-conference balloting.
“Robert Mayes played his best basketball these past three
days and he is a well-deserving MVP," Stevens said.
"Myaer was an honorable mention selection (in the allconference voting), but in my opinion, Jaxon is the best
point guard in the league and I wouldn't trade him for any
other point guard in the GNAC."
Myaer made five of 10 three-pointers and also had five
assists, while Stevens made five of seven treys. Overall,
MSUB made 12 of 26 from the arc.
Alaska Anchorage (22-6), which should advance to the
regional as an at-large team, made 11 of 26 three-pointers
and also had more rebounds (40-33 including 10 by Taylor
Rohde) and fewer turnovers (11-9) but were outshot 49.1
percent (28-57) to 39.1 percent (25-64).
Point guard Steve White led the Seawolves with 16 points,
connecting on seven of nine shots, while Travis Thompson
and Rohde each had 15. Thompson scored all 15 of his
points on five of seven shooting from the arc in the second
half.
“We didn't shoot very well and we didn't defend well in the
second half,” said UAA head coach Rusty Osborne. “I give
Billings a lot of credit for an extremely gutsy performance
and congratulate Coach Stevens on a big victory for his
program.”
The top-seeded Seawolves (27-4), who have won eight
straight, also got 12 points and eight rebounds from reserve
forward Tijera Mathews to repeat as champions and win
the rematch of last year's inaugural conference tourney.
The Vikings (21-7) suffered their third loss to UAA this
year despite a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds from
forward Britt Harris. The loss snapped a six-game win
streak for WWU, which was seeded second in the
tournament.
Holmstead made nine of 14 shots and finished the
tournament with 41 points in earning MVP honors.
The Seawolves led by just three points (48-45) after a
jumper by Katie Colard with 5:51 to play.
But UAA, which also got 10 points from GNAC Player-ofthe-Year Hanna Johansson, then went on an 11-2 run in a
little over two minutes to go up 59-47 with 3:17 remaining
and was never seriously threatened after that.
Johansson started the game-clinching run with a three-point
play on an aggressive drive through the lane, and Kaylie
Robison scored back-to-back layups to extend to a 57-47
lead with 3:34 on the clock. WWU would not get within
single digits again.
“Tijera Mathews was great, especially in the first half,”
UAA coach Tim Moser said. “She really made a difference
with her energy and rebounding, in addition to her scoring.
The Seawolves used a 12-0 run late in the first half to earn
a 35-28 lead at the break, and then followed with a sevenpoint spurt out of the locker room.
"But I also can't say enough about the job Kaylie and Alysa
Horn did in the second half, and we just found a way to
win."
MSUB slowly cut into the lead, however, behind the
shooting of Myaer and Stevens, plus the strong interior play
of Mayes. The Yellowjackets took their first lead of the
second half (50-49)on Preston Richards' layup with 9:10
remaining.
Horn had eight points, all after intermission.
The Seawolves retook the momentum on three straight
three-pointer by Thompson in a 56-second span and UAA
held a 68-61 lead with 3:08 left on a trey by White.
Anchorage shot 52.3 percent (23-of-44) from the field to
just 27.7 percent (18-of-65) for the Vikings. UAA also
outrebounded the Vikings 39-34 as Matthews and Robison
had eight each.
“That was a battle,” said Moser, who is now 5-0 in GNAC
tournament games.
“I told our kids it was going to be a battle. I don't think we
were always in synch, but we found a way to win. We
haven't had a lot of these tests, so this was good for us
tonight.
“When I look at the stat sheet, it's surprising we won,”
Moser added. “You don't win very often when your
opponent takes 21 more shots and you turn the ball over 21
times, but we'll take it.
"Western Washington had a lot to do with getting us out of
our game for large stretches, and they'll be a formidable
opponent for whoever they face in the (NCAA) first round
next week.”
While UAA earns the GNAC's automatic berth, Western
Washington is assured of an at-large berth because of its
No. 4 ranking in Wednesday's regional poll.
First-round pairings for the tournament which begins next
Friday will be announced Sunday at 7 p.m. in a web cast at
NCAA.com.
“It's disappointing that we didn't come out on top and I
think we shot the ball very poorly which hurt us, but we
battled and didn't back down,” said WWU coach Carmen
Dolfo . “We had a stretch there where we played poor
defense but other than that we played really well.”
Harris was 9-of-15 from the field, but the rest of the
Vikings were just a combined 9-of-50.
“I was just really proud of (Britt), she wanted the ball
offensively, she boarded hard and she had a great
tournament,” said Dolfo. “We need to put this behind us
and learn from this game. We get to keep playing and that's
the thing we need to focus on.”
Friday, Mar. 2
Men's Basketball: Yellowjackets, Seawolves In Finals
Forward Robert Mayes scored 13 of his 20 points in the
second half, including a trio of three-point plays during a
crucial four-minute stretch, as fifth-seed Montana State
Billings upset top-seed Western Washington 82-78 in a
semifinal round contest of the GNAC tournament Friday at
Marcus Pavilion on the Saint Martin's University campus.
The Yellowjackets (17-11), who won despite shooting 5-of26 on three-pointers, will play second-seed Alaska
Anchorage (22-5), which eliminated No. 6 Central
Washington 93-81, in Saturday's championship game at
5:15 p.m. That contest will be televised on ROOT Sports.
In addition to Mayes' contributions, Montana State Billings
got a game-high 21 points from guard Antoine Proctor and
backcourt mate Jaxon Myaer added 16.
“If you had told me before tonight that we would shoot 5of-26 from three-point range, I would have told you no way
are we going to win,” said first-year MSUB head coach
Jamie Stevens.
“For our guys to be able to come out and play as hard as
they did and win this game over a very talented team is a
true testament.
“We played against a great team tonight, the No. 1 team in
the region and nationally-ranked, but we just caught them
on a bit of a cold night.
"We did not do everything right, we can still play better,
but we did just enough and made a couple more shots than
they did.”
Despite the setback, WWU is headed to its sixth
appearance at the NCAA Division II national tournament.
The Vikings have been listed No.1 in all three West Region
rankings this season.
The Vikings (25-5) were led by Rico Wilkins, who came
off the bench to score 11 of his 15 points in the first half.
Paul Jones had 13 points, also in a reserve role, while Zach
Henifin had a dozen points and Richard Woodworth scored
10.
Henifin, who fouled out with 3:30 to play, gave WWU its
only second-half lead (59-58) with 10 minutes remaining
when he intentionally threw an in-bounds pass off a MSUB
defender, grabbed the deflection and scored a layup.
“We struggled shooting,” said WWU head coach Brad
Jackson, whose Vikings hit just 42.9 percent (27-of-63).
“If it wasn't for Zach (Henifin) playing well and hustling to
get some rebounds and a steal to get us back into this one
midway through the second half, we may not have had a
chance at the end.”
After Henifin's basket, Mayes, who also grabbed a gamehigh 10 rebounds, took over for MSUB scoring nine points,
all on three-point plays, during an 11-5 run that gave
MSUB a 69-65 lead with 6:18 to go. The Yellowjackets
upped that advantage to eight (75-67) at 3:07.
WWU got within two (78-76) on a three-pointer by Chris
Mitchell with 1:06 left and again (80-78) on two free
throws by Paul Jones with 44 seconds to go.
Woodworth then made a steal at mid-court, but turned it
over in traffic driving to the basket. MSUB's David Arnold
sealed it by hitting two free throws with nine seconds
remaining.
WWU got off to a slow start as it trailed 10-1 after the first
five minutes, missing its first eight shots and turning the
ball over three times.
With Wilkins providing the spark, the Vikings led by as
many as five points (24-19) with 8:15 left in the opening
period. MSUB slowly came back to lead by five twice in
the final two minutes and by three (42-39) at halftime.
The Yellowjackets opened the second half with an 11-4 run
for the game's biggest lead of 12 points (55-43) with 16
minutes left.
center Taylor Rohde, 17 points and seven assists from point
guard Steve White and 12 points each from Kyle Fossman
and Ridgeway.
WWU fought back with a 16-3 charge over the next six
minutes for its only lead of the final half.
Central placed all five of their starters in double figures
including Jordan Coby who scored 15 before fouling out
with 5:37 remaining.
Alaska Anchorage 93, Central Washington 81
Alaska Anchorage outscored Central Washington 17-2
during the final 4:47 of the first half and used that spurt to
defeat the Wildcats.
Guard Travis Thompson scored 16 of his game-high 24
points in the second period as UAA maintained most of its
lead throughout the final 20 minutes in qualifying for
Saturday's championship game for the second year in a
row.
Central Washington (15-13), the defending champions, led
29-24 before the Seawolves scored the final 13 points of
the first half to go ahead 41-31 at the break.
Back-to-back treys by Lonnie Ridgeway and Thompson
gave UAA a 34-31 lead with 2:27 remaining in the period.
Philip Hearn then hit a free throw and basket on
consecutive possessions before Thompson and Ridgeway
closed the period with two-pointers.
UAA then opened a 53-37 lead early in the second half on a
three-pointer by Thompson and was still up by 14 (78-64)
with 5:21 remaining.
Central scored eight straight points to pull within six (7872) on a jumper by Jordan Starr with 3:02 remaining and
had a chance to get even closer.
But Thompson came up with his second steal of the game
at that point.
The Wildcat later cut the margin to six again at 80-74, but
were unable to get closer than seven the rest of the way
UAA scored 11 of its final 13 points from the foul line.
"That three- to four-minute spurt late in the first half really
hurt us,” CWU coach Greg Sparling, who fell to 4-1 in
conference tournament games, said.
“We bounced back and made a few runs (in the second
half), but UAA is a good team. They run their (offensive)
stuff as well as anybody.
“We had some chances to come back, but just weren't able
to make it all the way back. Look at the percentages -UAA made shots and that was the difference."
UAA ended up shooting 53.8 percent (28-52), including
65.2 percent in the second half when it cashed in on 15 of
23.
Thompson made eight of 12 including five of seven threepointers. UAA also got 19 points and eight rebounds from
Lacy Haddock, Jody Johnson and Toussaint Tyler all
scored 12, while Roby Clyde had 11.
The Wildcats shot just 42.2 percent (27-64), 11 ½ points,
fewer than the Seawolves.
“We didn't play really well, and it was a pretty ugly game,”
UAA coach Rusty Osborne said
“We didn't take care of the ball very well and had some
breakdowns on defense – the things that we're usually good
at. But this group did the same thing they have done all
year, being resilient and taking care of business.”
Women's Basketball: UAA, WWU Qualify For Title
Game
Haley Holmstead scored a game-high 22 points and Kaylie
Robison came up with several key plays late as Alaska
Anchorage held on for a 74-70 victory over Simon Fraser
in the GNAC Women's Basketball Championship
semifinals at Marcus Pavilion Friday night.
The top-seeded Seawolves (26-4) will play second-seed
Western Washington (21-6) in Saturday's championship
game. Tip-off on ROOT Sports will be at 7:30 p.m.
The Vikings qualified with a 66-54 semifinal victory over
Northwest Nazarene in Friday's first semifinal contest.
UAA also got 12 points from freshman guard Gritt Ryder
and 10 points from forward Hanna Johansson in gaining a
rematch of the 2011 title game against Western
Washington.
The fifth-seeded Clan (17-11) were led by 21 points apiece
from center Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe and point guard
Kristina Collins as they nearly rallied all the back from an
early 29-9 deficit.
UAA – the nation's leader in margin of victory – led from
the start and appeared ready to make it a rout, but the
Canadians got hot from three-point range and sliced it to a
40-31 game at halftime.
The Seawolves extended their lead as high as 18 points in
the second half before hitting an offensive lull over the last
12 minutes.
The Clan, meanwhile, drained four of their eight threepointers after the break and cut their deficit to single digits
(63-54) at the 5:40 mark.
UAA had a 68-60 lead with under one minute to play, but
the Seawolves could not clinch it from the free throw line
and allowed SFU to get within four points on three
occasions.
The Crusaders made just five field goals in 24 attempts
(20.8 percent) in the first 20 minutes. Despite that, WWU
led by only six points midway through the period and the
Crusaders tied the game at 17-all with 3:35 left in half.
The Clan, however, never made it a one-possession game
and wound up losing despite a 39-32 rebounding
advantage.
WWU ended the period with a 7-1 run as Williams hit two
jumpers and Erin Feeney made a three-pointer for a 24-18
halftime lead.
With UAA struggling for baskets in the late-going, Robison
came up with three of her four field goals and grabbed
several of her eight rebounds in the final seven minutes.
The Vikings scored seven straight points to begin the
second half as Erika Ramstead made a jumper and two free
throws and Waltrip, who had 11 points in the half, hit a
three-pointer for a 12-point advantage at 31-19 with just
over two minutes gone.
“I thought our energy at the start was terrific, but I'm
disappointed that we couldn't put them away,” said UAA
head coach Tim Moser.
“Simon Fraser is an extremely savvy and well-coached
team, and they deserve a lot of the credit for making us
fight so hard tonight.
“Luckily, Kaylie made some big plays down the stretch
with her rebounding and defense, and we got just enough
points from Haley to win it.”
Forward Alysa Horn added nine points on 4-of-8 shooting
and seven rebounds, and point guard Sasha King finished
with eight points and four assists.
Saturday's title game will pit the top two seeds against each
other for the second straight year. Last year, the Seawolves
went to Bellingham and upset the Vikings 68-67 in the
inaugural GNAC title game.
Western Washington 66, Northwest Nazarene 54
Western Washington played stifling defense in rolling to a
66-54 victory over Northwest Nazarene.
The Vikings held NNU to 29.4 percent (15-of-51) field
goal shooting and had a 42-32 edge in rebounds as reserve
forward Sarah Hill grabbed a game-high nine and center
Britt Harris pulled down eight.
Forward Kristin Schramm and guard Corinn Waltrip each
had a game-high 13 points for WWU, which shot 44.0
percent from the field (22-of-50) but made just 17-of-30
free throws (56.7 percent).
NNU got 11 points each from guards Alla Dzhidzhiyeshvili
and Chelsie Luke, and forward Megan Hingston had 10.
Center Briaunna King, who entered the game averaging
15.7 points, was held to four points.
“Our defense saved us tonight when our offense and free
throws just weren't there,” said WWU head coach Carmen
Dolfo. “Britt [Harris] did a great job of jumping to the ball
and playing defense to shut down Briaunna King.
“One thing that really helped us was our depth. I don't think
NNU was able to match that.”
WWU led by 13 points (52-39) with 9:15 remaining, and
the closest the Crusaders got after that was seven.
“I'm really proud of our effort and the heart that we played
with tonight but it was a rough shooting night,” said NNU
head coach Kelli Lindley. “When you shoot 29 percent
against a great team like Western, you are going to struggle
to win.
“I thought we did a really good job defensively in the first
half, but because we shot so poorly it was hard to get any
offensive momentum. I give Western Washington
credit…they are very deep and really play hard.”
The Vikings improved to 21-6 with their sixth straight
victory and ninth in 10 games. NNU concluded its season
with a 18-10 record.
Thursday, Mar. 1
Women's Basketball: NNU, SFU Advance To Semis
Hingston helped lead NNU to a 77-56 win over Montana
State Billings Thursday (NNU Photo)
Megan Hingston, Chelsie Luke and Briaunna King
combined for 37 of their 53 points in the second half as
third-seeded Northwest Nazarene pulled away for a 77-56
win over Montana State Billings in the opening round of
the GNAC women's basketball tournament at Marcus
Pavilion in Lacey Thursday.
The Crusaders (18-9) will play No. 2 seed Western
Washington (20-6) in a semifinal game Friday at 5:15 p.m.
Top-seeded Alaska Anchorage (25-4) will play Simon
Fraser (17-10) in Friday's second semifinal at 7:30 p.m.
The Clan eliminated Seattle Pacific 69-61 in Thursday's
other first-round contest.
Hingston had 14 of her 20 points in the second period when
NNU outscored MSUB 47-23 to overcome a 33-30
halftime deficit.
The Crusaders also got 13 points from King and 10 from
Luke in the second half. King finished with 15 points and a
game-high nine rebounds, while Luke, who made four of
eight three-point shots, had 18 points and a game-high four
steals.
the opening round of the GNAC women's basketball
tournament at Marcus Pavilion.
NNU also got 10 points and a game-high five assists from
Heather Adams.
Raincock-Ekunwe scored 20 points and also had 12
rebounds for the Clan which went wire-to-wire, never
trailing after jumping to a quick 8-0 lead.
The Crusaders, who lost both of the regular-season games
to MSUB (18-12), scorched the nets for a 60 percent
percentage (15 of 25) in the second period after making just
12 of 29 in the opening half.
"We played a really solid second half and finally shot the
ball well against them, “ NNU coach Kelli Lindley said.
MSUB was led by guard Bobbi Knudsen with 19 points,
while Brooke Tolman had 16 points. The two, however,
were held to just 13 points in the final 20 minutes.
"Chelsie (Luke) and Fish (Falissa Smith) did a great job on
Knudsen, holding her to just five second-half points,”
Lindley said.
“She (Knudsen) is one of the best guards in the conference
and still scored 19, but holding her in the second-half after
she hit a couple incredible shots in the first-half was huge
for us."
Lindley was also impressed by Luke's offense in the win.
"To be the primary defender on the best player and still
score 18 was an impressive effort," Lindley said. "She
(Luke) hit some big shots for us at key points in the secondhalf."
SFU also got 16 points from Carla Wyman including a key
three-pointer with 1:15 left and 10 points each from Erin
Chambers and Chelsea Reist in its win.
Katie Benson led Seattle Pacific with 18 points before
fouling out late in the contest, while Rachel Murray scored
12.
After its quick start Simon Fraser fought off repeated
challenges from Seattle Pacific, but never let the Falcons
take the lead.
SPU tied the game at 14-14 but SFU then went on a 13-1
run to go ahead 27-15 with 4:14 left in the opening period.
Seattle Pacific closed to within two early in the second
period at 31-28 only to fall back by 12 (51-39) at the 12:59
mark.
The Falcons, however, had another run in them pulling to
within one point at 60-59 with 3:17 left on a layup by
Jordan Harazin.
Kristina Collins, however, then hit a three-pointer at 2:55
and Wyman nailed a trey at 1:15 to extend Simon Fraser's
lead to 66-59.
MSUB led much of the first half before Northwest
Nazarene scored seven consecutive points late in the period
to tie it at 28-28 on a three-pointer by Adams. The teams
then traded hoops before Knudsen hit a trey at the buzzer to
give her team a 33-30 lead at the break
“Carla (Wyman) had one of the best games of her career,"
SFU coach Bruce Langford said. "Kristina (Collins) didn't
shoot the ball great but she took care of the ball and played
great defensively.”
But the second half belonged to Northwest Nazarene as it
used a 9-2 run including a three-point play by King and two
baskets by Hingston to go ahead 45-38 early in the period.
A layup by Harazin pulled SPU back to with five (66-61)
with 59 seconds left before SFU closed out the game with
three foul shots.
MSUB stayed within five points until the 11 ½ minute
mark, but then NNU asserted complete control going on a
9-1 run to go ahead 61-48 and leading by double digits the
remainder of the way.
“I felt like our kids responded when we got down,” SPU
coach Julie Heisey said.
“I have to give Northwest Nazarene a lot of credit, they
played very well tonight and were extremely hard to
defend,” said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin.
“They can really spread you out with a lot of shooters and
we just struggled to defend them, especially in the second
half with that run they made midway through. We just
could not get a bucket to cut the lead and that hurt. The
better team won tonight.”
“We just couldn't get over the hump. You can only fight for
so long, and once you get it down to one point, you have to
get that lead."
“Katie (Benson) and Rachel (Murray) had amazing games,"
Heisey said. "Jordan (Harazin) had eight rebounds,
McKayla (Gorman) had six rebounds -- everybody did
what we asked."
The loss dropped SPU to 17-10 on the season and likely
ended any chance they had of earning a West Region
playoff berth.
Simon Fraser 69, Seattle Pacific 61
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe registered her 23rd double-double
of the season as Simon Fraser eliminated Seattle Pacific in
Simon Fraser, which is ineligible for the region tournament
as a provisional NCAA member, is also 17-10.
FEBRUARY
Wednesday, Feb. 29
Men's Basketball: Central Washington Stuns Falcons
Guard Jordan Coby scored 18 points and came up with a
steal in the final second to seal the win as defending
champion Central Washington shocked No. 3 seed Seattle
Pacific 70-69 in the opening game of the Great Northwest
Athletic Conference playoffs Wednesday at Marcus
Pavilion on the campus of Saint Martin's University.
In Wednesday's second game, fifth-seeded Montana State
Billings upset fourth-seed Western Oregon 80-75.
Central Washington will play second-seed Alaska
Anchorage in Friday's first semifinal at noon, while
Montana State Billings will face top-seed Western
Washington in the other semifinal at 2:15 p.m.
Johnson and Haddock. Haddock also had six of CWU's
nine assists.
Downs led the nationally 25th ranked Falcons with 20
points, while Poling had 19. Jake Anderson finished with
11 including three first-half three-pointers.
Montana State Billings 80, Western Oregon 75
Robert Mayes scored 19 points to lead fifth-seeded
Montana State Billings to a 80-75 upset of fourth-seed
Western Oregon.
MSUB (16-11) also got 15 points from Antoine Proctor
including a jumper with 56 seconds left to snap a 72-72 tie.
Both Mayes and Proctor scored 13 points in the second
half.
The Yellowjackets trailed 70-67 with 4:06 remaining
before outscoring the Wolves 13-5 the rest of the way.
The winners advance to Saturday's 5:15 p.m. championship
game which will be televised on ROOT Sports.
After Proctor's go-ahead basket, Emery Henning blocked a
shot by James Gehring and Mayes got the rebound.
The Wildcats (15-12), who were swept in the regularseason series by the Falcons (21-7) losing 76-49 Jan. 12 at
Ellensburg and 72-64 Feb. 11 at Seattle, came in seeded
sixth, but stayed close never trailing to SPU by more than
five points.
Jaxon Myaer, who had 13 points and six assists, then
converted two free throws for a 76-72 lead with 28 seconds
remaining.
SPU's biggest lead was 57-52 with 6:44 left following a
three-pointer by David Downs, but Coby, who had 15
points in the second half, answered with a trey and two foul
shots to tie the game 57-57 with 5:32 left.
In all the game was tied 17 times including 61-61 on a
Coby trey with 3:42 left, at 63-63 on a Coby layup and at
65-65 with 2:08 remaining on two foul shots by Jody
Johnson.
Later the teams traded treys – Johnson made one with 1:22
to put CWU up 68-66, but SPU's Scott Morse answered
with 58 seconds left to put his team ahead 69-68.
On Central's next possession the Falcons were two seconds
away from a shot clock violation before Lacy Haddock was
fouled on a desparation three-point try with 23.2 seconds
remaining.
Proctor hit two free throws to give MSUB a six-point lead
with 16 seconds left. That, however, was cut in half on a
three-pointer by Jordan Freelander.
WOU (18-10) got the ball back with 11 seconds remaining,
but MSUB didn't allow the Wolves a chance to tie the game
with a trey, taking a foul with eight seconds left.
The strategy paid off when Freelander missed the front end
of a one-and-one. Proctor then iced the win with four
seconds left with two free throws.
Joining Mayes, Proctor and Myaer in double figures for
MSUB was David Arnold with 10 points and four assists.
Blair Wheadon led Western Oregon with 18 points, while
Gehring had 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Kolton Nelson had 13 points and Chris White scored 12.
He missed the first free throw but made the last two to give
CWU a 70-69 lead.
WOU led 40-39 at halftime, but MSUB opened the second
half with a 14-2 run to go-ahead 53-42. The Wolves,
however, countered scoring nine straight points and
eventually grabbing a 58-55 lead.
Seattle Pacific had two possessions after that but Roby
Clyde rebounded Andy Poling's miss, then missed two free
throws with five seconds left.
Western Oregon then remained ahead - though never by
more than five points - until Myaer nailed a three-pointer to
give his team a 72-70 lead with 1:32 remaining.
Jobi Wall got the rebound, but SPU never got a look at the
basket as Coby intercepted David Downs pass in the right
corner.
Two Kyle Long free throws with 1:07 left tied the game
again for the seventh time setting the stage for Proctor's goahead basket just inside the final minute.
Coby ended up shooting six of 10 from the floor including
three of six treys. The Wildcats also got 11 points from
MSUB shot 50.8 percent on the game (31-61), including
nine of 20 treys. The Wolves made 29 of 61 (47.5 percent).
The game was well-played with MSUB turning the ball
over just 10 times compared to 12 by WOU.
Four GNAC Teams In Top Six in West Rankings
On the eve of the conference tournament at Lacey, four
GNAC teams remained in the top six Wednesday in the
final NCAA Division II West Regional rankings of the
2012 season.
Western Washington, Alaska Anchorage and Seattle
Pacific are ranked 1-2-3 with Western Oregon remaining at
No. 6. The Vikings, Seawolves and Falcons are ranked
11th, 15th and 25th, respectively, in the national poll.
Eight teams will qualify for next week's regionals most
probably at Western Washington.
Dixie State, which is ranked fourth, has clinched a regional
berth by winning the PacWest championship.
If Alaska Anchorage is able to move ahead of Western
Washington in the rankings after this week's conference
tournament, the Seawolves and Vikings would each host a
sub-regional.
West – 1. Western Washington (22-4); 2. Alaska
Anchorage (17-3); 3. Seattle Pacific (21-6); 4. Dixie State
(20-5); 5. Chico State (18-6); 6. Western Oregon (15-8); 7.
Cal Poly Pomona (16-8); 8. Humboldt State (16-7); 9.
Sonoma State (16-9); 10. Grand Canyon (14-6).
Women's Basketball: UAA, WWU Ranked 2nd, 4th
Alaska Anchorage and Western Washington are ranked
second and fourth in this week's West Regional poll
assuring them of berths in next week's West Regional.
Despite sustaining its first loss of the season, UC San
Diego remained No. 1 and still has the inside track to host
the regional, which begins Friday, Mar. 9.
Three other GNAC teams - Northwest Nazarene, Seattle
Pacific and Montana State Billings - could earn an
automatic berth this week by winning the GNAC
tournament.
Simon Fraser is also competing in the tournament, but is
ineligible for the NCAA tournament. If the Clan wins the
tournament, the second-place team would earn the
automatic berth.
West - 1. UC San Diego (26-1); 2. Alaska Anchorage (242); 3. Grand Canyon (21-3); 4. Western Washington (16-6);
5. Cal State Monterey Bay (17-8); 6. Cal Poly Pomona (187); 7. Humboldt State (18-7); 8. Chico State (17-9); 9. Cal
State L.A. (16-10); 10. Dixie State (17-7).
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Women's Basketball: Seawolves Sweep GNAC Awards
Johansson was selected the GNAC Player-of-the-Year
leading a UAA Special Awards Sweep (UAA File Photo)
Forward Hanna Johansson has been voted the GNAC
Women's Basketball Player-of-the-Year leading a clean
sweep by Alaska Anchorage of the conference's special
awards.
Seawolf guard Haley Holmstead, who finished sixth in the
conference in scoring (15.1), was voted the GNAC
Newcomer-of-the-Year and UAA's Gritt Ryder, who
averaged 5.6 points and 3.5 assists, was voted the GNAC
Freshman-of-the-Year.
Meanwhile, Tim Moser was named the GNAC Coach-ofthe-Year for the third time. He also won the award in 2007
and 2009. In six seasons at UAA, the 1998 Colorado StatePueblo grad has a career record of 160-31, including 25-4
this season.
Though Johansson, who ranks 11th in scoring (14.1), fourth
in rebounding (9.4) and third in field goal percentage
(56.5), was the Player-of-the-Year, she was not a
unanimous choice on the all-conference team.
Two players – Simon Fraser forward Nayo RaincockEkunwe, who leads the GNAC in scoring (18.5) and
rebounding (13.3) and ranks second in field goal
percentage (56.5), and Montana State Billings guard Bobbi
Knudsen, who ranks second in scoring (17.7) and fifth in
assists (3.8) – were the only players to earn that distinction.
Raincock-Ekunwe and Johansson, who were repeaters from
last year's first team, were joined on the first team by
Knudsen, Holmstead and guard Kristin Schramm of
Western Washington.
Second team selections included guard Corinn Waltrip of
Western Washington, forwards Briaunna King of
Northwest Nazarene, Katie Benson of Seattle Pacific and
Megan Hingston of Northwest Nazarene and center Nicole
Bozek of Alaska Fairbanks.
Eight players were honorable mention selections including
three from Central Washington, two from Alaska
Anchorage and one each from Seattle Pacific, Simon Fraser
and Western Oregon. Baseball: Crusaders Get Four Hits In
Loss
College of Idaho's Zach Fabricius and Chad Yeggy
combined to toss a four-hitter as College of Idaho defeated
Northwest Nazarene 5-1 Tuesday at Elmore Vail Field on
the NNU campus.
Fabricius (3-0) surrendered just four hits in eight innings,
struck out six and did not issue a walk. Yeggy closed out
the ninth for the Coyotes, who improve to 13-4 overall.
NNU's Aaron Vaughn (1-1) took the loss, giving up one
run both the first and third innings. The Crusaders are now
10-4.
Zach Steele produced the Crusaders tally with his fifth
home run of the season, a solo shot in the eighth.
Monday, Feb. 27
Men's Basketball: Rohde GNAC Player-of-the-Year
Rohde was voted the GNAC Player-of-the-Year by the
conference coaches (UAA Photo)
Alaska Anchorage center Taylor Rohde has been voted the
2011-12 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's
Basketball Player-of-the-Year.
Rohde, who leads the GNAC in scoring (20.2) and field
goal percentage (62.7) and ranks third in rebounding (8.0),
received seven of the 10 first-place votes from the league's
coaches to easily win the award.
Brad Jackson, who guided Western Washington to a 25-4
record and the No. 1 seed in the conference playoffs, was
voted the GNAC Coach -of-the-Year for the third time.
Jackson, a 1975 graduate of Washington State, is in his 27
th season at WWU and has a record of 512-278. He also
won the award in 2005 and 2009.
Also winning special awards were guard Antoine Proctor of
Montana State Billings and post Cory Hutsen of Seattle
Pacific.
Proctor, who ranks second in the conference in scoring
(19.4) and steals (2.4), was voted the GNAC Newcomer-ofthe-Year, while Hutsen, who is averaging 6.9 points and
3.2 rebounds, was a near unanimous pick for GNAC
Freshman-of-the-Year getting nine of the 10 votes.
Rohde heads up a six-man all-conference first team. He
was the only repeater and was one of only two unanimous
selections along with Western Washington forward Rory
Blanche.
Joining Rohde and Blanche on the first team were Proctor,
Western Oregon guard Blair Wheadon and guard David
Downs and center Andy Poling, both from Seattle Pacific.
Earning second team honors were guards John Allen of
Western Washington, Lacy Haddock of Central
Washington, Travis Thompson of Alaska Anchorage and
Justin Brown of Simon Fraser and forward Jeremy Green
of Saint Martin's.
Nine players were honorable mention selections including
three from Northwest Nazarene and one each from Saint
Martin's, Alaska Fairbanks, Central Washington, Montana
State Billings, Western Oregon and Western Washington.
Baseball: Saints Win Two of Three With PLU
Saint Martin's won a pair of last at-bat contests with Pacific
Lutheran Sunday and Monday to take two of three games in
a weekend series with the Lutes.
On Monday at the RAC, the Saints (3-12) outlasted the
Lutes 3-2 in 12 innings, getting the game-winning run
when Mario Sanelli was hit by a pitch with the bases
loaded.
PLU had last scored in the contest tying the game in the
sixth. SMU's first two runs came in the third on a single by
Bobby Twedt and a ground out by Josh Grenier. Both
players had two hits in the game.
Josh Moss, the fifth of five SMU pitchers, got the win
hurling 2 1/3 scoreless innings allowing two hits.
It was Moss' second win in two days as on Sunday at Saints
Field he pitched the ninth inning giving up a run to tie the
game at 6-6. Saint Martin's, however, got a run in the
bottom of the frame on a single by Alex Bielaski to win it
7-6.
Bielaski had three hits to lead Saint Martin's. Zach Leonard
and Chandler Tracy each had two.
Sunday, Feb. 26
Softball: Clan, Wolves Sweep Twinbills
Simon Fraser and Western Oregon swept Great Northwest
Athletic Conference softball doubleheaders Sunday.
SFU (8-1, 4-0) completed a four-game sweep of Western
Washington (2-12, 0-4) defeating the Vikings 8-5 and 2-1
moving into a tie for first place with Saint Martin's.
Both the Clan and Saints, who were rained out of a fourgame series with Northwest Nazarene this weekend, are 4-0
in the GNAC.
Western Oregon beat Central Washington by 7-4 and 8-4
scores to win its series 3-1. The first game required 10
innings.
Kelsey Haberl had five hits in six at bats and drove in four
runs to key Simon Fraser's sweep.
In the first game, Haberl had three hits, including a two-run
home run in the first inning and a RBI single in the sixth.
SFU built a 7-0 lead through five innings before the
Vikings scored five unearned runs in the sixth.
Meghan Carrillo had a two-run single and Amanda Flores
hit a two-run home run in WWU's big inning. Cara
Lukawesky, who is now 6-0, got the win for SFU pitching
6 2/3 innings and allowing just four hits. All five of
WWU's runs were unearned.
In the second game, Kelsie Hawkins allowed just three hits
in six innings to record the win. Lukawesky pitched a
scoreless seventh to earn her second save of the season.
Matt Nylen and Griff Boyd each had three hits for the
Wolves (11-6). David Amberson and Kyle Blackwell had
two hits apiece for WOU.
All the scoring came in the first inning. WWU got its run
on an error. But SFU countered with three runs on RBI
doubles by Lauren Mew and Haberl and on a RBI single by
Sammie Olexa.
Saturday, Feb. 25
Western Oregon 7-8, Central Washington 4-4
Western Oregon overcame a 3-0 deficit to force extra
innings and then scored four runs in the 10th to defeat
Central Washington 7-4 in the opening game of a twinbill
at Carlon Park in Selah Sunday.
Trailing 3-1 in the seventh, the Wolves (4-9, 3-5), who split
two games with CWU (5-8, 4-4) on Saturday, tied the game
on a two-run home run by Danyelle Hutchinson.
After two scoreless extra innings forced an international
tie-breaker in the 10th, the Wolves broke through for four
runs. Jourdan Williams broke the tie with a two-run single,
her third hit of the game. A third run scored on the same
play on an error.
Danielle Harcourt then drove in a fourth run on a ground
out to CWU pitcher Maria Gau.
WOU never trailed in the second game, breaking a 2-2 tie
in the fourth on a RBI single by Desiree Villegas and going
ahead 4-2 on a sacrifice fly by Amanda Evola.
The Wolves then tacked on four more runs in the seventh,
two on a single by Villegas and one on a triple by Evola.
Before that, WOU scored its first run of the inning on a
sacrifice by Kendra George.
Hannah Pomeroy went the distance allowing six hits to get
the win. Kristina Sherriff and Cassi Ellis each had two hits
for Central Washington. Andrea Bailey and Ashley Cashin
had three hits each for the Wolves.
Baseball: Wolves Lose In Ninth to Stanislaus
Cal State Stanislaus rallied for three runs in the ninth to
defeat Western Oregon 8-7 and win its four-game series
with the Wolves 3-1.
Jordan Long led off the final frame with a home run.
Consecutive singles by DJ Arellano, pinch-hitter Trent
Frisbie and Colton Beatty brought in another run to tie the
game.
Eli Davis then bunted and reached on and error as pinchrunner Erik Larson scored the winning run. Before the
ninth, Justin Manci drove in all five of the Warrior runs
with a grand slam home run in the third and a single in the
eighth.
Men's Basketball: CWU Beats WOU, Pairings Now Set
Lacy Haddock scored 21 points as Central Washington
secured the sixth-and-final berth for next week's GNAC
basketball tournament at Lacey with a 94-74 road win at
Western Oregon Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats (14-12, 8-10) will play third-seed Seattle
Pacific (21-6, 13-5) in the tournament's first game
Wednesday at 5:15 p.m. with the winner advancing to the
Friday semifinals against No. 2 seed Alaska Anchorage
(21-5, 15-3) at noon.
Western Oregon (18-9, 11-7) will be the No. 4 seed and
will play fifth-seed Montana State Billings (15-11, 10-8) in
Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. game. Western Washington (25-4,
16-2) will take on that winner Friday at 2:15 p.m. in the
second semifinal game.
Western Washington closed out its regular-season Saturday
with a GNAC-record equaling 16th conference win
defeating Montana State Billings 98-83 at Sam Carver
Gym.
The Vikings equaled the GNAC record for most conference
wins set by Alaska Anchorage during the 2007-08 season
and tied by Central Washington last season.
Seattle Pacific closed its regular-campaign defeating Simon
Fraser 104-75 at West Gym in Burnaby.
In Saturday's only other game, Saint Martin's (10-17, 6-12)
beat Northwest Nazarene 84-76 to finish its season with
two victories.
Haddock, who missed Thursday's game at Saint Martin's
with a knee injury, had 16 of his points in the second half
connecting on five of seven shots including his only trey
attempt of the period in leading Central Washington to its
victory.
The Wildcats also got 17 points from Jordan Coby, 16 each
from Jody Johnson and Kevin Davis and 15 from Toussaint
Tyler. Tyler had all of his points after the intermission as
CWU pulled away to a 23-point lead (81-58) with 3:52
remaining.
Johnson and Roby Clyde had 14 and 10 rebounds apiece
and Davis had seven as Central controlled the backboards
46-30.
Western Oregon was led by Kyle Long with 19 points and
Blair Wheadon with 18. Kolton Nelson scored 12 points
and Brian McGill netted 10 points.
CWU outshot WOU 53.3 percent (32-60) to 40.6 (26-64)
and also made nine of 16 three-points shots, while the
Wolves were four of 18 from the arc.
Central got a dunk and a layup by Davis and a three-pointer
by Johnson in building an early 26-17 lead on the way to a
37-31 halftime lead.
Early in the second half, Western Oregon was within three
at 39-36, but the Wildcats then scored nine consecutive
points - four by Clyde, three by Coby and two by Tyler - to
take command.
After CWU opened up its 23-point lead (81-58), WOU
never got closer than 15 the rest of the way.
Seattle Pacific 104, Simon Fraser 75
Andy Poling led five double-figure scorers with 27 points
for 24th-ranked Seattle Pacific, which rolled to a 29-point
win.
Poling made 10 of 13 shots from the field for the Falcons,
who shot a season-best 62 percent (38 of 61). The 6-foot-11
center also converted 7 of 10 free throws and grabbed
seven rebounds as SPU dominated the boards 45-22.
The Falcons registered their highest scoring output since
Mar. 4, 2010 in a 113-105 overtime loss at Alaska
Fairbanks. They had not scored as many as 104 points in 40
minutes of regulation time since defeating Bloomfield 10777 on Nov. 23, 2007 in Bellingham, Wash.
Western Washington 98, Montana State Billings 83
Rory Blanche had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Paul
Jones scored all 15 of his points in the second half as No.
14 Western Washington overcame a 48-40 halftime deficit
to secure its 25th win of the season.
Guard Antoine Proctor had a game-high 24 points for the
Yellowjackets, 22 of them in the first half.
MSUB led 50-40 early in the second half, but WWU ran
off nine straight points to close the gap to one. From there,
neither team led by more than three points for nearly nine
minutes until a Jones layup gave the Vikings a 76-72
advantage with 7:05 left.
The Yellowjackets were still within two (79-77) on a
Emery Henning three-pointer with 6:26 to go, but Jones
then scored seven straight points on three possessions,
pushing WWU's advantage to 86-77 with 4:15 left. The
margin never got under seven after that.
Jobi Wall finished with 16 points for the Falcons, who also
got 12 from Cory Hutsen, 11 from Jake Anderson and 10
from Scott Morse.
Connor Lewis paced Simon Fraser (8-18, 3-15) with 20
points while Justin Brown scored 16, Zack Frehlick netted
15 and Jordan Sergent contributed 13 points.
Poling tallied his team's first seven points and nine of the
first 11 to help SPU open an 11-5 lead 4:30 into the game.
That margin stretched to 13 points before Lewis held the
Falcons at bay with eight straight points that drew the Clan
within 26-21 with 9:58 left in the first half.
SPU closed the period with a 14-5 run to claim a 50-32
halftime advantage.
The lead grew to as many as 28 points in the second half.
Poling converted the last of three consecutive layups that
forged an 84-56 score with 7:24 left to play.
Zach Henifin had 16 points and nine rebounds for the
Vikings and Richard Woodworth added 15 points and
seven rebounds on 5-of-7 field-goal shooting.
Saint Martin's 84, Northwest Nazarene 76
WWU shot 48.5 percent (32-of-66) from the field as a
team, including 50.0 percent (18-of-36) in the second half.
Jeremy Green had his second consecutive 30-point, doubledouble as the Saints closed out their season with two home
wins tying Northwest Nazarene (12-14, 6-12) for seventh
place in the conference standings.
Joining Proctor in double figures for MSUB was David
Arnold with 12 points, Robert Mayes with 11 and Emery
Henning with 10.
Proctor and Mayes, who reached double-figures despite
taking just one shot from the field, had eight and seven
rebounds, respectively. But their team was outrebounded
44-31.
In addition to making his only shot, Mayes made nine of 10
free throws as the Yellowjackets converted on 22 of 24.
WWU made 28 of 38, including seven of seven by Henifin.
After scoring 34 points and hauling in 16 rebounds on
Thursday in a win against Central Washington, Green had
32 points and 11 rebounds in an eight-point victory against
Northwest Nazarene.
At one point late in the second half Green scored 11
straight points. He accounted for 18 of his team's final 25
points including a fall-away jumper with just four seconds
left on the shot clock after NNU had closed to within 67-61
with 4:54 left
“Jeremy gets Player-of-the-Week,” SMU coach Keith
Cooper said. “We rode him about as far as we could.”
Cooper's three seniors – Green, Brok Pendleton and Ryan
Votaw - combined for 60 of SMU's 84 points as Pendleton
had 18 points and Votaw contributed 10. Brady Bomber
added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Saint Martin's shot 46.6 percent from the field (27-for-58)
and turned the ball over only eight times in the win, while
holding NNU to 32 percent shooting (9-for-28) in the first
half.
Saint Martin's got off to a 7-2 start, sinking its first three
shots. After the Crusaders closed to 18-15, the Saints went
on an 11-3 run, opening a 29-18 lead on Pendleton's 3pointer with 6:46 left in the half.
SMU led 37-26 at halftime and opened a 17-point lead five
minutes into the second half.
Women's Basketball: NNU Earns Third Seed In
Tourney
GNAC TOURNAMENT (Mar. 1-3 at Lacey): Thursday - #6 MSU Billings
(18-11) vs. #3 Northwest Nazarene (17-9), 5:15 p.m.; #5 Simon Fraser
(16-10) vs. #4 Seattle Pacific (17-9), 7:30 p.m. Friday – MSUB/NNU
winner vs. #2 Western Washington (20-6), 5:15 p.m.; SPU/SFU winner vs.
#1 Alaska Anchorage (25-4), 7:30 p.m. Saturday – Championship game
at 7:30 p.m. (Root Sports).
Seattle Pacific beat Simon Fraser 71-50 in its regularseason finale. Meanwhile, Central Washington (9-17, 5-13)
wrapped up its season with a 74-54 home win over Western
Oregon (7-21, 6-12).
Falissa Smith scored a team-high 13 points to lead
Northwest Nazarene to its victory. Also in double figures
was Chelsie Luke with 10 points.
Also contributing to NNU's balanced attack were Briaunna
King who scored nine points and also pulled down a gamehigh 15 rebounds and Alla Dzhidzhiyeshvili who had eight
points.
Megan Hingston grabbed nine rebounds and scored eight as
the Crusaders, who made five of nine three-pointers, outrebounded the Saints 48-31.
Chelsea Haskey scored a game-high 15 to lead Saint
Martin's (9-19, 4-14). SMU shot just 25.9 percent from the
floor (14-54), including two of 11 three-pointers.
Alaska Anchorage 94, Alaska Fairbanks 49
Falissa Smith led NNU to a 19-point win over SMU (NNU
File Photo)
Hanna Johansson scored 23 points and grabbed 16
rebounds to lead No. 8 Alaska Anchorage to a 45-point
win.
Third-seed Northwest Nazarene will play sixth-seed
Montana State Billings next Thursday in the opening game
of the GNAC tournament at Lacey.
The Seawolves also got a 19-point effort from guard Haley
Holmstead as UAA capped its regular season with a sixth
straight victory.
The Crusaders (17-9, 11-7) defeated Saint Martin's 61-42
Saturday at the Johnson Sports Center in Nampa to finish in
a three-way tied for third place in the GNAC with Seattle
Pacific (17-9, 11-7) and Simon Fraser (16-10, 11-17).
The Nanooks (6-22, 2-16) were led by 18 points and six
points from center Nicole Bozek. UAF ended its season
with nine consecutive losses.
Northwest Nazarene was awarded the third seed based on
its 3-1 record against the Falcons and Clan.
SPU was 2-2 in its head-to-head matches with SFU and
NNU and thus drew the fourth seed, while the Clan was 1-3
against NNU and SPU to draw the fifth seed.
UAA, which defeated UAF 78-29 in December, jumped to
a 9-0 lead in the first two minutes and never looked back.
The Seawolves led 33-8 at the midway point of the first
half and finished the night with their most assists (31) in 11
years of GNAC play.
Tip-off of the NNU-MSUB game will be at 5:15 p.m. with
the winner playing second-seed Western Washington (20-6,
14-4) Friday at the same time.
Johansson also had three assists, two steals and a careerhigh four blocks in addition to her 23-point total which
came on 8-of-9 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 at the
free throw line.
In Game 2, Seattle Pacific will play Simon Fraser at 7:30
p.m. That winner will advance to Friday's 7:30 p.m.
semifinal game against top-seed Alaska Anchorage (25-4).
Kaylie Robison joined Johansson and Holmstead in in
double figures, tallying 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting. She
also had seven rebounds and two blocks.
Alaska Anchorage, Western Washington and Seattle
Pacific all closed out their regular-seasons with victories
Saturday night.
UAA's point-guard tandem of Sasha King and Gritt Ryder
were sharp as well, combining for 21 assists and nine
steals. King matched her career-highs of 11 assists and
seven steals, while Ryder approached triple-double territory
with eight points, seven rebounds and a career-best 11
assists.
The Seawolves nearly doubled up Alaska Fairbanks beating
the Nanooks 94-49 at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex in
Anchorage, while the Vikings closed their regular-season
with a 74-68 road win at Montana State Billings (18-11,
10-8).
In addition to Bozek, Alaska Fairbanks got 11 points from
Benissa Bulaya. Bulaya also had a team-high five assists.
Western Washington 74, Montana State Billings 68
Kristin Schramm scored 13 of her game-high 26 points in
the final eight minutes, leading Western Washington to a
six-point win at MSUB's Alterowitz Gymnasium.
Western Washington closed its regular-season with five
consecutive wins and a 8-1 record in the second half of the
conference season after going 6-3 in the first half.
Montana State Billings was within three points at 58-55
with eight minutes left, but then Schramm, who made 7-of11 field goal attempts including 3-of-6 treys and 9-of-10
foul shots, took over.
Schramm scored nine of WWU's next 11 points, capped by
two free throws that put the Vikings up 69-62 with 3:08
remaining.
That score held until the final moments. Brooke Tolman hit
two free throws with 1:15 left, then Bobbi Knudsen
converted a layup with 35 seconds to go, cutting the margin
to three at 69-66.
But Schramm hit two free throws on each of the next two
WWU possessions to keep the Yellowjackets from getting
any closer.
Also contributing to the Viking win were Britt Harris with
13 points on 6-of-8 field goal shooting and Corinn Waltrip
with 10 points. Trishi Williams had nine points and teamhighs of seven assists and seven rebounds.
Knudsen led MSUB with 20 points and Tolman had 16.
Quinn Peoples added 10 points.
WWU shot 47.2 percent (25-of-53) from the field including
8-of-20 treys, while MSUB cashed on on just 35.5 percent
(22-62) and 7-of-27 three-pointers.
The Falcons, who had an early 15-7 lead, were down 31-24
with 4:26 left in the first half, then put together a 12-2 run
and took a 36-33 lead into the intermission.
SPU then scored the first five points of the second half to
make it 41-33, and gradually built it to 12 at 53-41.
It was 58-46 with 11:58 to play when SPU started a 13-0
run that put the game out of reach.
Simon Fraser didn't score again until just 1:48 remained.
The Clan missed 13 straight shots from the field during that
dry spell, 10 of those from 3-point range. Simon Fraser had
hit 6 of 15 from downtown during the first half, but drained
just 1 of 16 from behind the arc during the final 20 minutes.
Kristina Collins led the Clan with 16 points but the Falcons
effectively slowed down SFU's Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe,
who came in averaging a double-double of 18.7 points and
13.6 rebounds, with a GNAC-leading .563 shooting
percentage.
Raincock-Ekunwe managed just 12 points (hitting 5 of 10)
and a season-low five rebounds, sitting out the last 12½
minutes of the first half after picking up two quick fouls.
It was the first time all season that she was not the Clan's
leading rebounder. Erin Chambers led with seven on
Saturday.
When the teams opened GNAC play on Dec. 1 in Burnaby,
B.C., Raincock-Ekunwe went for 26 points and 15
rebounds in a 79-74 Clan victory.
The Falcons, who were shooting just 38 percent from the
floor at the time of their 31-24 deficit, warmed up
considerably and finished the game with a 46.2 percent
mark (30 of 65), including a solid 40 percent (6 of 15) from
long range.
The triumph gives WWU three consecutive 20-win
seasons. It is the 16th 20-victory campaign in Carmen
Dolfo's 21 seasons as head coach and 30th in the 41-year
history of the program.
They limited Simon Fraser to just 27.9 percent for the game
(17 of 61) including seven of 31 from the arc.
Seattle Pacific 71, Simon Fraser 50
Sophie Russell scored 18 points to lead three players in
double figures as Central Washington closed out its season
with a 20-point win at Nicholson Pavilion.
Aubree Callen and Katie Benson scored 15 points apiece
and Seattle Pacific kept Simon Fraser off the board for a
stretch of 10 minutes during the second half in rolling to a
21-point victory.
Rachel Murray added 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting for
Seattle Pacific and also collected a team-high seven
rebounds during her 18 minutes of action.
Michelle Teng, who has been seeing more playing time of
late, logged career highs of seven points, three rebounds
and two steals.
Central Washington 74, Western Oregon 54
Russell, who finished her four-year career as the fourthleading scorer in school history with 1,144 points, scored
seven of her points in the first 1:54 of the game as the
Wildcats stormed out to a 12-3 lead.
Central never trailed in the contest, thanks in large part to
their feverish start, and after a three-pointer by Russell to
open the second half, CWU led by double digits for the
final 19:41 of the game.
Russell scored nine points in each half, and was the
Wildcats' top scorer after the opening 20 minutes, when
Central took a 32-24 halftime lead.
The Wildcats had a strong supporting cast around Russell
as they shot 44.8 percent from the floor (including 50
percent in the first half) and had two other players reach
double figures.
Alex Dunn finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, and six
assists, while Jessica VanDyke added 12 points and five
rebounds.
Stacy Albrecht converted on 4 of 7 field-goal attempts,
scoring nine points with seven rebounds. Aided by the
seven rebounds each from Albrecht and Dunn, Central
Washington finished with a commanding 45-29 edge in
rebounding on the night.
Crusaders Complete Sweep of Academy of Art
Sean McDonald had four hits and was one of three players
with three RBI as Northwest Nazarene (10-3) completed a
sweep of a three-game series with a 17-1 win against
Academy of Art at Laney College in Oakland.
The Crusaders broke the game open in the fourth scoring
eight runs and relied on six pitches to three-hit AAU.
Aaron Vaughn pitched the first three innings retiring all
nine hitters he faced, four on strikeouts.
Zach Steele, McDonald and Fernando Robles all homered
as NNU improved to 10-3 on the season.
Western Oregon was led by Rylee Peterson with 17 points.
Jade Haas added 11 points and six rebounds, while Melissa
Fowler scored 10.
Steele had a three-run shot in the fourth, McDonald went
deep with a man on board in the fifth and Robles had a solo
home run in the sixth.
Baseball: Wolves Outlast CSU Stanislaus 10-8
In addition to McDonald and Steele, Derek Bettinson also
drove in three runs. Kaleb DeHaas had three of NNU's 21
hits, while Jon Matos, Bettinson, Steele, Robles and Sam
Cook had two each.
Blake Miller had three hits, including a pair of doubles to
lead Western Oregon to a 10-8 win over Cal State
Stanislaus in the opening game of a doubleheader Saturday
at Turlock.
Stanislaus then survived a five-run WOU seventh to win
the nightcap 10-7 and earn a split.
Saints Lose To Pacific Lutheran 12-2
Pacific Lutheran scored four runs in the first inning and
cruised to a 12-2 win over Saint Martin's Saturday at the
PLU Field.
Miller, who played two seasons at Sacramento State, had
five hits in the twinbill including a two-run single in a fiverun seventh as the Wolves (11-5) grabbed a 9-5 lead in the
opener. His single put WOU ahead 6-5 at that point.
Josh Grenier led the Saints (1-12) with two hits, including a
RBI single in the eighth. SMU's first run came in the fifth
on an error.
Later in the inning, WOU got three more runs on an error,
on a single by Kyle Blackwell and on a double steal as Bo
Folkinga scored as Blackwell advanced to second.
PLU's Chris Bishop allowed just three hits in six innings in
getting the win. The Saints got four more hits off reliever
Nathan Eisenhauer.
The Warriors outhit the Wolves 15-10 in the contest, but
stranded 11 runners.
Offensively, the Lutes were led by Corey Moore, Brock
Gates and Ryan Frost with two hits each. Ethan Ottemiller
had three RBI.
Among WOU's hits were four doubles (including two by
AJ Royal) and a Quinn Naughtin fourth-inning home run.
Naughtin also had a sacrifice fly in the second.
Royal, Blackwell and David Amberson all had two hits for
Western Oregon. Brian Pisca picked up the win in relief.
Ian MacDougall threw the final three innings allowing one
run to earn a save.
Stanislaus touched up Travis Bradshaw for 11 hits and nine
runs in 3 1/3 innings to win the second contest. DJ Arellano
and Craig Beevers led the CCAA school. Arellano had four
hits and four RBI and Beevers had three hits and three runs
batted in.
Miller had two hits in the nightcap, but was WOU's only
multi-hit producer. Griff Boyd hit a two-run home run and
Bo Folkinga had a two-run double in the Wolves' final
frame.
Softball: 500th Victory For Simon Fraser's Renney
Cara Lukawesky won both games as Simon Fraser swept a
Great Northwest Athletic Conference softball doubleheader
from Western Washington 11-1 and 7-5 Saturday at Beedie
Field in Burnaby.
The victories were No. 499 and 500 for Clan head coach
Mike Renney, who has a record of 500-188 in 18 seasons.
Meanwhile in Selah, Carrina Wagner drove in six runs with
a pair of home runs as Central Washington defeated
Western Oregon 8-4 in the opening game of a GNAC
twinbill at Carlon Park.
The Wolves bounced back to win the second game 7-1 as
Hannah Pomeroy tossed a five-hitter.
Cara Lukawesky tossed a two-hitter in Simon Fraser's first
game five-inning victory.
The Clan offense produced 11 runs on 14 hits including
three by shortstop Leah Riske and right fielder Sammie
Olexa and two each by Carly Lepoutre and Trisha
Bouchard.
Olexa and Bouchard each drove in three runs and Riske had
two RBI and all three hit home runs during a six-run third.
Olexa's was a solo shot and Bouchard and Riske's each
came with one on base.
Amanda Flores singled to drive in WWU's only run in the
fifth as Lukawesky walked two and fanned four in the win.
In the second game, Lukawesky came into the game after
the Vikings had rallied from a 5-1 deficit to tie the game at
5-5 in the sixth on a three-run double by Jessica Carey.
Earlier in the inning Melissa Becker had a run-scoring
single.
Lukawesky allowed two hits over the final 1 2/3 innings
and got her fifth win in five decisions when catcher
Brittany Ribeiro hit a two-run home run in the bottom of
the sixth to snap the 5-5 tie.
Ribeiro had three hits, including a pair of doubles. Her first
double drove in a run in the third. She then led off the fifth
with a double to key a two-run frame.
Kelsey Haberl and Rosie Murphy also had two hits for
SFU, while Krista Becker and Jackie Rothenberger had two
each for Western Washington.
At Selah, Wagner gave Central Washington a 2-0 lead in
the first inning in its win with a two-run blast, then capped
off a six-run fourth, extending her team's lead to 8-1 with a
grand slam.
Western Oregon got one run back in the fifth on a home run
by Danielle Harcourt and two in the seventh on a home run
by Ashley Cashin and a single by Andrea Bailey to cut the
final margin to four.
CWU's Maria Gau went the distance, scattering 10 hits to
even her record at 3-3. Gau walked one and fanned eight.
In addition to Wagner, CWU also got two hits from
Breanna Thomas. Bailey and Amanda Evola led WOU with
two hits. Evola homered for WOU's first run in the fourth.
Pomeroy took a three-hit shutout into the seventh inning of
the nightcap before the Wildcats got their lone run. With
two out, Liz Jusko walked and Natasha Wood doubled.
Pinch-runner Kori Butterfield then scored on an error.
Andrea Bailey led a 10-hit attack for the Wolves with three,
while Evola had two safeties. Bailey and Evola each
homered in the third to give WOU an early 3-0 lead.
Track and Field: Warman, Hansen Post No. 2 Marks
Western Washington's Emily Warman improved her
NCAA Division II provisional national qualifying mark in
winning the women's long jump at the Seattle Pacific
University Last Chance Indoor Track and Field meet
Saturday at Dempsey Indoor facility on the UW campus.
Warman leaped 18-10, 2 1/4 inches farther than her
previous season-best. She also equaled her career best she
set in 2009, which is the No. 2 best mark in GNAC history.
Warman's performance was one of nine PNQs by GNAC
athletes in the meet, including a No. 2 all-time GNAC time
of 1:51.55 by Ryan Hansen of Western Oregon in the men's
800.
Kyle Larsen of Western Oregon also had a PNQ in the 800
running the eighth fastest time (1:53.19) in GNAC history.
In the mile, Seth Pierson of Seattle Pacific and Dan
Sprinkle of Western Oregon had PNQs of 4:09.83 and
4:10.66. Those marks rank fourth and eighth in GNAC
history.
Janelle Everetts of Western Oregon and McKayla Fricker
and Jasmine Johnson, both of Seattle Pacific, had PNQs in
the women's 800 in times of 2:11.78, 2:12.67 and 2:15.30,
respectively. Everetts mark ranks 10th in GNAC history.
Terra Schumacher of SPU had a PNQ in the women's pole
vault with the sixth best mark in GNAC history, vaulting
12-3 1/2.
There were two other performances that cracked the GNAC
Top 10 list in the meet. Trinna Miranda of Seattle Pacific
ran the eighth fastest women's 60 (7.91) and SPU's Maliea
Luquin ran the fifth fastest 60 hurdles (9.03).
SPU Last-Chance (Feb. 25 at Seattle): Men (GNAC Winners): 60 Nathaniel Schmidt, WWU, 7.37. 800 - Ryan Hansen, WOU, 1:51.55. Mile Seth Pierson, SPU, 4:09.83. 60 Hurdles - Corey Pfeiff, WWU, 8.83. High
Jump - Brett Watson, WWU, 6-5 1/2. Long Jump - Manny Melo, CWU, 226 1/4. Triple Jump - Bryan Mack, CWU, 45-1 3/4. Shot Put - Nate
Johnson, SPU, 35-1 3/4. Weight Throw - Sam Washington, SMU, 56-5
1/4. Women (GNAC Winners): 60 - Trinna Miranda, SPU, 7.91. 200 Natalie Nobbs, SPU, 26.83. 400 - Eleanor Siler, WWU, 57.24. 800 Janelle Everetts, WOU, 2:11.78. Mile - Nicole Anderson, WOU, 5:20.81.
60 Hurdles - Maliea Luquin, SPU, 9.03. High Jump - Katie Pelchar, WOU,
5-5. Pole Vault - Terra Schumacher, SPU, 12-3 1/2. Long Jump - Emily
Warman, WWU, 18-10. Triple Jump - Katherine Lotze, CWU, 38-0 3/4.
Shot Put - Brittany Aanstad, SPU, 31-4.
Friday, Feb. 24
Baseball: Wolves, Crusaders Win in California
Western Oregon got strong pitching performances from its
starter and the bullpen in defeating Cal State Stanislaus 6-3
in the opening game of a four-game series at Turlock, Calif.
Friday.
Likewise for Northwest Nazarene as three Crusader
pitchers combined to toss a two-hitter against Academy of
Art in a 10-0 win at Laney College in Oakland, Calif.
Grady Wood (4-0) went seven innings allowing just three
runs (two earned) and striking out eight in Western
Oregon's victory, its 10th in 14 games.
The Vikings, who control the tie-breaker, can win the title
outright Saturday with a win against Montana State
Billings.
Wood gave up 10 hits, but nine were singles. AJ Burke
pitched the final two innings allowing one hit while striking
out two for his third save in three chances this season.
A victory would also give 14th-ranked Western
Washington a 16-2 conference record, matching the best
record in GNAC history.
Wood was staked to the early lead and never trailed in
extending his win streak to 12 since opening his career at
WOU with four consecutive losses.
Alaska Anchorage also went 16-2 on the way to a Elite
Eight appearance in 2007-08. Central Washington matched
that record last season in earning the top-seed in the West
Regional playoffs.
The Wolves scored their first run in the second when Griff
Boyd doubled in AJ Royal. They added runs in the fourth
on an error and in the fifth on Blake Miller's first home run
of the season to go up 3-1.
Cal State Stanislaus (2-5) scored an unearned run in the
fifth, but WOU answered back with two insurance runs the
next inning on a Scott David RBI single and a sacrifice fly
by Josh Solemsaas to extend its lead to 5-2.
The Warriors cut the lead back to 5-3 in the bottom of the
seventh but good pitching by Wood and Burke preserved
the win. WOU, meanwhile, added an insurance run in the
ninth on a sacrifice bunt by Royal.
Kyle Blackwell led the WOU offense with three hits,
including two doubles. Boyd and David Amberson also
collected two hits.
Patrick Patterson allowed just one hit in seven innings in
Northwest Nazarene's victory. Ryan Kuhn and Nate
Forseth, who allowed one hit, each pitched an inning in
relief to preserve the shutout.
NNU (9-3) led just 1-0 after four innings, but got two in the
fifth, one in the sixth, two in the seventh, one in the eighth
and three in the ninth.
Leadoff hitter Sean McDonald led the Crusaders' 16-hit
attack with four safeties. Catcher Charlie Gorzo had three
hits and Jon Matos, Zach Steele and Kris Bos had two each.
Matos, Steele and Zack Morse each drove in two runs as
NNU won the second game of the three-game series.
Thursday, Feb. 23
Men's Basketball: Western Washington Clinches Top
Seed
Rory Blanche has led the Vikings to the No. 1 seed in
GNAC tournament (WWU photo by David Rzegocki)
Guard John Allen scored a team-high 18 points and added
four steals as Western Washington clinched at least a tie for
the GNAC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the
conference playoffs with a 72-70 home-court victory over
Seattle Pacific Thursday.
UAA (21-5 overall), which is ranked 20th, kept alive its
title hopes edging Alaska Fairbanks 79-74 at The Patty
Center to finish its regular-season with a 15-3 conference
record. Both WWU and UAA will receive first-round byes
in the GNAC tournament.
Western Oregon (18-8, 11-6) moved to within one game of
third-place Seattle Pacific (20-6, 12-5) by defeating
Northwest Nazarene 67-56 as the Wolves' Blair Wheadon
set a GNAC career steal record.
Despite the loss, Northwest Nazarene (12-13, 6-11)
maintained its post-season hopes as Central Washington
(13-12, 7-10) was upset by Saint Martin's 99-84.
The Crusaders trail the Wildcats for the sixth-and-final
playoff berth by one game with one game remaining, but
control the tiebreaker.
Montana State Billings (15-10, 10-7) wrapped up no worse
than a No. 5 seed in the playoffs with a 94-74 victory at
Simon Fraser.
WWU held a 72-68 lead after a three-pointer by center
Chris Mitchell with 1:02 left. But SPU's Scott Morse hit
two free throws to cut the deficit in half, and after Allen
missed a three-pointer with the shot clock running down,
the Falcons had a chance to tie.
The Falcons, who came into the contest ranked 24th,
worked the ball to guard David Downs, who came off a
high screen, but the ball came loose in traffic. WWU guard
Rico Wilkins dived on the loose ball and was fouled with
1.5 seconds left.
Wilkins missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and Jake
Anderson grabbed the rebound for the Falcons, but
Anderson 's 85-foot heave was wide left.
Zach Henifin had 15 points for WWU and Wilkins added
11. Downs led the Falcons with 19 points. Jobi Wall had 16
points and Andy Poling added 11.
SPU had a 40-30 advantage in rebounds, but committed 17
turnovers to just six for the Vikings.
WWU led much of the first half and held a 38-30 lead at
halftime, but SPU opened the second half with a 13-2
charge to take a 43-40 advantage with 15:50 remaining.
But the Falcon lead was short-lived, as the Vikings went
ahead 45-43 on an Allen three-pointer with 14:53 to go and
led the rest of the way.
The Vikings extended the gap to nine (68-57) with just over
five minutes left, but SPU rallied again, pulling to within
one (69-68) on two Wall free throws with 1:24 remaining.
It was WWU's first victory over SPU in the last seven
Carver Gym meetings. The last Viking triumph against
SPU on its home court came in 2006.
Alaska Anchorage 79, Alaska Fairbanks 74
Sophomore guards Travis Thompson and Kyle Fossman
combined for 34 points to spark the Seawolves to a comefrom-behind victory over Alaska Fairbanks.
The Seawolves also got a lift from senior guard Lonnie
Ridgeway, who scored 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting and
added a pair of blocks.
Both teams missed chances on their ensuing possessions
and UAF appeared ready to tie it with a fast-break basket,
but Jackson stepped up and took a charge from Tica with
44 seconds showing.
UAF's Dominique Brinson sliced his team's deficit to 75-74
with a pair of free throws at the 14-second mark before
Fossman drained a pair of free throws moments later.
The Nanooks went to center Sergej Pucar for a game-tying
three-pointer with 5 seconds left, but it bounced off the rim
and landed in the hands of Thompson for his career-high
seventh rebound.
Thompson sealed it with two free throws, ending his
shooting night 5 of 5 at the stripe and 6 of 9 from the field.
Fossman finished with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting (2-4
3FGs), while senior center Taylor Rohde - the GNAC's
leading scorer at 20.6 ppg - managed 10 points, five
rebounds and a pair of assists.
The Nanooks (5-23, 2-16) got a game-high 26 points from
forward Stefan Tica and saw all five starters score in
double figures. The UAF bench managed just two points,
however, as the Seawolves won for the 13th straight time in
the rivalry, including six in a row at the Patty Center.
Western Oregon 67, Northwest Nazarene 56
Just like UAA's 68-62 win back on Dec. 10 in Anchorage,
Thursday's game was hard-fought throughout, featuring
seven ties and 16 lead changes.
WOU trailed 33-30 at halftime but used an 11-0 run early
in the second period to go ahead 45-38. Blair Wheadon had
five of his 15 points during that stretch.
After the Seawolves jumped to an early 9-0 lead, the
Nanooks answered immediately and went ahead 14-13.
UAA scored eight of the last 11 points before the half to
take a 36-35 lead at the break, with Thompson accounting
for 13 of his team-high 18 points in the opening session.
NNU scored the next three points, but the Wolves answered
with seven more, including a three-pointer by Long to go
ahead 52-41 with 8:52 remaining.
UAA went ahead 47-41 when Colton Lauwers hit his
second and third three-pointers of the night, but that would
be the biggest lead for either team the rest of the game.
Tica made a three-pointer to put the Nanooks up 57-55 at
the 8:15 mark, and the home team seemed to have all the
momentum, gaining a 64-58 lead a few minutes later.
Ridgeway answered for UAA with a short jumper and then
drew a three-point play on a layup conversion to keep
within striking distance, though. He then rebounded a
Nanook miss and brought the ball down court before
handing off to Thompson for trey that tied it 66-66 with
3:58 to play.
The teams traded three-pointers on the next four
possessions, including back-to-back bombs by Fossman,
and Thompson grabbed a defensive rebound to give UAA
the ball with 1:50 left and the score tied 72-72.
After a 30-second timeout, UAA junior guard Marcus
Jackson got free inside for a layup -his only field goal of
the game - with 1:27 remaining.
Kyle Long scored 17 points and pulled down a team-high
eight rebounds to lead Western Oregon to an 11-point
home win against Northwest Nazarene.
Eventually the Wolves, who outscored NNU 37-23 in the
final 20 minutes, built a 15-point lead at 60-45 with 5:07
remaining.
Wheadon finished the contest with five rebounds and three
assists in addition to his 15 points.
The three steals increased his career total to 213 eclipsing
the GNAC record of 210 set by Grant Dykstra of Western
Washington between the 2002-03 and 2005-06 seasons.
In addition to Long and Wheadon, Western Oregon got 11
points on five of seven shooting from Kolton Nelson. WOU
had just eight turnovers in the game resulting in a 20-1
advantage in points off turnovers.
Defensively, they held Northwest Nazarene to 29.6 percent
shooting in the second half (8 of 27) after the Crusaders
shot 52.2 percent (12 of 23) in the opening 20 minutes.
Keith Moilanen paced NNU with 16 points. Jonathan
Hawkins had 10 points.
Jeremy Green scored 34 points and grabbed 16 rebounds
and Saint Martin's shot a season-high 59.6 percentage in
defeating Central Washington at Marcus Pavilion.
MSUB was also led by Antoine Proctor with 16 points,
Emery Henning with 14 points and 10 rebounds and David
Arnold with 11 points. Arnold made all four of his field
goal attempts, three from the arc as MSUB converted on 14
of 27 treys.
Green's rebound total brought his career total to 599
leaving him one shy of becoming the 15th player in GNAC
history to record 600 rebounds.
Justin Brown and Jordan Sergent led the Clan with 21 and
20 points, respectively. Sergent also had nine rebounds.
Connor Lewis finished with 12 points.
Twice previously this season, the Saints (9-17, 5-12) had
shot 59.3 percent. They nearly matched that number in both
halves, making 63 percent (17-27) in the opening 20
minutes and 56 percent (14-25) after the break.
MSUB led by just one point at halftime (39-38) before
outscoring Simon Fraser 55-36 after the break.
Saint Martin's 99, Central Washington 84
“It's funny the things you do when you've got nothing to
lose,” said Green. “We did all the right things. We shot the
ball well. We took care of the ball.”
The game was tied at 49-49 with 15:02 left before two free
throws by Taylor Stevens and treys by Stevens and Myaer
gave the 'Jackets an eight-point lead. MSUB led by doubledigits over the final 6 1/2 minutes.
Women's Basketball: Western Washington Earns Bye
SMU led 48-41 at halftime and never trailed in the second
half. The Saints opened a 79-68 lead on Ryan Votaw's 3pointer with 6:59 left. Central never got closer than eight
points the rest of the way.
The Saints, who are shooting just 44 percent from the field
for the season, made a pressing, doubling CWU defense
pay with some hot shooting. They were 31-for-52 from the
field, 6-for-12 from the 3-point.
Central, meanwhile, went 2-for-14 from 3-point and 18-for35 from the free throw line.
Four Saints finished in double figures. Besides Green,
Roger O'Neill scored 22 points, Brok Pendleton added 16
and Brady Bomber had 12. Green (12-17), O'Neill (7-11)
and Pendleton (6-10) were a combined 25-for-38.
Guard Trishi Williams had a game-high 20 points on 8-of10 shooting leading Western Washington to a 72-62 road
victory over Seattle Pacific in a GNAC contest Thursday at
Royal Brougham Pavilion.
The Vikings (19-6, 13-4), who have won seven of their last
eight games, clinched the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye
in next week's conference tournament at Lacey with the
victory.
Alaska Anchorage, which was idle Thursday, is the No. 1
seed also drawing a first-round bye.
Simon Fraser (16-9, 11-6), meanwhile, moved into sole
possession of third place with a 50-49 road win at Montana
State Billings. Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe had 20 points and
17 rebounds to lead the Clan.
Central was led in scoring by Kevin Davis with 27 points.
Davis made 12 of 16 shots including five alley-oop dunks
in the first half. Brandon Magee added 13 and Roby Clyde
scored 11.
Northwest Nazarene outscored Western Oregon 65-50
moving into a three-way tie for fourth with Seattle Pacific
(16-9, 10-7) and MSU Billings (18-10, 10-7).
CWU played without point guard Lacy Haddock, who
scored 26 points in the Wildcats' 76-61 win against SMU in
December. Haddock sustained an injury in last Saturday's
win against Western Washington.
Meanwhile, Saint Martin's (9-18, 4-13) beat Central
Washington 68-66 on a last-second shot by Chelsea
Haskey. The Saints have won two straight after ending an
eight-game losing streak.
Montana State Billings 94, Simon Fraser 74
Williams was the only Western Washington player in
double figures. The Vikings also got nine points each from
Kristin Schramm and Britt Harris.
Jaxon Myaer made nine three-pointers - one off the GNAC
single-game record - and scored 33 points to lead the
Yellowjackets to a 20-point win at Simon Fraser.
Myaer made nine of 13 from the arc and 12 of 17 overall.
Three players in GNAC history - Isaac Gildea of Humboldt
State in 2002, Derrick Webb of Western Washington in
2010 and Brandon Walker of Alaska Anchorage in 2011 have made 10.
On eight previous occasions player have made nine treys,
including Mark Drake of UAA who did in three times (Jan.
10, 2002, Feb. 16, 2002 and Jan. 11, 2003).
Jordan Harazin led a trio of Seattle Pacific players in
double figures with 16 points. Suzanna Ohlsen scored 14
points and Aubree Callen had 10 points.
The score was tied at 54-54 with under six minutes left, but
WWU got back-to-back layups from Kayla Bernsen and
Corinn Waltrip to take a 58-54 lead with 5:18 to play.
The Falcons pulled within two points on four occasions
after that, but WWU scored on the following possession
each time, the final one on a basket by Erika Ramstead with
1:09 left to make the score 66-62.
The Vikings, who outshot the Falcons 42.9 percent (24-56)
to 29.6 percent (16-54), then converted six consecutive free
throws to ice the victory.
Western Washington was outrebounded 42-32 but made 7of-11 (63.6 percent) three-pointers. Williams was 3-of-3.
Seattle Pacific jumped to a 13-4 lead, but WWU then held
the Falcons scoreless for more than five minutes to take a
14-13 lead with 7:38 left in the first half.
The gap was never more than four points the rest of the
period, and SPU held a 28-27 edge at halftime. It was
WWU's first victory at Seattle Pacific in the last seven
seasons.
Simon Fraser 50, Montana State Billings 49
Simon Fraser and Montana State Billings played a game of
punch/counter punch as neither team led by more than six
points in the first half and neither was ahead by more than
four in the second period.
The game was tied seven times, including five in in the
second period before freshman Erin Chambers hit her only
two foul attempts of the game to give Simon Fraser a 47-46
lead with 2:14 remaining.
Fifty seconds later Kristina Collins, who missed her first
five treys, converted from the arc to give SFU a 50-46 lead
with 1:24 left.
The Yellowjackets responded getting a trey from Bobbi
Knudsen (11-18, 3-5 3-pointers) to cut its deficit to one
point with 56 seconds remaining.
The teams then traded turnovers before MSUB fouled
Raincock-Ekunwe with five seconds left. Nayo missed the
free throw and MSUB got the rebound but turned the ball
over allowing SFU to run out the clock.
The Crusaders bolted to an early 18-3 lead before Western
Oregon clawed back to within five points (25-20) at
halftime.
The Wolves completed the comeback in the second half
twice earning ties (at 31-33 and 33-33).
Alla Dzhidzhiyeshvili put NNU back ahead on a jumper
and King had two free throws and a basket to make it 3933.
After Western Oregon (7-20, 6-11) pulled to within two at
39-37, the Crusaders finally took control scoring seven
consecutive points, including four by King and three by
Falissa Smith who scored 10 of her 13 points in the second
period.
Another 7-0 run, which also featured four points by King
and three by Smith stretch NNU's lead to 63-47 with 1:47
remaining.
In addition to King and Smith, Northwest Nazarene was
also led by Megan Hingston with 14 points and Chelsie
Luke with 10.
Lorrie Clifford placed Western Oregon with 15 points and
Rylee Peterson had 10.
NNU outrebounded Western Oregon 40-34 - King had
eight and Luke had seven boards - and had seven fewer
turnovers (16-23). Dzhidzhiyeshvili keyed the NNU
defense with five steals.
Saint Martin's 68, Central Washington 66
Chelsea Haskey sank a contested jumper with two seconds
left to give the Saints a two-point victory.
Haskey, who has been playing on a sore ankle, scored
SMU's final six points to finish with 18 points.
She gave her team a 66-64 lead with 36 seconds left.
CWU's Jessica VanDyke's layup then tied the score 66-66
with 23 seconds left.
Raincock-Ekunwe, who now has 22 double-doubles on the
season, and Knudsen, who had 27 points, were the only
players to score in double figures. Monica Grimsrud had
eight points for MSUB and Chelsea Reist scored eight on
four of five shooting for the Clan.
But Haskey, a 6-foot-1 sophomore forward and an allleague player at Black Hills High School, then hit the game
winner. “Chelsea hit a very tough shot to win it,” Saints
coach Tim Healy said.
SFU won despite having a minus 14 turnover deficit (2511) as it outrebounded MSUB 41-29 and outshot them 44.2
percent (19-43) to 32.8 (20-61).
Brooke Paulson, a 5-foot-10 freshman forward, led the
Saints with a season-high 25 points, 20 above her season
average. Paulson went 5-for-6 from 3-point range.
Northwest Nazarene 65, Western Oregon 50
“Brooke Paulson was amazing tonight,” Healy said. “She
dominated the offense end.”
Briaunna King scored all but two of her game-high 18
points in the second half in keying a pair of 7-0 scoring
runs to lead Northwest Nazarene to a 15-point win.
The Saints, who have won two straight after snapping a
nine-game losing streak, shot 49 percent from the field,
going 26-for-53.
Sophie Russell scored 26 points to lead Central including a
three-pointer with 58 seconds to tie the game for the sixth
time (64-64).
The Wildcats also got a 14-point, 10-assist double-double
from Alex Dunn and 11 points and six rebounds from
VanDyke.
Baseball: Parker Powers Crusaders To 10-4 Win
Logan Parker's three-run home run in the seventh broke up
a close game and Northwest Nazarene went on to defeat the
Academy of the Art 10-4 in a NCAA Division II West
Region game Thursday at Oakland, Calif.
NNU was clinging to a 4-3 lead before Parker's blast. The
Crusaders tacked on three more runs in the eighth,
including two on a single by Sean McDonald.
McDonald and Kaleb DeHass led NNU with two hits each.
DeHass scored three runs.
Charles Pollock pitched the first 5 2/3 innings, allowimg
five hits and one earned run to pick up his second victory
against no losses.
Wednesday, Feb. 22
Men's Basketball: Vikings Lead 1-2-3 Sweep, Again
For the second week in a row it's a 1-2-3 sweep for the
GNAC in the NCAA Division II West Regional basketball
rankings.
Western Washington, Alaska Anchorage and Seattle
Pacific hold down the top three places.
Western Oregon and Montana State Billings are also
ranked in the Top 10 at No. 6 and No. 10, respectively.
Both the Wolves and Yellowjackets slipped one spot from
their No. 5 and No. 9 rankings of a week ago. Also in the
Top 10 are Chico State (4th), Dixie State (5th), Cal Poly
Pomona (7th), Humboldt State (8th) and Sonoma State
(9th).
The poll will eventually determine the five at-large teams
that will join the GNAC and CCAA tournament champions
and the PacWest regular-season champion in the NCAA
West Regionals, Mar. 9-12.
The regional is generally hosted by the No. 1 ranked team.
However if Alaska Anchorage ends up at No. 1, the
regional will be split into two four-team sub-regionals with
the No. 2 team also hosting.
The GNAC will determine its champion with a tournament
at Lacey, Wash., on Feb. 29, Mar. 2 and Mar. 3. The title
game will be televised on ROOT Sports on Saturday night,
Mar. 3.
West Region - 1. Western Washington (20-4); 2. Alaska Anchorage (163); 3. Seattle Pacific (20-5); 4. Chico State (16-6); 5. Dixie State (19-4); 6.
Western Oregon (14-7); 7. Cal Pomona (15-6); 8. Humboldt State (14-7);
9. Sonoma State (15-8); 10. Montana State Billings (12-8). (Note: Records
are versus Division II opponents).
Women's Basketball: Seawolves, Vikings Ranked 2nd,
5th
Alaska Anchorage maintained its No. 2 ranking and
Western Washington moved up one slot from sixth to fifth
in this week's NCAA Division II West Regional basketball
rankings.
The two schools are the only GNAC teams ranked in the
Top 10. A ranking in the Top 8 is required to be considered
for selection to the NCAA tournament.
UC San Diego is ranked first and appears to have the inside
track to host the regionals.
The poll will eventually determine the five at-large teams
that will join the GNAC and CCAA tournament champions
and the PacWest regular-season champion in the NCAA
West Regionals, Mar. 9-12.
The GNAC will determine its champion with a tournament
at Lacey, Wash., on Mar. 1-3. The title game will be
televised on ROOT Sports on Saturday night, Mar. 3.
Tipoff will be approximately at 7:30 p.m. following the
conclusion of the men's title game.
West Region - 1. UC San Diego (25-0); 2. Alaska Anchorage (23-2); 3.
Grand Canyon (18-3); 4. Cal State Monterey Bay (16-7); 5. Western
Washington (16-6); 6. Cal Poly Pomona (16-7); 7. Cal State L.A. (15-9); 8.
Humboldt State (16-7); 9. Dixie State (15-7); 10. Chico State (15-9).
(Note: Records are versus Division II opponents).
Academic: WWU's Blanche Academic All-American
Western Washington forward Rory Blanche has been
named to the 2012 CoSIDA Capital One Academic AllAmerica NCAA Division II first team.
A 6-foot-6 senior forward from Ashland, Ore., Blanche is a
manufacturing engineering technology major and has a
3.74 cumulative GPA.
Joining Blanche on the men's Academic All-American
team is Seattle Pacific guard David Downs, who was a
second team selection.
They are the first two men's basketball players in the 11year history of the GNAC to earn CoSIDA Academic AllAmerican honors.
“This is an outstanding honor,” said Dr. T.H. “Butch”
Kamena, who is the compliance officer and academic
advisor for the WWU Athletics Department.
“There are many organizations that select academic all-star
teams at a national level, but the CoSIDA award is the most
prestigious of those honors.”
Blanche leads the Vikings in both scoring and rebounding
with respective per game averages of 16.9 and 7.3. He
ranks 16th nationally and is second in the GNAC in fieldgoal shooting at 60.4 percent (197-of-326).
Nine players – three men and six women – made the team
for the third year in a row. A total of 18 players – eight men
and 10 women – earned their second academic allconference selection.
He also is fifth among league leaders in scoring, sixth in
offensive rebounds (2.8) and eighth in rebounds.
To be eligible for the academic team, student-athletes must
earn a letter, have a minimum grade point average of 3.20
and be completing at least their second year of eligibility at
their university. Tuesday, Feb. 21
Last summer Blanche was an intern at Nike, working at the
company's headquarters in Beaverton . Following
graduation this spring, he has been offered a full-time
position by Nike as a design engineer.
Two GNAC women's players were also named to the
CoSIDA Academic All-American team. Nicole Bozek of
Alaska Fairbanks and Hanna Johansson of Alaska
Anchorage were both third team selections.
They join Martina Kartikova of Saint Martin's (1st team,
2005), Danielle Dwello of Northwest Nazarene (2nd team,
2007) and Alira Carpenter of MSU Billings (3rd team,
2009) as the only GNAC basketball players to ever earn
Academic All-American honors.
Earlier this winter all four players along with Katie Benson
of Seattle Pacific and Bobbi Knudsen of Montana State
Billings were named to the CoSIDA District 8 all-region
team.
CoSIDA Academic All-Region: Men: Rory Blanche, WWU
(Manufacturing Engineering, 3.74, Sr., Ashland, OR); David Downs, SPU
(Business Administration, 3.80, So., Kirkland, WA). Women: Katie
Benson, SPU (Communications, 3.69, So., Snohomish, WA); Nicole
Bozek, UAF (Accounting/Business, 3.80, Sr., Mukilteo, WA); Hanna
Johansson, UAA (Journalism & Public Communications, 3.66, Sr.,
Gothenbuerg, Sweden); Bobbi Knudsen, MSUB (Secondary Education,
3.83, So., Malta, MT).
Fifty-Two Named To GNAC Academic All-Conference
Team
A total of 52 student-athletes, including 32 women and 20
men, have been named to the 2011-12 Great Northwest
Athletic Conference Basketball Academic all-conference
team.
Among the women, Emily Lashua of Saint Martin's has the
top GPA in the American grading system with a 3.98
average. In the Canadian system, which awards 4.33 points
for an A+, Anna Carolsfeld of Simon Fraser has the best
GPA with a 4.11 mark.
Among the men, the top GPAs are by Zachary Frehlick of
Simon Fraser (4.15) and Liam Gibcus of Alaska Anchorage
(3.84).
Saint Martin's and Seattle Pacific placed the most players
on the academic teams with a total of nine each. Alaska
Anchorage earned eight slots. Alaska Anchorage placed
five players on the men's team to lead the way. Seattle
Pacific, with six , earned the most slots on the women's
team.
Men's Basketball: Three GNAC Teams In Top 25
Three GNAC teams - led by Western Washington at No. 14
- are ranked in the NABC Top 25 NCAA Division II
national poll this week.
The Vikings fell from No. 10 to No. 14 after having their
10-game win streak snapped Saturday by Central
Washington, but Alaska Anchorage climbed one position to
No. 20.
Seattle Pacific, meanwhile, moved into the Top 25 at No.
24 after winning at home Saturday against Montana State
Billings.
Last week, the Vikings (23-4), Seawolves (20-5) and
Falcons (20-5) were ranked 1-2-3 in the official NCAA
West Region poll. Seattle Pacific plays at Western
Washington this Thursday.
The second of three regional polls, which will eventually
determine the five at-large teams that will join the GNAC,
CCAA and PacWest champions in the playoffs, is due out
Wednesday.
Individually, four GNAC players are ranked in the Top 10
in this week's NCAA national statistical report.
Taylor Rohde of Alaska Anchorage is ranked eighth in
field goal percentage (63.1). Nico Matthews of Alaska
Fairbanks is seventh in steals (2.9).
John Allen of Western Washington is 10th in free throw
percentage (90.4) and Travis Thompson of Alaska
Anchorage is fourth in assist/turnover ratio (3.14).
Women's Basketball: Alaska Anchorage Climbs To
Eighth
Alaska Anchorage climbed three positions and is ranked
eighth in this week's ESPN USA Today WBCA Top 25
national poll.
The Seawolves are the lone GNAC team ranked in the Top
25. UC San Diego is the No. 1 ranked team.
The Seawolves are also ranked in the Top 10 in six
different national statistical categories including first in
scoring margin (24.6) and second in rebounding margin
(11.5).
They are also third in assists (18.8), sixth in field goal
percentage (46.0), seventh in scoring (78.4) and eighth in
assist/turnover ratio (1.12).
Individually, Briaunna King of Northwest Nazarene and
Sasha King of UAA are the top ranked players. Briaunna is
11th in double-doubles with 14 and Sasha is 11th in
assist/turnover ratio (2.08).
Baseball: Crusaders Swept By Chico State
Chico State scored late runs in both games in sweeping a
non-conference doubleheader from Northwest Nazarene
Tuesday Nettleton Stadium.
In the opener, the Crusaders (7-3) grabbed a 5-4 lead in the
sxith scoring twice on a double by catcher Jamie Mitchell.
But, Chico (8-2) got two in the seventh and two in the
eighth to pull out a 8-5 win. They then won the seveninning nightcap 6-1 scoring four times in the sixth to break
open the close contest.
Mitchell had three hits to lead NNU in the opener. Four
other players had two hits each in the twinbill (one in each
game) including Sean McDonald, Derek Bettinson, Logan
Parker and Kaleb DeHaas.
Monday, Feb. 20
Amanda Evola had four of WOU's nine hits off of Munger
and also drove in four runs.
In the second game, SMU scored three runs in the second
and three runs in the third to rally from its early 5-0 deficit.
Left fielder Tiffany Griffiths had two-run doubles in each
inning.
Ashley Worthey hit a grand slam home run to get WOU off
to its first-inning lead.
In Sunday's opener, Munger tossed a four-hitter and Megan
Antonvich had two hits including a two-run home run
during a five-run sixth inning to extend a one-run lead to
six.
The Saints then completed the sweep never trailing after
scoring four first-inning runs, including one on a double by
Munger, two on a double by Joslyn Eugenio and one on a
wild pitch. Munger led the offense with three hits.
Munger ended the series with seven hits, including four
doubles, in 12 at bats. Klemm hit .571 (8 of 14). Jourdan
Williams had four hits in 10 official at bats and Ecola was
five for 13 for WOU, which fell to 1-8 on the season.
Sunday, Feb. 19
Baseball: Saints Edge Central Washington For First
Win
Softball: Saints Sweep Four From Western Oregon
Taylor Bakos had two solid outings in the circle and Saint
Martin's hit for a .381 average in sweeping a four-game
series from Western Oregon as the two schools opened
their GNAC conference campaigns last weekend.
The Saints (6-3-1), who have never had a winning season
in nine previous GNAC campaigns, won Saturday's
doubleheader by 14-9 and 6-5 scores before sweeping
Sunday's games 7-1 and 10-3.
Bakos, a transfer from Columbia Basin College, replaced
starter Chelsea Felton in the first inning of Saturday's
second game after the Wolves had scored five runs and
allowed just five hits and no runs the rest of the way
allowing SMU to rally for a 6-5 win.
Then on Sunday, she blanked Western Oregon except for
three unearned runs in the second inning in a 10-3 win
going the distance and scattering seven hits.
Meanwhile, SMU's other pitcher, Sam Munger, also picked
up two wins and led the Saints offensively with seven hits,
including four doubles, in 12 at bats.
After falling behind 3-0 in the first game of the series, the
Saints used a seven-run first inning and a six-run fifth to
get the win. Morgan Klemm led a 14-hit attack with three
safeties.
Mario Sanelli drove in four runs including two with a
ninth-inning single to snap a 5-5 tie as Saint Martin's
defeated Central Washington 7-6 Sunday in the consolation
game of the Inland Cellular tournament at Harris Field in
Lewiston.
Lewis-Clark State won the championship game defeating
Western Oregon 3-0 as starter Anthony Armanino and
reliever Cody Garner blanked the Wolves on five hits.
Saint Martin's (1-11) snapped an 11-game losing streak
with its win, scoring three runs in the final inning to
overcome a 5-4 deficit.
Prior to Sanelli's game-winning hit, SMU had tied the game
on an error on a potential game-ending double play ball.
Earlier in the contest, Sanelli had a two-run single to tie the
game at 4-4 in the fifth inning.
CWU (2-8) was led by Brett Bielec and Glen Reser. Bielec
had three hits, including RBI singles in the fourth and sixth.
Reser had a three-run double to key a four-run fourth
inning.
Armanino allowed just four hits - two to AJ Royal - in
seven innings in LCSC's win over Western Oregon (9-4)
before Garner pitched the final two fraames.
The Warriors scored two runs in the second and one in the
fifth off of Kirk Lind.
Yellowjackets Earn Split of Four-Game Series
Montana State Billings had a dozen hits in defeating
Colorado State - Pueblo 7-2 to earn a split of a four-game
series at Rawlings Field in Pueblo.
Ty Gilmore, Mack Unruh and Trevor Wilson all had two
hits for the Yellowjackets. Blake Nelson drove in a pair of
runs.
MSUB never trailed after scoring a run in the second and
two in the third. A three-run fifth gave MSUB a 6-2 lead.
They then tacked on a final run in the ninth after Travis
Vincent pitched three scoreless innings of relief allowing
just one hit to earn a save.
Starter Brady Muller pitched the first six innings, allowing
five hits and two fourth-inning runs to record the victory.
Saturday, Feb. 18
GNAC Indoor: Worthen Breaks 100-Point Barrier
Ali Worthen of Seattle Pacific and Maurus Hope of
Northwest Nazarene were voted the Outstanding Female
and Male Performers Saturday in the ninth annual Great
Northwest Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field
championship meet at Jackson's Track in Nampa, Idaho.
Worthen scored 38 individual points in the meet to lead the
Falcons to their ninth consecutive team title with a total of
182 points as SPU easily outdistanced second-place
Western Washington, which finished with 97 1/2 points.
Western Oregon won the men's team title, its fifth straight
and its sixth in the nine-year history of the conference. The
Wolves finished with 142 1/2 points. Central Washington
was second with 122 points.
Hope won two events in two of the quickest times in
GNAC history and also finished second in a third event
Saturday to earn his Outstanding Performer award.
Worthen's 60 hurdles win in a time of 8.75 (the No. 2 alltime mark in conference history) was her second of the
meet and the sixth of her career tying the GNAC record for
individual victories currently shared by Krissy Tandle of
Central Washington (2005-07, 2009) and Jessica Pixler of
Seattle Pacific (2007-10).
She also finished second in the high jump (5-7 1/4), third in
the 200 meters (25.51) and fifth in the triple jump (37-7
1/4) to earn 38 total points increasing her career total to
110.
In addition she anchored Seattle Pacific's win in the 4x400
relay in a time of 3:53.59 which enabled her to tie the
record for most total wins in a single meet, including
relays.
The Falcon 4x400 team also included Emily Quatier,
Kishia Mitchell who also won the 60 in the third-best time
in GNAC history (7.80) and Myisha Valentine.
Worthen is the first athlete - female or male - to produce
100 or more career points in the GNAC indoor
championships.
NNU's Joy Warrington and Hope joined Worthen as twoevent winners. Warrington won the shot put and weight
throw (on Friday) and Hope swept the men's 200 and 400
in times of 21.91 and 48.85. His 400 time ranks second alltime in the GNAC and his 200 time ranks third.
Hope's 400 time was also one of six meet records set
Saturday. He also placed second in the 60 hurdles in a time
of 8.52.
Also setting meet records were NNU's Barak Watson in the
men's 5,000 (14:51.07), Nate Johnson of Seattle Pacific in
the men's heptathlon 4,860 points), Ashley Potter of
Western Oregon in the women's triple jump (39-7) and
Katie Pelchar of WOU in the high jump (5-7 1/4).
Potter matched her own No. 2 GNAC all-time mark in the
triple jump and Pelchar's performance ranks fifth all-time
in GNAC history.
Western Oregon's 4x400 men's relay team also set a meet
record putting an exclamation point on its team victory in a
time of 3:18.60. The Wolves also got a No. 2 all-time
GNAC performance from Madison McClung who won the
women's 200 in a time of 25.16.
Eleanor Siler of Western Washington and Nate Seely of
Seattle Pacific each became three-time winners in their
events. Siler added a 400 meter title to the ones she won in
2009 and 2010, while Seely won his third straight men's
800 title.
Five athletes won their second titles in the same event Bryan Mack of Central Washington in the 60 (2009), Hope
in the 400 (2009), Johnson in the heptathlon (2011), Potter
in the triple jump (2010) and Warrington in the shot put
(2010).
Men's Basketball: Wildcats Snap Vik Win Streak At 10
Brandon Magee scored all 14 of his points in the second
half as Central Washington erased a nine-point deficit and
upended 10th ranked Western Washington 89-82 Saturday
at Nicholson Pavilion.
Central's win ended their arch-rivals 10-game winning
streak and also prevented them from becoming the first
team in conference history to complete a conference season
unbeaten on the road.
Central (13-11, 7-9) also got 21 points from Lacy Haddock,
17 points and 10 rebounds from Kevin Davis and 12 points
from Roby Clyde as it remained one game ahead of
Northwest Nazarene in the battle for the GNAC's sixthand-final playoff berth.
Alaska Anchorage to 13-point victory over Western
Oregon at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
Western Washington (23-4, 14-2), which was led by Rory
Blanche with 22 points and 10 rebounds, stayed one-half
game ahead of Alaska Anchorage (20-5, 14-3) for the
conference's top seed.
The Seawolves got a game-high 25 points from Rohde as
they erased a five-point halftime deficit and swept the
season series from WOU.
The Seawolves knocked off Western Oregon 73-60 at the
Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
Elsewhere Seattle Pacific (20-5, 12-4) earned its 20th win
of the season defeating Montana State Billings 78-70,
Northwest Nazarene (12-12, 6-10) beat Simon Fraser 84-78
and Alaska Fairbanks (5-22, 2-15) ended a 13-game losing
streak with a 72-70 home win against Saint Martin's.
The Wolves (17-8, 10-6) were led by 22 points and three
assists from guard Blair Wheadon but fell to the Seawolves
for the ninth time in their last 10 meetings.
Despite the final margin, the game was in doubt until the
final few minutes. In a back-and-forth first half, the Wolves
ended with a 7-0 run to take a 35-30 lead into the locker
room.
Western Washington held a 78-77 lead with four minutes
left before Haddock made the first of two free throws to tie
the game.
UAA sophomore Kyle Fossman nailed one of his three
three-pointers to start the second half, however, and UAA
took the lead 38-37 on a Rohde layup with 17:46
remaining.
He then missed the second, but Davis grabbed the rebound,
and a few seconds later, Haddock drove the lane for the
basket that put Central up for good at 80-78.
Tied at 41 a few minutes later, White found Fossman for an
open jumper and Travis Thompson penetrated for a layup
to give the Seawolves the lead for good.
The Vikings failed to score on their next three possessions,
and although they pulled within three points twice in the
final 36 seconds, never had the ball with a chance to tie in
the final 1:54.
The Wolves cut it to a one-point game on three straight
possessions, pulling within 57-56 at the 7:40 mark, before
UAA ended all doubt with a 13-0 surge.
Western held a 39-35 lead at halftime and were up 48-39
early in the second half before Magee scored 12 straight
points - eight at the foul line - over a span of 2:06 to give
CWU a 67-61 lead with 9:32 remaining.
Later with Central ahead 69-64, WWU ran off nine straight
points to take a 73-69 lead on a driving layin by guard Rico
Wilkins with 6:29 left.
The Wildcats, however, responded with a 6-0 spurt to go
ahead 83-78 with 1:54 left. Central then made all five of its
free throws in the final two minutes and Magee capped the
victory with a two-handed slam as time expired.
Blanche was the only Viking to have a field goal in the first
10 minutes, scoring 18 of WWU's first 22 points before
going to the bench with his second foul with 8:30 left in the
first half.
WWU guard John Allen had 14 points, all in the second
half and forward Zach Henifin added 12.
Central shot 52.7 percent (29-of-55) from the field, and had
20 more free throws than WWU, going 30-of-38 (78.9
percent). The Vikings were 11-of-18 at the line (61.1
percent).
Alaska Anchorage 83, Western Oregon 70
Seniors Taylor Rohde, Steve White and Lonnie Ridgeway
all produced big numbers Saturday to lead 21st-ranked
Ridgeway nailed a short jumper and White beat the shot
shot-clock buzzer with a running, baseline floater to start
the run, and Abebe Demissie provided the back breaker
with an NBA-range trey to beat the shot clock again,
making it 66-56 with 4:07 left.
Rohde finished with his 12th straight shooting effort of 50
percent or better, connecting on 8 of 12 from the field and 9
of 10 at the free-throw line. The GNAC's leading scorer
also grabbed eight rebounds as he claimed his 14th career
game of 25 points or more.
Meanwhile, White finished with a career-high 12 assists in
his 110th appearance as a Seawolf. With 320 career assists,
the Aussie is now just one shy of No. 5 on UAA's all-time
list.
Ridgeway, the team's other fourth-year senior, produced
double-figure scoring for the third straight game, tallying
16 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He also grabbed a gamehigh nine rebounds and electrified the home crowd with a
pair of dunks.
Fossman finished with 17 points, two assists and no
turnovers in 35 minutes, while Demissie added 10 points
(4-6 FG, 2-2 3FG), three assists and no turnovers.
Joining Wheadon in double figures for Western Oregon
were Kyle Long with 16 and Kolton Nelson with 13.
Seattle Pacific 78, Montana State Billings 70
David Downs scored six of his game-high 24 points inside
the final two minutes as Seattle Pacific stormed ahead early
and held off a late Montana State Billings rally for a eightpoint win at Brougham Pavilion.
The Falcons registered their sixth 20-win season in the last
eight years and their 20th overall.
The Yellowjackets (14-10, 9-7) trailed by as many as 21
points in the first half. They cut the deficit to 62-61 with
4:13 left to play on back-to-back steals and fastbreak
layups by Robert Mayes and Antoine Proctor.
Downs answered with a layin to start a six-point SPU surge
that extended the lead to seven points. He nailed two free
throws and followed with a 14-foot jump shot to forge a
72-64 advantage with 1:05 remaining.
The Falcons converted 6 of 8 free throws during the final
47 seconds, the final two from Downs, to secure the win.
Andy Poling scored 17 points for SPU, which also got 10
from Scott Morse. Proctor paced the Yellowjackets with 21
points and Mayes added 14.
SPU opened the game with seven straight points while the
Yellowjackets missed their first eight shots. Their initial
basket, a layin by Proctor, came 3:53 into the contest.
The Falcons then tallied 16 unanswered points to stretch
the lead to 23-2. Riley Stockton capped the run with a
runner in the lane with 11:14 left in the first half.
Billings responded with a 17-4 run, fueled by six points
from Preston Richards, whose layup at 3:50 drew the
visitors within 27-19. SPU scored the next five points and
led 34-25 at halftime.
Northwest Nazarene 84, Simon Fraser 78
JB Pillard scored a game and season-high 29 points to lead
Northwest Nazarene past Simon Fraser at the Johnson
Sports Center.
Pillard made 12 of 17 shots and Jonathan Hawkins added
20 points on eight of 10 shooting from the floor. A trio of
Crusaders - Jordan Nicholes, Anthony Golden and Michael
Kurimsky - each scored 10,
Kurimsky and Pillard led NNU with eight rebounds each as
the Crusaders out-rebounded the Clan 34-28.
Justin Brown paced SFU (8-16, 3-13) with 23
points. Conner Lewis and John Bantock led a three-point
charge from SFU as Lewis hit five triples to score 22 and
Bantock made four to score 14.
Simon Fraser hit 14 three-pointers in 29 attempts in
outscoring the Crusaders 42-12 from the arc.
NNU, however, shot 53.2 percent overall (33-62) and
committed just six turnovers.
Alaska Fairbanks 72, Saint Martin's 70
Alaska Fairbanks hit five of six shots from the field and
drained 11 of 12 free throws in the final 5:45 to outlast
Saint Martin's (8-17, 4-12) at the Patty Center.
Trailing 55-49 with just under six minutes to go, a threepointer by Carthal McDonald sparked a 14-4 run that
spanned 98 seconds to give the Nanooks a 63-59 lead.
SMU came right back and tied it with a pair of jumpers by
Brok Pendleton on consecutive possessions to knot it up at
63-63 with 2:10 to play.
After both teams committed turnovers, Sergej Pucar put
UAF back on top with 1:22 to go.
On the ensuing possession, Brady Bomber fired a threepointer from the right wing for the lead, but it was off the
mark and Dominique Brinson was fouled. He made both
free throws to double the lead to 67-63, but Pendleton again
answered with another bucket.
After McDonald made one of two from the line, Roger
O'Neill was fouled on a made shot, but missed the gametying free throw with 15 seconds on the clock.
From there Nico Matthews made four free throws to put the
game away.
Stefan Tica led four UAF scorers in double figures with
a team-high 19 points as he went three for three from
beyond the arc.
Pucar contributed 17 points and a team-best six rebounds,
while Brinson and Matthews had 15 and 10 points,
respectively. Matthews also dished out a game-high nine
assists.
The Nanooks shot 48 percent (23-48) for the game and
drained seven of 10 three-pointers.
Pendleton led the Saints with a game-high 23 points to go
with nine rebounds. O'Neill had 12 points, while Jeremy
Green came a point shy of a double-double with nine points
and 11 rebounds.
SMU shot nearly 60 percent in the second half and finished
53 percent (27-51) for the game. It also made seven of 14
treys.
Women's Basketball: UAA Clinches Regular-Season
Title
Tijera Mathews scored a career-high 15 points to lead a
balanced attack as 11th-ranked Alaska Anchorage claimed
the GNAC regular-season title outright with a 72-42 victory
over Western Oregon at the New P.E. Building Saturday.
The Seawolves (24-4, 15-2) also got 12 points from guard
Haley Holmstead and 11 points, five rebounds and five
assists from freshman guard Gritt Ryder to post their fifth
straight win.
Elsewhere in the GNAC, Western Washington clinched no
worse than a tie for second with a 75-64 win over Central
Washington. Seattle Pacific moved into a three-way tie for
third place with Montana State Billings and Simon Fraser
with a 70-56 road win at Billings.
Northwest Nazarene clinched a playoff berth by defeating
SFU 71-67. Meanwhile Saint Martin's snapped a nine-game
losing streak defeating Alaska Fairbanks66-58.
Western Oregon (7-20, 6-10) was led by guard Jade Haas
who had 12 points and eight rebounds.
But that was as close as the Wildcats got, as they didn't get
another field goal the rest of the way and didn't score again
until a free throw by Olivia Rethwill with 31 seconds left.
Western shot 44.8 percent (30-of-67) from the field, and
held Central to just 33.3 percent (20-of-60). Eleven of
Central's 20 field goals were three-pointers, with VanDyke
and Russell each hitting four.
Seattle Pacific 70, Montana State Billings 56
Rachel Murray pumped in 19 points, and Katie Benson had
a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds as Seattle
Pacific finished on an 18-4 scoring run to beat Montana
State Billings at Alterowitz Gym.
The double-double for Benson was her second in a row and
her fourth of the season and career.
After falling behind 10-9 in the first seven minutes, the
Seawolves answered with an 8-0 run and forged to a 33-17
lead at halftime. WOU sliced its deficit to 41-30 on Dana
Goularte's three-point play with 11:50 remaining, but the
Wolves would get no closer.
SPU guard Aubree Callen tied her season high with 17
points, and hit 8 of 10 from the free throw line. Forward
Joani Reimer pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds,
beating per previous best of eight.
The result marked UAA's 17th consecutive win over WOU,
extending the program's all-time record against any
opponent. It also gives the Seawolves at least 24 victories
for the fifth year in a row.
Bobbi Knudsen led MSUB with 17 points. The
Yellowjackets also got nine points from Kalli Stanhope, but
shot just 34.9 percent (22-63). The Falcons dominated the
backboards outrebound MSUB 47-27.
Mathews shot 5 of 9 from the floor and sank all four of her
free throws to top her previous career-high by one point,
adding four rebounds and four steals.
The Yellowjackets trailed 33-18 at half time and came out
still a little flat early in the second half.
Hanna Johansson tied for game-high honors with nine
rebounds and dished four assists.
After SPU went up by 22 (44-22), MSUB mounted a 30-8
run over the next nine minutes to pull even (52-52) with
7:47 remaining.
In addition to Haas, Melissa Fowler was also in double
figures for WOU with 11 points.
SPU, however, then countered with a 12-2 run it its own to
regain control of the contest.
Western Washington 75, Central Washington 64
Northwest Nazarene 71, Simon Fraser 67
Guard Corinn Waltrip led a balanced attack with 15 points
as Western Washington defeated Central Washington at
Sam Carver Gymnasium.
Four Crusaders scored in double-figures as the Northwest
Nazarene defeated Simon Fraser at West Gym in Burnaby.
The Vikings also got 14 points apiece from Kristin
Schramm and Britt Harris in the victory.
Jessica VanDyke led the Wildcats (8-16, 4-12) with 25
points, 18 of them in the first half, and 10 rebounds. Sophie
Russell added 21 points, 14 of them in the second half.
A VanDyke three-pointer gave Central a 32-27 lead with
three minutes left in the first half, but WWU closed the
period with a 10-2 run to take a 37-34 lead at halftime, then
opened the second half with back-to-back three-pointers by
Schramm to extend the margin to eight at 42-34.
WWU later used a 14-2 charge to take a 69-53 lead with
7:29 to play. Central battled back with a 10-2 run that
included two Russell three-pointers, narrowing the margin
to 71-63 with just under five minutes left.
Alla Dzhidzhiyeshvili scored a team-high 18, Meagan
Hingston added 14 and both Briaunna King and Chelsie
Luke scored 11.
Simon Fraser's Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe scored a GNAC
season-high 37 points and pulled down 13 rebounds but it
was a solo effort as only one other Clan player reached
double-figures in Carla Wyman with 10 points. RaincockEkunwe took 23 of SFU's 53 shots.
Raincock-Ekunwe's total equaled the sixth highest singlegame total in GNAC history.
NNU out-rebounded SFU 36-32 as both Hingston and King
grabbed nine and Luke and Dzhidzhiyeshvili had five
apiece.
Saint Martin's 66, Alaska Fairbanks 58
Trailing 51-47 with 8:28 left , Saint Martin's outscored
Alaska Fairbanks 19-7 run to earn an eight-point home win
over the Nanooks.
Jordyn Richardson led the Saints with 17 points and seven
rebounds. The Saints also got 12 points from Megan Teade
and 11 points and 10 rebounds from Andrea Schutte.
Schutt came up big in the closing and scored six points in
the final seven minutes. Her jumper inside gave the Saints a
52-51 lead with 7:05 left and SMU never trailed again.
“It was just momentum,” said Schutt, who came into the
game averaging 2.8 points per game. “With this being our
last home game was big. It gave us energy. The want to
win.”
Schutt went 3-for-4 from the field, pulled down four
offensive rebounds and had a key block in the closing
minutes.
Leading 29-22 at halftime, the Saints opened a 39-29 lead
on Chelsea Haskey's basket with 14:32 left.
But Fairbanks went on an 8-0 run closing to 39-37 on Kelly
Logue's steal and layup. Later in the half, Fairbanks went
on an 11-2 run, taking a 51-47 lead on Nicole Bozek's 3pointer.
Royal walked in all four plate appearances and finished
with two runs scored and a stolen base. Folkinga had two
hits and two RBI.
Lewis-Clark State scored single runs in the first, second,
third and sixth and three in the fourth in its win. Jordan
Payne had three hits to lead the Warrior offense,
Central (2-7) had only four hits. Its lone run came in the
third on a sacrifice fly by Jimmy Ryerson.
LCSC scored five runs against Saint Martin's in the first
inning in the final game. Trent Bridges and Alfonso
Casillas each had three hits and Sal Arena had three RBI
for the Warriors.
The Saints (0-11) were led by shortstop Josh Grenier with
three hits and three RBI. Bobby Twedt had two hits.
Crusaders Split Two Games With East Bay
Northwest Nazarene overcame a 2-0 deficit against Cal
State East Bay (5-4) scoring three runs in the ninth, but an
error then set up a two-run walk off home run by Eddie
Rettagliata in the bottom of the inning as the Crusaders
sustained their first loss of the season 4-3 at Pioneer Field.
NNU, however, bounced back to win the second game 7-3
to improve to 7-1 on the season.
But the Saints answered with a 9-0 run to pull ahead 56-51
on Teade's basket with 4:28 left.
A single by third baseman Kaleb DeHass and a two-run
double by second baseman Jon Matos had given NNU the
lead before a one-out error led to Rettagliata's blast.
Fairbanks, which lost its eighth straight game, was led by
Nicole Hartzog, Autumn Greene and Nicole Bozek with 11
points each. Taylor Altenburg had 10 points.
Charles Pollock pitched seven innings and allowing just
four hits and one earned run but had to settle for a nodecision.
Baseball: Wolves Beat Central Washington
In the second game, NNU used a five-run third inning to
earn the split. The Crusaders scored their runs on a basesloaded walk to centerfielder Sean McDonald, a bunt single
by Greg Hata, two ground outs and a RBI double by Logan
Parker.
Western Oregon scored three runs in the fifth and two in
the sixth then turned the ball over to reliever AJ Burke in
defeating Central Washington 6-3 at the the Inland Cellular
tournament at Harris Field in Lewiston Saturday.
In Saturday's final two games, Lewis-Clark State beat the
Wildcats 7-1 and Saint Martin's 12-6.
Sacrifice flies by Kris Bos and DeHaas in the fifth and
sixth completed the scoring.
Western Oregon (9-3) trailed 2-1 entering the bottom of the
fifth before scoring three runs on a single by Bo Folkinga, a
sacrifice fly by Kyle Blackwell and a wild pitch.
Meanwhile, George Casper pitched three innings, allowing
just two hits and an unearned run to save the game for
starter Patrick Patterson, who scattered eighth hits in six
innings in picking up his first win.
The Wolves then scored twice in the sixth as Scott David
put WOU up 5-3 with a run scoring single before Royal
stole home.
Hata, Ben Clare and DeHass all had two hits for NNU.
DeHass finished the twinbill with five hits in seven at bats,
two runs scored and two RBI.
Burke allowed two hits over the final three while fanning
five of the 10 hitters he faced to record the save after Travis
Bradshaw (3-0) was touched up for 12 hits (four by
Brandon Wang and two each by David Leid, Brady
Kincannon and Glen Reser), but just three runs, during the
first six.
MSUB Loses Twice at Colorado Pueblo
Colorado State-Pueblo scored in the sixth and seventh to
edge Montana State Billings 2-1 in its opener, then
pounded out 15 hits in the nightcap in a 12-3 win at
Rawlings Field in Pueblo.
In the opener, the Yellowjackets took a 1-0 lead into the
sixth behind the pitching of Samuel Peterson and a secondinning home run by Brody Miller.
The Thunderbirds, however, tied the game on a double by
Chase Lacomb, then got the game-winning RBI on a oneout, bases-loaded bunt by Derek DiCarlo in the seventh.
MSUB had just five hits in the contest, two by Ty Gilmore.
Gilmore also had one hit in the second game. However, the
'Jackets managed just four safeties. Pueblo took the early
lead scoring five runs in the first and never looked back.
Softball: Wildcats Rally From Seven Down to Earn
Split
Central Washington scored eight runs in the seventh inning
to rally from a 8-3 deficit and defeat Northwest Nazarene
11-9 earning a split of a GNAC doubleheader Saturday at
Halle Field.
In Saturday's other games, Saint Martin's swept Western
Oregon 14-9 and 6-5.
The Crusaders won the first game 2-1 as Cara Duckworth
allowed seven hits and just one unearned run in seven
innings and were on the verge of earning a split of the fourgame series leading 8-1 midway through the contest.
NNU was still up by six going into the final frame before
CWU put together six hits including RBI singles by Kyleen
Sweepe, Cassi Ellis, Kristina Sherriff and Jordan Zurfluh
and two fielder's choice RBIs to tie the game.
Elena Carter then singled down the right field line for two
runs to break the 9-9 deadlock.
Breanna Thomas led CWU with three hits. Thomas, Jen
Schwartz and Carter each drove in two runs. Arielle Chao
had three hits and Elizabeth Beaty hit a three-run home run
to lead NNU to its early lead.
In the first game, NNU got runs in the third and fifth on a
ground out by Duckworth and a single by Chao.
CWU (4-5, 3-1) countered in the sixth on a RBI double by
Zurfluh, but Duckworth got out of the inning and then
allowed just one hit in the seventh in earning NNU (1-7, 13) its first win of the season in eight contests.
Friday, Feb. 17
GNAC Indoor: Worthen, Boyes, Gross Set Records
Seattle Pacific's Ali Worthen became the all-time leading
women's point scorer in the history of the Great Northwest
Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field championship
meet Friday finishing first in the long jump with a leap of
18-9 1/4.
Worthen, who won the long jump for the third time (2009,
2011 and 2012), increased her all-time career point total to
82 breaking the mark of 76 set by SPU's Jessica Pixler
between 2007 and 2010.
She was one of three individual record-setters Friday at
Jackson's Track in Nampa, Idaho, along with Brennan
Boyes of Central Washington and Katy Gross of SPU.
Simon Fraser's men's distance medley relay team also set a
meet record.
Boyes won his second high jump title in three years setting
a meet record with a winning mark of 6-9. He took the title
in a jump-off with Logan Myers of Western Washington
after both athletes had cleared 6-8.
Boyes, who won his first title in 2010, broke the meet
record of 6-8 3/4 set five years ago by Cameron Bailey of
CWU.
Gross won the pentathlon with a meet record score of 3,469
points, improving on her winning score last year of 3,297,
which was the first year the event had been contested.
Joy Warrington of Northwest Nazarene, Kati Davis and
Manny Melo both of Central Washington, Tanner Rottrup
of Montana State Billings and both of Simon Fraser's
distance medley relay foursomes were also winners.
Warrington, who also finished first in 2010, won the
women's weight throw with a toss of 53-1.
Melo took the title in the long jump with a leap of 23-2 3/4,
edging out two former WOU long jump champions Matson Hardie (2010) and Kyle Lane (2011) who finished
second (23-1 3/4) and third (23-0 3/4), respectively.
Davis won the women's pole vault with a mark of 12-5 1/2
winning on fewer misses over Karis Anderson of Western
Washington. Both athletes added five inches to their
previous provisional national qualifying marks establishing
marks that rank second in GNAC history.
Rottrup won the men's shot with a put of 50-2 capping the
best day in MSUB history at the conference meet.
Rottrup became the first Yellowjacket to win a title in the
meet's history and MSUB's men's point total of 23 was
more than its previous best of 16 in the 2010 meet.
Its women also scored 23 points, which already is its
second highest total trailing only the 30 1/2 points it earned
at the 2011 meet.
MSUB finished Day 1 of the two-day meet in third place in
the men's division, trailing only Central Washington (41)
and Western Washington (31 1/2).
The 'Jacket women are tied for fourth with Central
Washington behind nine-time defending champion Seattle
Pacific (41), Western Washington (34) and Northwest
Nazarene (32).
Simon Fraser won the two distance medley relay events.
Ryan Brockerville, Stuart Ellenwood, Keir Forster and
Adam Reid won the men's race in a meet record time of
10:04.56, while Lindsay Butterworth, Michaela Kane, Sara
Sawatzky and Abbey Vogt won the women's relay in a time
of 12:11.42.
But in the bottom of the inning, a triple by Jordan Payne
and two intentional walks loaded the bases setting the stage
for Castillas' game-winning hit.
Baseball: Bielec Leads Wildcats Past Saints
Aaron Vaughn and Sean McDonald each produced solid
pitching performances to lead Northwest Nazarene to a 7-5,
3-2 sweep of Cal State East Bay at Pioneer Field in
Hayward.
Lead-off hitter Brett Bielec scored four runs and drove in
another to lead Central Washington to a 12-3 win over
Saint Martin's in the first game of a baseball tournament
Friday at Lewiston's Harris Field.
The Saints also lost to Western Oregon 19-2 to fall to 0-10
on the season. The Wolves (8-3) then lost to Lewis-Clark
State 14-13 in the final game of the day.
Bielec had three hits including two singles and triple and
also stole two bases to lead Central Washington (2-5) to its
win.
Central also got three hits from Ethan Sterkel and two each
from DH David Leid and catcher Kyle Sani.
CWU trailed 3-2 before scoring eight runs in the fifth. That
inning featured seven hits including a pair of two-run
doubles by Sterkel and Brandon Wang.
CWU starter Brandon Rohde (1-1) pitched 6 2/3 innings
allowing seven hits and three runs.
Center fielder AJ Royal had four hits and shortstop Blake
Miller, DH Kyle Blackwell and third baseman Griff Boyd
each had three hits in Western Oregon's victory. Right
fielder David Amberson had five RBI.
In all the Wolves (8-2) had a total of 23 hits including eight
doubles, one triple and two home runs (by Royal and
Amberson).
Miller tied the GNAC single-game doubles record with
three. It's the 22nd time in conference history a player has
had three doubles in a contest.
Grady Wood picked up his third win against no losses,
allowing five hits in seven innings. He did allow an earned
run for the first time this season giving up two and now has
a 0.82 ERA in 22 innings.
Western Oregon scored four runs in the ninth against LCSC
to tie that game, but the Warriors got the winning run in the
bottom of the ninth on a single by Alfonso Casillas, his
fifth RBI of the game.
WOU's Bo Folkinga hit two home runs and drove in six
runs. He had a two-run shot in the first and a grand slam to
key a six-run fifth inning.
In the ninth WOU scored on a single by Griff Boyd and an
error and then Matt Nylen tied the game with a two-run
double.
Vaughn, McDonald Key Crusader Sweep of Cal State
East Bay
Vaughn surrendered just one run on three hits in six innings
of relief to earn the victory in the opener.
Tied 4-4 after three innings, CSU East Bay took a one-run
lead in the fourth but the Crusaders tied it back up in the
sixth when Charlie Gorzo singled and then scored on a
Jamie Mitchell pinch-hit sacrifice fly ball to center field.
NNU (6-0) plated the game-winners in the top of the ninth
as Kaleb DeHass led off with a single, Mitchell singled and
Jon Matos doubled home DeHass.
After a McDonald line-drive out to the second baseman,
Derek Bettinson earned his second RBI of the day, singling
to score Mitchell.
Logan Parker led the Crusaders at the plate, going 4 for 5
with a pair of RBIs.
Parker, last year's GNAC batting champion, played his first
game of the season after sitting out last weekend's action
due to injury and doubled home a pair of runs in a four-run
third inning. Bettinson and Matos each finished with two
hits .
In the second game, McDonald allowed two first-inning
runs on three hits and then cruised through the game,
giving up just two hits over the final six frames to earn his
second win in as many starts.
Zach Steele finished 2 for 3 in Game 2. He had a firstinning RBI double and scored the game-winner in the sixth
on a sacrifice fly by Fernando Robles.
Comer's Three Hits Key MSUB Victory in Season
Opener
Montana State Billings built a 6-0 lead then held on to
defeat Colorado State Pueblo 7-5 Friday at Rawlings Field
in Pueblo in its season opener. It was the first game of a
four-game series.
After getting all six of their hits, including three by Seattle
University transfer Matt Comer, in the first four innings,
MSUB was no-hit the final five innings by Kyle Clemens.
Treasure Valley transfer Derek Allen gave up five hits and
two runs in six innings to get the win for MSUB. One of
Comer's hits was a leadoff home run that keyed a three-run
second inning.
DH Jordan Carlson later drove in two runs in the inning
with a single. Second baseman Brody Miller then capped a
three-run fourth with another two-run single.
as the 11th ranked Seawolves earned their second GNAC
regular-season title, having shared the 2008-09 crown with
Seattle Pacific.
Softball: CWU Sweeps Crusaders In Conference
Openers
The Saints (7-18, 2-13) got game-highs of 20 points and
nine rebounds from forward Chelsea Haskey but no other
SMU player scored more than four points.
First baseman Liz Jusko had five hits to lead Central
Washington to a 11-2, 9-4 doubleheader sweep of
Northwest Nazarene Friday at Halle Field in Nampa.
The games were the first conference contests of the season
for both team. CWU improved to 3-4, while NNU
remained winless in six games.
The Wildcats scored seven runs in the fifth inning of the
opener to snap a 2-2 tie as they combined five hits, a walk
and three Crusader errors.
Molly Coppinger and Breanna Thomas had RBI singles in
the frame. Coppinger added another RBI single in the sixth
as the Wildcats scored twice to end the game on the eightrun rule.
CWU outhit NNU 15-7 as Jusko and Coppinger had three
each. Thomas, Jen Schwartz, Elena Carter and Amanda
Hopkins each had two to help back the pitching of Maria
Gau, who allowed just two runs in six innings.
Jusko and Jordan Zurfluh each had two hits and two RBI in
the second game as the Wildcats completed the sweep.
Each team hit two home runs. Carter and Carrina Wagner
had solo leadoff shots for CWU in the second and seventh
innings, while Kristin Refsland and Arielle Chao homered
in the fourth and fifth, respectively, for NNU.
Thursday, Feb. 16
UAA led just 14-13 midway through the first half before
taking over with a 14-2 surge. The Seawolves took a 35-18
advantage into the locker room and extended their lead
throughout the second half.
Robison did most of her damage early and finished with 14
points on 6-of-11 shooting, seven rebounds and two blocks.
Johansson tallied the majority of her 17 points in the
second half, shooting 8 of 12 and grabbing all seven of her
rebounds on the offensive glass.
Point guard Sasha King had seven points, three assists and
four of UAA's 15 team steals, while Tijera Mathews had
nine points, five rebounds and two steals in 13 minutes.
Western Washington 75, Northwest Nazarene 68
Guard Corinn Waltrip scored a game-high 18 points,
including the go-ahead three-pointer with 2:50 to play,
lifting Western Washington to a 75-68 home triumph over
Northwest Nazarene.
Megan Hingston led the Crusaders (14-9, 8-7) with 16
points and Briaunna King grabbed a game-high 18
rebounds for NNU, which had a 42-34 advantage on the
boards.
The game was tightly fought throughout, with WWU never
leading by more than five points until the final 42 seconds
and NNU never being up by more than four.
Women's Basketball: Seawolves Clinch Top Seed
Hanna Johansson and Kaylie Robison combined for 31
points as Alaska Anchorage rolled to a 74-42 road victory
over Saint Martin's Thursday clinching at least a share of
the GNAC title and the top seed in the league's post-season
tournament.
Elsewhere Western Washington stayed one game ahead of
Simon Fraser (15-8, 10-5) and idle Montana State Billings
(10-5) in the battle for the No. 2 seed - and a first round
bye.
The Vikings (17-6, 11-4) outscored Northwest Nazarene
75-68 while Simon Fraser edged Central Washington 7066.
Western Oregon (7-18, 6-9) kept its playoff hopes alive
pulling to within two games of sixth-place NNU with a 9081 win at Alaska Fairbanks.
UAA (23-4, 14-2) got eight points, six assists, five
rebounds and four steals from freshman guard Gritt Ryder
The Crusaders took a 63-62 lead on a layup by King with
4:17 to play, but WWU went ahead to stay on Waltrip's
three-pointer.
A pair of baskets by center Britt Harris helped the Vikings
grab a 67-65 advantage with a minute remaining, and then
WWU went 6-of-6 on free throws, four of them by Waltrip,
to maintain the advantage in the dying seconds.
Harris finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Forward
Kristin Schramm and guard Trishi Williams each had 13
points for the Vikings.
Chelsie Luke came off the bench to score 16 points for
NNU. Heather Adams had 11 and King had 10.
Simon Fraser 70, Central Washington 66
Chelsea Reist scored 19 points, including 13 in the second
half, to lead Simon Fraser past Central Washington at West
Gym.
The Clan also got 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds
from Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe who extended her own
GNAC record for double-doubles to 20. Raincock-Ekunwe
helped SFU control the backboards 49-39.
Also in double figures for SFU were Kristina Collins with
12 points and Carla Wyman with 11.
Jessica Van Dyke and Alex Dunn led Central Washington
(8-15, 4-11) with 18 points apiece. Van Dyke made four of
seven treys. Sophie Russell chipped in with a dozen points.
But each time WOU answered in building a 49-41 halftime
lead.
In the second half WOU built its lead to 14 on a threepointer by Rylee Peterson (8:29) but the Nanooks fought
back to make it a five-point game with 41 seconds left.
The Wolves then broke the Nanooks' press on back-to-back
possessions with layups by Haas and Clifford to seal the
game.
Men's Basketball: Blanche Scores 30 in WWU Win
The Clan scored eight of the first 10 points in the game on
the way to building a 30-19.
By the break, the Clan led 35-27, however, the Wildcats
slowly chipped away over the first 10 minutes of the
second half climbing to within two on a three-pointer by
Courtney Johnson with 9:03 left.
CWU eventually went ahead 64-62 on two foul shots by
Dunn with 2:31 left, but SFU then made eight of eight free
throws in the final 1:23 to get the win.
Reist tied it with 1:23 left. Wyman gave the Clan a 66-64
lead with 1:06 remaining with two charity tosses.
Raincock-Ekunwe and Erin Chambers each added two
more from the line in the final 15 seconds.
Meanwhile, Central made just one of five shots and had a
turnover in the final 2 ½ minutes.
Western Oregon 90, Alaska Fairbanks 81
Lorrie Clifford had a career-high 28 points and Western
Oregon scored a season-best 90 in a nine-point home win
over Alaska Fairbanks.
Clifford hit 9-of-14 shots from the field and all eight of her
free throw attempts to lead the Wolves to their third straight
home victory.
WOU also got double figure efforts from Jade Haas (15
points), Dana Goularte (11) and Jacqee Jasinski (10).
Alaska Fairbanks was led by Nicole Bozek with 25 points.
Bozek made 15 of 16 free throws. UAF also got 19 points
from Nicole Hartzog and 16 points and six steals from
Autumn Green.
Western Oregon shot 56.9 percent (33-58) as Jasinski and
Elise Miller both dished out five assists. WOU held UAF to
38 percent shooting (24-63).
"Lorrie had a very good night tonight and I thought we
passed the ball very crisply," said WOU head coach Greg
Bruce. "We did some very nice things offensively tonight."
Western Oregon never trailed after the 13:43 mark in the
first half but Alaska Fairbanks kept it interesting cutting the
lead to one multiple times in the first half.
Rory Blanche scored a career-high 30 points to lead No. 10
Western Washington to a 77-67 GNAC victory over
Northwest Nazarene Thursday at the Johnson Sports
Center.
Blanche finished 13 of 15 from the floor and grabbed seven
rebounds pacing the Vikings (23-3, 14-1) to their 10th
straight win.
WWU, which also set a GNAC record with its eighth
consecutive conference road victory, clinched no worse
than second place assuring itself a first-round bye in the
upcoming conference playoffs.
A win at Central Washington (12-11, 6-9) Saturday would
make the Vikings the only team in GNAC history to go
undefeated in conference road games and also would clinch
WWU the top seed for the playoffs.
Alaska Anchorage (19-5, 13-3) remained 1 1/2 games back
of WWU keeping alive its mathematical hopes for the top
seed rallying from a halftime deficit to defeat Saint Martin's
81-59.
Western Oregon (17-7, 10-5) clinched a conference
winning season and guaranteed itself no worse than a fifth
seed in the playoffs with a 60-42 win at Alaska Fairbanks,
while Central Washington moved a game ahead of NNU
(11-12, 5-10) in the battle for the sixth and final playoff
berth by defeating Simon Fraser 92-79.
Keith Moilanen led Northwest Nazarene with 23 points and
both Jonathan Hawkins and JB Pillard reached doubledigits with 16 and 10 points, respectively, in its loss to
Western Washington.
Pillard matched Blanche with a game-high seven rebounds,
but WWU out-rebounded the Crusaders 26-21.
WWU's John Allen scored 15 points, dished-out a gamehigh eight assists and grabbed six rebounds. Paul Jones was
also in double figures scoring 10 points.
The Vikings trailed 10-6 five minutes into the contest
before running off 15 consecutive points, scoring on six of
seven possessions.
WWU led 35-27 at the half and stretched the lead to as
many as 17 in the second half. The Crusaders rallied to cut
the lead to six after a Moilanen triple made it 71-65 with 57
seconds to play.
WWU, however, then made six straight free throws
finishing the game 20 of 22. The Vikings also shot 56.5
percent (26-46) from the floor and were five-of-10 from the
three-point line
The Crusaders were 23-of-47 (48.9-percent) from the floor,
9-of-21 (42.9 percent) from the three-point line and 12-of15 from the foul line.
Gibcus was perfect from the floor converting on five-offive and also grabbed a pair of rebounds in 14 minutes. He
has now converted his last eight field-goal attempts over
the past three games.
After starting 2 of 9 from the floor, the Seawolves made 31
of their final 45 shots to finish over 60 percent (.611, 33 of
54) for the second straight game.
UAA sank half of its 12 three-point tries as well, getting 10
points (2-3 3FG), four assists and no turnovers from
sophomore guard Kyle Fossman.
Alaska Anchorage 81, Saint Martin's 59
Travis Thompson scored 21 points and Liam Gibcus made
a huge contribution off the bench leading No. 21 Alaska
Anchorage to a 22-point win over Saint Martin's at the
Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
The Seawolves also got 17 points and nine rebounds from
Taylor Rohde as they outscored the Saints 44-21 in the
second half after trailing by as many as 11 in the first
period.
Saint Martin's (8-16, 4-11), which is 1-16 all-time in
Anchorage and has lost eight straight at the WFSC, was led
by 13 points apiece from forward Jeremy Green and guard
Ryan Votaw.
After grabbing a quick 4-2 lead, the Seawolves went
scoreless for five minutes and eventually fell behind 20-9
when SMU's Brok Pendleton hit a short jumper at the 8:54
mark.
Thompson got the home team on track, however, when he
grabbed an offensive rebound and drew a foul on a threepoint attempt, converting all three free throws.
The Seawolves took another hit when Rohde was whistled
for a flagrant foul – his second of the game – with the
Saints ahead 24-17 and 6:07 on the clock.
But with Rohde on the bench, UAA got an immediate lift
from his backup as Gibcus scored two quick baskets to
slice the deficit to 26-21.
Lonnie Ridgeway (11 points) converted a three-point play
with 1:26 left, and Thompson nailed back-to-back threepointers – including one right before halftime – to slice
UAA's deficit to 38-37 at the break.
Steve White tallied eight points on 4-of-6 shooting and had
a game-high eight assists.
Western Oregon 60, Alaska Fairbanks 42
Blair Wheadon tied the GNAC all-time career steal record
and scored 12 points to lead Western Oregon past Alaska
Fairbanks (4-22, 1-15) at the Patty Center.
Wheadon helped set the defensive tone for the Wolves as
they held the Nanooks to 29 percent shooting (14-49)
allowing the fewest points to a Division II opponent this
season and tying the lowest number of field goals allowed
by any GNAC team in a conference contest.
Meanwhile, WOU hit 42.3 percent of its shots (22-52) from
the field and outrebounded the Nanooks 35-29.
The Wolves put the game in their hands early in the second
half. After taking just a three-point lead into the
intermission (23-20), they used a 27-8 run to double up the
Nanooks at 50-25.
During that time WOU went to the line six times making
12-of-12 free throws. The Wolves ended the game 13-of-14
from the charity stripe.
Stefan Tica led Alaska Fairbanks with 17 points and
Carthal McDonald had a team-leading nine boards.
Wheadon poked the ball away three times to bring his
career total to 210 to tie the GNAC record of 210 set by
Grant Dykstra of Western Washington between 2002-03
and 2005-06.
Central Washington 92, Simon Fraser 79
The Saints extended to a 43-39 edge when Green
intercepted a pass at midcourt and went in for a dunk,
however the Seawolves took over after that.
Lacy Haddock scored 26 points and also had seven
rebounds and six assists and Central Washington sank 11
second-half three-pointers in a 13-point victory over Simon
Fraser at Nicholson Pavilion.
UAA converted four straight layups by different players
and then got another trey from Thompson and a layup from
Rohde to account for a game-deciding 13-0 run.
Haddock was 11 of 15 from the field and 4 of 7 from
behind the arc, and has now scored 14 or more points in
nine straight contests.
Thompson made seven of eight shots (4 of 5 from long
range) to come one point shy of his career-high. He also
had four assists.
Central Washington led by as many as nine points in the
opening period before a six-minute scoring drought
allowed the visiting Clan take a one-point advantage with
3:11 left in the half.
Haddock then ended the half scoring a jumper in the paint
and throwing down a one-handed dunk with three seconds
remaining to give his team a three-point (28-25) halftime
lead.
CWU scored the first seven points of the second half,
building a 10-point advantage less than two minutes into
the period. The Wildcats led by as many as 17 points in the
half and led by double digits for the final 7:48.
Central Washington's offense was prolific in the period,
shooting 61.5 percent from the field (24 of 39), making 11
of 16 three-pointers and outscoring Simon Fraser 64-54.
Amazingly both teams scored more points in the second
period individually than their combined first half total of
53.
Jordan Coby connected on 3 of 4 second-half treys
and Haddock made 4 of 5 threes after halftime.
Coby and Brandon Magee scored 15 points apiece, with
Magee adding five rebounds off the bench. Jody Johnson
secured his seventh double-double of the season scoring 10
points and grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds, of which
nine were of the offensive variety.
The Wildcats owned the paint, outscoring Simon Fraser 5030 under the basket, and had a 39-28 advantage in
rebounds.
Simon Fraser, which suited up only seven players, had all
five of its starters score in double figures. Justin Brown led
the way with 24 points, of which 13 came from the free
throw line. John Bantock, Jordan Sergent, and Conner
Lewis each added 14 points and Zack Frehlick had 10.
Wednesday, Feb. 15
Men's Basketball: GNAC Dominates West Regional
Rankings
GNAC teams, led by Western Washington, hold down four
of the top five slots in the inaugural men's basketball
regional rankings.
Brad Jackson's Vikings, who are ranked 10th in this week's
NABC Division II national poll, are the top-ranked team
followed by Alaska Anchorage at No. 2 and Seattle Pacific
at No. 3. Western Oregon is ranked fifth.
Alaska Anchorage is ranked 21st in the national poll and
Seattle Pacific is among "others receiving votes" and is
ranked 27th overall.
In all five of the 10 teams ranked are from the GNAC
including Montana State Billings at No. 9.
The rankings will eventually determine which five teams
join the GNAC, CCAA and Pac West champion in the
eight-team regionals.
The GNAC and CCAA will determine their champions
with post-season tournaments. The GNAC tournament will
be played Feb. 29 and Mar. 2-3 at Lacey.
Saturday's championship game will begin at 5:15 p.m. and
be televised on ROOT Sports.
If the three conference champions end up in the Top 8, the
top eight teams in the final poll will qualify.
Currently, the top eight includes four teams from the
GNAC, three from the CCAA and one from the PacWest.
West Region - 1. Western Washington (19-3); 2. Alaska Anchorage (143); 3. Seattle Pacific (19-5); 4. Dixie State (17-4); 5. Western Oregon (136); 6. Humboldt State (14-5); 7. Cal Pomona (14-5); 8. Chico State (15-5);
9. Montana State Billings (12-7); 10. BYU-Hawaii (11-6). ( Note : Records
are versus Division II teams only).
Rohde 10th in Field Goal Percentage, 19th in Scoring
Taylor Rohde of Alaska Anchorage ranks 10th in field goal
percentage (62.9) and 19th in scoring (20.4) in this week's
NCAA Division II national statistical report.
Rohde is one five GNAC players in the Top 10 including
teammate Travis Thompson, who ranks third in
assist/turnover ratio (3.31).
Anthony Golden of Northwest Nazarene ranks sixth in
three-pointers made (3.4), Nico Matthews of Alaska
Fairbanks is eighth in steals (2.9) and Kevin Davis of
Central Washington is 10th in blocks (2.6).
In team categories Alaska Anchorage's No. 2
assist/turnover rank (1.54) is the best for a GNAC team.
The Seawolves are also sixth in assists(19.4) and 10th in
scoring margin (13.5).
Seattle Pacific is fifth in rebound margin (9.8), sixth in
scoring defense (58.5) and seventh in field goal defense
(38.6).
Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings each own
two Top 10 ranks. The Crusaders are seventh (9.7) and the
Yellowjackets are eighth (9.6) in three-pointers and sixth
(77.0) and ninth (76.3), respectively, in free throw
percentage. Central Washington is sixth in blocks (5.8).
Women's
Second
Basketball:
Alaska
Anchorage
Ranked
Alaska Anchorage is ranked second in the first NCAA
Division II women's basketball West Regional rankings of
the 2012 season.
Tim Moser's squad is also ranked 11th in this week's USA
Today ESPN Division II Top 25.
The only other GNAC team to receive a vote in the national
poll was Montana State Billings, which received one ballot
point.
Joining Alaska Anchorage in the regional poll is Western
Washington at No. 6 and MSUB at No. 10.
Softball: Simon Fraser Finishes 4-1 at Las Vegas
Simon Fraser scored three runs in the eighth inning to
defeat Grand Canyon 9-6 Sunday and finish the MSUB
Desert Stinger with a 4-1 record.
The rankings will eventually determine which five teams
join the GNAC, CCAA and Pac West champion in the
eight-team regionals.
That was the best record for any of the five participating
GNAC schools in the Las Vegas tournament. The host
Yellowjackets lost to Dixie State 6-3 Sunday to finish at 32 while Western Washington fell 14-3 to Sonoma State to
end up 2-3.
The GNAC and CCAA will determine their champions
with post-season tournaments. The GNAC tournament will
be played Mar. 1-3 at Lacey. Saturday's championship
game will begin at 7:30 p.m. and be televised on ROOT
Sports.
Both Central Washington and Western Oregon won to
finish at 1-4. The Wildcats beat Cal State Monterey Bay 53 , while the Wolves nipped Academy of the Art 2-1 .
If the three conference champions end up in the Top 8, the
top eight teams in the final poll will qualify. Currently, the
top eight include four teams from the CCAA and two each
from the GNAC and PacWest.
WEST - 1. UC San Diego (23-0); 2. Alaska Anchorage (21-2); 3. Grand
Canyon (18-2); 4. Cal State Monterey Bay (15-5); 5. Cal State L.A. (14-8);
6. Western Washington (14-6); 7. Cal Poly Pomona (14-7); 8. Dixie State
(15-5); 9. Humboldt State (15-6); 10. Montana State Billings (16-8). (Note:
Records are against Division II opponents).
UAA's King Eighth in Assist/Turnover Ratio
Sasha King of Alaska Anchorage is ranked eighth in
assist/turnover ratio (2.11) for the highest national rank by
any GNAC player in this week's NCAA Division II
national statistical report.
The Seawolves have seven different team Top 10 rankings
this week including first in scoring margin (24.1) and
fourth in both rebounds (11.4) and assists (19.0).
Trisha Bouchard's three-run home run snapped a 6-6 tie in
SFU's win. Bouchard had four RBI also driving in a run
when she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the
first inning.
SFU jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first and led until the
Antelopes scored once in the sixth and twice in the seventh
to force the extra inning.
SFU was outhit 15-7 in the contest, but drew eight walks
and benefited from seven GCU errors. Kelsey Haberl and
Bouchard each had two hits for the Clan.
Carrina Wagner and Breanna Thomas each had two hits
and Maria Gau scattered seven hits in Central's win as they
handed Monterey Bay just its second loss in 10 games.
The Wildcats jumped on top 5-1 after 1 1/2 innings and
held on. Two errors contributed to their three first-inning
runs. Wagner then singled for two runs in the second.
UAA is also fifth in field goal percentage (46.2) and field
goal percentage defense (32.4), sixth in scoring (78.8) and
ninth in assist/turnovers (1.12).
Eryka Brill pitched two hitless innings to earn a save in
Western Oregon's victory. The Wolves scored both of their
runs in the first on a sacrifice fly by Ali Parkerson and a
bases-loaded walk to Kendra George.
Seattle Pacific is third in free throw percentage (79.2)
eighth in rebounds (9.2) and 10th in assists (17.5).
Four pitchers, including winner Myranda Sawyer, then
combined to four-hit AAU.
Western Washington is ninth in field goal percentage
(45.7). Central Washington is fifth in three-pointers made
(8.5) and Montana State Billings is eighth in fewest
turnovers (13.7).
Montana State Billings got home runs from Meg
Harasymczuk and Taylor Hoke in its loss. Dixie, however,
hit three in its 6-3 victory setting a tournament record with
12 total slams.
Sims Dismissed From Seattle Pacific Team
Starting senior point guard Nyesha Sims has been
dismissed from the Seattle Pacific women's basketball
team, according to head coach Julie Heisey.
Sims was the leading rebounder (9.7 per game) and the
second-leading scorer (12.4 points) for the Falcons. Her
rebounding average ranks No. 2 in the Great Northwest
Athletic Conference. She logged 10 double-doubles this
winter. Sunday, Feb. 12
Sonoma State scored 14 unanswered runs after Western
Washington got all three of its runs and two of its three hits
in the first inning against the Seawolves.
Jessica Carey led WWU with two hits, doubling for a run
and then scoring when Jackie Rothenberger was hit by a
pitch to force in a run.
Saint Martin's Splits With La Sierra
Saint Martin's split a non-conference softball doubleheader
with La Sierra (Calif.) Sunday in Riverside.
The NAIA school scored five runs in the sixth inning to
win the opener 5-2 . Both Saint runs scored in the first
inning on a double by Sam Munger and a single by Taviah
Jenkins.
Munger took a one-hit shutout into the fifth before La
Sierra struck for all five of its runs on four hits.
In the second game, SMU pounded out 16 hits including
three each by Lacey McGladrey, Megan Antonovich and
Morgan Klemm in winning 9-3 . Chelsea Felton picked up
the win in relief.
Baseball: Saints, Wildcats Lose in California
Chico State scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to
break a 1-1 tie and complete a four-game sweep of Saint
Martin's with a 3-1 victory Sunday at Nettleton Stadium in
Chico.
Cal State Monterey Bay won its four-game series with
Central Washington with a 9-3 win at Seaside. The Otters
won three of the four contests.
Saint pitcher Thomas DeBoer had a strong outing against
Chico pitching a two-hit shutout through four innings and
taking a four-hitter into the seventh.
jump (46-6 3/4) and Lindsey Butterworth of Simon Fraser
in the women's 1000 (2:54.71).
Cal Rosenberg of Western Washington and Tim Lundy of
Western Oregon each finished fourth in the men's pole
vault top section to take over the season lead in the GNAC
in that event with a vault of 15-5.
Tyler Will of Western Washington tied for first place in the
other section with a vault of 14-7 1/4.
Kishia Mitchell of Seattle Pacific had the GNAC's fastest
time of the year in the women's 60 (7.91) and Madison
McClung of Western Oregon ran the quickest 200 (25.81).
UW Open (Feb. 12 at Seattle, WA): Men (Top 4): 60 - 4. Mark
Pangilinan, WWU, 7.06. 400 - 4. Jonathon Poolman, WWU, 49.66. 3000 3. Dak Riek, WWU, 8:31.94. 4x400 Relay - 2. Western Oregon 3:22.55.
High Jump - 3. Brett Watson, WWU, and Lewis Meyers, CWU, 6-6 3/4.
Weight Throw - 4. Sam Washington, SMU, 55-4 1/4. Pole Vault - 1. Tyler
Will, WWU, 14-7 1/4; 3. Joseph Keeton, SMU, 14-1 1/4. Pole Vault (Top
Section) - 4. Cal Rosenberg, WWU, and Tim Lundy, WOU, 15-5. Triple
Jump - 1. Bryan Mack, CWU, 46-6 3/4. Women (Top 6): 1000 - 1.
Lindsey Butterworth, SFU, 2:54.71. High Jump - 4. Katie Pelchar, WOU,
and Tayler Fettig, CWU, 5-5. Pole Vault (Top Section) - 4. Karis
Anderson, WWU, 12-0.
Women's Basketball: Central Washington Wins by 81
DeBoer then gave up a bunt single and a double and Cody
Foster then delivered a two-run single off of reliever Kaleb
Wilson to earn Chico the win.
Kelsi Jacobson scored a career-high 23 points to lead seven
players in double figures as Central Washington beat Walla
Walla 115-34 in a non-conference game Sunday at
Nicholson Pavilion.
The Saints managed just four hits - two by Zach Leonard and one-run (on a throwing error in the fifth) - off Chico
starter Nick Baker in seven innings to drop SMU to 0-8 on
the season.
The point total and margin were the largest in CWU
history, The point total surpassed the previous record of
111 against Whitworth on Dec. 12, 1977.
CSU Monterey Bay scored four runs in the first and three
in the fourth in building a 7-0 lead against Central
Washington.
In addition to Jacobson the Wildcats got 13 points from
Stacy Albrecht and Sophie Russell, 11 from Taylor Fettig
and 10 each from Alex Dunn, Daisy Burke and Amber
Moser.
CWU (1-5) finally got on the board in the sixth on a single
by DH David Leid and scored twice in the seventh on a
home run by Brandon Wang and a single by Brett Bielec.
Saturday, Feb. 11
Bielec, Derrick Webb and Leid all had two hits for the
Wildcats off four CSUMB pitchers, including starter Chris
Neifert who pitched four scoreless innings to pick up the
win.
Knudsen tied the GNAC season-high of 32 by NNU's
Megan Hingston and WOU's Rylee Peterson.
Track and Field: Riek Earns Top 10 Rank in 3000
Dak Riek of Western Washington ran the seventh fastest
3000 meter time in GNAC history in finishing third Sunday
in the UW Open in a time of 8:31.94.
Riek's time was the only new entry in the GNAC All-Time
Top 10 list in Sunday's meet.
Three GNAC athletes finished first in the meet including
Bryan Mack of Central Washington in the men's triple
Women's Basketball: Knudsen's 32 Keys MSUB Win
Bobbi Knudsen tied a GNAC season-high with 32 points to
lead Montana State Billings to a 69-60 road win at
Northwest Nazarene Saturday afternoon.
In other games in the GNAC, Alaska Anchorage (22-4, 132) moved a step closer to the No. 1 seed for the conference
playoffs which begin Mar. 1 at Lacey, with a 77-57 home
win against Simon Fraser.
Western Washington (16-6, 10-4) remained in second 2 1/2
back of UAA with a 91-62 road win at Alaska Fairbanks.
Central Washington (7-14, 4-10) shocked Seattle Pacific
80-75 at Ellensburg, ending a nine-game losing skid to the
Falcons (15-8, 9-6) and Western Oregon (6-18, 5-9) beat
Saint Martin's 67-66 in overtime at Monmouth.
The Clan's Erin Chambers hit a three-pointer with 18:44 to
give the visitors their largest lead (41-32) but the
Seawolves clamped down on defense and made their run at
that point.
Knudsen made four first-half three-pointers as Montana
State Billings (18-8, 10-5), which moved all alone into
third place, built a 31-26 lead at the break and then went up
by seven (35-28) early in the second half
Back-to-back layups by Johansson and Robison drew UAA
within 41-37, and Robison converted a three-point play off
a perfect backdoor feed from Sasha King, trimming the
deficit to 43-42 at the 15-minute mark.
Northwest Nazarene (14-8, 8-6) ran off seven consecutive
points at that point to tie the game at 35-35 and led briefly
until Monica Grimsrud's trey at 14:13 put MSUB ahead for
good at 41-39.
Alysa Horn nailed a 15-foot jumper to give the Seawolves
the lead, and King stole the ball and drove the length of the
court for a layup to force the Clan into a 30-second timeout.
Later the Yellowjackets used a 13-2 run to take command
going ahead 61-49 with 5:26 left. That run featured two
three-pointers by Kalli Stanhope, her only points of the
contest. Stanhope did lead her team with five assists.
Northwest Nazarene wasn't able to cut its deficit to single
digits until Chelsie Luke hit a three-pointer with 19 seconds
left.
Knudsen was MSUB's only double figure scorer,
connecting on 13 of 19 shots.
Briaunna King paced NNU with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The Crusaders' Megan Hingston also had a double-double
(14 points, 11 rebounds). Luke finished with 11 points and
nine rebounds.
NNU dominated the backboards 48-27, but MSUB
overcame that stat by making 11 of 25 three-pointers and
having six fewer turnovers (11-17). Northwest Nazarene
was just three of 17 from the arc.
Alaska Anchorage 77, Simon Fraser 57
Freshman Gritt Ryder scored 14 of her career-high 20
points in the second half as Alaska Anchorage outscored
the Clan 47-21 to overcome a 36-30 halftime deficit.
The Seawolves also got big performances from Hanna
Johansson and Kaylie Robison in avenging one of their two
Division II losses.
The Clan had their three-game winning streak stopped
despite a 14-point, 14-rebound effort from center Nayo
Raincock-Ekunwe. The GNAC's leading scorer and
rebounder put up big numbers yet again, but shot just 4 of
17 from the field.
SFU, which knocked off UAA 77-69 in British Columbia
last month, started hot from three-point range, hitting its
first four treys.
The Clan (14-8, 9-5) erased a 25-20 deficit midway through
the first half and scored the final six points of the stanza to
take a 36-30 lead at the break – UAA's first halftime deficit
on its primary home court this year.
Tied at 46-46 a few minutes later, Tijera Mathews scored
on a baseline drive to give the Seawolves the lead for good.
Robison banked home consecutive layups on passes from
King a few moments later to extend to a 57-47 advantage,
and SFU could get no closer than eight points the rest of the
way.
After going scoreless with one rebound and two turnovers
in the first half, Robison came alive after the break, scoring
all 13 of her points on 6-of-7 shooting, plus five rebounds,
an assist, a block and a steal.
Meanwhile, Robison's front court partner, Johansson,
provided a vintage performance with 13 points (6-8 FG), 12
rebounds, six assists and two steals.
It was the 10th double-double this year for Johansson as
she moved into the No. 3 spot on UAA's career rebounding
list with 747 boards.
King topped her career high in assists for the second
straight game, dishing 11 dimes and adding a career-best
six rebounds, while Ryder was lights-out from the field,
hitting 8 of 10 shots, including all four of her threepointers.
A 5-9 true freshman from Denmark, Ryder bettered her
previous best of 15 points, helping the Seawolves shoot 55
percent (33 of 60) from the field.
Junior forward Alysa Horn was the fourth Seawolf in
double figures with 12 points (4-5 FG, 2-3 3FG, 2-2 FT),
adding three assists with no turnovers.
Joining Raincock-Ekunwe, who extended her own GNAC
record with her 19th double-double of the season, in double
figure scoring were Kristina Collins with 16 points and
Chelsea Reist with 12. Collins made 4-of-5 treys.
Western Washington 91, Alaska Fairbanks 62
Western Washington, combined with SFU's loss, moved
into sole possession of second place with a 91-62 win at
Alaska Fairbanks.
Guard Kristin Schramm had game-highs of 16 points and
seven rebounds, Also in double figures for the Vikings
were reserve Kayla Bernsen with 15, Corinn Waltrip with
13 points and Britt Harris with 12. Waltrip also had five
assists.
The Wildcats also outrebounded SPU 42-37 as Dunn had
eight and Courtney Johnson and Albrecht had seven each.
Dunn was also the game's assist leader with six.
Schramm, who scored all of her points in the first half, was
7-of-10 from the field as the Vikings shot at a 56.7 percent
(38-of-67) clip and had a 48-24 rebound advantage.
Western Oregon 67, Saint Martin's 66
UAF (6-19, 2-13) was led by Nicole Bozek with 15 points.
Nicole Hartzog had 14 and Benissa Bulaya added 10.
WWU used an 18-6 run to take a 35-18 lead with 7:12 left
in the first half and led 50-29 at halftime.
The Vikings increased their lead to 66-33 with 12:01 to
play and UAF never got closer than 27 after that. The
Nanooks have lost six straight and their last eight to the
Vikings.
Bozek made 12 of 12 free throws and became just the fifth
player in GNAC history to have 1,100 points, 600 rebounds
and 400 made free throws.
She currently stands at 1,149 points, 616 rebounds and 403
made free throws.
Central Washington 80, Seattle Pacific 75
Sophie Russell scored 19 points leading four players in
double figures and Central Washington overcame a 13point first-half deficit to stun Seattle Pacific at Nicholson
Pavilion.
The win ended a nine-game series skid against the Falcons
for the Wildcats who had lost 19 of their last 20 contests
with Seattle Pacific.
CWU fell behind 30-17, but then went on a 15-2 run to tie
the game (32-32) with 2:01 remaining in the half on a layup
by Stacy Albrecht.
The game was tied a total of nine times, including seven in
the second half before the Wildcats took the lead for good
at 69-66 on a three-pointer by Russell with 4:33 remaining.
From there Central was able to stay ahead by at least three
points getting a three-pointer from Jessica VanDyke and
eight free throws including five by Alex Dunn in earning its
first win over the Falcons since Feb., 2007.
Elise Miller scored a career-high 19 points, including all
seven of Western Oregon's points in overtime, to lead the
Wolves to a 67-66 victory against Saint Martin's.
Miller, a freshman from Milwaukie, Ore., made 9-of-11
field goals and also had three assists and six steals as the
Wolves recorded their second straight home victory.
Miller also provided two of the biggest shots of the game.
With WOU trailing 66-62 with 1:26 remaining, she found
herself open on the right wing and knocked down a trey to
bring the Wolves within one.
She then stole the ball on the ensuing possession and raced
down the court for a layup to put Western Oregon in front
67-66 with 33 seconds remaining.
Saint Martin's (7-17, 2-12) had a 58-55 lead in regulation,
but Jacqee Jasinski's three-point play tied the game with
1:21 left.
The Saints then went ahead 59-58 on a free throw by
Jordyn Richardson, but WOU reclaimed the lead with 22
seconds left on a layup by Jade Haas.
SMU's Jori Skorpik then made one of two free throws with
11 seconds remaining to force overtime.
The Wolves had to fight and claw throughout most of the
contest. They fell behind by eight in the first half (25-17)
but fought back to bring it to four points (29-25) at the half.
WOU opened the second half by scoring the first eight
points to take their first lead since the opening basket. The
game remained tight the rest of the way with seven ties and
11 lead changes occurring during the second period.
Jasinski finished the game with a career-high 10 points.
Haas added nine points and a team-leading seven rebounds.
Chelsea Haskey had a double-double with 13 points and 10
rebounds to lead the Saints. SMU also got 12 points from
Richardson and 10 from Emily Lashua.
In addition to Russell, CWU got 18 points from VanDyke,
15 from Dunn and 12 from Albrecht in the win.
Men's Basketball: Vikings Extend Win Streak To Nine
Katie Benson led Seattle Pacific with 22 points and 10
rebounds, while Rachel Murray had 14 points and Nyesha
Sims had 12 points.
Nikolaos Stathopoulos (1) and Sergej Pucar (35) provide
defense on Zach Henifin in Saturday's game at Sam Carver
Gym (Photo by Dan Levine)
CWU, which came into the game ranked sixth nationally in
three-pointers made averaging 8.2, connected on 12 of 30
while holding the Falcons to just two treys in 20 attempts.
VanDyke and Russell were both 5-of-11 from the arc.
Guard Richard Woodworth scored seven of his 15 points in
the final three minutes, including a go-ahead three-pointer
with 2:37 to play as Western Washington fought off an
upset bid to defeat Alaska Fairbanks 77-72 Saturday at
Carver Gym.
The Vikings (22-3, 13-1) have won nine straight and need
just two wins in their final four games to wrap up up the
top seed for the conference playoffs that begin Feb. 29 at
Lacey.
Alaska Anchorage (18-5, 12-3) and Seattle Pacific (19-5,
11-4) stayed on the Vikings' heels with victories.
UAA beat Simon Fraser 85-75 to remain 1 1/2 back. The
Falcons beat Central Washington 72-64 to stay within 2 1/2
of WWU.
Western Oregon (16-7, 9-5) and Montana State Billings
(14-9, 9-6) also earned victories.
The Wolves outscored Saint Martin's 68-48, while the
Yellowjackets defeated Northwest Nazarene 83-73.
In addition to Woodworth, the Vikings also got game highs
of 19 points and 10 rebounds from Rory Blanche, 13 points
from John Allen and 11 each from Zach Henifin and Paul
Jones.
UAF, which suffered its 12th straight loss, was led by
Dominique Brinson with 17 points. Sergej Pucar added 15
and Nico Matthews and Stefan Tica chipped in with 12 and
11 points, respectively.
UAF (4-21, 1-14) held a 50-41 lead with 12 minutes left
and still had a four-point margin (67-63) on a fastbreak
layin by Brinson with 3:31 to go.
But Paul Jones hit a layin in traffic, Henifin, despite giving
away six inches, blocked a Pucar shot, and then
Woodworth hit a trey with 2:37 left giving the Vikings a
68-67 lead.
Two possessions later, WWU worked the shot clock and
Jones hit a three-pointer, putting the Vikings in control (7167) with 1:04 to go.
A Nico Matthews layin cut the margin to two with 34.5
seconds left, but WWU hit six straight free throws to seal
the victory.
The Vikings finished 19-of-21 (90.5 percent) at the foul
line, with Blanche and Henifin each perfect in seven
attempts. One of the two misses was by Allen who came
into the game with a streak of 21 consecutive free throws
made.
The win was the 509th career triumph for WWU coach
Brad Jackson, putting him alone in third place among the
winningest collegiate coaches in the state of Washington
history.
Rohde scored 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting as the
Seawolves connected at a blazing 65.2 percent clip from
the field.
The Clan (8-14, 3-11) got a game-high 28 points from
guard Justin Brown, who played all 40 minutes in the loss.
UAA, which swept the season series for the second straight
year, jumped to early leads of 12-2 and 27-8. Ridgeway
came off the bench to score 15 of his season-high 18 points
in the first half, spotting UAA a 42-23 lead at the break.
SFU did not go quietly, however, starting the second half
with a 9-0 run and trimming its deficit as low as 60-58 on
Connor Lewis's three-pointer at the 8:43 mark.
UAA responded immediately with a three-pointer from
guard Kyle Fossman to stem the tide, and Rohde scored
layups on three consecutive possessions to push the lead up
to 69-60 at the 6-minute mark.
Rohde, who also grabbed a team-high six rebounds,
became the 19th player in UAA basketball history (and the
50th in GNAC history) to score 1,000 career points.
The Arizona State transfer now has 1,020 points – good for
17th place on the Seawolf career list – in less than two
seasons.
Fossman finished with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting (4 of 5
3FGs), while starting point guard Steve White tallied 10
points, seven assists and just one turnover in 34 minutes.
Ridgeway, who missed eight weeks in December and
January with a broken wrist, easily had his most productive
game since returning , shooting 7 of 9 from the field and 3
of 4 at the charity stripe.
UAA shot 30 of 46 from the field, including 7 of 14 from
long distance, while holding the Clan to just 44.2 percent
(23 of 52) marksmanship. The Seawolves also committed
only eight turnovers to SFU's 13.
In addition to Brown's 28, Simon Fraser got 17 points from
Lewis, Jordan Sergent added 12 and Zack Frehlick had 10
along with a game-high four steals.
Seattle Pacific 72, Central Washington 64
David Downs led all scorers with 23 points, including four
free throws inside the final minute as Seattle Pacific
completed its first season sweep in 10 years of Central
Washington with an eight-point victory at Brougham
Pavilion.
Alaska Anchorage 85, Simon Fraser 75
Downs converted all 10 of his free throws attempts for the
Falcons, who had a 27-15 scoring advantage from the line
and also made 3 of 4 shots from the arc.
Powered by the senior duo of Taylor Rohde and Lonnie
Ridgeway, Alaska Anchorage raced to an early lead and
hung on to beat Simon Fraser at the SFU West
Gymnasium.
The Wildcats (11-11, 5-9) trailed for most of the game and
were down 59-50 before a 14-5 run drew them within 64-
60. Brandon Magee capped the surge on two free throws
with 1:44 left to play.
O'Neill and Jeremy Green scored 13 points each to lead the
Saints. Brok Pendleton added 12 points.
SPU's Jobi Wall answered with a pair of free throws at 1:27
and Downs followed with two more that extended the
margin to 68-60 with 55 seconds on the clock.
Montana State Billings 83, Northwest Nazarene 73
After a layup by Central's Lacy Haddock, Downs drove the
length of the floor before feeding Andy Poling for a dunk
and then clinched the outcome on two more charity shots
for a 72-62 lead with 34 seconds remaining.
Poling compiled his sixth double-double with 20 points and
10 rebounds helping SPU to a 47-35 margin on the boards.
The Falcons had a tougher time with CWU than they did in
the first meeting, a 76-49 decision in Ellensburg on Jan. 12.
Haddock scored 18 points to pace the Wildcats, who also
got 15 points from Jody Johnson and 13 from Roby Clyde.
Western Oregon 68, Saint Martin's 48
After beating Western Oregon by nine points a month ago
in their gym, Saint Martin's was hoping for a season sweep
Saturday.
But the Wolves had different ideas getting 18 points from
Blair Wheadon and shooting 53.2 percent on the way to a
20-point victory.
The Saints (8-15, 4-10) shot 28 percent in the first half
falling behind by 17 points at halftime.
“Down there we made some shots,” Saints coach Keith
Cooper said. “Tonight we didn't make our shots. Down
there Will Bond came off the bench and gave us 15 points
off the bench. That was a difference maker.”
This time Saint Martin's had no answer for Western
Oregon's zone defense as the Saints went 5-for-20 from 3point range.
Ryan Votaw and Bond, SMU's two best 3-point shooters,
were a combined 1-for-11 from behind the bonus arc. The
Saints made 5-for-20 from 3-point range, just 1-for-9 in the
first half.
Joining Wheadon in double figures for the Wolves were
Jordan Freelander with 13 points, Kyle Long with 12 and
James Gehring with 10. The Wolves also held Saint
Martin's to its second lowest scoring total of the season.
SMU made a mini run at the Wolves with an 8-2 run
midway through the second half, cutting the gap to 43-34
on Roger O'Neill's jumper with 13:20 left.
But Saint Martin's went stone cold, scoring just one basket
in the next seven minutes and Western Oregon opened a
53-36 lead on Long's two free throws with 7:25 left.
Antoine Proctor and Jaxon Myaer each scored 16 points to
lead Montana State Billings past Northwest Nazarene at
Alterowitz Gymnasium.
The Yellowjackets also got 13 points from Robert Mayes,
11 from Chase Richards and 10 from David Arnold as they
solidified their fifth-place position in the conference race.
Richards scored all 11 of his points and Mayes had 10 of
his 13 in the second half.
The game was tied 23-23 with 4:56 remaining in the
opening period, but Arnold hit a trey to start a 9-0 run
which eventually resulted in a 39-31 halftime lead.
Northwest Nazarene (11-11, 5-9) cut that to one (47-46) on
two free throws by JB Pillard with 13:34 left, but another
three by Arnold gave MSUB some breathing room.
Later the 'Jackets opened up a 71-64 lead on a three-point
play by Proctor with 4:32 remaining and didn't let Nazarene
get any closer than five the rest of the way.
Anthony Golden led NNU with 22 points, while Jonathan
Hawkins finished with 13. Pillard, Andy Maxwell and
Jordan Nicholes all had eight points.
Much of MSUB's lead came at the foul line where it made
25 of 34 compared to nine of 12 by the visitors.
Both teams were effective from long distance as MSUB
made 10 of 24 including four of six by Myaer and NNU
converted on eight of 23 as Golden cashed in on four of
seven from the arc.
Baseball: NNU Catcher Ties GNAC RBI Record
Catcher Charlie Gorzo drove in nine runs to tie the GNAC
single-game record in leading Northwest Nazarene to a 254 win over Minot State in the opening game of a
doubleheader Saturday at Vail Field.
The Crusaders also won the second game 10-4 as they
completed a sweep of their four-game season-opening
series in Nampa.
Gorzo, a transfer from Palomar CC in California, had five
hits, including three home runs and a double. His RBI total
matched the record of nine set by Tom Lepley of Western
Oregon against Grand Canyon on Feb. 26, 2006. Both his
home run and RBI totals were school records.
His 15 total bases was one short of the GNAC record in
that category. As a team NNU had 18 singles, five doubles
and five home runs falling two shy of the conference team
total base record with 48.
The Crusaders had four crooked numbers in the game,
scoring four in the second, three in the third, seven in the
fourth and 10 in the eighth.
Gorzo doubled for a second-inning RBI, then homered to
plate two in the third. In the fourth, he had another two-run
home run before capping his big game with a three-run
blast and an infield RBI single in the eighth.
Derek Bettinson and Zach Steele also homered in the
contest. Steele, Sean McDonald, Fernando Robles and Ben
Clare all had three hits. With three hits each from Robles
and Clare, the shortstop position contributed six of NNU's
28 safeties.
McDonald, meanwhile, pitched six scoreless innings,
allowing four hits, before four other pitchers finished up.
In the second game, Steele hit two home runs and drove in
five runs and Robles also had a circuit blast. NNU outhit
Minot 13-8 in the contest led by Sam Cook with three and
Steele and McDonald with two each.
Patrick Patterson pitched the first four innings, allowing
four hits and two runs to pick up the win in the seveninning contest.
and six errors to win the opening game of a doubleheader
against Saint Martin's 14-9.
The Wildcats also won the second game 6-2 to sweep the
twinbill and drop the Saints to 0-7 on the season. Chico is
3-0.
Eight different pitchers saw action for the Saints in the
opener, including starter Sean Goforth who took the loss.
Travis Shaw led the Saints with three hits, while Mario
Sanelli and Bobby Twedt had two each. Both Shaw and
Sanelli had two doubles.
In the second game, Eric Angerer had two hits and three
RBI to pace Chico to its third win in three contests. Shaw
had two of SMU's five hits.
Softball: Clan Win Two at Desert Stinger Tournament
Simon Fraser won a pair of games for the best performance
by a GNAC team Saturday at the MSUB Desert Stinger
softball tournament at Las Vegas.
The Clan allowed only two runs on the day defeating Minot
State 11-1 and Lewis 2-1 to improve to 3-1 in the
tournament.
Central Washington Splits With Monterey Bay
Central Washington snapped a 4-4 tie in the ninth with four
runs, then held on to defeat Cal State Monterey Bay 8-7
Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader at Seaside,
Calif.
The Otters came back to win the second game 6-1 to take a
2-1 lead in the four-game series.
All four runs in the ninth inning of the opener came after
the first two hitters made outs. Second baseman Kasey
Bielec singled to plate catcher Kyle Sani for the first run.
Later in the inning Chris Hashimoto doubled for two runs
and then scored on a single by Brett Bielec.
Drew Davidson pitched two scoreless innings, allowing just
one hit to get the victory.
The Bielec brothers had three hits for the Wildcats. Kasey
Bielec and Hashimoto had two RBI each.
CWU outhit the Otters 8-6 in the second game, but left nine
runners on base. The Wildcats' lone run came in the fifth on
a home run by Jimmy Ryerson.
Monterey Bay scored all the runs it needed in the third,
getting three including RBI singles by Danny Nelson and
Brian Haggett. James Merjano had two hits and two RBI to
all key the CSUMB offense.
Western Washington and Montana State Billings each split
their two games, while Central Washington and Western
Oregon lost two games each.
Western Washington scored in every inning but the first in
defeating Grand Canyon 9-6. The Vikings, however, lost
their second game 7-5 to the Academy of the Art to fall to
2-2 in the tournament.
Montana State Billings lost to Cal State San Bernardino 4-3
before outscoring Chadron State 12-4 to improve to 3-1.
Both Central Washington and Western Oregon lost their
first game to Dixie State; CWU by a 3-2 count and WOU
by a 6-4 score. The Wildcats then fell 8-4 to Western New
Mexico, while the Wolves were defeated 12-2 by Cal State
Monterey Bay.
Simon Fraser used a six-run fourth inning to end its game
with Minot after five innings. The Clan banged out 16 hits
including three each by Carly Lepoutre and Kelsey Haberl.
Megan Durrant, Leah Riske and Sammie Olexa all had two
hits for SFU. Riske drove in three runs, two with a single in
the Clan's three run first. Cara Lukawesky tossed a fourhitter to get the win.
Lukawesky picked up a save against Lewis, pitching the
seventh to preserve the win for starter Kelsie Hawkins, who
allowed just four hits.
Saints Swept By Chico State 14-6, 6-2
Chico State had just nine hits, but took advantage of seven
walks, six hit batters, five wild pitches, a balk, a passed ball
After Lewis scored first in the fourth, the Clan tied it in
their half of the inning on a bases loaded walk to Haberl,
then got the eventual winning run in the sixth on an error.
Durrant had two of SFU's six hits.
were led by Andrea Bailey with three and Amanda Evola
with two.
Leadoff hitter Taylor Blumenfeld led Western Washington
with three RBI driving in two runs in the fifth with a single
to give the Vikings a 7-1 lead against Grand Canyon.
Evola drove in three of WOU's four runs with a fourthinning single and a sixth-inning home run. Evola's blast
came with one aboard and briefly tied up the contest.
After Jessica Carey led off the sixth with a home run,
Blumenfeld plated a run in the seventh with a sacrifice fly.
Monterey Bay scored six first-inning runs to beat the
Wolves in their second game. WOU had just three hits, two
by Evola who had both of her team's RBIs.
Blumenfeld, Carey, Cheyenne Best and Kaleigh Keating all
had two hits for WWU, which got three-hit pitching over 5
1/3 innings by winning pitcher Erika Hendron.
The Vikings fell behind 7-0 to Academy of Art before
rallying for five runs in the sixth, including two on a home
run by Rachelle Berry and two on a double by Kristen
Allen.
Berry finished the contest with three hits and Jessica Carey
and Meghan Carrillo had two each.
Western Washington, however, got just one runner on base
in the seventh and couldn't dent the scoreboard again.
Cal State San Bernardino scored two runs in the second and
third to beat MSU Billings. Rose Harrington and Nicole
Wilkerson each had two hits for the Yellowjackets, but they
were unable to overcome the early 4-1 deficit.
MSUB scored two or three runs five times in winning their
second game. Leadoff hitter Bobbie Lee paced the 'Jacket
offense with three hits, including a double and home run,
and drove in four runs.
Her double came in the second to drive in a run. She then
homered for two runs in the fourth and singled for a run in
the seventh,
MSUB also got two hits from Emily Osborn and Samantha
Church and home runs from Meg Harasymczuk and Osborn
to back the three-hit pitching of Jessica Campbell.
Dixie State built a 3-0 lead through three innings against
Central Washington. CWU's Carrina Wagner homered in
the sixth and Liz Jusko homered in the seventh.
But those were just two of four CWU hits off of Dixie's
Mattie Snow, who walked one and fanned four to record
the victory.
Central led Western New Mexico 4-2, but the Mustangs
tied the game with two runs in the fifth and then won it
with four in the sixth.
CWU was outhit in the contest 10-6. Designated player
Elena Carter had two hits and Jusko had two RBI to lead
the Wildcats.
Dixie scored two runs in the sixth to snap a 4-4 tie against
Western Oregon. Both teams had eight hits. The Wolves
Indoor Track and Field: NNU's Hope Wins 400 With
PNQ
Maurus Hope of Northwest Nazarene won the men's 400
Saturday at the Boise State Team Challenge at the
Jackson's Track in Nampa.
Hope ran the race in a provisional national qualifying time
of 48.53 moving into second place on the GNAC all-time
Top 10 list. Hope replaced WOU's Isaac Frederick in
second place on the list.
NNU's Joy Warrington finished fifth in the women's shot
with a put of 45-8 adding 3 3/4 inches to her PNQ in the
event. She also placed fourth Friday night in the weight
throw (50-1 1/4).
Also earning Top 6 finishes were MMU's Andrew
Galbraith in the high jump (6th, 6-0 1/2), Stephen Larlee in
the triple jump (5th, 44-9 1/2) and Jesse Korb in Friday's
weight throw (6th, 50-7 1/2).
Boise State Team Challenge (Feb. 10-11 at Nampa): Men (Top 6): 400
- 1. Maurus Hope, NNU, 48.53. High Jump - 6. Andrew Galbraith, NNU, 60 1/2. Triple Jump - 5. Stephen Larlee, NNU, 44-9 1/2. Weight Throw Jesse Korb, NNU, 50-7 1/2. Women (Top 6): 4x400 - 6. Northwest
Nazarene 4:03.59. Shot Put - 5. Joy Warrington, NNU, 45-8. Weight
Throw - 4. Joy Warrington, NNU, 50-1 1/4.
Three GNAC Athletes Reach Standard in Husky
Classic
Three Great Northwest Athletic Conference athletes met
provisional national qualifying standards Saturday in the
Husky Classic at the Dempsey Indoor.
In the women's 800, Janelle Everetts of Western Oregon
bettered the standard by 2.20 seconds in running a time of
2:13.70.
Ashley Potter of Western Oregon and Emily Warman had
PNQs in the triple jump.
Potter improved her previous PNQ by six inches with a
leap of 39-7, while Warman leaped 38-2 3/4 to meet the
standard. Potter's mark ranks second all-time in the
conference.
They joined Barak Watson of Northwest Nazarene as
national qualifiers. Watson established a PNQ Friday in the
5,000 running the event in a time of 14:31.59. That also
ranks second all-time in the GNAC.
Three Simon Fraser athletes also ran times in the women's
800 that better the NCAA standard though they are not
eligible to compete in the national meet due to SFU's
provisional membership status.
Lindsey Butterworth was timed in 2:11.03. Sarah Sawatzky
ran a 2:11.50 and Michael Kane was clocked in 2:12.33.
Those times rank 1-2-3 in the GNAC this winter.
Butterworth and Sawatzky's times rank sixth and eighth in
GNAC history.
SFU's Ryan Brockerville also ran a GNAC season-best of
8:20.44 in the men's 3,000.
Husky Classic (Feb. 10-11 at Seattle): Men (Top 12): Distance Medley
Relay - 1. Western Oregon 10:11.65. Weight Throw - 12. Sam
Washington, SMU, 56-2. Women (Top 12): 800 - 12. Lindsay Butterworth,
SFU, 2:11.03. Long Jump - 10. Emily Warman, WWU, 18-5 1/4. Triple
Jump - 8. Ashley Potter, WOU, 39-7.
Five Wins, Two Records for MSUB at Rock and Jock
Indoor
The Crusaders completed the home sweep with an 8-4 win
in Game 2 of the four-game series which concludes
Saturday.
Sneed did not surrender a hit in six innings of work in the
opener. He struck out 11, walked four and hit one batter in
throwing 108 pitches.
Ryan Brown and Fernando Robles combined to close out
the final three innings, allowing one run on three hits.
Derek Bettinson led the Crusaders at the plate going 4 for 5
with three RBIs. Freshman Kaleb DeHass debuted with a 3
for 4 effort.
Alex Barbee went 2 for 3 with two RBIs in the nightcap as
the Crusaders scored eight runs on nine hits.
Charles Pollock (1-0) earned the win on the mound,
allowing four hits and one run in five innings.
Montana State Billings athletes won five events and set two
records Saturday in the Rock and Jock Indoor Open at
Spearfish, SD.
Burke Impressive as Wolves Split To Win Sonoma Series
4-1 AJ Burke, Western Oregon's fifth starter in the series,
limited Sonoma State to four hits and one run in six innings
pitching the Wolves to a 6-1 win in the final game of their
California road trip.
Tyson Vanderby won the men's 800 in a time of 1:59.33
and Tanner Rottrup finished first in the shot with a schoolrecord put of 52-1.
WOU ended the eight-day journey with a record of 7-2,
including 4-1 against Sonoma, the defending West Region
champion.
In the women's division, Stacey Pitt won the pole vault
(with a school record performance of 11-7 3/4), Leeza
Henry won the shot (44-6 3/4) and Anica Knispel finished
first in the weight throw (49-7). Henry added 3/4 of an inch
to her previous provisional national qualifying mark.
Burke didn't walk a batter and fanned four in earning the
win. He had a two-hit shutout before allowing two hits and
a run in the sixth.
MSUB's Shae Stein had three Top 3 finishes - second in the
men's 60 (7.14), second in the long jump (21-2 3/4) and
third in the triple jump (39-8).
Black Hills Rock and Jock (Feb. 11 at Spearfish, SD): Men (Top 3): 60
- 2. Shae Stein, MSUB, 7.14. 200 - 3. Rory Bauer, MSUB, 23.60. 800 - 1.
Tyson Vanderby, MSUB, 1:59.33. Mile - 2. Brian Potter, MSUB, 4:29.38.
4x400 Relay - 3. MSU Billings 3:33.23. High Jump - 2. Nick Kozub,
MSUB, 6-0 1/2. Long Jump - 2. Shae Stein, MSUB, 21-2 3/4. Triple Jump
- 2. Taylor Firestone, MSUB, 42-11 1/2; 3. Shae Stein, MSUB, 39-8. Shot
Put - 1. Tanner Rottrup, MSUB, 52-1; 2. Jake Swan, MSUB, 45-6 1/4.
Women (Top 3): 200 - 3. Delaware Steingruber, MSUB, 29.13. Mile - 2.
Renae Hepfner, MSUB, 5:40.83. 4x400 Relay - 3. MSU Billings 4:28.95.
High Jump - 3. Delaware Steingruber, MSUB, 5-2 1/4. Pole Vault - 1.
Stacey Pitt, MSUB, 11-7 3/4. Shot Put - 1. Leeza Henry, MSUB, 44-6 3/4.
Weight Throw - 1. Anica Knispel, MSUB, 49-7.
Friday, Feb. 10
Baseball: NNU's Sneed Holds Minot Hitless, Fans 11
Behind a strong performance from starter Zeb Sneed,
Northwest Nazarene opened its season with a 5-1 victory
over Minot State Friday at Vail Field.
"AJ is one of the big arms we got to Western Oregon in the
off-season," WOU coach Jeremiah Robbins said.
"He is competitive and throws strikes. He has accepted his
role on this team of a spot starter, and this was a
phenomenal effort from him in a big game early in the
season."
Burke was the Wolves' fourth starter to pitch at least six
innings and allowed one run or less in the series.
WOU had a six-run lead by that time as Michael Gange,
Blake Miller and Matt Nylen had RBIs and two runs scored
on an error. Another was wild-pitched home.
Gange, David Amberson and Travis Blackwell all had two
hits for the Wolves, who had a five-game win streak
snapped in losing Friday's opener 8-5 .
Sonoma State banged out 16 hits including eight during a
seven-run fourth inning.
WOU trailed 8-0 until scoring twice in the eighth on a
home run by Amberson and three in the ninth, one on a
ground-rule double by Scott David and two on a single by
pinch-hitter Quinn Naughtin.
Kirk Lind was touched up for 10 hits and seven runs in 3
1/3 innings and took the loss.
Central Loses In 14 Innings To Cal State Monterey Bay
Chris Blanton's RBI double in the bottom of the 14th gave
Cal State Monterey Bay (4-2) a 7-6 win over Central
Washington Friday at Seaside, Calif.
Central Washington and Western Oregon both were
winless. The Wildcats lost to Sonoma State 6-3 and Cal
Baptist 4-1, while the Wolves sustained a pair of two-run
losses to Cal Baptist 9-7 and CSU San Bernardino 4-2.
Meanwhile Saint Martin's lost a NCAA West Region
twinbill at Cal State Dominguez by scores of 2-1 and 5-1.
The game matched the longest in GNAC history. Last
March Western Oregon outlasted Central Washington 4-3
in 14 innings.
After spotting Metro State a 3-0 lead, Montana State
Billings scored seven runs in the second as VanEykeren
tied the game with a three-run blast and Harasymczuk
followed with another three-run smash.
The Wildcats (0-3) have played two 15-inning games
losing 4-3 at Western Washington in 1964 and winning 8-7
at Eastern Oregon in 1996.
The Yellowjackets also got a solo shot from Osborn in the
fourth, a two-run single by Rose Harrington in the fifth and
a game-ending homer by Wilkerson in the sixth.
CWU twice was on the verge of winning leading 5-4 in the
ninth before a two-out single by James Merjano forced
extra innings and 6-5 in the 14th following a RBI single by
Brady Kincannon.
Annaleshia Parsley pitched a three-hitter, not allowing a
safety after the second inning to get the win.
But in the bottom of the frame, Merjano led off with a
triple and scored on a single by Tommy George who stole
second and then came home on Blanton's hit.
Both Merjano and George led the Otter's 18-hit attack with
four safeties each. Kincannon had three and Brett Bielec
had two of CWU's 11 hits.
Saints Lose To Chico State To Drop to 0-5 on Season
Kagen Hopkins fanned nine and limited Saint Martin to
four hits and no runs in seven innings pitching Chico State
to a 7-2 victory over the Saints Friday at Chico.
It was quite a pitching dual until the seventh when the
Wildcats (1-0) scored five runs to extend their 2-0 lead to
7-0. SMU's Nate O'Bryan ended up allowing just one
earned run out of four total in 6 1/3 innings.
The Saints got on the board in the eighth as Zach Leonard
had a solo home run and Bobby Twedt had a RBI double.
Harasymczuk also homered in the fourth inning against
Grand Canyon to tie that game at 8-8 after Bobbie Lee had
earlier doubled for two runs in the inning.
After the teams traded two-run innings, MSUB got the
game-winning run on a sacrifice fly by VanEykeren in the
sixth.
Western Washington used a five-run fourth inning against
Dixie State to end a six-game losing streak as Kirsten Allen
hit a two-run home run and Kaleigh Keating had a two-run
triple.
Jessica Carey also drove in three runs with a four-bagger in
the third inning. Meanwhile Stephanie Fox pitched 3 1/3
scoreless innings allowing just two hits to get the win.
Jackie Rothenberger drove in two runs with a fourth-inning
home run against Cal State San Bernardino, but by that
time the Coyotes led WWU by a 7-0 score.
Kelsey Haberl had three hits and two RBI and Leah Riske
had two hits, including a two-run home run in the third, to
key Simon Fraser's victory against Academy of the Art.
Softball: Yellowjackets Win, Vikings Split in Vegas
Meg Harasymczuk, Nicole Wilkerson, Emily Osborn and
Jenna VanEykeren all homered to lead Montana State
Billings to an 11-3 win over Metro State Friday in the
MSUB Desert Stinger Invitational in Las Vegas.
The Yellowjackets were the only GNAC team to win both
of their games as they also toppled Grand Canyon 11-10
overcoming a 7-3 deficit.
Western Washington and Simon Fraser each split its two
contests. The Vikings defeated Dixie State 9-6 after losing
to Cal State San Bernardino 7-3 while the Clan opened with
a 10-5 win over Academy of Art before being thumped by
Cal State San Bernardino 15-0.
Riske also doubled for a run in the fifth right before
Sammie Olexa homered to plate two. SFU, however,
managed just two hits against Monterey Bay.
Sonoma State hit three home runs in its win against CWU,
which got a solo home run from Elena Carter in the fourth
inning to account for one of its three runs.
Carrina Wagner had two of CWU's four hits against Cal
Baptist, which scored single runs in four different innings.
Western Oregon built a 5-1 lead against Cal Baptist but
gave up six runs in the sixth. Amanda Evola led the Wolves
with two hits and a pair of RBI. Ashley Worthy and Ashlie
Gardner each had two hits.
San Bernardino snapped a 1-1 tie against WOU with three
runs in the fifth. Ashlie Gardner hit a home run in the
seventh, but the Wolves couldn't get any closer.
Saint Martin's managed just six hits in its doubleheader loss
to Dominguez Hills, which snapped a 1-1 tie in the seventh
with an unearned run.
Saint pitcher Sam Munger had two hits and SMU's only
RBI while also scattering eight hits in the opener. Taviah
Jenkins homered in the second to account for the Saint run
and one of its two safeties in Game 2.
Jake Webb and Mark Strickland each had 74s for the
Vikings and Brian Barhanovich carded a 76. Playing as
individuals were Evan Needham who shot 74 and Thomas
Jun who had a 78.
Sophie Elstrott shot a five-over par 78 to take medalist
honors and Claire Rachor carded a 79 in leading the Viking
women to a 319-321 win over UBC.
Kara Zitzman and Alexandria Taylor had scores of 80 and
82, respectively, for WWU, and Anna Bourland shot 89.
The Vikings' Brittany Wilcox, playing as an individual,
shot 87.
Indoor Track and Field: PNQ For Crusaders' Watson
Barak Watson of Northwest Nazarene ran the second
fastest 5,000 meter time in GNAC history Friday in an
indoor meet at the Dempsey Indoor in Seattle.
Thursday, Feb. 9
Men's Basketball: Vikings Take Control of GNAC Race
Watson, who placed 46th in the Division 1 dominated
meet, was clocked in a NCAA Division II provisional
national qualifying time of 14:31.59.
John Allen scored 13 of his team-high 15 points in the
second half to help Western Washington grind out a 59-50
victory over Alaska Anchorage Thursday at Sam Carver
Gymnasium.
Only Jordan Welling of Western Washington (14:12.10 in
2011) has run a quicker time.
The 15th ranked Vikings (21-3, 12-1) took firm control of
the GNAC - and West Region - race with the victory.
Kyle Van Santen of Saint Martin's was 54th in a time of
14:38.15. Earlier this season he earned a PNQ with a time
of 14:35.55.
WWU needs just three wins in its final five games to clinch
the top seed for the conference playoffs which begin Feb.
29 at Lacey.
The GNAC's only Top 10 finisher Friday was Western
Oregon's distance medley relay team which won the event
in a time of 10:11.55.
WWU was held 24 points below its season average of 83.4
points, but still managed to run its winning streak to eight
games and snap UAA's streak at six.
WOU's Kendale Hamlett finished 15th in the men's 200
with the second best time this winter in the GNAC (22.34),
chopping .23 seconds off his previous No. 2 mark.
UAA (17-5, 11-3) , which is ranked No.17, fell a game and
a half back of the Vikings, who now also control the
tiebreaker.
At Nampa in the Boise State Team Challenge, Northwest
Nazarene's Joy Warrington finished fourth in the weight
throw with a toss of 50-1 1/4.
Center Taylor Rohde accounted for more than half of the
Seawolf offense, netting game highs of 26 points and 10
rebounds. He had 20 of UAA's first 22 points after halftime
and finished the night with 996 career points.
NNU's Jesse Korn finished sixth in the men's event with a
mark of 50-7 1/2. Action continues at both venues on
Saturday.
Men's & Women's Golf: Vikings Edge UBC In Duals
The score was tied at 38-38 with 4:47 to play, but a Paul
Jones jumper gave WWU the lead and the Vikings never
relinquished it.
Western Washington posted a pair of two-stroke dual
victories over the University of British Columbia Friday at
the Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club in Vancouver.
The key burst came on a five-point possession, as Allen
converted two free throws after a technical foul, and then
Rico Wilkins hit a three-pointer, giving WWU a 47-39
advantage with 3:17 left.
Nick Varelia fired a two-under par 71 and Dylan Goodwin
shot an even par 73 in a 292-294 win. The competition was
the first since late October for the Vikings, ranked No.9 in
the Golf Coaches Association of America/NCAA Division
II Top 25 Poll.
The Vikings led by as much as 10 in the final minute.
Travis Thompson hit two free throws and a three-pointer to
pull UAA within five (55-50) with 20 seconds left, but
Jones, who finished with 10 points, hit four consecutive
free throws to seal the victory.
“To shoot par on a world-class golf course with the limited
time we've had to practice, I'm very pleased,” said WWU
coach Steve Card. “The pins were placed the same as they
were on Sunday at last year's Canadian Open.”
Rohde was 10 of 18 from the field, and was the only UAA
player to have a field goal in the second half until
Thompson's late three-pointer.
The triumph was the fourth for the Vikings in five contests
against nationally ranked teams. They are 11-1 at home this
season.
WWU jumped to a 10-2 lead in the first five minutes,
hitting five of six shots from the field, capped by an alleyoop dunk by Zach Henifin.
But UAA, which entered the contest leading the GNAC in
scoring defense at 63.8 points a game, was able to slow the
pace the rest of the half, holding the Vikings to just four
points in the next 11 minutes and eventually taking a 22-20
lead at halftime.
Seattle Pacific 73, Northwest Nazarene 60
Riley Stockton scored all of of his career-high 11 points
during the first half and grabbed a game-high eight
rebounds as Seattle Pacific took control early en route to a
73-60 victory over Northwest Nazarene at Brougham
Pavilion.
The Falcons (18-5, 10-4) stayed 2 1/2 games back of
conference leader Western Washington and moved within
one game of second-place Alaska Anchorage with the
victory.
Nine different players grabbed a rebound for SPU, which
compiled a commanding 41-16 advantage on the boards, in
completing a season series sweep of the Crusaders.
Stockton also distributed four assists and had two steals as
the Falcons utilized runs of nine and 12 points to forge a
42-31 halftime lead.
After SPU jumped ahead 7-2, the Crusaders (11-10, 5-8)
went on a 9-2 spree and claimed their only lead at 11-9 on a
jumper by JB Pillard with 12:44 left in the first half.
The Falcons then reeled off nine straight points to take the
lead for good at 18-11 with 10:00 on the clock. Later, five
different players scored during a streak of 12 unanswered
points. Stockton capped that surge with a 3-pointer at 2:27
that provided a 35-22 lead.
rallied from a nine-point, late first half deficit to defeat
Montana State Billings 99-89 at Alterowitz Gym.
The win enabled the Wildcats (11-10, 5-8) to move into a
tie with Northwest Nazarene for sixth place in the GNAC
standings. Six teams will advance to the playoffs in three
weeks.
MSUB (13-9 overall) is solidly in fifth place with a 8-6
record despite being swept by the Wildcats in their season
series.
The trio made 12 of 21 second-half shots after being
limited to just five shots, of which they did make three, in
the first half.
Central trailed 46-37 with 1:26 left in the first half, but got
a basket by Magee and a three-pointer by Jordan Colby to
begin a 9-0 run which continued into the second period
with a dunk by Roby Clyde and a Johnson layup.
After that the game remained tight with six second-half
ties. Central took the lead for good 69-68 on a jumper by
Johnson at the 11:32 mark, but never went ahead by more
than seven until the final two minutes.
Haddock and Johnson finished the game with team-highs of
16 points, while the Wildcats also got 15 points each from
Coby and Toussaint Tyler and 13 apiece from Clyde and
Magee.
Antoine Proctor led MSUB with 30 points, half of them
from the foul line. Proctor, who has a league-best four 30point games this season, made 15 of 16 foul shots, equaling
the third highest total in GNAC history for free throws
made with just one miss.
Central ended the game shooting 54.8 percent (34-62)
including seven of 14 three-pointers. That helped them
offset a 33 of 37 free throw performance by the
Yellowjackets, who also got 17 points from Taylor Stevens
and a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double from Robert
Mayes.
Simon Fraser 79, Alaska Fairbanks 71
Andy Poling paced SPU with 15 points while David Downs
and Jobi Wall each chipped in 11. The Falcons made 57
percent of their shots from the field (26 of 46), while
limiting NNU to 41 percent (20 of 49).
Pillard and Keith Moilanen led four Crusaders doublefigure scorers with 14 points apiece. Anthony Golden
scored 11 and Michal Kurimsky had 10.
In the second half the Falcons lead grew to as many as 18
points, at 73-55 with 2:21 left to play. The visitors scored
the game's final five points to narrow the margin.
Simon Fraser built a 21-point first-half lead and then fought
off a valiant challenge from Alaska Fairbanks to hand the
Nanooks their 11th straight loss 79-71 at West Gym in
Burnaby.
The Clan (8-13, 3-10) scored 12 consecutive points in
going ahead 38-17 late in the first half and were up 41-22 at
the break.
But UAF guard Dominique Brinson netted 22 of his gamehigh 30 points in the second half , including a three-pointer
to tie the game at 59-59 inside the five-minute mark.
Central Washington 99, Montana State Billings 89
Lacy Haddock, Jody Johnson and Brandon Magee all
scored 11 points in the second half as Central Washington
The game remained tied at 61-61 and 63-63 before a threepoint play by Justin Brown and a trey by Zack Frehlick
gave SFU the advantage it needed.
Brown finished the contest with 18 points, connecting on
nine of nine free throws. Jordan Sergent led Simon Fraser
with 24 points, making 10 of 11 free throws. He also had
eight rebounds. Frehlick netted 13 points.
Joining Brinson in double figures for UAF (4-20, 1-13) was
Sergej Pucar with 14 points and Carthal McDonald with 12
points. Nico Matthews had 10 assists - nine in the second
half - and 10 rebounds.
Women's Basketball: Seawolves Go up by 2 1/2 in Race
Alysa Horn came off bench to lead the Seawolves in
scoring and rebounding (Photo by Michael Dineen)
within 55-39 on Katie Colard's three-pointer with 6 minutes
left before UAA extended its lead as high as 68-42 with
2:07 to play.
Hanna Johansson had 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, Haley
Holmstead added 12 points and Kylie Burns scored seven
points on 3-of-5 shooting.
The Seawolves forced 26 Vikings turnovers while
committing just 14 of their own, and they outshot WWU
40.9 percent (27 of 66) to 36.5 percent (19 of 52). UAA
also won the rebounding battle 38-34 as it earned its fourth
straight win in the series.
Northwest Nazarene 81, Seattle Pacific 77
Powered by big nights from Sasha King and Alysa Horn,
Alaska Anchorage led from start to finish Thursday,
opening up a 2 1/2 game lead in the GNAC race with a 7250 victory over Western Washington.
Briaunna King scored a game-high 24 points to lead
Northwest Nazarene to a 81-77 home victory over Seattle
Pacific Thursday at the Johnson Sports Center.
In back of the Seawolves there is a logjam with five teams,
including the Vikings (15-6, 9-4), Simon Fraser (14-7, 9-4),
Seattle Pacific (15-7, 9-5), Montana State Billings (17-8, 95) and Northwest Nazarene (4-7, 8-5), with four or five
conference losses.
King led three players into double figures as the Crusaders
(14-7, 8-5) pulled to within one-half game of both the
Falcons and Montana State Billings, who are tied for
fourth, in the conference standings in snapping a nine-game
losing streak to SPU.
Alaska Anchorage (21-4, 12-2) got game-highs of 15 points
and nine rebounds off the bench from Horn as it swept the
season series from the Vikings and extended their Wells
Fargo Sports Complex winning streak to 20 games.
Joining King in double figures for NNU were Heather
Adams with 17 points and Megan Hingston with 12.
Western Washington was led by nine points from reserve
forward Kayla Bernsen, while center Britt Harris had seven
points and six rebounds. UAA's defensive effort marked the
third straight home game in which it has not allowed a
double-digit scorer.
After posting its biggest win ever against WWU with a 7555 decision last month in Bellingham, the Seawolves
seemed to pick up where they left off, hitting eight of their
first nine shots and jumping to a 17-2 lead in the opening
six minutes.
“We talked a lot about being focused from the start, and our
starters really delivered tonight,” said UAA head coach
Tim Moser.
“Sasha was sharp with her passes and our scorers with a
good job of finishing around the rim. It's obviously a
crucial win as we pursue our goal of a GNAC
championship, but it's important that we don't celebrate too
much as we get ready for a very good Simon Fraser team.”
The Falcons (15-7, 9-5) were led by Nyesha Sims who had
21 points and 13 rebounds. Aubree Callen added 15 and
Jordan Harazin scored 10.
SPU opened the game strong and led by 13 at 33-20 with
6:37 to play in the first half, however, the Crusaders
answered with a 21-5 run to close out the period and lead
41-38 at the break.
SPU tied the score once in the second half after a Sims
three-pointer made it 59-59 (9:30), but NNU answered with
a Chelsie Luke triple and held the lead through the final
buzzer.
NNU shot 49.1 percent (28-57) from the floor and 8 of 16
from the three-point line. Seattle Pacific was 31 of 64
(48.4-percent) from the field and 5 of 15 (33.3 percent)
from the arc.
Simon Fraser 72, Alaska Fairbanks 64
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe scored 31 points and grabbed 15
rebounds to lead Simon Fraser to a 72-64 road victory
against Alaska Fairbanks at The Patty Center.
King spearheaded the decisive early charge on her way to a
12-point, 8-assist, 3-steal effort, while Gritt Ryder got
halfway to a triple-double with six points, five assists and
five rebounds. King topped her previous career-best of
seven assists, which she'd set five times this year.
The double-double was her 18th of the season, breaking her
own conference record of 17. Raincock-Ekunwe has more
double-doubles than any other NCAA Division II player
this winter.
The Seawolves never let the Vikings into the game after
stretching to a 37-18 halftime advantage, pushing the lead
to 45-23 on a Horn layup at the 14:33 mark. WWU drew
The Clan also got 12 points from Chelsea Reist and 10
from Kristina Collins. Kia Van Laare added seven points
and had eight rebounds.
“Nayo did a great job of taking it to the hoop tonight and
was great on the boards once again,” said SFU head coach
Bruce Langford. “Kia had a career night rebounding and
Kristina (Collins) hit some key free throws late.”
Knudsen, a three-pointer by Peoples and a two-pointer by
Olson to go ahead 56-45 with 5:41 remaining and led by at
least seven or more points the rest of the way.
Baseball: Wilson, Bradshaw Hurl Wolves To Sweep
Collins went four for four from the free throw line with the
score close late in the game to give the Clan some
breathing room.
While the Clan dominated the Nanooks in the first meeting
of the season on Burnaby Mountain in January, they could
not pull away from UAF on this night until scoring the
game's final seven points.
SFU led for the majority of the first half, with their biggest
lead coming with 9:14 to play as a Carla Wyman free throw
made it 26-17.
Alaska Fairbanks, however, outscored SFU 16-9 over the
final nine minutes of the first half to narrow its deficit to
two.
The Clan rebuilt their lead up in the first 10 minutes of the
second half to 10 points (53-43).
From there the Nanooks rallied to within one point. Collins,
however, then hit four consecutive free throws to secure the
victory.
UAF (6-18, 2-11) was led by Nicole Bozek with 15 points.
Also in double figures were Taylor Altenburg with 13
points and Nicole Hartzog with 10.
Jason Wilson and Travis Bradshaw pitched Western
Oregon to a 9-1, 7-1 doubleheader sweep of Sonoma State
Thursday at Seawolf Diamond in Rohnert Park.
Wilson allowed just four hits and fanned 10 in the opening
game. In the second game, Bradshaw pitched a six-hit
complete game and didn't walk a batter while fanning
seven.
WOU (6-1) has won the first three games of the four-game
series against the defending West Region champions
outscoring them 26-3 in the process.
Wilson, who sustained the Wolves' only loss last weekend
in their four-game series at UC San Diego giving up 11
runs in three innings, made amends for that performance
allowing no more than one hit in any inning and retiring the
final 10 hitters he faced.
The Wolves put the game away early scoring six runs in the
first, including two on a single by Grant Mascolo. Griff
Boyd and Travis Blackwell had RBI doubles in the frame
and Matt Nylen had a RBI single.
WOU added a single run in the third on a bases-loaded
walk and two in the sixth on a home run by DH Vince
Ampi.
Montana State Billings 61, Central Washington 52
Bobbi Knudsen knocked down a career-high 25 points to
lead Montana State Billings to a 61-52 win over Central
Washington at Nicholson Pavilion.
Knudsen hit a season-high-tying three treys and made 10 of
23 field goals en route to compiling her 25 points. She also
brought down six rebounds and had a game-high five
assists.
Freshmen Janiel Olson and Quinn Peoples each finished the
contest with 10 points. Olson also had eight rebounds while
Peoples knocked down a pair of treys.
MSUB's Brooke Tolman had seven rebounds, six points
and a game-high-tying five assists.
Sophie Russell led Central Washington with 17 points
connecting on five of nine three-point shots. Stacy Albrecht
finished the contest with 11 points and a game-high 10
rebounds.
The game was relatively tight for all 40 minutes, but the
Yellowjackets claimed the lead for good off one of Olson's
jumpers just 6 1/2 minutes into the opening stanza of play.
Central pulled to within one point twice, once in each half.
MSUB finally used a 9-0 run, including a pair of baskets by
WOU scored six runs in the fifth inning of the seven-inning
nightcap to earn the sweep as Bradshaw improved to 2-0 on
the season. Josh Solemsaas drove in the first two runs of
the inning with a single.
Two more runs scored on an error before Bo Folkinga
completed the frame with a two-run single. Quinn Naughtin
made it 7-0 in the top of the seventh with a single before
Sonoma finally got on the board in the bottom of the inning
to avoid a shutout.
Shortstop Blake Miller led the Wolves' 11-hit attack with
three hits. Folkinga and catcher Scott David had two hits
apiece.
Cal State Stanislaus 9, Central Washington 4
Designated hitter Justin Manci had four hits, including a
pair of home runs to power Cal State Stanislaus to a 9-4
win over Central Washington at Warrior Field in Turlock.
Manci led off the bottom of the first with a home run to
give the Warriors (1-0) a lead that they wouldn't relinquish.
He also single in the third to start a three-run rally, homered
in the sixth with a man aboard and doubled in the fourth.
Central (0-2) scored three of its runs in the ninth though it
had just one hit in the frame. First baseman Chris
Hashimoto had two of the Wildcats' five safeties.
Wednesday, Feb. 8
Baseball: Wolves Clobber Defending Champs
Grady Wood gave up a lone unearned run over eight
innings and Western Oregon pounded out 11 hits including
three home runs in crushing defending West Region
champion Sonoma State 10-1 Wednesday at Seawolf
Diamond in Rohnert Park.
Wood allowed just four hits and one walk while striking
out five to pick up his 10th straight win dating back to last
season. He got 14 of 24 outs on ground balls, and he
allowed just two runners to reach third base.
The only time Wood allowed two hits in an inning was in
the third when the Seawolves (1-1) scored their only run of
the game.
After the first out was recorded, the next two batters
singled and the lead runner eventually scored on an error.
Meanwhile, the Wolves (4-1) got home runs from AJ
Royal, Quinn Naughtin and Griff Boyd and doubles from
Royal and Matt Nylen. Royal, Naughtin and Boyd each
drove in two runs and Nylen had three hits.
WOU scored four runs in both the second and fifth before
completing the scoring with single runs in the seventh and
ninth.
In two starts this season, Wood has a 0.00 ERA giving up
just seven hits in 15 innings and two runs, both unearned.
He's walked two and fanned 11.
Central Washington Falls to San Francisco State In
Debut
Catcher Kyle Sani went 3 for 4 and drove in two runs, but
after building a 4-0 first-inning lead, Central Washington
allowed seven unanswered runs in falling 7-5 to San
Francisco State at Maloney Field Wednesday.
Sani, a transfer from Walla Walla CC, doubled in his first
two plate appearances, including a two-RBI hit in the first
inning.
He added a two-out double in the third inning and singled
in the eighth before being lifted for a pinch-runner.
Central Washington needed just five pitches -- and two atbats -- before getting on the scoreboard as second baseman
Brandon Wang hit his first career home run over the rightfield pitch on a 1-0 offering to give the Wildcats a 1-0
edge.
Sani plated Ethan Sterkel and Brady Kincannon, who had
both singled, with a double to the left-center field gap, and
Sani then scored two batters later on a RBI single by DH
David Leid.
Wildcat starting pitcher Brandon Rohde, who took the loss,
held the Gators bats to just one hit over the first three
innings, but gave up two runs in both the fourth and fifth
innings.
The Gators then took a 7-4 lead in the sixth inning, as the
Wildcat infield committed three errors that translated into
three unearned runs against Rohde and reliever Jason
Lotzer.
CWU outhit San Francisco State 10-8 as both teams made
their season debut. Sani and Kincannon went 6 for 8 as the
CWU first baseman matched the Wildcat catcher with the
stick.
Jack Jorgensen earned the win for the Gators pitching a
scoreless sixth as the SFSU pen allowed just five hits in
eight frames.
Women's Basketball: SFU's Langford Earns Top
Honor
Simon Fraser women’s basketball head coach Bruce
Langford has been selected to the Basketball BC Hall-ofFame.
"Bruce has had a long and distinguished career at SFU,"
Associate Vice President for Students Tim Rahilly said.
"He's done an outstanding job recruiting while always
being competitive and focusing on the student-athlete
experience."
Langford (Port Coquitlam, BC) is currently in his 11th
season as the head coach of the Clan, leading SFU through
nine years in Canadian Interuniversity Sport before
spending the last two in the GNAC.
His career record at SFU is an astonishing 276-60. During
his nine years in the CIS, Langford’s teams won five
Canadian national championships. He is a two-time
recipient of the CIS Coach of the Year Award.
In addition to his many achievements coaching University
basketball, he also has an impressive resume at the high
school and provincial level.
At Hatzig Secondary School, Langford won a Provincial
AA Championship in 1994 before he led Heritage Park
Secondary to back-to-back AAA Provincial Championships
in 2000 and 2001.
He also coached the Basketball BC women’s under-19
team to gold medals at the Canada Summer Games in 1997
and 2001.
Langford, who has won the BBBC Coach of the Year
Award twice, will be inducted during ceremonies April 21
at the Langley Events Centre.
Softball: MSUB Hosts Tourney in Vegas
Montana State University Billings will host the third annual
Desert Stinger Partnered with Rip-It softball tournament
beginning Friday in Las Vegas.
The tournament will feature 28 NCAA Division II teams
competing in 70 games over the three days.
Two of the 28 teams are nationally-ranked in the coaches'
poll highlighted by last year's tournament champion
Augustana College at No. 8. Colorado School of Mines is
the other team, easing into the Top 25 this week at No. 24.
MSUB is one of five GNAC schools who will play in the
tournament. Each of the GNAC teams (Central
Washington, Western Washington, Western Oregon, Simon
Fraser and the Yellowjackets) will play five games over the
three-day span
MSUB, which returns four GNAC all-stars including Meg
Harasymczuk, is the GNAC pre-season favorite.
Last year Harasymczuk led the Yellowjackets with 42 runs
scored, 55 hits and 14 home runs in earning GNAC
Newcomer-of-the-Year honors.
Tuesday, Feb. 7
Men's Basketball: Vikings, Seawolves Ranked 15th,
17th
Rohde is top scorer and field goal shooter in the GNAC this
season (UAA Photo)
Western Washington and Alaska Anchorage will both take
long win streaks and Top 20 national rankings into a
GNAC basketball showdown Thursday at Bellingham.
The game will have conference, regional and national
implications.
Western Washington brings a No. 15 rank and a sevengame win streak into the contest, while the Seawolves have
won six in a row and are ranked 17th in the latest NABC
poll released Tuesday.
The winner will finish the night in first place in the GNAC
and very likely will be the No. 1 ranked team in the first
NCAA Division II West Regional poll that comes out next
Wednesday.
The team that eventually earns the No. 1 ranking will earn
the right to host the NCAA post-season tournament though
if UAA ends up No. 1, the regional would be split in two
four-team sub-regionals with the No. 2 ranked team hosting
as well.
The two are the only West Region teams ranked in the
NABC Top 25 poll this week and are a virtual lock to be
ranked 1-2 in the first regional poll.
The two squads each feature two players ranked in the Top
25 in this week's national statistical report.
UAA's Taylor Rohde, this week's GNAC Player-of-theWeek, ranks 23rd nationally in scoring (20.1) and seventh
in field goal percentage (62.9) and is the GNAC leader in
both categories.
The Seawolves' Travis Thompson ranks fourth nationally in
assist/turnover ratio (3.26) and ranks second in the GNAC
in total assists (4.8) trailing only Saint Martin's Brady
Bomber (5.0).
Rory Blanche of Western Washington is 21st nationally in
field goal percentage (59.9) and the Vikings' John Allen
ranks 12th in free throw percentage (90.3).
Team-wise, Western Washington is 11th in scoring (83.4),
but UAA is eighth in scoring margin (14.7) and ninth in
three-point percentage (41.3). It also ranks second in
assist/turnover ratio (1.56) and fourth in assists (20.0)
The only other Top 10 ranked teams in a national category
are Seattle Pacific, which is fifth in scoring defense (58.2)
and ninth in field goal percentage (38.6); Northwest
Nazarene, which is fifth in three-pointers (9.9) and sixth in
free throw percentage (77.6); Montana State Billings,
which is seventh in three-pointers (9.7) and Central
Washington which is third in blocked shots (6.0).
Women's Basketball: UAA 12th in WBCA Poll
After losing to Seattle Pacific last Thursday, Alaska
Anchorage fell four slots but still is ranked 12th in this
week's USA Today ESPN WBCA Top 25 poll. The
Seawolves are the lone GNAC team to receive votes in the
poll.
UC San Diego is the No. 1 ranked team and Cal Poly
Pomona is ranked 22nd.
The Seawolves maintained their No. 1 ranking in scoring
margin (24.3) and are seventh in overall scoring (79.1).
UAA also ranks fourth in rebounding (11.8), fifth in field
goal percentage (32.2) and assists (18.9) and sixth in field
goal percentage (46.1).
Individually, UAA's Hanna Johansson ranks 20th in field
goal percentage (55.0) and is tied for 24th in doubledoubles with Seattle Pacific's Nyesha Sims with nine. Sims,
who tied a GNAC record with 23 rebounds Saturday
against Alaska Fairbanks, is this week's GNAC Player-ofthe-Week.
In addition to UAA, Top 10 ranked teams include Seattle
Pacific, Western Washington, Central Washington and
Montana State Billings.
SPU is fourth in free throw percentage (78.6), fifth in
rebounds (10.1) and eighth in assists (17.6). Western
Washington is seventh in three-point percentage (37.4) and
eighth in field goal percentage (45.4).
Collegiate Baseball poll, three positions ahead of the
Wolves.
Central Washington is seventh in total three-pointers made
(8.3) and Montana State Billings is 10th in fewest turnovers
(14.0).
David plated runs in the first and third with fly balls as
WOU built a 4-0 lead then held on though it got dicey in
the ninth after Garrett Tuck led off with a single and Ryan
O'Malley doubled to place the potential tying run in scoring
position.
Men's Golf: Simon Fraser Fifth at San Marcos
John Mlikotic finished 10th to lead Simon Fraser to a fifthplace team finish Tuesday in the Cal State San Marcos
Invitational golf tournament.
Mlikotic finished with a 54-hole score of 227, shooting an
82 Tuesday after carding rounds of 72 and 73 Monday.
The Clan finished with a 929 team score. Point Loma
Nazarene won the tournament with a total of 890. Ryan
Ellerbrook of Point Loma won medalist honors with a twounder par 214.
CSU San Marcos Invitational (Feb. 6-7 at Shadowridge GC, San
Marcos, CA): Team Scores - 1. Point Loma Nazarene 214 (69-73-72); 2.
Victoria 904 (308-289-307); 3. Cal State San Marcos 915 (304-301-310);
4. UC San Diego 924 (319-301-304); 5. Simon Fraser 929 (305-305-319).
Individuals (Par 72, 6,854 Yards) - 1. Ryan Ellerbrook, PLN, 214 (69-7372); 10. John Mlikotic, SFU, 227 (72-73-82); 22. Calum Miller, SFU, 232
(75-78-79); 30. Michael Belle, SFU, 234 (78-78-78); 32. T.J. McColl, SFU,
236 (80-76-80); 60. Jordan Melanson, SFU, 254 (85-82-87).
Women's Golf: Clan Improves Score, Finishes 17th
Simon Fraser improved its team score by 12 shots but still
ended up 17th in the Point Loma Nazarene Super San
Diego tournament Tuesday at the Riverwalk Golf Course.
The Clan was led by Nicky Jordan, who had rounds of 87
and 84 to finish 42nd in the 36-hole tournament, the first of
the spring season.
SFU had a team score of 382 after shooting a 394 on
Monday ending up with a 776 score. Cal Poly won the
tournament with a score of 634.
Point Loma Nazarene Super San Diego (Feb. 6-7 at Riverwalk Golf
Course): Team Scores - 1. Cal Poly 634 (321-313); 2. Grand Canyon
658 (327-331); 3. Chico State 672 (329-333); Victoria 666 (326-340); 5.
Sonoma State 667 (330-337); 17. Simon Fraser 776 (394-392).
Individuals (Par 72, 6,000 Yards) - 1. Laura Howard, Cal Poly, 156 (8175); 42. Nicky Jordan, SFU, 171 (85-87); 84. Xyleen Haban, SFU, 200
(102-98); 89. Jane Edwards, SFU, 205 (106-99); 91. Andria Machado,
SFU, 206 (102-104); 98. Erin Shklanka, SFU, 209 (111-98).
Sunday, Feb. 5
Baseball: Wolves Edge UCSD For Series Win
Catcher Scott David drove in two early runs with sacrifice
flies and AJ Burke came on to save the game in the ninth as
Western Oregon edged UC San Diego 5-4 Sunday at Triton
Ballpark in La Jolla, Calif.
The win gave the Wolves a 3-1 series win in a battle of
nationally ranked teams. UCSD came in ranked 30th in the
Burke came on at that point and after giving up a sacrifice
fly to cut WOU's lead to one run, he struck out Spencer
Frazier and then got pre-season All-American Danny
Susdorf to hit a comebacker to the mound to preserve the
victory for starter Kirk Lind.
Lind allowed seven hits but didn't walk a batter and fanned
seven to record his first win of the season.
The save by Burke was the third of the series by the
Western Oregon pitching staff, which had a ERA of 2.73.
In addition to David, a transfer from Fresno State, WOU
was also led by Sacramento State transfer Blake Miller who
had two singles and a triple, scored two runs and drove in
one.
Miller, who was seven of 14 in the series, singled for a run
and later scored on a double by Bo Folkinga during a threerun first inning and also tripled and scored on David's
second sacrifice fly in the third.
Pomona Rallies From 5-0 Deficit to Sweep Saints
Saint Martin's built a 5-0 lead through five innings, but Cal
Poly Pomona scored four runs in the sixth, then tallied
twice in the ninth to pull out a 6-5 win and complete a
sweep of their four-game series at Scolinos Field.
The Saints jumped on top with three runs in the second,
two in a single by Spencer Dodd, then added runs in the
third on a single by Travis Jones and in the fourth on a bunt
single by Adam Hudspeth.
But the Broncos combined four hits, including a two-run
double by Jordan Whitman, to pull within one run in the
sixth. An error then opened the floodgates for two two-out
runs in the ninth.
Mike Santora was hit by a pitch to force in the tying run.
Joseph Eusebio singled to plate the winning run off reliever
Kaleb Wilson.
Softball: Vikings Finish Winless In Best of the West
Western Washington finished winless in five games in the
Best of the West Invitational at Turlock, Calif., losing to
Humboldt State 11-3 and Cal State Dominguez 6-0 on
Sunday.
Dani Randall had three doubles and drove in four runs to
lead Humboldt past the Vikings in Sunday's first game. The
Lumberjacks jumped to a 5-0 lead after one inning.
WWU had nine hits, including two each by Cheyenne Best,
Allie Crowe and Jessica Carey.
Dominguez pitcher Lauren Harper tossed a two-hit shutout
in the second game as Carey and Jordan Emmil had the
lone hits.
Carey ended up the tournament as WWU's leading hitter
with five hits in 13 at bats. Meghan Carrillo also had five
hits in 15 official at bats.
Indoor Track and Field: Three Qualifying Marks Set
Barak Watson and Joy Warrington of Northwest Nazarene
and Sam Washington of Saint Martin's had provisional
national qualifying marks Saturday in indoor track-andfield meets at Nampa and Moscow, respectively.
Watson qualified in the mile finishing fifth at the Bronco
Classic in a time of 4:13.98.
Both Warrington and Washington improved on previous
PNQs. Warrington added 6 1/2 inches to her shot PNQ in
finishing second at Nampa with a put of 45-4 1/4.
Washington extended his weight throw PNQ another onequarter inch to 58-2 after adding 2 3/4 inches in a meet
Friday night at Moscow. Washington, who maintained his
No. 6 all-time GNAC ranking, finished second.
NNU's Maurus Hope and Stephen Larlee also had GNAC
Top 10 marks Saturday.
Hope moved into third place in the 400, placing third in the
Bronco Classic in a time of 48.96. Stephen Larlee matched
his previous No. 8 GNAC all-time ranking in the triple
jump with fifth-place leap of 46-5 1/4.
The lone GNAC winner in Saturday's meets was Manny
Melo of Central Washington who won the long jump at
Moscow with a leap of 22-4 1/2.
The marks by Hope, Warrington and Washington along
with a second-place pole vault mark of 15-3 by CWU's
Scott Hunter at Moscow all are GNAC season-best
performances.
Bronco Classic (Feb. 4 at Nampa): Men (Top 3): 400 - 3. Maurus Hope,
NNU, 48.96. Shot Put - 3. Tanner Rottrup, MSUB, 48-8 3/4. Women (Top
3): Triple Jump - 3. Jasmyn Jewett, NNU, 36-9 1/2. Shot Put - 2. Joy
Warrington, NNU, 45-4 1/4. Idaho Open (Feb. 4 at Moscow): Men (Top 3):
4x400 Relay - 2. Central Washington 3:23.39. High Jump - 2. Brennan
Boyes, CWU, 6-6. Pole Vault - 2. Scott Hunter, CWU, 15-3. Long Jump 1. Manny Melo, CWI, 22-4 1/2. Weight Throw - 2. Sam Washington, SMU,
58-2. Women (Top 6): 4x400 Relay - 4. Central Washington 4:25.58. Shot
Put - 5. Kaylee Baumstark, CWU, 39-7 1/4.
Saturday, Feb. 4
Women's Basketball: Sims, Raincock Tie GNAC
Records
Nyesha Sims of Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser's Nayo
Raincock-Ekunwe tied GNAC records Saturday leading
their respective teams to victories in the women's
basketball race.
Sims had 23 rebounds in SPU's 69-62 home win against
Alaska Fairbanks to equal the single-game record set by
Kristin Hein of Northwest Nazarene against Humboldt
State on Dec. 12, 2009.
She also broke the record for most rebounds in a
conference game of 22 which had been shared by three
players - SPU's Kristin Poe against Saint Martin's on Dec.
2, 2002; the Falcons' Carli Smith against Western
Washington on Feb. 26, 2005 and Jenna Washington of
Humboldt against Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 17, 2005.
“I don't go out there thinking I'm going to get 23 rebounds.
But I do go out there thinking I'm going to be a rebounding
machine,” said Sims.
“We need everyone to box out and everyone to rebound.
Most of the time, I'm guarding (the other team's) point
guard, so it's easier for me to rebound and do my part,"
Sims said. "It's one of the biggest things I can do for the
team.”
Raincock-Ekunwe tied her own GNAC single-season mark
recording her 17th double-double of the campaign as
Simon Fraser (13-7, 8-4) defeated Western Oregon 76-66 at
West Gym.
In other games, Alaska Anchorage (20-4, 11-2) stayed on
top of the GNAC standings with a 56-51 win at Montana
State Billings and Western Washington (15-5, 9-3)
remained just 1 1/2 games behind the Seawolves with a 8350 home victory against Saint Martin's.
Meanwhile, Northwest Nazarene (13-7, 7-5) likely put a
firm grasp on a post-season playoff berth defeating Central
Washington 58-54 at Nicholson Pavilion.
In addition to Sims' record setting rebound performance,
Seattle Pacific (15-6, 9-4) also got a career-high 18 points
from reserve Betsy Kingma in its win.
Sims, who helped SPU dominate the boards by a 55-39
margin, was the only other Falcon in double figures with 14
points recording her ninth double-double of the season and
the 14th of her career.
The Falcons, who have 21 consecutive wins over
Fairbanks, broke a 33-33 tie with 10 unanswered points to
surge ahead 43-33 with 12:27 left to play.
Four different players contributed to the run, including
McKayla Gorman who hit a 3-pointer from the top of the
key as the shot clock expired.
for a five-point victory over Montana State Billings at
Alterowitz Gymnasium becoming the first team to
officially clinch a playoff berth.
Nicole Bozek scored 21 points to lead the Nanooks (6-17,
2-11), including a three-point play that drew her team
within 64-62 with 48.4 seconds left to play.
The eighth-ranked Seawolves got 14 points and 13
rebounds from Robison in sweeping the season series and
running their win streak to 10 against MSUB since the
Yellowjackets joined the GNAC in 2007-08.
SPU converted 5 of 6 free throws inside the final 36
seconds to turn away the rally.
Nicole Hartzog scored 10 points for the Nanooks, who
were limited to 28 percent shooting (20 of 71). The Falcons
countered with 39 percent accuracy from the floor (25 of
64).
In the first half, Fairbanks got a pair of put-backs, from
Jacqueline Lovato and Bozek, to claim a 24-20 lead with
4:52 on the clock.
SPU answered with an 11-4 run to close the half with a 3128 edge. Kingma capped the surge with a 3-pointer
followed by a three-point play.
Simon Fraser 76, Western Oregon 66
Raincock-Ekunwe scored 24 points and also had 11
rebounds as Simon Fraser stayed just 2 1/2 games back of
first-place UAA with its victory.
Nayo also had three blocks and four steals, leading all
players in all four categories.
She was efficient in compiling her point total making nine
of 12 shots, which was also the best percentage by any
player. From the foul line, she made six of seven, a
percentage of 85.7 which was matched only by teammate
Chelsea Reist (among players with a minimum of five
attempts).
Reist also had a big afternoon scoring 20 points (7 of 12
FGs) and hauling in six rebounds. Carla Wyman finished
with 10 points.
Western Oregon (5-18, 4-9) was led by Rylee Peterson with
19 points and Dana Goularte with 10. SFU dominated the
Wolves on the backboards 47-24.
Simon Fraser trailed for only 67 seconds, all in the first
half. The Clan took a 35-32 lead into the break, then used a
12-1 run to open up a 51-38 lead with 12:39 remaining in
the game.
Reist, who had 15 of her points after intermission, had the
first five points in that stretch. Kia Van Laare finished off
the spurt with a three-pointer and Western Oregon never
got closer than eight the remainder of the way.
Alaska Anchorage 56, Montana State Billings 51
Kaylie Robison posted a double-double and Haley
Holmstead scored 19 points as Alaska Anchorage rallied
The Yellowjackets (16-8, 8-5) were led by 16 points from
freshman Quinn Peoples but shot just 27.9 percent (17-61)
and were outrebounded 47-34.
MSUB led by as many as seven points in the first half and
took a 32-27 lead when Bobbi Knudsen penetrated and hit a
layup at the halftime buzzer.
MSUB's Kallie Stanhope hit a three-pointer to start the
second half to extend the 'Jackets lead to eight. However
Holmstead answered with a trey of her own to start an 8-0
Seawolf run.
The game stayed within a single possession for several
minutes before UAA broke a 44-44 tie with consecutive
baskets by Holmstead, Robison and Alysa Horn, whose 12foot jumper swished through with 8:02 remaining.
The Seawolves went ahead 55-46 on a Holmstead free
throw with 3:01 left and managed to hang on despite
scoring just one point the rest of the way.
Horn finished with nine points and swatted two shots, while
center Hanna Johansson netted all nine of her points in the
second half and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, just
missing her 10th double-double of the season.
Robison collected her sixth double-double this year thanks
to 6-of-8 shooting. The Utah native had seven of her 13
rebounds on the offensive end.
The Seawolves clinched their sixth straight winning season
and the 11th in program history, avoiding their first backto-back losses against fellow Division II teams since
February 2009.
Western Washington 83, Saint Martin's 50
Kristin Schramm scored a game-high 22 points as Western
Washington defeated Saint Martin's at Sam Carver
Gymnasium.
Emily Lashua and Jordyn Richardson each had 11 points
for the Saints (7-16, 2-11), who have lost seven in a row
and 11 of 12.
WWU led by just four (19-15) with eight minutes left in the
first half, but ran off 11 straight points to take a 30-15 lead
with 4:10 remaining and held a 37-24 advantage at
halftime.
The Vikings then opened the second half by scoring 29
points in the first nine minutes, hitting 7-of-8 three-pointers
in the run, to take a 68-32 lead.
Stacy Albrecht led Central in rebounding with 10 to match
King's number for the Crusaders.
Men's Basketball: Wolves Red Hot In 86-48 Win
Schramm, who scored 14 points in the second half, was 8of-11 from the field, connecting on all five of her shots
from beyond the arc.
Guard Corinn Waltrip broke out of a shooting slump with
16 points, hitting 4-of-9 three-pointers, and forward Sydney
Donaldson had 13 points off the bench.
WWU shot 50 percent (33-of-66) from the field, including
12-of-24 (50.0 percent) on three-pointers.
The Vikings had a 43-30 rebound advantage with Kayla
Bernsen grabbing a game-high nine boards. Guard Trishi
Williams handed out nine assists and Waltrip had five.
Northwest Nazarene 58, Central Washington 54
Megan Hingston scored 11 of her team-high 19 points in
the second half as Northwest Nazarene held off Central
Washington to open up a four-game lead in the loss column
for the sixth and final playoff spot in the GNAC postseason tournament.
NNU's magic number to secure a berth is three. A
combination of three wins and/or three losses by Western
Oregon plus two wins and/or two losses by CWU (6-13, 39) would earn the Crusaders a berth in the women's
tournament, which begins Mar. 1 at Lacey.
The game was played tight to the vest from the get-go with
no team leading by more than five points in the first half or
seven in the second period.
The Crusaders led 27-22 with 2:46 remaining in the first
period before Central Washington got the final six points to
go ahead 28-27 at the break.
In the second stanza, NNU took the lead for good breaking
a 39-39 tie on a basket by Hingston with 11:20 left to start
a 7-0 run.
CWU, however, wouldn't go away and pulled to within
three on a trey by Sophie Russell with 1:11 remaining.
The Wildcats, who outrebounded NNU 44-26 but had nine
more turnovers (20-11), had an opportunity to tie the game
with a trey in the final minute, but turned the ball over with
seven seconds left. Heather Adams then made one of two
free throws to establish the final four-point margin.
In addition to Hingston, NNU got 16 points from Chelsie
Luke and 13 points and 10 rebounds from Briaunna King.
That was King's 12th double-double of the season.
Western Oregon literally couldn't miss in the second half as
it cruised to a 86-48 win over Simon Fraser in a GNAC
game at the New P.E. Building in Monmouth Saturday
snapping a three-game losing streak.
Seattle Pacific (17-5, 9-4) also won an afternoon game
defeating Alaska Fairbanks 79-53 at The Patty Center.
In evening contests, Western Washington (20-3, 11-1)
stayed on top of the conference standings one-half game
ahead of Alaska Anchorage (17-4, 11-2) by defeating Saint
Martin's 70-67.
UAA kept pace outscoring Montana State Billings 85-70 at
the Wells Fargo Sports Complex, while Northwest
Nazarene (11-9, 5-7) defeated Central Washington 75-70 to
move a game ahead of the Wildcats and 1 1/2 games ahead
of the Saints in the battle for the sixth and final spot in the
conference playoffs which begin Feb. 29 at Lacey.
Western Oregon (15-7, 8-5), which had lost five of their
previous six games, shot 80 percent in the final 20 minutes,
making 20 of 25 shots including all nine of its three-point
shots. WOU ended up making its last 11 treys after
converting on just one of its first eight.
Kyle Long and Blair Wheadon led the second-half
explosion scoring 18 and 13 points, respectively, to finish
the contest with 19 points each.
Long made seven of nine in the period, while Wheadon
was five of five. Both were three of three in the half from
the arc.
Joining Long and Wheadon in double figures for the game
was Jordan Freelander with 14 points. Freelander (6-11),
Long (7-12) and Wheadon (7-10) combined to make 20 of
33 shots as the Wolves finished the afternoon with a 56.9
percentage (33-58).
Simon Fraser (7-13, 2-10), which was just nine of 34 on
treys (26.5) and 15 of 62 overall (24.2), was led by Connor
Lewis with 19 points and Justin Brown with 11.
Lewis made four of five second-half treys when he scored
16 of his points. Brown scored all 11 of his points in the
first half, drawing the collar in the second period (0 for 7).
WOU dominated the backboards 44-31 as Long had nine
and Brian McGill had eight. Wheadon had 10 assists to
earn a double-double.
Seattle Pacific 79, Alaska Fairbanks 53
Russell led Central with 26 points, 18 of them in the second
half. She became just the sixth player in school history and the 48th in GNAC history - to score 1,000 or more
points increasing her total to 1,018.
Jobi Wall and David Downs combined for 46 points with
33 of them coming via the 3-pointer as Seattle Pacific shot
down Alaska Fairbanks at the Patty Center.
That Falcons duo teamed up to make 15 of 19 shots from
the field, including 11 of 15 from beyond the 3-point arc.
rebounds and four assists, hit 5-of-6 free throws to ice the
victory.
Wall registered his high-scoring game in an SPU uniform
with 25 points on 8 of 11 shooting. The junior wing, who
transferred from Colorado Christian, made 6 of 9 trey
attempts.
Guard John Allen had 14 points for the Vikings, and
Woodworth added 11 points, seven rebounds and four
assists.
Downs missed only one of his eight shots from the field,
hitting 5 of 6 treys. The sophomore point guard finished
with 21 points.
Sparked by those two, the Falcons shot 51 percent as a
team (25-49) and 12 of 23 on 3-pointers.
Andy Poling scored 11 points for the Falcons and Cory
Hutsen added 10.
The Falcons broke the game open early in the second half.
They extended a nine-point lead by starting the second half
with an 11-3 surge that was fueled by three treys from
Wall.
That 47-32 margin later grew to 66-40 with 7:58 left to
play after a 17-3 SPU run.
Alaska Fairbanks (4-19, 1-12) drained six of its first eight
3-point shots in the second half. They ended up making 61
percent (14 of 23) of their second-half shots, including 7 of
11 treys.
Dominique Brinson was the lone double-figure scorer for
the Nanooks with 17 points.
In the first half, back-to-back baskets by Sergej Pucar and
Daniel Shaw gave UAF, which has lost 10 straight, its final
lead at 21-18 with 7:44 left in the first half.
The Falcons responded with nine consecutive points, five
of them from Downs, to take a 27-21 lead en route to a 3629 halftime advantage.
Western Washington 70, Saint Martin's 67
Rory Blanche had a team-high 21 points to lead Western
Washington to a three-point win at Marcus Pavilion as the
16th ranked Vikings extended their win streak to seven
games.
Western Washington also got 14 points from John Allen
and 11 from Richard Woodworth.
Brok Pendleton paced the Saints (8-14, 4-9) with a gamehigh 24 points and Jeremy Green added 20 points and a
game-high 11 rebounds.
The Vikings led by as much as 22 points in the second half
and held a 60-50 lead with 3:30 to go.
But the Saints rallied, eventually pulling within three (6562) on a putback by Roger O'Neill with 29.4 seconds
remaining before Woodworth, who also had seven
WWU trailed 20-17 with just over eight minutes left in the
first half, but then put the defensive clamps on the Saints,
outscoring them 15-6 the rest of the period to take a 35-26
lead at halftime.
The Vikings then opened the second half with 13 straight
points and led 48-26 with just over 16 minutes left. SMU
responded with a 20-0 charge to pull within two.
But WWU bounced back with 10 points of its own to lead
58-46 with 5:34 to play.
Blanche, who was 10-of-14 from the field and had seven
rebounds, scored in double figures or the 17th straight
game and the 40th in the last 41.
Alaska Anchorage 85, Montana State Billings 70
Taylor Rohde delivered a dominating 30-point, 11-rebound
performance to lift No. 21 Alaska Anchorage to a 15-point
win over Montana State Billings.
The Seawolves also got 10 points apiece from starting
guards Colton Lauwers and Travis Thompson as they swept
the season series from their longtime rivals extending their
win streak to six and ending MSUB's at four.
The Yellowjackets (13-8, 8-5) were led by Antoine Proctor
with 18 points. Jaxon Myaer had 12 points and nine assists.
“I thought we were very focused in the first half, and I
liked the way we answered every time they made a run,”
said UAA head coach Rusty Osborne.
“Taylor was fantastic again tonight, and we got a lot of
unsung contributions off the bench with players like Phillip
Hearn (4 points, 2 steals), Liam Gibcus (4 points, 3
rebounds, 1 block) and Marcus Jackson (4 points, 2-3 FG, 0
turnovers).”
The Seawolves, who beat the Yellowjackets 80-72 last
month in Billings, controlled the rematch from the early
moments. UAA used a 10-2 run to go ahead 17-10, and the
lead stretched permanently to double digits when point
guard Steve White drove for a layup to make it 28-17 with
8:52 on the clock.
UAA led 45-22 with 3:12 left after White made a steal and
converted a fast-break layup, however MSUB sliced it to
47-31 at the break.
The Seawolves regained their largest lead at 63-40 on
Lonnie Ridgeway's short jumper early in the second half
and never let the Yellowjackets closer than 12 points the
rest of the way.
Rohde made 11 of 13 shots from the floor to help UAA to a
.525 overall percentage – the Seawolves' fourth straight
game over 50 percent.
The former Arizona State transfer has now posted two of
his four career 30-point efforts against MSUB, along with
his 31 in last season's win in Billings.
Lauwers, meanwhile, nailed 2 of 4 three-pointers as the
former Dimond High star and Adams State transfer scored
in double digits for the second straight game.
Bradshaw, who made seven appearances last season all in
relief, allowed just three hits and didn't walk a batter in 6
1/3 innings. Ian MacDougall then came on to get the final
two outs and record his second save.
With the potential tying run at third, MacDougall struck out
James Mossholder and got Garrett Tuck to ground out to
end the game.
Thompson added five assists and had just one turnover, and
Ridgeway contributed nine points off the bench.
WOU, trailing 1-0 in the fifth, scored the tying run on
back-to-back doubles by Michael Gange and AJ Royal.
Royal moved to third on a bunt, then scored what turned
out to be the game-winner on an infield hit by catcher Scott
David.
White dished a team-high seven assists and scored eight
points in the victory.
David and shortstop Blake Miller each had two hits for
WOU, which took a 2-1 lead in the four-game series.
Northwest Nazarene 75, Central Washington 70
Saturday's first game belonged to the Tritons as they scored
seven runs in the first and four in the second on the way to
a 14-4 win. Leadoff hitter Danny Susdorf and catcher Brett
Levy led UCSD with three hits each.
JB Pillard scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the
second half as Northwest Nazarene overcame three sevenpoint deficits to defeat Central Washington at the Johnson
Sports Center.
CWU (10-10, 4-8) grabbed the largest lead of the game
first at 52-45 with 12:36 remaining and later at 54-47 and
then at 60-53 on two Jordan Coby free throws with 8:04
left.
Northwest Nazarene, however, cut the Wildcats lead to one
with 3:14 left on a trey by Anthony Golden, then went
ahead 64-63 on two free throws by Jonathan Hawkins with
2:11 remaining.
Lacey Haddock answered for the Wildcats with a dunk
with 1:23 remaining, but Golden nailed a three with 1:05
left to give the Crusaders the lead for good at 67-65.
NNU eventually built a six-point lead inside the final 10
seconds on a dunk by Pillard before Haddock cut that in
half with a three-pointer. Golden, however, hit two foul
shots to nail down the victory.
Pillard had just two first-half points, but made eight of 10
shots after the break. Joining him in double figures were
Golden and Michal Kurimsky with 15 points each and
Hawkins with 13 as NNU completed its first-ever season
series sweep of CWU.
Haddock paced Central with 14 points. Jody Johnson had
13 points and 12 rebounds. Coby finished with 13 points
and Toussaint Tyler and Kevin Davis had 11 each.
Baseball: Wolves Earn Split With UC San Diego
Travis Bradshaw, making his first career start, pitched
Western Oregon to a 2-1 win over UC San Diego Saturday
earning the Wolves a split of their NCAA Division II West
Region doubleheader.
The Wolves did bang out 10 hits, including two each by
Brady Locker and Miller.
Cal Poly Pomona 19-12, Saint Martin's 3-2
Saint Martin's sustained two more lopsided losses at Cal
Poly Pomona falling 19-3 and 12-2 to the Broncos at
Scolinos Field. The Broncos have outscored the Saints 51-5
in the first three games of the series.
In the first game, CPP scored six runs in the first and built a
13-0 lead before the Saints got on the board on a two-run
home run by catcher Chandler Tracy ending a string of 33
unanswered Pomona runs.
Bobby Twedt got a sacrifice fly in the ninth for the final
Saint run. The Broncos got four-RBI games from Chris
Miller and Mike Philo in outhitting SMU 13-6.
In the second game, Cal Poly, which outhit SMU 15-3,
once again jumped ahead early scoring four runs in the first
and four more in the second. Jenzen Torres had four RBI
for Pomona.
Twedt led Saint Martin's in the twinbill with three hits,
including two in the first game.
Softball: Vikings Lose Opening Games at Turlock
Marisa Ibarra allowed six hits in pitching San Francisco
State to a 4-1 win over Western Washington in the Vikings'
first game of the Best of the West tournament at Turlock,
Calif. Saturday.
The Vikings also lost 8-0 to Chico State and 9-3 to Cal
State Monterey Bay.
The Vikings trailed 3-0 against SFSU after a two-run single
by Kylie Herrada in the fourth. WWU got its lone run in
the fifth as Jessica Carey doubled home Cheyenne Best.
Wood went the first seven innings, allowing just an
unearned run in the fourth inning, while striking out six and
walking just one to earn the win.
But that was all the offense they managed off of Ibarra,
who gave up two doubles and four singles. Meghan Carrillo
had one of each.
He then gave way to MacDougall to start the eighth inning.
The lefty threw two scoreless innings, striking out four of
the seven hitters he faced, to seal the win and get a save. He
allowed one hit.
Meanwhile, the Gators had nine hits and all four of its runs
off of Viking pitcher Jenna DeRosier, who left after five
innings.
The Wolves' offense struggled early, getting just two hits
and fanning 12 times in six innings off Jeff Rauh, but
scored eight unanswered runs after the fifth inning.
Jessica McDermott blanked Western Washington on three
hits, including two singles by Carrillo, in Chico's fiveinning mercy rule victory. Sam Quadt paced the Wildcats
driving in five runs with a double and single.
Western Oregon tied the game with a run in the sixth,
scored twice in the seventh to go ahead 3-1 and then tacked
on five insurance runs in the ninth.
Monterey Bay broke a scoreless tie in the fourth with two
runs on a double by Nina Villanueva. The Otters added
four more in the fifth and three in the sixth.
Griff Boyd's RBI single put WOU ahead in the seventh and
Eric Copenhagen walked with the bases loaded to make it
3-1.
WWU scored an unearned run in the fifth and tallied twice
in the sixth on run-scoring singles by Kristen Allen, who
had two hits in the game, and Nicole Rogers.
Six straight Wolves reached base in the ninth after the first
hitter popped out. Bo Folkinga had the big hit of the inning,
a three-run double to left center.
Elsewhere Saint Martin's got a win and a draw in its season
openers with British Columbia and Northwest Nazarene
lost a pair of games to top-ranked UC San Diego.
Western Oregon outhit the Tritons 9-4 as leadoff hitter AJ
Royal led the way with three and Boyd had two.
The Saints beat British Columbia 5-2 in their opener before
darkness halted the second game with the score tied 6-6 at
the end of seven innings.
Shortstop Emily Squiers and third baseman Morgan
Klemm each drove in two runs and the Saints' played
errorless ball. Freshman pitcher Sam Munger got the win
scattering eight hits and giving up just two runs.
In the second game, SMU fell behind 5-1, but rallied to tie
the game in the fourth with three runs. Lacey McGladrey
led the Saint offense with four hits, including two in each
game.
The Crusaders lost a pair of 8-0 decisions (G1/G2) as UC
San Diego completed a four-game sweep of their series.
Northwest Nazarene had just four hits in the twinbill,
including three in the opener and one in the nightcap.
In the only other game Friday involving a GNAC team, Cal
Poly Pomona crushed Saint Martin's 20-0 banging out 16
hits. Chris Miller and Joseph Eusebio each had three hits
and drove in four runs.
Infielder Mario Sanelli had two of the Saints' four hits. DH
Brent Nurre and catcher Chandler Tracy had one apiece.
Softball: Crusaders Swept by Top-Ranked UC San
Diego
Top-ranked UC San Diego swept Northwest Nazarene 8-5
and 5-2 in a NCAA West Region doubleheader Friday at
La Jolla, Calif.
The Crusaders held leads in both games against the
defending NCAA Division II national champions and were
led by Brianna Kinghorn at the plate as the freshman
finished the day with two hits and three RBI.
Baseball: Wolves Defeat UC San Diego In Opener
NNU took a 5-3 lead in the opener, scoring five runs in the
fourth - two on a double by Kinghorn - but UCSD
answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning and
added an insurance run in the sixth.
Grady Wood and Ian MacDougall combined to hold UC
San Diego to four hits and an unearned run leading Western
Oregon to an 8-1 win in the season opener for both teams
Friday.
The Crusaders opened the second game by scoring single
runs in the second and third innings to lead 2-0, but the
Tritons again responded with two in the third to tie it up
and rallied for three in the sixth to claim the victory.
Both teams were ranked in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll; the Tritons at No. 30 and the Wolves at No. 33.
Emily Renfro, Cara Duckworth, Arielle Chao and
Kinghorn each finished with two hits for NNU on the day.
Friday, Feb. 3
Indoor Track and Field: Boyes Jumps PNQ. . .Again
Brennan Boyes of Central Washington finished second in
the high jump with a provisional national qualifying leap of
6-8 1/4 Friday at the Vandal Indoor in Moscow.
It was the second time in seven days, Boyes has been
credited with a national qualifying high jump mark...and
this time it may actually count.
Last Saturday, Boyes was listed with a leap of 6-8 3/4 at a
meet at the University of Washington. Meet officials,
however, reported Wednesday the mark in the official
results was an error and Boyes actually cleared only 6-6
3/4.
Boyes officially earned his qualifying mark Friday equaling
the No. 3 mark in GNAC history.
He was one of four athletes with qualifying marks at
Moscow and also one of four to earn second-place finishes.
CWU's Bryan Mack had two second-place finishes - in the
triple jump (45-9 3/4) and 60 (6.89). His time in the dash
was .06 seconds better than his previous PNQ and equaled
the No. 2 time in GNAC history.
Senior guard Steve White helped key UAA's win with 15
points and five assists.
Montana State Billings (13-7, 8-4) also extended its win
streak to four with a 75-64 road win at Alaska Fairbanks to
move into a tie for third-place in the GNAC with Seattle
Pacific (16-5, 8-4).
Simon Fraser (7-12, 2-9), meanwhile, got a half-court
buzzer beater from Justin Brown to defeat Saint Martin's
88-85 at Marcus Pavilion.
Western Washington, ranked No.16 in this week's NABC
Top 25 Poll, avenged its only conference loss of the season
(an 83-73 defeat to WOU in Bellingham on Jan. 7) as John
Allen led the way with 19 points.
Guard Kyle Long paced the Wolves with a game-high 26
points, including a fastbreak layin with five seconds left
that forced overtime. Guard Blair Wheadon added 23
points.
Wheadon also had four steals to become just the fourth
player in GNAC history to record 200 or more in a career.
He now has 202.
Sam Washington of Saint Martin's finished second in the
men's weight throw with a toss of 58-1 3/4, adding 2 3/4
inches to his previous PNQ and to his No. 6 all-time GNAC
rank.
The Vikings, who led by as much as 16 in the second half,
had a 12-point lead (74-62) with five minutes left, but the
Wolves (14-7, 7-5) ran off eight straight points to close the
gap to four, then eventually pulled to within two (76-74)
with 1:17 to go on a layup by James Gehring.
Katherine Lotze of Central Washington placed second in
the women's triple jump with a lead of 38-4 1/4, improving
her PNQ by 2 1/4 inches.
WWU then missed three shots, the final one with 10
seconds left. Gehring rebounded and threw an outlet pass to
Long, who drove the length of the floor to tie the game.
CWU will compete in another meet Saturday in Moscow as
the Vandals host the Runner's Soul Open.
WOU had an 80-77 lead early in overtime, but the Vikings
took over, scoring on their next four possessions to grab an
85-80 lead with 1:13 left. Two free throws each by Richard
Woodworth and Allen preserved the triumph.
Meanwhile, Montana State Billings and Northwest
Nazarene will have athletes at the Boise State Bronco
Invitational in Nampa.
UI Vandal Indoor (Feb. 3 at Moscow): Men (Top 3): 60 - 2. Bryan Mack,
CWU, 6.89. High Jump - 2. Brennan Boyes, CWU, 6-8 1/4. Triple Jump 2. Bryan Mack, CWU, 45-9 3/4. Weight Throw - 2. Sam Washington,
SMU, 58-1 3/4. Women (Top 3): Pole Vault - 3. Kati Davis, CWU, 11-11
3/4. Triple Jump - 2. Katharine Lotze, CWU, 38-4 1/4.
Thursday, Feb. 2
Men's Basketball: Vikings Edge Western Oregon In OT
Western Washington let a late lead slip away, but recovered
to defeat Western Oregon 89-81 in overtime at the New
P.E. Building in Monmouth Thursday extending its win
streak to six games.
The win kept the Vikings (19-3, 10-1) one-half game ahead
of second-place Alaska Anchorage (16-4, 10-2), which won
its fifth in a row beating Seattle Pacific 78-69 at the Wells
Fargo Sports Complex.
Woodworth had 16 points, all of them after halftime. The
Vikings' Rory Blanche contributed 14 points and a gamehigh nine rebounds. Chris Mitchell had 12 points and Zach
Henifin added 11.
The Vikings were seven of seven on three-pointers in the
first half, and finished 12 of 18 tying a school-record for a
game by hitting 66.7 percent of their treys.
Alaska Anchorage 78, Seattle Pacific 69
White lead a balanced scoring effort and help No. 21
Alaska Anchorage to a nine-point victory over Seattle
Pacific.
In addition to White's 15, UAA also got 16 points and three
assists from Travis Thompson as it earned a regular-season
split with the Falcons. It's the seventh year in a row the two
teams have split their games.
Seattle Pacific was led by game-highs of 22 points and
seven assists from David Downs, but the Falcons were
unable to dig out of an early hole and lost its seventh
straight game at the WFSC.
The home team has now won the last 13 games in a series
that includes 62 all-time meetings.
The Seawolves got off to a good start when Colton
Lauwers and Kyle Fossman combined for three threepointers in the first three minutes, and Abebe Demissie hit
a jumper to make it 18-6 before the first official timeout.
Lauwers finished with his highest-scoring game since Dec.
29, tallying all 11 of his points in the first half to lead UAA
to a 41-30 lead.
Stevens hit three treys, all during a stretch in the second
half when MSUB took control of the game.
The game was tied six times, but Stevens hit a pair of treys
to put MSUB ahead for good. A fewer moments later the
Yellowjackets scored 10 consecutive points on threepointers by Myaer and Stevens, two free throws by Stevens
and a layup by Robert Mayes to go ahead 52-41.
Alaska Fairbanks, which was led by Sergej Pucar with 21
points, never got closer than seven the remainder of the
way.
The Nanooks also were led by Nico Matthews with 14.
Carthal McDonald scored 11 points.
Simon Fraser 88, Saint Martin's 85
The teams traded baskets through much of the second half,
with SPU making its biggest push late. The Falcons sliced
an 11-point deficit almost in half on a pair of free throws by
Downs and a trey from Jake Anderson with 4:30 left,
making it 63-57.
Justin Brown scored 35 points, including a heave from
midcourt at the buzzer as Simon Fraser earned its second
conference victory of the season defeating Saint Martin's at
Marcus Pavilion
White answered by hitting one of two free throws, and the
Seawolves pushed the lead back to double figures with 3:12
on the clock when Thompson dialed up a long trey from the
top of the key.
Simon Fraser led 85-77 with just 41 seconds left, but Saint
Martin's (8-13, 4-8) scored eight consecutive points, tying
the score 85-85 on Ryan Votaw's three-pointer with just
four seconds remaining.
SPU, which won the rebounding battle 31-21, didn't get
closer than nine the rest of the way.
But Brown took the inbounds pass, dribbled to half court
and launched a desperation shot that hit nothing but net.
The Seawolves got eight or more points from six different
players, including 13 points on five of six shooting from
Taylor Rohde.
“I make them all the time in practice,” Brown said. “It felt
good coming out of my hands.”
Fossman finished with nine points on three of three threepoint shooting, while Demissie tallied eight points.
Meanwhile, White, a fourth-year point guard, continued the
finest offensive stretch of his career by shooting four of
seven from the field and seven of nine at the free throw
line.
The Australian also added four rebounds and committed
only one turnover while playing a game-high 36 minutes.
White now has 43 points over the last three games.
Montana State Billings 75, Alaska Fairbanks 64
Jaxon Myaer and Antoine Proctor scored 22 and 21 points,
respectively, leading Montana State Billings to an 11-point
road win at The Patty Center as Alaska Fairbanks (4-18, 111) lost its ninth game in a row.
The Yellowjacket converted on 50 percent (26-52) of their
shots, including 14 of 24 in the second half. UAF was held
to a 38.9 percentage, making 21 of 54.
Myaer made four of nine three-pointers, while Proctor
made four of six treys. Overall the two combined for 15
field goals in 27 attempts. Taylor Stevens also was in
double figures with 14 points.
Brown, who scored his team's first nine points of the game,
equaled a GNAC season-high with his 35 points, which is
20 above his season average. Earlier this season both
Antoine Proctor of Montana State Billings and Lacy
Haddock of Central Washington had 35-point efforts.
“Justice was probably served,” SMU coach Keith Cooper
said. “The guy who beat us all night sank the game winner
at half court.”
Cooper thought the shot was good when it left Brown's
hands. He just wasn't sure Brown got it off in time.
SMU's big three – Jeremy Green, Brok Pendleton and
Roger O'Neill – combined for 66 of their teams 85 points.
Pendleton led with 26 points, Green added 25 and O'Neill
had 15.
SMU was in comeback mode all night. Down 38-37 at half
time, the Saints trailed 72-62 on Brown's lay-in with 5:25
left. And just as the Saints have done all season, they
rallied again with an 8-2 run, closing to 74-70 on O'Neill's
basket with 2:50 left.
But then SFU led 85-77 on Brown's two free throws with
41 seconds left, seemingly icing the win.
But the Saints rallied again. Pendleton started the surge
with two free throws to shrink the lead to six. Votaw then
buried his first of two three-points in the run, cutting the
gap to 85-82 with 17 seconds left.
Then on the inbounds pass, O'Neill swatted at the ball,
bouncing it off a SFU player and out of bounds to force a
turnover. Brady Bomber then missed a three-pointer, Green
rebounded and passed to an open Votaw, who coolly rattled
in a three-pointer to tie the score with four seconds left.
Until Votaw's back-to-back treys, SMU went one for 15
from three-point. But for the game, SMU shot well enough
to win, going 35 for 65 (54 percent) from the field.
Simon Fraser, which had lost seven of its last eight games,
shot 56 percent (17 of 30) from the field in the second half.
Most of those were lay-ins. The Clan scored 26 points in
the paint.
SPU went back in front (51-50) on two Benson free throws
at the 6:24 mark. The Falcons led the rest of the way, but
never by more than six.
During those final 6½ minutes, the Seawolves, who were
kept 19 points below their 81.0 scoring average (No. 4 in
Division II), had eight different opportunities to tie or take
the lead.
But Seattle Pacific denied them every time, forcing two
missed shots at 51-50, three at 54-52, and three more at 5755.
"We talked about (the Seawolves) making a run," SPU
coach Julie Heisey said. "They caught back up. (But) we
showed resilience, we didn't fold, our seniors showed great
leadership, and we did the little things right."
Women's Basketball: Falcons Beat No. 8 Seawolves
A pair of Harazin free throws at the 2:08 mark on a
technical foul made it 59-55, then Benson hit two from the
line for a 61-55 lead at the 1:44 mark.
Nyesha Sims scored 13 points, and Katie Benson, Jordan
Harazin and Aubree Callen added nine apiece as Seattle
Pacific knocked off No. 8 Alaska Anchorage 67-62 in a
GNAC game Thursday night at Brougham Pavilion.
Alaska Anchorage closed to 63-60 with 41.4 seconds left.
But Callen responded with a long two from the right corner
with the shot clock at four seconds and the game clock at
15.2 for a 65-60 advantage.
The loss enabled Western Washington (14-5, 8-3) to close
within 1 1/2 games of the first-place Seawolves (19-4, 102).
A putback by Alysa Horn with 4.3 seconds showing cut the
lead to 65-62. Callen sealed it by swishing a pair of free
throws with 4.1 seconds remaining.
The Vikings got 22 points from Kristin Schramm and broke
away from a 27-27 halftime tie to defeat Western Oregon
68-59.
Western Washington 68, Western Oregon 59
Montana State Billings (16-7, 8-4) and Simon Fraser (12-7,
7-4), meanwhile, remained among three teams with four
losses, with wins. The Yellowjackets overcame a threepoint halftime deficit to defeat Alaska Fairbanks 88-72,
while the Clan routed Saint Martin's 79-48.
In Seattle Pacific's win, Harazin pulled down a career high
nine rebounds in addition to scoring nine points.
Anchorage had four players in double figures, including
Gritt Ryder with 15, Haley Holmstead with 14, Sasha King
with 13 and Kaylie Robison with 10.
The Falcons (14-6, 8-4) did shut down Seawolf forward
Hanna Johansson, limiting her to four points and seven
rebounds.
In UAA's 82-59 rout of Seattle Pacific on Jan. 7 in
Anchorage, Johansson went for a monster double-double of
22 points and 18 rebounds.
The Falcons built a 19-point first-half lead at 42-23, and
were up 42-25 at halftime. But Anchorage put together a
25-7 second-half scoring run and forged in front 50-49 on a
pair of free throws by Robison with 6:50 left.
Kristin Schramm scored a game-high 22 points, including
nine during a crucial second-half run as Western
Washington defeated Western Oregon at Sam Carver
Gymnasium.
Guard Trishi Williams had 12 points on four of four fieldgoal shooting and center Britt Harris added 11 points and
seven rebounds to also pace the Vikings.
Center Rylee Peterson led the Wolves with 18 points and
forward Jade Haas added 16 and had five steals.
Tied at 31-31 early in the second half, the Vikings went on
a 12-2 run to take a 43-33 lead with 14:19 to play.
Schramm had the last nine WWU points in the charge,
hitting four straight shots from the floor.
The Vikings were still up by 11 (63-52) with under four
minutes to play. The Wolves ran off seven straight points,
narrowing the margin to four (63-59) on a free throw by
Haas with 1:28 to play, but WWU hit five of six free
throws to seal the victory.
WWU shot 47.8 percent (22-46) from the field, and had a
40-31 rebounding advantage, but was hampered by 27
turnovers.
The Vikings jumped to a 12-0 lead in the first seven
minutes as WOU missed its first nine shots from the field.
But the Wolves, who didn't hit the scoreboard until a
fastbreak layin by Lorrie Clifford with 12:45 left in the first
half, narrowed the margin to one (14-13) with 8:30 to go in
the period.
Western Oregon then pulled into a 27-27 tie at halftime as
Haas raced up court and beat the buzzer with a running
three-pointer that rattled the rim and fell in.
In addition to her 23 points, Raincock-Ekunwe also had 10
rebounds, recording her 16th double-double of the season.
That is just one shy of her own GNAC record.
The Clan also got 12 points from Kristina Collins, all from
long range where she made four of seven.
Chelsea Haskey paced Saint Martin's with 10 points
converting on five of 12. Jordyn Richardson had eight
points, connecting on two treys and two foul shots.
Montana State Billings 88, Alaska Fairbanks 72
Quinn Peoples and Bobbi Knudsen each scored 14 secondhalf points as Montana State Billings fought off an upset
bid from Alaska Fairbanks to beat the Nanooks and extend
its win streak to four games.
The Yellowjackets (16-7, 8-4) trailed the Nanooks(6-16, 210) 40-37 at halftime and fell behind by eight points (4739) early in the second half before getting things turned
around.
MSUB went ahead for the first time in the second half 5150 with 13:46 left on a jumper by Annie DePuydt, then
took the lead for good with 12:14 remaining on a trey by
Peoples.
Starting the game on a 4-0 run, SFU took the lead early on
and never looked back.
As the Saints experienced a five minute scoreless drought,
a 9-0 run propelled the Clan to a 20-point lead over the
Saints, pushing the score to 34-14 with 2:33 remaining in
the first half.
The Clan wound up with a 39-23 lead heading into the
locker room at halftime.
SFU, which outshot SMU 48.4 percent to 34.0 and
outrebounded them 39-27, did not let up in the second half
leading by as many as 31.
Men's Soccer: U-Mary, Sioux Falls To Join GNAC
Peoples' three-pointer started a 19-4 MSUB run that gave
the 'Jackets a 72-58 lead with 6:54 remaining. The lead
remained in double digits the rest of the way.
Peoples finished with 20 points, connecting on five of 12
three-point shots, while Knudsen had 19. Janiel Olson had
12 points and a game-high nine rebounds, seven of them at
the offensive end.
Nicole Hartzog paced Alaska Fairbanks with 15 points,
while Nicole Bozek, who made 12 of 14 free throws,
scored 14 points.
In the second half, MSUB shot 45.5 percent (15-33) to
finish at 43.8 (28-64). UAF, however, cooled off making
just nine of 29 after the break (31.0) and misfiring on all
nine of their three-pointers. In the first half Fairbanks shot
53.6 percent (15-28) and finished at 42.1 (24-57).
Kalli Stanhope led the MSUB defensive effort with five
steals, while Knudsen led her team with five assists, a
number matched by UAF's Benissa Buyala.
Simon Fraser 79, Saint Martin's 48
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe scored 23 points and Chelsea
Reist added 18 as Simon Fraser outscored Saint Martin's by
31 points to earn a conference victory at West Gym
Simon Fraser lost to the Saints earlier this season in Lacey,
but Reist made sure it didn't happen again making all six of
her shots in the first half and finishing the game with seven
field goals in nine attempts.
=
The University of Mary, which is located in Bismarck,
N.D., and the University of Sioux Falls of Sioux Falls,
S.D., have agreed to become affiliate members of the Great
Northwest Athletic Conference in men's soccer, GNAC
Commissioner Dave Haglund announced Thursday.
The two NCAA Division II universities will begin play in
the GNAC and the NCAA West Region beginning this fall.
They'll join Montana State University Billings, Northwest
Nazarene University (Idaho), Saint Martin's University
(Wash.), Seattle Pacific University (Wash.), Simon Fraser
University (B.C.) and Western Washington University
bringing membership in the GNAC men's soccer
conference to eight.
The eight schools will each play a 14-game home-andhome schedule. U-Mary and Sioux Falls will be
immediately eligible for the conference championship and
all conference awards.
“We are extremely excited to welcome the University of
Mary and the University of Sioux Falls as affiliate
members beginning this fall,” Haglund said. “They will
greatly enhance our conference offering in men's soccer
while providing important additional in-region NCAA
Division II contests for all eight members.”
U-Mary and Sioux Falls are currently members of the
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, which does not
sponsor men's soccer. All its other teams will continue to
compete in the Northern Sun.
“The University of Mary is thrilled to join the Great
Northwest Athletic Conference and be a part of such a
nationally-respected organization,” U-Mary athletic
director Roger Thomas said.
“When looking for a home for our men's soccer team, we
hoped to find a conference that shared our athletic and
academic philosophies and played soccer at a very high
level. We feel the GNAC is a perfect fit for the Marauders
and will help us improve the visibility and provide stability
for our program.”
Defending GNAC champion Humboldt State signed 15 on
National Letter-of-Intent Day. (Note: Follow Humboldt
State link for video highlights on recruits).
Meanwhile, Western Oregon inked 29 high school
standouts, including 17 Oregonians, and Dixie State signed
16.
Central Washington's signing class represents a
geographically-diverse group from the Evergreen State,
with players coming from up and down the I-5 corridor as
well as eastern Washington.
“We are extremely excited to be a member of the GNAC,”
said USF Athletic Director William Sanchez. “The GNAC
is one of the premier NCAA DII conferences in the nation
and has built a strong reputation in collegiate soccer. This
is a big day for our university and our men's soccer
program, as we complete our transition into the NCAA
DII.”
The school with greatest representation in the signing class
is Lake Stevens High School, which had four Vikings -three on the offensive side of the ball -- while Kentlake
High School (Kent, Wash.), Lakes High School
(Lakewood, Wash.), and Union High School (Camas,
Wash.) had two signees each. "
U-Mary and Sioux Falls will join a conference that has
accounted for nine men's soccer national championships
from current or former members.
From a positional standpoint, Central Washington's greatest
pursuit was for quarterbacks and wide receivers in the class
of 2012.
Simon Fraser was a perennial NAIA national powerhouse
winning NAIA national titles in 1976, 1982 and 1983
before joining the GNAC in 2010 and becoming the first
Canadian member of the NCAA.
Nearly half of the Wildcats' 28 signees were recruited to
play either the quarterback or wide receiver position, as
CWU signed five quarterbacks and nine wide receivers to
National Letters of Intent.
This past year the Clan posted an 18-0-1 record and was the
No. 1 ranked NCAA Division II team in the nation in the
final regular-season poll though it was ineligible for the
playoffs as a provisional NCAA member.
Humboldt State head football coach Rob Smith signed 15
talented athletes to National Letters of Intent. Eight more
players are already on campus, having transferred in from
junior colleges at the start of the semester.
Seattle Pacific, which hosted the NCAA West Regional
playoffs last season as the No. 1 seed, has won five NCAA
Division II national titles, including 1978, 1983, 1985,
1986 and 1993.
“We're bringing a group of well-rounded young men to
campus who are high in character and talent, and have the
right attitude,” Smith said. “I expect them to play an
important role in our program's future.”
Former GNAC member Seattle University, which now
competes at the Division I level, was the 2004 NCAA
Division II national champion.
The junior college players who transferred to Humboldt
State for the winter semester will likely impact the program
immediately. They'll get a jump on the athletes who will
join the Jacks in the fall, participating in spring practice
sessions.
Both U-Mary under fifth-year head coach Dave Cook and
Sioux Falls under second-year head coach Paul Bennett
have previously competed against the GNAC.
Last year U-Mary played games against three of the GNAC
institutions including Montana State Billings, Northwest
Nazarene and Seattle Pacific, while Sioux Falls played four
GNAC schools - Montana State Billings, Northwest
Nazarene, Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser.
Wednesday, Feb. 1
Football: CWU Signs 28, HSU Adds 15, WOU Inks 29
A total of 28 high school seniors, all from the state of
Washington, have signed National Letters of Intent to join
the football program at Central Washington University.
Amongst Western Oregon's signees were a multitude of
offensive and defensive linemen, along with a number of
defensive backs and wide receivers.
"This is a balanced class with the size and speed to move us
forward as we play a complete NCAA Division II schedule
for the first time," said Ferguson.
"Last year we learned that we have to have a big physical
line on both sides of the ball if we are going to compete
against the likes of Grand Valley State, Montana and
Abilene Christian."
JANUARY
Tuesday, Jan. 31
Baseball: Wolves Seek 11th Straight GNAC Title
Unlike any team in any GNAC sport, Western Oregon has
dominated baseball since the conference was founded.
The Wolves will be gunning for their 11th consecutive
GNAC title (and their 12th overall) this spring and once
again are the pre-season favorite.
But, by the smallest margin in the history of the annual
poll.
The Wolves received three of the five first-place votes and
narrowly edged Northwest Nazarene by one point in the
balloting.
Montana State Billings, which finished fourth last year,
earned a No. 3 ranking in the poll, while last year's runnerups Saint Martin's fell to fourth in the coaches' projections
leaving Central Washington in fifth.
Western Oregon – on paper – appears well positioned to
win yet another title as it returns six all-stars, including five
2011 first team selections.
Among that group is the best 1-2 pitching combo in the
GNAC in Kirk Lind and Grady Wood who combined for a
15-5 record last season and ranked first (1.53) and third
(2.32) in earned run average.
Wood was selected the GNAC Pitcher-of-the-Year, a
discussion that Lind was also involved in.
Also returning as first team all-conference selections for the
Wolves are outfielder Bo Folkinga, third baseman Griff
Boyd and relief pitcher Ian MacDougall.
Washington and Brian Hutchings (3.86) of Montana State
Billings.
The conference season will begin Mar. 9-11 as Northwest
Nazarene travels to Monmouth to play Western Oregon
Friday and Saturday in a four-game series matching the top
two poll finishers.
Meanwhile, Montana State Billings will travel to Saint
Martin's for a four-game series on Saturday and Sunday.
Central Washington gets the first week bye before opening
its 32-game conference slate on Mar. 17-18 at home against
Saint Martin's.
Non-conference play begins this week as Saint Martin's
opens a four-game series Friday at Cal Poly Pomona and
Western Oregon travels to San Diego for a four-game
series with perennial West Region power UC San Diego.
Central Washington makes its season debut Wednesday,
Feb. 8 at San Francisco State, while Northwest Nazarene
opens its season at home with a four-game series Feb. 1011 with Minot State.
MSU Billings starts its season a week later debuting Feb.
17-19 with a four-game series at Colorado State – Pueblo.
Women's Basketball: Seawolves Climb Four Spots in
Poll
Alaska Anchorage made the second largest climb in this
week's USA Today ESPN Division II Top 25 climbing four
spots to No. 8. UC San Diego remained unbeaten and
ranked first improving to 20-0.
Lander, S.C. made the biggest move jumping five spots
from 24th to 19th. Grand Canyon fell four from 11th to
15th, while Cal Poly Pomona dropped out of the Top 25.
WOU's five first team selections matches the total from the
other four conference schools combined.
In this week's national stats, Hanna Johansson of Alaska
Anchorage, who earned GNAC Player-of-the-Week
honors, climbed into 10th in field goal percentage.
Johansson is shooting 56.7 percent.
Northwest Nazarene has three including 2011 batting
champion and GNAC Freshman of the Year Logan Parker
(.383), pitcher-outfielder Sean McDonald and first baseman
Derek Bettinson.
NNU's Briaunna King and UAA's Sasha King are the only
other player ranked in the Top 10. Briaunna is seventh in
double-doubles with 11. Sasha is ninth in assist/turnover
ratio with a 2.14 ratio.
The only other two returning first team players from the
2011 season are Central Washington third baseman Glen
Reser and Montana State Billings shortstop Colby Robison.
Alaska Anchorage continued to lead the nation in scoring
margin (26.5) after two blowout wins. The Seawolves are
also second in assists (19.8), fourth in scoring (81.0) and
rebounding margin (12.4), fifth in field goal percentage
(46.5) and field goal percentage defense (32.0) and sixth in
assist/turnover ratio 1.15.
Robison finished fourth in the conference in hitting (.335)
and is one of four returnees among last year's Top 10
including Parker, Folkinga (.375) who finished second and
McDonald who ranked eighth (.321).
Among last year's pitchers, seven of the 12 who had ERAs
below 4.00 are back include Lind, McDonald (1.70),
Wood, Tommy DeBoer (2.67) and Nate O'Bryan (3.22) of
Saint Martin's, Brandon Rohde (3.35) of Central
Seattle Pacific is fourth in free throw percentage (79.0),
sixth in rebounding (10.1) and ninth in assists (17.8).
Central Washington is sixth in three-pointers made (8.3).
Western Washington is 10th in three-point percentage
(36.9).
Western Washington remained the top-ranked West Region
team in this week's NABC national poll climbing two spots
to No. 16. Alaska Anchorage, meanwhile, moved up four
positions to No. 21.
Five of Seattle Pacific's recruits are also from Washington,
including Crossfire competitors Emma Holm, a defender
from Kirkland (Lake Washington HS), Laura Moore , a
forward from Kent (Kentwood HS), Shayla Page, a
defender from Redmond (Eastlake HS) and Ashley Shaw, a
midfielder from Seattle (Seattle Lutheran HS).
Cal Poly Pomona (29th overall) and Seattle Pacific (32nd)
also received votes.
Taylor Hauck, a defender from Shoreline (King's HS),
played her club soccer for the Washington Rush.
Travis Thompson of UAA and Kevin Davis of Central
Washington remained the only players ranked in the Top
10. Thompson held steady in assist/turnover ratio at No. 2
(3.44), while Davis is eighth in blocks (2.9).
The Falcons recruiting class also features Monica Gomez
from Riverside, Calif. (Woodcrest Christian HS) and
Courtney Shearer from Bend, Ore. Gomez is a defender
who played club soccer for Slammers FC and Shearer is a
goalkeeper who played for the Oregon Rush.
Men's Basketball: Vikings Move Up Two in NABC Poll
Nico Matthews of Alaska Fairbanks is 11th in steals (2.7)
and two players - Anthony Golden of NNU in threepointers (3.3) and Saint Martin's Brok Pendleton in blocks
(2.5) - are ranked 12th.
In team stats, Alaska Anchorage is third in assists (19.9)
and assist/turnover ratio (1.54), eighth in scoring margin
(15.0) and 10th in three-point percentage (40.7).
Seattle Pacific is third in scoring defense (57.5), sixth in
rebounding (8.6) and ninth in field goal defense (38.1).
Central Washington is fifth in blocked shots (5.9).
Northwest Nazarene is sixth in three-pointers made (10.2)
and 10th in free throw percentage (76.7). MSU Billings
ranks 10th (9.6) in three-pointers.
"This is not only a very talented class, but a very wellrounded class with a goalkeeper, forward, two midfielders
and three defenders," said SPU coach Chuck Sekyra, who
directed the Falcons into the NCAA Division II tournament
in each of his nine seasons. SPU won the 2008 national
championship.
"All of these players not only come from talented club
teams, but those club teams were successful at the highest
level possible in our country. They are all excellent
students who are great additions to our program as young
women on and off the field. This is going to be a fun group
to coach.”
Monday, Jan. 30
Volleyball: Smith Resigns at Montana State Billings
Softball: MSUB Narrow Favorite In 2012 GNAC Race
Montana State Billings volleyball coach Steve Smith has
resigned, MSUB athletic director Dr. Gary Gray announced
Tuesday.
Montana State Billings won its last nine games and 13 of
its final 15 contests last spring.
The Yellowjackets had an 11-16 record last fall, including
5-13 in conference matches. In three seasons at MSUB,
Smith had a record of 33-40.
While that wasn't enough for the Yellowjackets to earn a
NCAA Division II West Region softball playoff invitation,
it did draw the attention of the Great Northwest Athletic
Conference coaches who have anointed MSUB as the 2012
GNAC pre-season favorite.
During his tenure, Smith has coached eight all-conference
selections, 11 academic all-conference honorees and one
CoSIDA Academic All-District selection. Smith also
coached the first-ever All-American in program history in
Devon Crotteau in 2010.
Prior to MSUB, Smith served four seasons at Fort Hays
State. He also served as the assistant coach at Western
Oregon for nine seasons.
Women's Soccer: SPU Inks Seven, NNU Adds 10
Seven high school seniors, including a quartet from the
Crossfire Premier club program, have signed letters of
intent to attend Seattle Pacific University.
Northwest Nazarene added 10 new players to its 2012
roster, signing six players from the state of Idaho and four
recruits from Washington.
Not by much of a margin, mind you. In fact, the poll was a
three-team horse race as MSUB edged two-time defending
champion Central Washington by just two points and
Western Washington by four.
The three teams split the seven first-place votes with
MSUB earning three and Central Washington and Western
Washington, which each qualified for the NCAA playoffs
last spring, garnering two.
The Yellowjackets, who went 22-9 under Lisa Allen after
she replaced Anthony Stone early in the season, return four
all-stars.
Among the four are three of the GNAC's top seven
returning hitters from a team that ended up with an overall
record of 28-20 finishing third in the conference.
Outfielders Bobbie Lee and Meg Harasymczuk are back
after earning first team honors. Lee is the conference's top
returning hitter finishing third a year ago with a .432
average.
Harasymczuk, who was the GNAC Newcomer-of-the-Year,
finished 11th (7th among returning players) with a .353
average. She hit 14 home runs and 39 RBI.
Four other returning GNAC players were first team
selections. Back for Central Washington is designated
player Carrina Wagner, who hit .329 and had the best runproducing numbers among returning players with 15 home
runs and 41 RBI.
Simon Fraser first baseman Kelsey Haberl was also a first
team choice after hitting .358 and leading the Clan to the
NAIA national tournament. She ranked ninth in hitting in
the GNAC.
Saint Martin's returns two first-team all-stars in pitcher-first
baseman Joslyn Eugenio and second baseman Lacey
McGladrey, who was the GNAC Freshman-of-the-Year .
Eugenio ranked fifth in the GNAC with a .391 average and
also posted a 5-14 record in the circle, while McGladrey
ranked eighth with a .358 average.
Western Washington doesn't return any first-teamers, but
does have a pair of second-teamers in catcher Jackie
Rothenberger, who hit .344 to rank 13th, and outfielder
Meghan Carrillo, who batted .315.
The only other returning players who ranked in the Top 15
in hitting were Central Washington second baseman Molly
Coppinger and MSUB third baseman Nicole Colpron.
Both players were second team all-stars after finishing
seventh (.360) and 10th (.355), respectively, in the
conference batting race.
Six of last year's Top 10 hitters are back, but only five
returning pitchers had ERAs below 4.00 and just two
reached double-digit wins.
Cara Lukawesky of Simon Fraser, which is picked to finish
fourth in the GNAC race, is the top returner in both ERA
(3.26) and wins (16-9).
MSUB has two pitchers in that category (ERAs below
4.00). Kasie Conder ranked fifth (3.60) and Amanda Todd
was eighth (3.85).
Jenna DeRosier of Western Washington, who made seven
starts and eight relief appearances, finished sixth (3.63),
while Chelsey Anderson, who led Northwest Nazarene to
its best-ever conference record, ranked ninth with a 3.89
ERA as the Crusaders, who are projected to finish fifth this
year, earned a fourth-place finish.
The Yellowjackets' Annaleisha Parsley, who had a 4.21
ERA, is the only double-digit winner returning in addition
to Lukawesky. Parsley had a 10-9 record.
Western Oregon, which has a conference-low four
returning starters and came in sixth in the coaches' poll
ahead of Saint Martin's, also returns a quality pitcher in
Brittany Reeves.
Reeves had a 7-3 record and a 2.60 ERA in 2010, before
redshirting last season.
Central Washington opens defense of its conference title
Feb. 17 when it begins a four-game series at Northwest
Nazarene. Those will be the first of 36 conference games
for both teams.
The GNAC non-conference schedule begins Friday as the
Crusaders debut with a four-game series at UC San Diego.
Saint Martin's is also scheduled to open its season hosting
British Columbia Saturday
Western Washington, meanwhile, will compete in the Cal
State Stanislaus Best of the West Invitational in Turlock,
Calif. Saturday and Sunday.
The remainder of the GNAC schools will make their debut
the following Friday in Las Vegas in the MSUB Stinger
Invitational.
Joining MSUB in the tournament from the GNAC will be
Central Washington, Simon Fraser, Western Oregon and
Western Washington. Sunday, Jan. 29
Track and Field: Boyes, Potter Claim No. 2 Spots
Brennan Boyes of Central Washington and Ashley Potter of
Western Oregon posted the No. 2 marks in GNAC history
in their respective events Saturday at the University of
Washington Invitational.
Boyes finished fifth in the men's high jump equaling the
No. 2 GNAC all-time mark with a provisional national
qualifying leap of 6-8 3/4. That was just one inch off the
GNAC indoor record set by CWU's Cresap Watson in
2006.
Potter earned a PNQ in the women's triple jump with a leap
of 39-1 adding 2 1/2 inches to her previous career best
which already had ranked second in GNAC history. The
record is 39-11 1/2 by Emily Warman of Western
Washington in 2010.
Eight other GNAC athletes and two relay teams also posted
all-time Top 10 performances Saturday in Day 2 of the
meet at the Dempsey Indoor facility.
In the men's 800, Ryan Hansen of Western Oregon and
Nathan Seely of Seattle Pacific posted the fifth (1:52.22)
and sixth fastest times (1:52.26) in GNAC history earning
PNQs in the process. Ryan Brockerville of Simon Fraser
claimed the No. 10 GNAC all-time mark in the mile with a
time of 4:12.60.
In the men's high jump, Logan Myers and Karsten Schick,
both of Western Washington, moved into seventh place
with leaps of 6-6 3/4, while Kati Davis of Central
Washington matched the No. 5 mark in the women's pole
vault with a PNQ leap of 12-0 1/2.
One of the athletes Davis matched was WWU's Karis
Anderson who cleared that height on Friday in an earlier
flight of the event.
Aisha Klippenstein of Simon Fraser joined Potter in the
Top 10 in the women's triple jump with the third best alltime performance of 39-0 1/2.
Meanwhile, Nate Johnson of Seattle Pacific moved into
third in the heptathlon with a provisional national
qualifying score of 4,679. Johnson added 103 points to his
previous career best, which had ranked third.
Western Washington's 4x400 relay teams both claimed the
No. 8 all-time GNAC times. The men ran a school-record
time of 3:21.51, while the Viking women ran a time of
3:57.50.
In addition to Boyes, Potter, Hansen, Seely, Davis and
Johnson, Saturday's national qualifiers included WWU's
Eleanor Siler in the women's 400 in a time of 57.30,
Warman in the long jump (18-5 3/4) and Central
Washington's Katharine Lotze in the women's triple jump
(38-2).
Three Simon Fraser athletes also had performances better
than the NCAA PNQ though they aren't eligible to compete
in the national meet - Lindsey Butterworth and Michaela
Kane in the women's 800 (2:12.80 & 2:13.97) and
Brockerville in the mile.
UW Invitational (Jan. 27-28 at Seattle): Women (Top 8): 400 - 5.
Eleanor Siler, WWU, 57.30. 4x400 Relay - 8. Western Washington
3:57.50. *Distance Medley Relay - 6. Simon Fraser 12:08.31. High Jump 7. Brittany Grandy, WWU, 1.66 - 5-5 1/4. Long Jump - 6. Emily Warmen,
WWU, 18-5 3/4. Triple Jump - 6. Ashley Potter, WOU, 39-1; 7. Aisha
Klippenstein, SFU, 39-0 1/2. *Pentathlon - 4. Ali Worthen, SPU, 3729.
Men (Top 8): 60 - 6. Bryan Mack, CWU, 6.99; 8. Mark Pangilinan, WWU,
7.05. *200 - 7. Kendale Hamlett, WOU, 22.57. 60 Hurdles - 4. Brett
Campbell, WOU, 8.61; 6. Kody Rhodes, WOU, 8.68. 4x400 Relay - 3.
Western Washington 3:21.51. *Distance Medley - 2. Simon Fraser
10:08.82; 3. Western Oregon 10:09.89. High Jump - 5. Brennan Boyes,
CWU, 6-8 3/4. Pole Vault - 7. Cal Rosenberg, WWU, and Ray Zoellick,
SPU, 14-5 1/2. Long Jump - 6. Jake Hyde, WOU, 22-1; 7. Kyle Lane,
WOU, 21-10 3.4. Triple Jump - 7. Matson Hardie, WOU, 45-5 1.4.
Heptathlon - 7. Nate Johnson, SPU, 4679. (*Indicates Friday events. All
others on Saturday.)
Crusaders Earn Two Fourths in Jackson's Invitational
A pair of fourths by Barak Watson in the mile and Stephen
Larlee in the triple jump were Northwest Nazarene's best
finishes Saturday in the Jackson's Invitational at Nampa.
Watson ran a time of 4:21.76, while Larlee triple jumped
44-0 1/2. Joy Warrington finished fifth for the Crusader
women in the shot put with a mark of 44-9 3/4.
On Friday, NNU won the men's distance medley relay
(10:20.90) and Jesse Baggenstos, finished second in the
men's 5,000 meters (15:29.23).
BSU Jackson's Invitational (Jan. 27 at Nampa): Women (Top 6): *Long
Jump - 5. Molly Reid, NNU, 17-3 1/4. Shot Put - 5. Joy Warrington, NNU,
44-9 3/4. *Pentathlon - 5. Jill Bennett, NNU, 3115. Men (Top 6): Mile - 4.
Barak Watson, NNU, 4:21.76. *5000 - 2. Jesse Baggenstos, NNU,
15:29.23; 5. Kaleb Fleenor, NNU, 16:13.29. *Distance Medley - 1.
Northwest Nazarene 10:20.90. High Jump - 7. Andrew Galbraith, NNU, 62 1/4. *Long Jump - 5. Maurus Hope, NNU, 21-8 3/4. Triple Jump - 4.
Stephen Larlee, NNU, 44-0 1/2. Heptathlon - 5. Greyson Kilgore, NNU,
3821; 6. Tim Greene, NNU, 359. (*Indicates Friday events. All others on
Saturday.)
Saturday, Jan. 28
Women's Basketball: Wolves End Loss Streak to SPU
Rylee Peterson poured in a career-high 32 points, offsetting
matching 16-point performances by Seattle Pacific's Jordan
Harazin and Rachel Murray, and leading Western Oregon
to a stunning 79-74 win over Seattle Pacific Saturday
afternoon at the New P.E. Building in Monmouth.
In other afternoon games, Montana State Billings (15-7, 74) and Northwest Nazarene (12-7, 6-5) earned road wins.
The Yellowjackets defeated Saint Martin's 58-52, while
Northwest Nazarene cruised to a 83-56 win at Alaska
Fairbanks.
In night games, Western Washington (13-5, 7-3) took over
second place with a 70-61 road win at Simon Fraser (11-7,
6-4). Alaska Anchorage (19-3, 10-1) remained on top of the
GNAC standings by 2 1/2 games crushing Central
Washington 80-48.
Western Oregon (5-16, 4-7) had lost eight of their last nine
games this season and 28 straight to Seattle Pacific dating
back to Feb. 26, 1982 when WOU won in Monmouth 9149.
Seattle Pacific (13-6, 7-4), which slipped into a tie for third
place in the GNAC with Montana State Billings, had a 6556 lead with 5:27 remaining.
The Wolves, however, outscored the Falcons 13-2 to turn a
nine-point deficit into a 69-67 lead with 1:56 left.
Seattle Pacific tied the game at 69-69 on a pair of free
throws by Katie Benson, who finished with 14 points, with
1:32 left.
Lorrie Clifford, however, put the Wolves on top for good at
71-69 on a pair of free throws with 1:32 remaining. She
then hit a rolling lay-in at 45.8 seconds - her 18th and 19th
points of the game - to make it 73-69.
A putback by Harazin with 27.7 seconds left brought SPU
within two at 73-71.
But on the ensuing inbounds play, Jade Haas, who ended
up with 15 points on seven of 10 shooting, broke down
court all by herself for an uncontested lay-in and a 75-71
advantage.
Western Oregon eventually pushed it to 79-71 until a
buzzer-beating three-pointer by Harazin accounted for the
final margin.
The Wolves, led by Peterson's 10 of 16 performance, had
the best shooting day of any Seattle Pacific opponent this
season – 55.8 percent (29 of 52).
Prior to Saturday, no one had hit for even 50 percent
against the Falcons. (Chico State's 49.2 percent was the
previous high.)
The Falcons, after a solid first half of 48.3 percent shooting
(14 of 29) cooled considerably after that, hitting just 34.5
percent during the final 20 minutes (10 of 29) and finishing
the game at 41.4 percent (24 of 58).
Western Oregon built an early 17-10 lead, then the Falcons,
who got 11 points and 10 rebounds from Nyesha Sims, ran
off eight straight points, and the first half went back and
forth the rest of the way.
SPU, down 34-32, ran off the last eight points of the first
half to take a 40-34 lead into the break. Guard Betsy
Kingma drained a three-pointer from the right corner with
one second left, providing that six-point halftime margin.
Montana State Billings 58, Saint Martin's 52
Brooke Tolman scored all 11 of her points in the first half
and Bobbi Knudsen notched 11 of her team-high 16 in the
second period to lead Montana State Billings past Saint
Martin's (7-14, 2-9) at Marcus Pavilion.
The Yellowjackets, who have won five of six and eight of
10, trailed 19-9 before running off 12 consecutive points
and grabbing a 30-29 halftime lead.
MSUB then took control early in the second half with a 133 run which started with a three-pointer by Kayleen
Goggins and closed with a pair of treys by Quinn Peoples.
MSUB led by at least nine points the rest of the way until
the final 1:03 when the Saints got as close as five points.
In addition to her 16 points, Knudsen also had six rebounds
and five assists. Goggins finished with 13 points and seven
rebounds and Peoples had a dozen points.
The Yellowjackets outrebounded the Saints 51-35 as Janiel
Olson hauled in 12.
Jordyn Richardson and Chelsey Baker scored a majority of
Saint Martin's points getting 17 and 16, respectively.
Haskey also had nine rebounds. The Saints' Jori Skorpik
didn't score, but had five rebounds, five steals and four
assists.
Northwest Nazarene 83, Alaska Fairbanks 56
Briaunna King recorded her 11th double-double of the
season, scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to lead
Northwest Nazarene to a 27-point win at The Patty Center.
The Crusaders traded lopsided decisions on their trip to
Alaska, losing Thursday at Anchorage by 40 points.
Joining King in double figures were Chelsie Luke with 20
points and Megan Hingston with 17. All three players had
eight or more rebounds - Hingston had nine and Luke had
eight - and shot better than 50 percent.
Both Luke and King made nine field goals, Luke in 12
attempts and King in 17. Hingston was seven of 13.
NNU did almost all its scoring inside the arc, taking just
eight treys and making two. The Crusaders were 31 of 74
overall (41.9 percent). The Nanooks made 17 of 65 (26.2
percent) and just two of 12 on three-pointers.
Northwest Nazarene also controlled the backboards 52-38
and had five fewer turnovers (22-27). Defensively, Luke
led the way with four steals.
Three UAF players - Autumn Greene, Benissa Bulaya and
Taylor Altenburg - each had 12 points.
Both Nicole Bozek, UAF's leading scorer on the season
averaging 16.1, and Emily Johnson, who has started 16
games this season, were ill and did not suit up for the
Nanooks (6-15, 2-9).
Western Washington 70, Simon Fraser 61
Guard Kristin Schramm scored a team-high 14 points as
Western Washington survived a see-saw battle to defeat
Simon Fraser at West Gymnasium.
Trishi Williams added 13 points, eight rebounds and seven
assists for the Vikings, who handed the SFU (11-7, 6-4) its
first home loss of the season.
Center Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe led the Clan with game
highs of 18 points and 10 rebounds recording her leaguebest 15th double-double of the season, two short of her own
GNAC record she set last season.
WWU led by 16 points (36-20) a minute into the second
half, but SFU chipped away at the margin, then used a 15-2
burst, with Raincock-Ekunwe scoring eight, in a little over
three minutes to take a 50-44 lead with 10:15 to play.
The Vikings responded with a charge of their own, going
on an 18-1 run for a 62-51 advantage with 4:21 left.
In all, WWU held SFU without a field goal for nearly eight
minutes after the Clan took its six-point lead, a drought
than ended on a Kristina Collins three-pointer with 2:30
remaining.
Another Collins trey narrowed the margin to three (62-59)
with 1:40 to go, but the gap was never that small again.
Center Kayla Bernsen came off the bench to contribute 10
points and seven rebounds for WWU, which had a 43-32
advantage on the boards.
The Vikings trailed 18-13 with 6:45 left in the first half, but
closed the period with a 19-2 run, holding SFU to just one
of 11 field goal shooting in that stretch, to take a 32-20 lead
at halftime.
WWU, which entered the game ranked sixth nationally in
NCAA Division II in three-point percentage at 38.1, was
just three of 19 (15.8 percent).
Alaska Anchorage 80, Central Washington 48
King made two of four three-pointers and tied her careerhigh by dishing exactly seven assists for the fifth time in
the last seven games.
Holmstead led UAA with three steals as the Seawolves
forced 22 Wildcats turnovers and held the visitors, who
were lead in scoring by Kelsi Jacobson and Annie Martinez
with seven points each, to five team assists.
The Seawolves' win was their 11th consecutive over the
Wildcats and their seventh straight in Anchorage.
Men's Basketball: Morse's Trey Sinks Wolves 61-58
Scott Morse hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 5.6 seconds
on the clock and converted two clinching free throws with
1.2 left as Seattle Pacific defeated Western Oregon 61-58 in
the Falcons' Homecoming game Saturday at Brougham
Pavilion.
Western Washington (18-3, 9-1), Montana State Billings
(12-7, 7-4) and Northwest Nazarene (10-9, 4-7) also
recorded home victories.
Haley Holmstead and Hanna Johansson combined for 45
points as 12th-ranked Alaska Anchorage earned its fifth
straight win beating Central Washington at the Wells Fargo
Sports Complex.
The lone team to get a road win was Alaska Anchorage
(15-4, 9-2) which kept pace with Western Washington by
defeating Central Washington 82-65 at Nicholson Pavilion.
The Seawolves hit their first seven shots and 11 of their
first 12 as they grabbed a 48-16 halftime lead and never
looked back.
The Seawolves remained just one-half game back of the
Vikings who rallied from a 38-33 halftime deficit to defeat
Simon Fraser 86-75.
UAA cooled to 50 percent shooting for the game but
managed to hold the Wildcats (6-12, 3-8) to 18.3 percent
marksmanship, marking CWU's lowest percentage since
turning NCAA Division II in the 1998-99 campaign.
Montana State Billings defeated Saint Martin's 82-74 and
Northwest Nazarene disposed of Alaska Fairbanks 62-53
for their wins.
Holmstead scored 11 points in the first five minutes and
finished with 24, topping the 20-point plateau for the
seventh time this season. She shot six of 12 from the field
and 12 of 13 at the free throw line, sinking the most
charities for the Seawolf in the past two seasons.
Western Oregon (14-6, 7-4) staked a 58-52 advantage on a
shot in the lane by Kyle Long with 2:33 remaining.
Seattle Pacific (16-4, 8-3), however, then closed the game
with nine unanswered points. David Downs hit a threepointer and Jobi Wall made one of two free throws to trim
the deficit to 58-56 with 57 seconds to play.
Johansson, meanwhile, picked up her second straight
double-double and ninth this year with 21 points and 11
rebounds. She made nine of 13 from the field and added
three assists and two steals.
Blair Wheadon missed a layup for WOU with 23.4 seconds
on the clock, setting the stage for Morse's decisive trey
from the right baseline off a pass from Riley Stockton.
The Seawolves held a 37-7 lead at the final media timeout
of the first half and extended to 60-20 with 11 minutes left
in the game.
After Morse drained two free throws, Long attempted a
tying three-point try at the buzzer that was just wide to the
right and caromed off the backboard.
UAA's 32-point halftime lead marked its second-largest
ever in a conference game, trailing only a 58-23 advantage
against Alaska Fairbanks on Feb. 27, 2010.
Downs scored eight of his team-high 13 points from the
free throw line for SPU. He was the team's lone doublefigure scorer as Morse finished with nine points.
UAA, which swept its four-game home stand by an average
of margin of 33.8 points, also got a combined 12 points and
12 assists from starting guards Sasha King and Gritt Ryder.
Long led the Wolves with 18 points. Kolton Nelson added
15 points and Jordan Freelander had 10.
Earlier in the game, Downs hit two free throws to cap an 82 run that brought the Falcons even at 18-18 with 4:42 left
in the first half. The Wolves scored the next 11 points while
holding SPU scoreless for 3 ½ minutes. That surge put
WOU ahead 29-18 with 1:34 before the break.
The Falcons, who got eight points and eight rebounds from
Jobi Wall, tallied the final five points to draw within 29-23
at halftime.
Wall helped SPU to a narrow 29-27 rebounding advantage.
Brandon Troxel led the Wolves with seven rebounds.
WOU's Wheadon and SPU's Downs each had three steals.
Alaska Anchorage 82, Central Washington 65
Taylor Rohde scored 25 of his 31 points in the second half
leading the 25th-ranked Seawolves to their fourth straight
road win.
The Seawolves also got 12 points apiece from Steve White
and Lonnie Ridgeway as they won at CWU for the third
consecutive time in the regular season and swept the season
series from the Wildcats for the first time since 2006-07.
Western Washington 70, Simon Fraser 61
Rory Blanche scored a game-high 19 points and Western
Washington pulled away in the final 10 minutes to defeat
Simon Fraser at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
The 18th ranked Vikings improved to 10-1 at home with
their fifth consecutive victory.
Jordan Sergent had 19 points for Simon Fraser (6-12, 1-9)
which lost its 10th game in its last 12 contests. Justin
Brown and Connor Lewis each had 16 points for the Clan,
who dressed just seven players.
The Vikings trailed 58-57 with 7:39 to play, but grabbed
control of the contest with a 14-4 charge capped by a Paul
Jones dunk that gave them a 71-62 advantage with 4:25
left.
The margin was never less than seven after that, and
remained in double digits through the final 3:32.
Central (10-9, 4-7) was led by 22 points from guard
Toussaint Tyler, but playing without starting center Kevin
Davis who was injured Thursday, was outshot 58.9 percent
(33-56) to 42.0 percent (21-50) and outrebounded 34-22.
John Allen had 16 points for WWU. Jones added 12 and
forward Zach Henifin contributed 11. Blanche was seven of
11 from the field and five of five on free throws for the
Vikings, who were 24 of 26 at the foul line (92.3 percent).
For UAA, the win marked the first time since the formation
of the GNAC in 2001-02 that the Seawolves had swept
back-to-back league road trips.
Blanche also took his career scoring total to 1,049 points,
17th in school history.
It was also the first time since 1985-86 that a Seawolf team
has been perfect in four consecutive road contests (with no
home games in between).
UAA – which also got eight points, two assists and no
turnovers from guard Kyle Fossman – used a 10-4 run to go
into halftime with a 36-29 lead.
Simon Fraser, which hit its first four three-point shots, used
an 11-2 run to open up a 23-11 lead midway through the
first half, and still held a 10-point margin (35-25) with
under three minutes left in the period.
But the Vikings closed the half with an 8-3 charge and
trailed only 38-33 at the break.
Montana State Billings 82, Saint Martin's 74
Rohde, who sat the last 10 minutes of the half after picking
up his second foul, quickly made up for lost time, using a
succession of different post moves to help the Seawolves
slowly widen their lead.
The 6-9 senior center finished 13 of 19 from the field and
made five of six free throws to top the 30-point plateau for
the third time in his career.
Meanwhile, Ridgeway scored eight of his season-high 12
points in the first half and finished with a perfect shooting
night.
The 6-3 guard from Anchorage was four of four from both
the field and the free throw line in just his second game
back after missing eight weeks with a wrist injury.
White, who tallied a career-high 16 points in Thursday's
81-64 win at Northwest Nazarene, shot five of eight from
the field to post his second straight double-digit effort.
Antoine Proctor scored 25 points, including 14 in a row at
one point in leading the Yellowjackets, who have won five
of six, to an eight-point win at Alterowitz Gymnasium.
Proctor scored MSUB's final eight points of the first half on
a pair of treys and a two-point basket as Billings closed the
half with an 8-1 run to stretch a four-point lead (27-23) to
11 (35-24).
He continued his offensive display in the early moments of
the second half getting MSUB's first six points. At that
point, the 'Jackets lead was nine (41-32).
Billings, however, then diversified its offense getting 10
consecutive points, including two treys by Jaxon Myaer
and two-pointers by Chase Richards and David Arnold to
stretch its lead to 19 at 51-32.
Its biggest lead was 21 points (56-35) with 11:28 remaining
and Saint Martin's wasn't able to cut the deficit to single
digits until just 37 seconds were remaining.
In addition to Proctor, MSUB also got 13 points from
Arnold (five of six shooting including three of four treys)
and Robert Mayes and 10 from Myaer who also had seven
assists. Proctor led MSUB to a 40-33 rebounding advantage
grabbing eight.
Roger O'Neill led the Saints (8-12, 4-7) with 21 points.
Brok Pendleton had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Jeremy
Green had 15 points.
MSUB outshot SMU 51.7 percent (30-58) to 41.2 (28-68)
and converted on 10 of 21 treys.
Northwest Nazarene 62, Alaska Fairbanks 53
Anthony Golden scored 15 points and Northwest Nazarene
went coast-to-coast to record a nine-point victory over
Alaska Fairbanks (4-17, 1-10) at the Johnson Sports Center.
Golden led a trio of players into double-figures as Jonathan
Hawkins scored 14 points and dished out a team-high six
assists and JB Pillard posted a 10 point, 10 rebound doubledouble.
The Crusaders, who made 25 of 46 shots, picked up their
first home-court league win of the season.
Carthal McDonald scored a game-high 20 points to lead
Alaska Fairbanks (4-17, 1-10), hitting on four of five threepointers and finishing eight of 10 from the field.
Dominique Brinson added 12 points and Nico Matthews
handed out a game-high eight assists.
The Crusaders outrebounded UAF 28-21. In addition to
shooting 54.3 percent from the floor, they converted on
42.9 percent (9-21) from the three-point line.
Andy Maxwell and Golden each hit three triples as
Maxwell finished with nine points and six rebounds.
Neither team spent much time at the foul line as NNU was
three of four (all by Hawkins) and UAF made just one of
three.
Defensively, Matthews led the Nanooks with five steals
while Maxwell had three for the Crusaders.
NNU jumped to a 9-0 lead eventually going up by as many
as 17 (28-11) in the first half and by 20 (46-26) in the
second period.
The margin didn't return to single digits until 2:28 were
remaining in the final period and Alaska Fairbanks never
got closer than seven points.
Friday, Jan. 27
Indoor Track and Field: Worthen Qualifies In
Pentathlon
Ali Worthen of Seattle Pacific racked up a career-best
3,729 points to take fourth place in the pentathlon Friday
on the first day of the UW Invitational Indoor track and
field meet.
Worthen's score is the third-highest in all of Division II so
far this season (pending results elsewhere Friday). The only
better totals are 3,885 and 3,852.
It also was well beyond the provisional national standard of
3,300 points, and obliterated Worthen's previous best of
3,447 set during her freshman year in 2009. Her total also
ranks second in GNAC history. Her previous score had
been the No. 2 mark.
Along the way to Friday's pentathlon total, Worthen
shattered her PRs in two of the five individual events. She
threw 35 feet, 1 ¼ inches in shot put, well beyond her
previous indoor best of 31-3, and also beat her outdoor best
of 33-3¾. She finished the 800 meters in 2:24.41. That also
was better than any previous time indoors (2:28.02) or
outdoors (2:24.52).
Worthen's best individual placing of the day was fifth in the
high jump (5-5 ¼) and a tie for fifth in the long jump (1710¾).
Kyle Van Santen of Saint Martin's also had a PNQ Friday,
in the men's 5,000, finishing 10th in a time of 14:35.55. He
bettered the standard by about 8 1/2 seconds in running the
fourth fastest time in GNAC history.
Tanner Boyd of Western Washington ran the ninth fastest
time in GNAC history finishing 15th in 14:52.70.
Western Washington pole vaulter Karis Anderson added 4
1/2 inches to her previous PNQ clearing 12-0 1/2 to finish
fourth. That ranks fifth in GNAC history.
Simon Fraser's women's distance medley relay team also
posted a time better than the NCAA standard finishing
sixth in 12:08.31. The Clan, however, is ineligible to
compete at nationals.
In addition to Worthen, Van Santen, Boyd and Anderson,
GNAC athletes posted four other marks that rank in the
Top 10 on the GNAC all-time charts.
Heidi Laabs-Johnson and Natty Plunkett ran the eighth and
ninth fastest women's 5,000 meter times, while Simon
Fraser and Western Oregon's men posted the sixth and
seventh quickest distance medley marks.
Laabs-Johnson placed 15th in a time of 17:33.14 and
Plunkett placed 17th in 17:33.14. Simon Fraser finished
second in the men's relay in a time of 10:08.82, while
Western Oregon finished third in 10:09.89.
UW Invitational (Jan. 27 at Seattle): Women (Top 10): Distance Medley
Relay - 6. Simon Fraser 12:08.31. Pole Vault - 4. Karis Anderson, WWU,
12-0 1/2; 6. Terra Schumacher, SPU, 11-0 3/4. Pentathlon - 4. Ali
Worthen, SPU, 3729. Men (Top 10): 200 - 7. Kendale Hamlett, WOU,
22.57. 5000 - 10. Kyle Van Santen, SMU, 14:35.55. Distance Medley - 2.
Simon Fraser 10:08.82; 3. Western Oregon 10:09.89.
Pitt, Knispel, Firestone Second at Montana State
Stacey Pitt, Anica Knispel and Taylor Firestone all finished
second Friday for Montana State Billings in the Montana
State Open at Bozeman.
Pitt placed second in the women's high jump with a leap of
5-3 3/4, while Knispel earned a second in the shot with a
put of 43-5 3/4. Firestone placed second in the men's triple
jump with a jump of 42-11 3/4.
Knispel's mark moved her from ninth to eighth on the
GNAC all-time chart. Her previous best had been 42-3 1/2.
MSUB broke three school records in the meet led by its
men's 4x400 relay team of Drew Galahan, Reiley
Winebrenner, Lewis Polkow and Rory Bauer which
finished fourth in a GNAC season-best time of 3:26.46.
Pitt broke two school records as she placed fourth in the
pole vault (10-11 3/4) before breaking the high jump mark.
Meanwhile at Nampa in the opening day of the Jackson's
Open, Northwest Nazarene won the men's distance medley
in a time of 10:20.90. The Crusaders also got a second
place finish from Jesse Baggenstos in the men's 5,000
(15:29.23).
Montana State Open (Jan. 27 at Bozeman): Women (Top 3): 3000 - 3.
Whitney Mickelsen, MSUB, 10:58.86. High Jump - 2. Stacey Pitt, MSUB,
5-3 3/4. Shot Put - 2. Anica Knispel, MSUB, 43-5 3/4; 3. Leeza Henry,
MSUB, MSUB, 43-1 1/2. Men (Top 3): Shot Put - 3. Tanner Rottrup,
MSUB, 49-5 1/2. Triple Jump - 2. Taylor Firestone, MSUB, 42-11 3/4.
BSU Jackson's Invitational (Jan. 27 at Nampa): Women (Top 6): Long
Jump - 5. Molly Reid, NNU, 17-3 1/4. Pentathlon - 5. Jill Bennett, NNU,
3115. Men (Top 6): 5000 - 2. Jesse Baggenstos, NNU, 15:29.23; 5. Kaleb
Fleenor, NNU, 16:13.29. Distance Medley - 1. Northwest Nazarene
10:20.90. Long Jump - 5. Maurus Hope, NNU, 21-8 3/4.
Idle Western Washington (8-1) leads UAA by one-half
game and Western Oregon and Seattle Pacific by 1 1/2.
In another game, Central Washington (10-8, 4-6) beat
Alaska Fairbanks 74-69 to climb into a sixth-place tie with
Saint Martin's (8-11, 4-6).
In addition to Fossman, Alaska Anchorage also got a
career-high 16 points from senior guard Steve White in its
win. White also had five assists.
The Crusaders (9-9, 3-7) were led by Jonathan Hawkins
with 14 points and three assists, but NNU was unable to
hold on to an early 10-4 lead.
After Nazarene's quick start, Fossman nailed consecutive
three-pointers and Lonnie Ridgeway – playing in his first
game since injuring his hand Dec. 3 – gave UAA the lead
with a short jumper.
Leading 24-17 a few minutes later, Fossman again sank
back-to-back treys, and the Seawolves led by at least nine
points the rest of the way.
Fossman had 16 points as UAA forged a 40-26 halftime
lead, including a rebound put-back of Travis Thompson's
miss at the buzzer.
Abebe Demissie joined Fossman and White in double
figures with 11 points on three of six three-point shooting
off the bench, while Thompson had seven points and five
assists.
UAA doubled up the Crusaders 32-16 on the boards, tying
for the second-fewest rebounds ever allowed by a Seawolf
team. The school record of 15 rebounds was set against
NNU on Jan. 22, 2004.
The Seawolves also held lofty advantages in field-goal
percentage (58.7 to 46.9) and three-point percentage (57.9
to 32.0), while shooting a season-best 88.9 percent (16 of
18) from the free throw line.
Thursday, Jan. 26
Jordan Nicholes and JB Pillard joined Hawkins in double
figures for the Crusaders scoring 12 and 10 points,
respectively. Pillard led all players with seven rebounds.
Men's Basketball: Fossman Shoots UAA To Win
Montana State Billings 79, Western Oregon 57
Kyle Fossman made nine of 10 shots, including six of
seven three-pointers, and scored a career-high 26 points to
lead Alaska Anchorage to a 81-64 win over Northwest
Nazarene Thursday at the Johnson Sports Center in Nampa.
Montana State Billings outscored Western Oregon 29-6 in a
10 1/2 minute period spanning the two halves and went on
to defeat the Wolves 79-57.
The win, coupled with Montana State Billings' 79-57 home
win against Western Oregon, allowed the Seawolves (14-4,
8-2) to move all alone into second place in the GNAC race.
The Wolves (14-5, 7-3) dropped into a tie for third with
Seattle Pacific (15-4, 7-3) which defeated Saint Martin's
66-54.
Jaxon Myaer led the Yellowjackets with 14 points,
including a jumper that gave MSUB a 34-33 lead late in the
opening period.
The Yellowjackets trailed 33-27, but then outscored WOU
10-1 over the final 2:47 of the first half, taking the lead for
good on a three-pointer by Taylor Stevens with 59 seconds
remaining.
MSUB continued its surge outscoring the Wolves 19-5 over
the first 7:47 of the second half and were never challenged
the rest of the way.
Myaer led a balanced attack also earning seven assists in
addition to his 14 points. David Arnold had 13 points,
including 10 after halftime, while Antoine Proctor scored
12 and Stevens finished with 11.
Proctor also had four assists and four of MSUB's eight
steals. He also made three of five three-pointers as the
'Jackets converted on 15 of 33.
Blair Wheadon paced Western Oregon with 18 points and
Jordan Freelander scored 14. James Gehring had 12 points
and a team-high nine rebounds. Kyle Long had eight points
increasing his career total to 1,003 points becoming the
49th player in GNAC history to reach that plateau.
MSUB dominated the backboards outrebounding WOU 4629 as Robert Mayes, who had nine points, grabbed 13
caroms.
The Yellowjackets also limited the Wolves to 33.3 percent
shooting (19-57), while converting on 44.6 percent (25-56).
Seattle Pacific 66, Saint Martin's 54
Jeff Dorman equaled his career-high game total with 10
first-half points and finished with a team-high 12 leading
Seattle Pacific to a 12-point win at Brougham Pavilion.
The Saints missed six of their first seven shots while the
Falcons hit five of their first six shots in building a 13-3
lead.
That lead increased to as many as 13 points before settling
on a 39-28 halftime margin in favor of SPU. Dorman made
four of five shots in the period, including three of three
treys.
Central Washington 74, Alaska Fairbanks 69
Roby Clyde scored a season-high 13 points - all in the
second half - as Central Washington handed the Nanooks
(4-16, 1-9) their seventh straight loss.
In the absence of center Kevin Davis who didn't play in the
second half due to injury, Clyde and Jody Johnson
combined for 22 second-half points on eight of 13 shooting
to key the win.
The Wildcats had a 33-30 lead at halftime but UAF pulled
into a 60-60 tie on a three-pointer by Nico Matthews with
5:12 left.
But the Wildcats answered 18 seconds later on a jump shot
by Clyde. Central never relinquished that lead as Clyde
scored eight of the final 14 points to give the Wildcats the
final five-point win.
CWU guard Lacy Haddock, who played all 40 minutes,
scored a team-high 18 points on seven of 16 shooting.
Johnson finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.
Clyde added seven rebounds as he finished one point shy of
his career-high total of 14. Also scoring in double digits
was Toussaint Tyler who netted 15 points.
The Nanooks outshot the Wildcats 46.6 percent (27 of 58)
to 43.8 percent (28 of 64), but Central shot 73.7 percent (14
of 19) from the free throw line and had four fewer
turnovers (10-14)
The Nanooks were led in scoring by Sergej Pucar with 20
points on nine of 11 shooting and Dominique Brinson with
14 points and three steals. Matthews had 12 points and
Stefan Tica had 11.
Women's Basketball: Sims Leads Falcons to 78-62 Win
Sims scored 15 as SPU Outscored SMU 78-62
SPU shot 55.6 percent (15 of 27) from the field in the
opening half while holding SMU at 32.3 (10 of 31).
Jobi Wall and Cory Hutsen each scored 11 points for the
Falcons and David Downs added 10. Wall and Andy Poling
grabbed 10 rebounds apiece to lead a 43-37 edge on the
boards.
Jeremy Green registered a double-double with 14 points
and 11 rebounds for the Saints, who also got 10 points from
Roger O'Neill.
Matt Dodson tallied five straight points to start a sevenpoint surge that trimmed SMU's deficit to 50-45 with 9:12
left to play.
Wall, however, stopped the run, and SPU's 5-minute, 16second scoreless drought, with a pair of free throws at 6:30.
That ignited a decisive 11-2 spree for the Falcons, who
extended their win streak over SMU to six.
Nyesha Sims scored 15 points and was one of six Seattle
Pacific players in doubles figures as the Falcons rolled past
Saint Martin's 78-62 in a GNAC contest Thursday at
Marcus Pavilion.
That put SPU (13-5, 7-3) back into sole possession of
second place in the conference standings, one-half game
ahead of Western Washington and Simon Fraser who both
had the night off and remained at 6-3.
Meanwhile, nationally 12th ranked Alaska Anchorage (183, 9-1) held on to its two-game lead in the conference
doubling up Northwest Nazarene 79-39.
Elsewhere Thursday, Montana State Billings defeated
Western Oregon 57-41 and Central Washington outscored
Alaska Fairbanks 94-72.
Joining Sims, who had nine of her points in the second half,
in double figures in Seattle Pacific's win were Rachel
Murray with 12 points, Suzanna Ohlsen with 11 and
Aubree Callen, Katie Benson and Betsy Kingma with 10
apiece.
Chelsea Haskey, who had 12 points led the Saints. SMU
also got nine each from Emily Lashua and Andrea Schutt.
“We came out in the second half, and Nyesha gave us a
huge spark,” Seattle Pacific head coach Julie Heisey said.
“Rachel (Murray) was solid in rebounding and going to the
basket and taking a couple of charges and Aubree (Callen)
was very aggressive," Heisey said. "Katie Benson, Jordan
Harazin (who didn't take a shot but had five assists) – they
all did a really good job.”
Murray also grabbed eight rebounds as the Falcons
dominated the boards, 42-30.
The Falcons had a 13-point lead late in the first half at 3522. But Saint Martin's (7-13, 2-8) closed the half with a 7-2
scoring run to get within 37-29 by the intermission.
The Saints then scored the opening bucket of the second
half, cutting SPU's lead to 37-31. But from there, the
Falcons ran off the next 11 points. That made it 48-31, and
Saint Martin's never came closer than the final margin of
16.
scoring margin, recorded the widest margin of victory in 26
all-time meetings with NNU.
After going scoreless for the first five minutes, Northwest
Nazarene went on a 12-2 spurt to take a 12-8 lead at the
11:56 mark. But Holmstead scored on an assist from
Johansson and Kylie Burns nailed a three-pointer to start a
16-1 Seawolf run.
UAA took just a 32-23 lead into the locker room despite
holding NNU to one field goal over the final 11 plus
minutes. However, Holmstead scored four quick points to
start the second half, and the lead quickly grew to 45-25 on
a Johansson layup at the 13:2 mark.
Johansson recorded her eighth double-double, shooting
eight of 13 and adding four assists, three blocks and two
steals.
In two games against NNU this season, she has 40 points
on 16 of 21 shooting, 27 rebounds, 12 assists, five blocks
and five steals.
The Seawolves, who recorded their sixth 40-plus victory
margin this season, shot 46.5 percent from the field despite
a three of 17 three-point performance.
Montana State Billings 57, Western Oregon 41
Harazin's five assists moved her into a tie for 20th place on
the all-time GNAC list. She now has 271 for her career.
Brooke Tolman scored a season-high 19 points and Bobbi
Knudsen added 12 points, four assists and four steals as
Montana State Billings completed a season sweep of the
Wolves at the New P.E. Building.
Seattle Pacific topped 50 percent shooting from the field
for the fifth time this season, hitting 51.6 percent (33 of
64). That included eight of 10 to start the second half,
fueling the decisive 11-0 scoring surge.
“Brooke (Tolman) really helped us in the first half
especially, but she carried that over to the second half to
put together a very good, complete game that we needed,”
MSUB coach Kevin Woodin said.
The Falcons had 22 assists on those 33 baskets. Sims
matched Harazin's total of five. It was the eighth time this
season SPU has had 20 or more assists in a game – and
they've won all eight.
“The key was that we played good, team defense and
rebounded extremely well,” Woodin added.
Alaska Anchorage 79, Northwest Nazarene 39
Hanna Johansson scored 19 points and grabbed 16
rebounds to lead Alaska Anchorage to a 40-point victory
over Northwest Nazarene at the Wells Fargo Sport
Complex.
The Seawolves also got 19 points and four steals from
Haley Holmstead handing the Crusaders their worst loss
since Feb. 12, 2005 when they were beaten 90-47 by
Seattle Pacific.
Northwest Nazarene (11-7, 5-5) didn't have a player in
double figures as Briaunna King led them with nine points.
The Crusaders shot just 24 percent (12 of 50) and were
outrebounded 50-32 as UAA, which leads the nation in
MSUB out-rebounded the Wolves 44-32 and also had six
fewer turnovers (15-21) which enabled the Yellowjackets
to record the double-digit win despite being slightly outshot
35.6 percent to 34.4.
Tolman, who had 11 first-half points, came off the bench to
hit six of her 10 attempts from the field, including a a
season-high four treys in six attempts. Knudsen made six of
13 from the field and had a game-high four assists.
The freshman forward tandem of Janiel Olson and Kayleen
Goggins each had game-highs of eight rebounds.
Rylee Peterson led Western Oregon with 11 points, eight
rebounds and four steals, while Melissa Fowler had eight
points.
Central Washington 94, Alaska Fairbanks 72
Alex Dunn scored 20 points to lead four players in double
figures as Central Washington outscored Alaska Fairbanks
at The Patty Center.
The win enabled CWU (6-11, 3-7) to complete a sweep of
the season series with the Nanooks (6-14, 2-8) for the first
time in three years.
Dunn, who played 33 minutes, was in contention for her
second triple-double of the season but finished three assists
shy of that accomplishment. Nonetheless, she still led all
players with 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
CWU also got 19 points from Courtney Johnson, 18 from
Jessica VanDyke and 17 from Sophie Russell and turned in
its most efficient -- and its second-highest scoring -performance of the season.
CWU did not trail in the contest, scoring on its opening
possession with a three-pointer by Russell. The Wildcats
and Nanooks were tied just once in the contest -- at 23-23
with 8:29 to go in the first half -- before the Wildcats
closed the period on a 23-8 run to take a 46-31 halftime
edge.
The scoring spurt carried over to the second half, when
CWU scored the first 10 points, and the Wildcats had a lead
of 20 points or more for the final 19:05 including a lead as
great as 28 at one point.
The Wildcats' prolific offense included a 52.1 percent
efficiency from the floor and 11 of 19 three-pointers (57.9
percent).
Dunn made 10 of 14 shot attempts, while Johnson made
seven of 10 and VanDyke converted on six of 10. Van
Dyke (4-7), Johnson (4-5) and Russell (3-5) combined to
make 11 of 17 treys.
Alaska Fairbanks was led by Nicole Bozek and Kelly
Logue with 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Nanooks
also got nine points each from Jacqueline Lovato, Autumn
Greene and Benissa Buyala. Greene also had 10 rebounds.
Football: Simon Fraser Players On World Team
Simon Fraser linebacker Casey Chin (Port Moody, BC) and
offensive lineman Matthias Goosen (Richmond, BC) have
been named to the World Team roster for the 2012
International Bowl in Austin, Texas.
The game between Team USA and Team World will be
played next Wednesday.
A total of 28 Canadians were named to the 44-member
International Federation of American Football World Team
roster which will include players from nine different
countries.
Team World is led by Greg Marshall, head coach at the
University of Western Ontario.
It will be Goosen’s second trip to the International Bowl
while Chin will be making his first appearance in the game.
“It’s a huge honor for these two young men to be chosen to
represent Canada,” said SFU football head coach Dave
Johnson. “It’s such a unique opportunity for a football
player. I have no doubt that Matthias and Casey will make
their country, and their school proud.”
Goosen just completed his sophomore season with the
Clan, earning a nomination to the GNAC all-conference
first team.
Chin led the GNAC in average tackles per game with 8.2
and had 74 tackles. He was named to the GNAC allconference second team.
Team World gathered in the Texas state capital today as the
coaching staff began the task of bringing together players
from all over the world to take on Team USA.
Tuesday, Jan. 24
Women's Soccer: Krakowiak Named MSUB Head
Coach
Wojtek Krakowiak, who served as interim coach at
Montana State Billings last season leading the
Yellowjackets to an 11-3-4 record, has been named the
school's permanent women's head soccer coach.
“After conducting a national search, we are pleased to
announce that Coach Krakowiak will be moving from his
interim role as head coach to the regular slot,” MSUB
athletic director Dr. Gary Gray said.
“He worked hard as the interim, and the team's record
showed it last year. We are looking forward to meeting his
first recruiting class in August," Dr. Gray said.
"I am confident the student-athletes under his care will
work hard not only in the classroom but also on the soccer
field to return to the NCAA tournament next fall.”
In his first season at the helm of the program, MSUB
finished second in the GNAC with an 8-2-4. That included
a 1-0 road victory over 14th-ranked Seattle Pacific.
The Yellowjackets endured the fewest losses in program
history, with a .722 winning percentage, the best in the
program's 16-year history.
Prior to his time with the Yellowjacket soccer program,
Krakowiak served as the head coach at Division III Rutgers
– Newark where he went 15-20-3 in two seasons.
In 2008 he guided Rutgers - Newark to its only post-season
berth in the program's brief 10-year history.
Krakowiak played collegiately at St. John's and Clemson.
He was honored as the Soccer America Freshman of the
Year at St. John's after helping the Red Storm to the 1996
NCAA Championship.
Western Washington currently leads Alaska Anchorage and
Western Oregon by one game in the GNAC race.
Meanwhile, the CCAA and PacWest races are both multitie affairs.
At Clemson, he was the 1998 Hermann Trophy recipient
(the equivalent to football's Heisman Trophy) and was
named the ACC Player-of-the-Year after scoring 31 goals
and securing eight assists while leading the Tigers to the
NCAA quarterfinals.
Chico State, Humboldt State, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State
Dominguez Hills and Cal State San Bernardino are in a
five-way tie for the CCAA lead, all with 8-4 records.
Vikings Name Brisbon Associate Head Coach
A familiar face is returning to Western Washington
University as Greg Brisbon has been named associate head
coach for the men's and women's soccer teams.
The 37-year-old Brisbon served seven seasons as an
associate head coach and 11 years overall as an assistant
coach for both squads at WWU before leaving in January
of 2011 to work for Crossfire Premier Soccer Club in
Redmond.
At Crossfire Premier, Brisbon coached a U20 Super League
team of the United Soccer League that qualified for
nationals last summer. He also directed three youth teams
throughout the year.
“We are excited that Greg is back with us at Western,” said
WWU head coach Travis Connell. “His knowledge,
experience and work ethic are contagious. The players and
coaches are looking forward to working with him again.”
During Brisbon's first tenure at WWU, the Viking men won
GNAC titles in 2002 and 2008, and enjoyed six doublefigure win seasons. The women won the GNAC crown and
got to the NCAA Division II West Region final in 2008 and
reached the regional semifinal in 2006, having seven
double-figure victory campaigns.
Brisbon played professionally with the Tallahassee
Scorpions in 1998 after earning his bachelor's degree at
Seattle Pacific University. He lettered two years for the
Falcons after graduating from North Kitsap High School
Men's Basketball: Vikings Top Rated West Region
Team
Western Washington (17-3) is ranked 18th and Alaska
Anchorage (13-4) is ranked 25th in this week's NABC
Division II Men's basketball national poll.
The two are the only West Region teams to receive votes in
this week's poll. Though the poll has no impact on who
eventually hosts the West Region playoffs in March, it may
be a pretty good indicator of whom the front runners are.
Four teams - Cal Baptist, Dixie State, Chaminade and
BYU-Hawaii - are tied for the PacWest lead with 6-1
marks. Cal Baptist is a provisional school and is not
eligible for the playoffs.
Women's Basketball: Seawolves Move Up Two To No.
12
Alaska Anchorage is ranked 12th in this week's WBCA
Top 25 women's basketball poll.
The Seawolves climbed from 14th after winning two games
last week to improve to 17-3. They were the only GNAC
team to receive a vote in the poll.
UC San Diego (18-0) is ranked No. 1. Also in the Top 25
from the West Region are Grand Canyon (13-1) at No. 11
and Cal Poly Pomona (12-4) at No. 22.
Monday, Jan. 23
Men's Basketball: Golden Eighth In Three-Pointers
Anthony Golden of Northwest Nazarene, who joined the
1,000 Point Club Saturday, ranks eighth in three-pointers in
this week's NCAA Division II national statistical report.
Golden, who has scored 1,004 career points, is averaging
3.4 three-pointers made per game and is one of four GNAC
players ranked in the Top 10 this week.
Travis Thompson of Alaska Anchorage ranks second in
assist/turnover ratio (3.58) and Kevin Davis of Central
Washington is seventh in blocks (3.0). Ranked 10th is
David Downs of Seattle Pacific in three-point percentage
(49.0).
Alaska Anchorage is ranked No. 2 in two team categories assists (20.8) and assist/turnover ratio (1.59). Central
Washington is third in blocks (6.3) and 10th in scoring
(84.9).
Seattle Pacific is fifth in scoring defense (57.6) and
rebounds (9.1) and 10th in field goal percentage defense
(38.2). Northwest Nazarene is fourth in three-pointers made
(10.4).
Women's Basketball: Seawolves Populate Top 10s
The NCAA will announce the first of three regional
ranking on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Those rankings will
eventually determine the host school and the five at-large
teams that will join the GNAC, PacWest and CCAA
champions in the playoffs.
Though Alaska Anchorage wasn't a Top 10 ranked team
last week, coming in at No. 14, you wouldn't know it by
looking at this week's NCAA Division II national statistical
report.
The Seawolves are ranked in the Top 10 in eight different
catories and lead the nation in scoring margin. They
improved that mark to 25.6 points per game with 28 and
35-point road victories last week earning Coach Tim Moser
his 151st and 152nd career victories against only 30 losses.
Moser's team also ranks second in assists (19.5), third in
rebounds (12.9), fourth in scoring (81.1), sixth in field goal
defense (33.1), eighth in field goal percentage (46.3), ninth
in three-point percentage (37.5) and 10th in assist/turnover
ratio (1.12). The only Top 10 ranks they missed was a fifth
and seventh.
Seattle Pacific is seventh in free throw percentage (78.0)
and rebounds (10.4) and 10th in assists (17.8). Central
Washington is sixth in three-pointers (8.4). Western
Washington is seventh in three-point percentage (38.1) and
Northwest Nazarene is ninth in free throws (77.7).
Briaunna King of Northwest Nazarene is seventh in doubledoubles (10) for the only individual Top 10 ranking.
Two players - NNU's Alla Dzhidzhiyeshvili (steals, 3.4)
and SPU's Jordan Harazin (assist/Turnovers, 2.22) - have
No. 11 rankings.
Sunday, Jan. 22
Track and Field: PNQs for MSUB, NNU Athletes
Leeza Henry of Montana State Billings and Rimar Christie
of Northwest Nazarene had GNAC All-Time Top 10 and
provisional national qualifying marks this weekend in
meets in Gillette, Wyo., and Nampa, respectively.
On Sunday, Henry, a transfer from Hutchinson JC in
Kansas, won the women's shot at the Black Hills
State/Chadron State Invitational in Gillette with a
provisional national qualifying put of 44-5.
That is the fifth longest throw in GNAC indoor history and
is also a MSUB school record. Also setting a MSUB school
mark was Delaware Steingruber in the women's long jump
with a second-place finish of 16-9 1/2.
MSUB's only other winner in addition to Henry was Taylor
Firestone who won the men's long jump with a leap of 2111.
Meanwhile, Christie recorded a pair of GNAC season-best
marks Saturday in the Boise State Bronco Invitational at
Nampa.
Christie had a third-place time of 6.95 in the 60 moving
into a tie for fifth on the GNAC all-time chart and equaling
the NCAA Division II provisional standard.
His fourth-place time in the 60 hurdles of 8.44 ranks eighth
on the GNAC Top 10 charts and is best in the conference
this winter. Both times are school records.
NNU's Joy Warrington also bettered the PNQ standard in
the shot with a throw of 44-8. That was 3 1/2 inches shy of
her season best of 44-11 1/2 she set a week earlier.
BSU Bronco Invitational (Jan. 21 at Nampa): Men (Top 6): 60 - 3.
Rimar Christie, NNU, 6.95. 60 Hurdles - 4. Rimar Christie, NNU,8.44; 6.
Maurus Hope, NNY. 8.57. Triple Jump - 4. Stephen Larlee, NNU, 13.28 43-6. Women (Top 8): High Jump - 6. Courtney Schroeder, NNU, 1.55 5-1; 8. Jasmyn Jewett, NNU, 1.55 - 5-1. Shot Put - 7. Joy Warrington,
NNU, 13.61 - 44-8.
Black Hills/Chadron State Invitational (Jan. 22 at Gillette, Wyo.): Men
(Top 3): 800 - 3. Chase Robinson, MSUB, 2:00.00. Mile - 3. Tyson
Vanderby, MSUB, 4:31.18. Long Jump - 1. Taylor Firestone, MSUB, 6.69 21-11; 2. Shae Stein, MSUB, 6.47 - 21-2. Women (Top 3): 60 - Justine
Simons, MSUB, 8.37. 200 - 3. Justine Simons, MSUB, 27.47. Pole Vault 3. Emili Crowder, MSUB, and Tiffany Thomas, MSUB, 2.75 - 9-0 1/4. Long
Jump - 2. Delaware Steingruber, MSUB, 5.12 - 16-9 1/2.
Saturday, Jan. 21
Men's Basketball: Vikings Maintain One-Game Lead
Rory Blanche scored 24 points as Western Washington
held on to first place in the GNAC Saturday outscoring
Northwest Nazarene 90-71 at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
The Vikings (17-3, 8-1) remained one game ahead of both
Western Oregon (14-4, 7-2) and Alaska Anchorage (13-4,
7-2) at the halfway point of the conference season.
Western Oregon got 20 points from Blair Wheadon and
used a trio of 11-0 runs to spurt past Alaska Fairbanks 8067 at the WOU's New PE Building.
Alaska Anchorage ended Saint Martin's three-game win
streak with a 64-54 road win at Lacey.
Montana State Billings (10-7, 5-4) knocked Seattle Pacific
(14-4, 6-3) out of a three-way tie for second defeating the
Falcons 86-77 at Billings.
In another game, Central Washington (9-8, 3-6) outscored
Simon Fraser 101-83 at Burnaby.
Western Washington shot better than 80 percent from the
floor for the first 11 minutes in grabbing a big early lead in
its win over Northwest Nazarene.
The 22nd ranked Vikings were led by Blanche who made
10 of 13 field goal attempts and also had eight rebounds.
Chris Mitchell added 20 points, missing just one of nine
shots as WWU converted on 62.7 percent (37-59).
Center JB Pillard had 15 points and nine rebounds for NNU
(9-8, 3-6). NNU also got 14 points from Anthony Golden
who became the 48th player in GNAC history to score
1,000 career points. Golden now has 1,004.
The Vikings hit nine of their first 10 shots opening up a 226 advantage just seven minutes into the contest, and never
led by less than 10 points after that.
Through the first 11 minutes, they were 15 of 18 (83.3
percent), including four of four on three-pointers.
WWU held a 48-33 lead at halftime, shooting 67.7 percent
(21-31) from the field. The Vikings hit their first six shots
to open the second half, going up 63-37 with 15 minutes
remaining. The margin was not under 20 again until the
final 21 seconds.
John Allen had 18 points on six of eight field-goal
accuracy. WWU, which lost all three meetings with NNU
last season including a playoff game after winning the
previous eight in the series with the Crusaders, was seven
of 14 on three-pointers as Mitchell made all four of his
attempts.
Western Oregon 80, Alaska Fairbanks 67
All five Western Oregon starters scored in double figures in
the Wolves' win led by Wheadon, who made six of 16
shots, including three treys.
Kyle Long scored 17 points to increase his career total to
995 points, while James Gehring scored 12 of his 16 points
in the first half. Jordan Freelander and Kolton Nelson each
scored 11.
Stefan Tica led the Nanooks with a game-high 27 points as
he hit seven treys in 13 launches. Dominique Brinson
netted 13 points and Sergej Pucar scored 12. Brinson and
teammate Ben Teer each had a game-high seven assists.
Saint Martin's (8-10, 4-5), which fell behind 10-4 in the
first seven minutes and trailed throughout, was led by Brok
Pendleton with 15 points and six rebounds.
Rohde, the GNAC's leading scorer, equaled his season
average on six of 12 shooting from the field and eight of 10
at the line. The performance was his fifth double-double
this year.
With both teams shooting under 43 percent, the Seawolves
used a 35-28 rebounding advantage and forced 15 steals,
fending off every SMU charge in the second half.
Point guard Steve White scored nine points and Travis
Thompson – coming off a career-high 22 points in
Thursday's win at Western Oregon – added seven points,
three assists, two steals and no turnovers in 33 minutes.
Ryan Votaw joined Pendleton in double figures for the
Saints with 11 points. However, the Seawolves held Jeremy
Green and Roger O'Neil, SMU's two leading scorers for the
season, to just 10 points.
The two struggled going a combined 0 for 14 by midway
through the second half.
“It's hard for us to win games when we can't get scoring
from those two guys,” Saints coach Keith Cooper said.
Defensively, the Saints played well enough to win, holding
Anchorage nearly 16 points below its season average.
The first of three 11-0 runs gave WOU an early 24-12. The
Wolves then used another 11-0 run to go ahead by 19 (5334) in the early stages of the second half.
At halftime, the Saints were shooting a frosty 35 percent
(10-28), yet they only trailed 29-23. Cooper got the defense
he wanted. Just not the offense.
The Nanooks, however, responded with 15 consecutive
points to climb back within four at 53-49 and climbed
within one at 55-54 with 10:28 left.
“I felt good about going in at halftime to be down by six,”
Cooper said. “I thought we defended well."
Montana State Billings 86, Seattle Pacific 77
WOU, however, then used another 11-0 run to go ahead 6654 and take firm control of the contest.
The Wolves ended up shooting 50 percent (30-60),
converting on nine of 24 treys, and also outrebounded the
Nanooks 42-30 as Wheadon, a guard, grabbed a game-high
eight. Gehring matched him also hauling in eight caroms.
Robert Mayes scored four of his 13 points during the final
26 seconds Saturday as Montana State Billings turned away
a late rally by Seattle Pacific at Alterowitz Gymnasium.
The Yellowjackets snapped the 24th ranked Falcons' fivegame winning streak win the victory.
Jordan Freelander, who made four of five shots, had a
team-high five assists. Nelson made five of seven shots.
UAF (4-15, 1-8) only employed seven players as three Teer, Brinson and Tica - all played 40 minutes.
SPU faced its largest deficit of the season, trailing by 15
points on three occasions in the second half. But they
scored nine straight points, all on three-pointers, to draw
within 73-68.
Alaska Anchorage 64, Saint Martin's 54
Billings stopped that surge when David Arnold drained a
difficult turnaround jump shot in the key at the end of the
shot clock, stretching the lead to 75-68 with 2:12 showing
on the game clock.
Taylor Rohde had 20 points and 10 rebounds as Alaska
Anchorage earned a 10-point road victory over Saint
Martin's at Marcus Pavilion.
The Seawolves also got 12 points from Kyle Fossman as
they snapped the Saints' three-game winning streak.
SPU came even closer when Riley Carel followed his own
layup with a trey that brought his team within 80-77 with
44 seconds left to play.
Billings scored the game's final six points, including a putback by Mayes with 26 seconds remaining after he knocked
the ball away from a SPU defender to earn the offensive
rebound.
Two Arnold free throws at 0:14 and two charity shots by
Mayes at 0:03 completed the scoring.
Both of SPU's double-digit scorers tallied all of their points
during the second half. Jobi Wall scored 14 points and
Cory Hutsen had 13.
Five Yellowjackets reached double-figures led by Arnold's
16 points. Antoine Proctor scored 14 while Jaxon Myaer
and Emery Henning had 11 apiece.
Billings utilized 14 steals to force the Falcons into a
season-high 24 turnovers.
That proved to be the difference as SPU had the edge in
shooting 47 percent (26 of 55) to 46 percent (26 of 56) and
won the rebounding battle by a 36-29 margin.
The Falcons played the majority of the second half without
their two season scoring leaders, Andy Poling (15.9 ppg)
and David Downs (15.2 ppg). Coach Ryan Looney felt
those two were ineffective and played reserves instead.
A 6-foot-11 junior post player, Poling led SPU with eight
first-half points. He played the opening 2:23 of the second
half before sitting out the rest of the game.
Downs, a sophomore point guard, scored seven points
before departing for good at 13:26.
SPU trailed by 12 points when Carel entered to direct the
team for the rest of the game.
Central Washington 101, Simon Fraser 83
Jody Johnson scored a career-high 33 points and hauled
down 13 rebounds leading Central Washington to an 18point road victory at Burnaby.
Johnson, whose previous scoring high had been 26 points,
had 21 points in the first half alone helping Central to a 5035 halftime advantage.
CWU shot 55.4 percent from the floor (36-65) in breaking
the 100-point barrier for the second time in three contests.
Lacey Haddock, Kevin Davis and Jordan Colby also were
productive for the Wildcats.
Davis scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half on six of
nine shooting. He also rejected six Clan shots.
Johnson made all six of his second-half shots when the
Wildcats shot 61.3 percent (19-31). For the game, he
converted on 13 of 17.
Haddock had a total of 21 points on six of nine shooting.
He made two of three treys and seven of eight foul shots.
He has now scored 20 or more points in four of Central's
last five games, and is shooting 70.3 percent (26 of 37)
over his past three games.
Coby scored in double figures for the fifth straight game,
finishing with 14 points including 12 from three-point
range where he made four of seven.
Simon Fraser (6-11, 1-8) was led by Jordan Sergent, who
had a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Justin
Brown added 21 points on eight of 14 shooting.
Also in double figures for the Clan were Connor Lewis
with 11 points and Zack Frehlick and John Bancock with
10. SFU shot 47 percent (31-66) but was just eight of 30
from the arc and were outrebounded by the Wildcats 42-28.
Women's Basketball: Seawolves Extend Conference
Lead
It was a good night for Alaska Anchorage even before it
took the floor at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
The Seawolves (17-3, 8-1), taking advantages of losses by
their two closest pursuers, opened up a two-game lead in
the GNAC race at the midpoint of the conference season
with a 83-48 win over Saint Martin's.
Earlier in the day, both Western Washington (12-5, 6-3)
and Seattle Pacific (12-5, 6-3) sustained their third
conference losses of the season.
Bobbi Knudsen hit a free throw with 3.4 seconds left in
overtime and Montana State Billings (13-7, 5-4) hung on to
beat Seattle Pacific 63-62 at Brougham Pavilion.
Alli Dzhidzhiyeshvili had 20 points and six steals to lead
Northwest Nazarene (11-6, 5-4) to a 75-62 home win over
Western Washington.
Simon Fraser (11-6, 6-3) nearly suffered a similar fate but
scored the game's final five points to pull out a 67-64 win
against Central Washington and move into a three-way tie
for second with the Vikings and Falcons.
Meanwhile, Alaska Fairbanks (6-13, 2-7), which ended a
21-game conference game losing streak Thursday, won its
second consecutive contest defeating Western Oregon 6968 at The Patty Center.
Haley Holmstead scored 23 points and Hanna Johansson
grabbed 14 rebounds to lead 14th-ranked Alaska
Anchorage to its win.
The Seawolves also got 12 points from freshman guard
Gritt Ryder and 10 points from Kaylie Robison.
The Saints (7-12, 2-7) got 18 points from reserve Jordyn
Richardson and 10 points from Chelsey Haskey as they lost
for the sixth straight time in Anchorage.
UAA had a season-high 30 turnovers forced in Thursday's
win over Western Oregon and kept up that pace at the
outset Saturday, pressuring the Saints into 17 first-half
giveaways.
Meanwhile, the Seawolves connected at a 51.4 percent
shooting clip in the opening stanza to build a 36-19
halftime lead.
Knudsen finished with 18 points and also had four steals
though she made just seven of 24 shots. Olson had 11
points and 12 rebounds.
Nyesha Sims led Seattle Pacific tying her career high with
26 points, and made it a double-double – her seventh of the
season – with 14 rebounds. Benson added 11 points.
Northwest Nazarene 75, Western Washington 62
Ryder drained an NBA-range three-pointer to cap a 9-0 run
at the outset of the second half, and the lead grew as high as
81-40 with two minutes remaining.
Point guard Sasha King matched her career-high for the
third straight game with seven assists, while Robison also
tied a career-best with four of UAA's 17 steals.
Meanwhile, Holmstead, UAA's leading scorer at 14.9 ppg,
was in rhythm all night, shooting 11 for 16 and grabbing
three offensive rebounds.
Johansson, who came in as UAA's career field-goal
percentage leader at .538, shot just three of 11 from the
field but made up for it with a strong all-around game,
tallying five assists, three steals and no turnovers.
The 6-2 center had eight of her 14 boards on the offensive
end as she tied her second-highest rebounding effort in 118
career games.
Montana State Billings 63, Seattle Pacific 62
MSUB scored 20 consecutive points at one point in
building a 39-25 halftime lead against Seattle Pacific.
But the Falcons rallied from a 16-point deficit early in the
second half to gain a four-point lead at 57-53.
MSUB, however, tied the game at 57-57 getting a jumper
by Knudsen with 2:51 left and a layup by Janiel Olson to
tie it as SPU didn't score in the final 3:46.
The Yellowjackets' Quinn Peoples started the extra session
with a three-pointer (her only points in the game).
SPU's Katie Benson then scored the next five points - a free
throw, a lay-up to tie it at 60-60 and two more free throws
to make it 62-60 with 1:07 left.
Kayleen Goggins tied it for Montana State Billings on a
lay-up at the 47-second mark.
Northwest Nazarene forced Western Washington into 25
turnovers and held the Vikings to a 36.1 shooting
percentage in a 13-point win at the Johnson Sports Center
on the NNU campus.
The Vikings entered the game ranked second nationally in
three-point shooting at 39.4 percent and ninth in field-goal
accuracy at 46.2 percent but made just 26 of 72 including
five of 24 from the arc.
NNU also controlled the backboards 49-41 as Briaunna
King had 14 rebounds to go along with her 17 points as she
joined Dzhidzhiyeshvili, Chelsie Luke, Falissa Smith and
Megan Hingston in double figures.
Luke had 16 points (and 10 rebounds), while Smith and
Hingston each scored 10 as the five Crusader starters
accounted for all but two of NNU's points.
Forward Trishi Williams led WWU with 15 points and nine
rebounds. Two reserves had solid performances for the
Vikings.
Katie Colard scored 14 points and Kayla Bernsen
contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds, both season highs.
NNU, which is 8-1 at home, scored the first nine points of
the game, but the Vikings countered with 11 straight for
their only lead (11-9).
The Crusaders used an 11-3 run for a 35-23 advantage,
their biggest of the period, and led 39-30 at halftime.
WWU opened the second half with an 11-4 burst to close to
within two (43-41) nearly five minutes into the period. The
Vikings were still within two (48-46) with 10 minutes
remaining.
WWU trailed by six (68-62) with three minutes to go, but
were outscored 7-0 the rest of the way.
Simon Fraser 67, Central Washington 64
The Falcons turned it over under the basket with 20.3
seconds remaining, and the Yellowjackets, after calling
timeout with 9.6 seconds left, wound up on the free throw
line when Knudsen was fouled with 3.4 showing.
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe had 23 points and 16 rebounds and
Simon Fraser outscored Central Washington 18-6 over the
final 7:06 to beat the Wildcats at Nicholson Pavilion.
Knudsen hit her first, but missed her second. Seattle Pacific
called timeout and inbounded on the sideline in back court.
McKayla Gorman got off a three-pointer, but it fell short
off the right side of the rim as the buzzer sounded.
Central (5-11, 2-7), which hasn't beaten the Clan since
1988 when the Wildcats won the NAIA District 1 title, led
most of the way before a put back lay-up by Erin Chambers
with 26.5 seconds left tied the game.
Chambers was fouled on the play and converted the
ensuing free throw to give Simon Fraser a 65-64 lead.
Clifford led Western Oregon with 17 points, while Melissa
Fowler had 13 and Amber Reade scored 11.
Following a timeout, the Wildcats had an opportunity to go
ahead, but a turnover underneath the basket returned
possession to SFU.
Thursday, Jan. 19
On the ensuing possession, Amber Moser blocked
Raincock-Ekunwe's fastbreak lay-up attempt but MarieLine Petit was there for the rebound basket with 5.4
seconds.
Travis Thompson scored a career-high 22 points and
Marcus Jackson added 13 points lifting Alaska Anchorage
to a 66-55 road victory over Western Oregon Thursday at
the New P.E. Building in Monmouth.
Jessica VanDyke's contested three-pointer at the final
buzzer rimmed off and Simon Fraser escaped with the
victory.
The win moved the Seawolves (12-4, 6-2) into a three-way
for second place in the GNAC with the Wolves (13-4, 6-2)
and idle Seattle Pacific (6-2). All three teams are one game
back of league-leader Western Washington (7-1).
In addition to Raincock-Ekunwe the Clan was also led by
Kristina Collins and Chelsea Reist with 13 and 10 points,
respectively.
VanDyke and Sophie Russell paced the Wildcats with 19
points each, while Alex Dunn had 12 points and seven
assists.
VanDyke made eight of 13 shot attempts but had just three
field-goal tries in 17 second-half minutes.
Central outrebounded SFU 45-40 as Dunn and Stacy
Albrecht each had nine. Simon Fraser had a narrow 39.7
(27-68) to 39.4 (26-66) shooting percentage. CWU,
however, made just six of 15 free throws.
Alaska Fairbanks 69, Western Oregon 68
Nicole Bozek made two foul shots with 5:15 left to give
Alaska Fairbanks the lead and the Nanooks went on to beat
Western Oregon to complete a 2-0 weekend.
It's the first time UAF has had back-to-back conference
wins since it defeated Western Washington and Central
Washington on Feb. 28, 2008 and Mar. 1, 2008.
UAF trailed 57-51 with 7:02 remaining before going on a
14-2 run. The Nanooks scored on eight of nine positions to
go ahead 65-59 with 2:37 left.
That included Bozek's go-ahead free throws, a basket by
Taylor Altenburg, one of two foul shots by Altenburg after
a technical on the WOU bench and two foul shots by
Nicole Hartzog.
WOU (4-15, 3-6) took advantage of a foul on a three-point
attempt with three seconds left to cut a four-point deficit to
one as Lorrie Clifford made all three free throws.
Men's Basketball: Thompson Keys Seawolf Victory
Meanwhile, Saint Martin's (8-9, 4-4) moved into a tie for
fifth with Montana State Billings (4-4) rallying from an
eight-point halftime deficit to defeat Alaska Fairbanks 7053.
JB Pillard nearly had a 20/20 performance as Northwest
Nazarene (9-7, 3-5) earned a 88-81 road win at Simon
Fraser in the final game of the night.
In addition to Thompson's career night, Alaska Anchorage
also got eight assists from Steve White in a game in which
its leading scorer Taylor Rohde was held to four points as
he played only 14 minutes due to foul trouble.
Western Oregon was led by Kyle Long with 12 points, but
the Wolves suffered their second straight home loss after a
13-2 start to their campaign.
After WOU scored the game's first basket, Thompson
knocked down the first of his six three-pointers to stake
UAA to a lead it would never relinquish.
Thompson made all five of his first-half three-pointers and
his only two-point attempt to help the Seawolves claim a
37-22 lead at the break.
Rohde, a 6-9 center who averages 21.1 points per game,
picked up his third and fourth fouls less than one minute
into the second half, but UAA got a big lift off the bench
from reserve Liam Gibcus and continued to control the
tempo.
WOU pulled within 41-33 with 15 minutes to play but
Gibcus answered with a midrange jumper and Kyle
Fossman knocked down a three-pointer, and the Seawolves'
lead swung between 11 and 17 for the rest of the night.
WOU then immediately fouled Kelly Logue with 0.9
remaining. Logue missed both attempts but Nicole Bozek
got the offensive rebound to secure the win.
Gibcus, a 6-10 junior from Lysterfield, Australia, finished
with five points, four rebounds and two assists, while his
three blocked shots were both a career- and UAA seasonhigh.
Hartzog led the Nanooks with 18 points, while Bozek and
Altenburg had 14 and 13 points, respectively. Hartzog also
had five of UAF's 11 steals.
Thompson, meanwhile, topped his previous career-high by
two points, finishing seven of nine from the field and six of
seven from long range. He also snagged a career-high six
rebounds as Seawolves outboarded WOU 33-27.
In addition to Long, who increased his career point total to
978 points, Western Oregon also got 11 points from Blair
Wheadon and 10 from Jordan Freelander.
The Crusaders, who opened up a 45-28 halftime lead, held
the the Clan to 38.6 percent (22-57) shooting on the night
and a 23.8 percent (5-21) clip from the three-point line.
SFU converted 32 of 39 free throws, while the Crusaders
were 23 of 30 (76.7 percent), in a game that featured 46
fouls called. Brown made 15 of 17.
Saint Martin's 70, Alaska Fairbanks 53
Saint Martin's shot 65.4 percent in the second half to
overcome an eight-point halftime deficit and defeat Alaska
Fairbanks at Marcus Pavilion.
Brok Pendleton scored 17 of his game-high 22 points after
intermission to lead the Saints to their third straight win.
SMU missed just nine shots after the intermission cashing
in on 17 of 26.
The Saints, who opened the second half with a 16-4 run,
also got 16 points from Roger O'Neill and 14 from Jeremy
Green. O'Neill made seven of 11 shots, including his only
two three-pointers.
Point guard Brady Bomber had 13 points as he made three
of four treys. He also had six assists without a turnover.
Bomber has had 19 assists and just one turnover during
SMU's three-game win streak and is working on a string of
92 consecutive minutes without a turnover during which he
has been credited with 17 assists.
Sergej Pucar had a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double for
the Nanooks (4-14, 1-7). Ben Teer had 14 points and Stefan
Tica scored 10. Teer made six of nine shots and also had a
team-high five assists.
UAF outrebounded the Saints 38-30, but SMU had just four
turnovers, missing the GNAC single-game record by just
one. Western Washington set the record of three against
Western Oregon on Jan. 9, 2010.
Brown made nine of nine fouls shots in the second half as
the Clan closed a 19-point deficit (59-40) early in the half,
climbing to within nine (75-66) with 4:39 left. But, they
never got closer than the final seven-point margin.
Women's Basketball: Crusaders Knock Off Simon
Fraser
Alli Dzhidzhiyeshvili scored 20 points and Briaunna King
had 19 points and 13 rebounds as Northwest Nazarene
surprised Simon Fraser 76-72 Thursday at Nampa.
In other games Thursday, first-place Alaska Anchorage
outscored Western Oregon 86-58, Western Washington
defeated Central Washington 85-71 and Alaska Fairbanks
won its first conference game of the season beating Saint
Martin's 62-51.
The Crusaders (10-6, 4-4) evened their conference record
with the win as they rallied from a five-point second-half
deficit.
SFU (10-6, 5-3) led 54-49 with 12:28 remaining, but King
put NNU ahead for good 63-62 with a basket at 6:13, then
converted a three-point play for a four-point lead (66-62)
with 4:24 remaining.
The Clan later pulled to within three points on four
different occasions, including 75-72 on a basket by Kristina
Collins with nine seconds left, but never got closer.
After Collins' final field goal, NNU's Falissa Smith
clinched the win making one of two foul shots.
Northwest Nazarene 88, Simon Fraser 81
JB Pillard led four players in double figures with a 22
point, 19 rebound double-double as Northwest Nazarene
defeated Simon Fraser at Burnaby, B.C.
Pillard, who set a career-high with his rebound total, paced
a balanced NNU offensive effort that included Anthony
Golden with 19 points, Jonathan Hawkins with 18 and C.J.
Shula with a season-high 13.
Golden now has 990 career points and could become the
48th player in GNAC history to reach the 1,000-point mark
Saturday when the Crusaders play at Western Washington.
Justin Brown led the Clan with a game-high 23 points and
Jordan Sergent finished with a 20 point, 10 rebound
double-double. Connor Lewis added 15 points and a gamebest five assists.
NNU led by as many as 11 points in the first half (30-19)
and were up by eight (39-31) at halftime before the Clan
used a 23-10 run to start the second half and pull ahead.
SFU shot 56.0 percent (14-25) in the period.
Collins led the Clan with 22 points, while Nayo RaincockEkunwe had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Chelsea Reist had
13 points.
Northwest Nazarene outrebounded Simon Fraser 41-27,
finishing with 22 offensive caroms and converting them
into 19 second-chance points.
The Crusaders also had 14 steals including five by
Dzhidzhiyeshvili forcing SFU into 25 turnovers.
Alaska Anchorage 86, Western Oregon 58
Point guard Sasha King scored a career-high 22 points and
Kaylie Robison recorded a double-double as Alaska
Anchorage (16-3, 7-1) maintained a one-game lead over
idle Seattle Pacific and Western Washington (12-4, 6-2)
with its victory.
The Seawolves, who are ranked 14th nationally, also got 14
points on four of five shooting from Hanna Johansson as
they connected at 50.8 percent from the field (30-59) and
forced 30 turnovers.
The Wolves (4-14, 3-5) were led by 18 points and three
assists from forward Rylee Peterson. Lorrie Clifford was
the only other WOU player in double figures with 13
points.
After trading baskets to begin the game, King put UAA
ahead for good with the first of her four three-pointers, and
the lead grew quickly to 19-6.
The visitors later mounted a comeback, drawing within 2521 on Dijana Topalovic's three-pointer at the 8:48 mark,
before the Seawolves took control with seven straight
points in a 22-second span.
Tijera Mathews (8 points, 4 assists, career-high 6 steals)
started the surge with a three-pointer, followed by a back
court steal and layup by King.
UAA kept up the pressure after that, with Mathews
deflecting another pass toward Alysa Horn, who fed
Johansson for another layup. The lead grew to 37-21 on a
three-pointer from Kylie Burns and the Seawolves took a
42-29 advantage at halftime.
Peterson sliced her team's deficit to 42-34 early in the
second half before King answered with five straight points.
King made eight of 11 shots, including four of five threepointers. She also had a career-high-tying seven assists and
five steals.
Meanwhile, Robison did most of her damage in the second
half to finish with 12 points and 11 rebounds – her fifth
double-double of the season.
UAA, which has won 16 straight at the Wells Fargo Sports
Complex, also won for the 16th straight time over WOU
extending the longest streak in program history against any
opponent.
Williams, who was eight of 12 from the floor, also had
eight rebounds and five assists.
Guard Kristin Schramm added 15 points, 11 in the first
period, and seven rebounds for the Vikings.
CWU (5-10, 2-6) got 16 points each from Sophie Russell
and Alex Dunn. Jessica Van Dyke had 14 points and a
game-high 10 rebounds for the Wildcats and reserve Stacy
Albrecht contributed 10 points.
Midway through the first half, WWU scored 12 straight
points to begin a 24-6 run over a span of 8:28 for a 15-point
lead (39-24) on a three-pointer by Waltrip with 1:56 left in
the period. The Vikings led 43-29 at halftime.
CWU began the second half with a 14-2 run, cutting
WWU's lead to 45-43 with 16:34 remaining.
The Vikings, however, responded by scoring 20 of the next
26 points to go ahead 65-49 with 11:01 remaining
following three straight baskets by reserve center Kayla
Bernsen.
The Wildcats pulled within nine points twice including 6758 with 7:19 left. WWU, however, then scored 10 straight,
six by Waltrip, for its biggest lead of 19 (77-58) with five
minutes remaining.
WWU, which entered the game ranked fourth nationally in
three-point percentage at 38.6 percent and 14th in threemakes per game (7.8), hit nine of 17 treys (52.9 percent)
and was 54.1 percent (33-61) overall from the floor.
It was the eighth straight series win and 16th in 17
meetings for WWU, which leads the all-time series 81-10.
Alaska Fairbanks 62, Saint Martin's 51
Nicole Bozek had 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead Alaska
Fairbanks to its first conference win since last January as
the Nanooks (6-13, 1-7) snapped a 21-game GNAC losing
streak.
Bozek made eight of 16 shots and also had two of UAF's
four blocked shots.
The Nanooks also got 11 points each from Nicole Hartzog
and Taylor Altenburg.
Western Washington 85, Central Washington 71
Corinn Waltrip and Trishi Williams combined for 42 points
as Western Washington defeated Central Washington at
Nicholson Pavilion.
The game started nearly one hour late as the arrival of the
officiating crew was hampered by poor weather conditions.
Waltrip had a game-high 22 points, 11 in each half, and
Williams scored 20, 15 of those in the second period.
Waltrip connected on five of eight three-pointers and
Chelsea Haskey accounted for nearly 40 percent of Saint
Martin's offense, scoring 19 of its 51 points and grabbing
14 of their 34 rebounds. Of SMU's 34 rebounds, only one
came off the offensive glass.
SMU (7-11, 2-6) outshot Alaska Fairbanks 40.8 to 33.3
percent even though they draw a blank on three-pointers (0
of 11). The Saints, however, were perfect from the foul line
(11 of 11).
The Nanook, however, had more scoring opportunities as
they outrebounded the Saints 43-34 and had nine fewer
turnovers (19-28).
Tuesday, Jan. 17
Wednesday, Jan. 18
Western Washington and Seattle Pacific are ranked 22nd
and 24th in this week's NABC Division II men's basketball
coaches poll.
Men's Basketball:
Central
Western
Washington
Topples
John Allen poured in 32 points on 12 of 14 field goal
shooting leading Western Washington to a 99-86 triumph
over arch-rival Central Washington Wednesday in a
regionally televised game on ROOT Sports.
The Vikings, who are ranked 22nd in the latest NABC
Division II national poll, improved to 16-3 and took over
sole possession of first place in the GNAC at 7-1 with the
home-court win at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
WWU leads Western Oregon (6-1), which hosts Alaska
Anchorage (5-2) Thursday, by one-half game.
Rory Blanche had 16 points for WWU, hitting the 1,000
mark in career scoring on a 10-foot floater with 14:40 to
play and concluding the night with 1,006 points.
CWU, the defending GNAC champion, fell to 8-8 overall
and 2-6 in the GNAC with its fifth loss in the last six
games. Guard Lacy Haddock had 20 points to pace the
Wildcats, who fell to Western for the sixth time in the last
seven meetings.
Central was within six (70-64) with a little over seven
minutes to go, but then Allen took over, scoring the next 12
Viking points to put WWU in front 82-68 with 4:02
remaining. The Wildcats got no closer than nine points
after that.
The Vikings never trailed, hitting five of their first six shots
from the floor to take a 9-2 lead. WWU led by as much as
10 in the first half, and held a 41-35 lead at halftime.
Paul Jones had 14 points off the bench for WWU, which
shot 56.3 percent (36-64) from the field. That is the second
highest percentage by an opponent against CWU this
season.
Zach Henifin had 10 points, seven rebounds and seven
assists. Also in double figures with 10 points was Richard
Woodworth.
Kevin Davis, Tyler Toussaint and Jordan Coby had 16
points each and Davis and Roby Clyde each had 13
rebounds for the Wildcats, which had a 42-37 advantage on
the boards.
Blanche is the 22nd player in WWU history and the ninth
during the GNAC era (since 2001-02) to reach 1,000
points. He is the 47th GNAC player to reach that milestone.
Men's Basketball: Western Washington Ranked 22nd
Neither team was ranked last week, but both won a pair of
road games to improve to 15-3 and 14-3, respectively.
Western Washington will risk its ranking Wednesday in a
regionally televised game against Central Washington (87). Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
The game is the first of three GNAC games this winter that
will be televised by ROOT Sports. The network will also
televise both the GNAC men's and women's conference
championship games on Saturday, Mar. 3 at Lacey, Wash.
In addition to the Vikings and Falcons, Alaska Anchorage
also received votes in this week's national poll and were
33rd overall.
Western Oregon, which was 26th last week, did not receive
any votes after losing at home to Saint Martin's Saturday.
The only other West Region team ranked this week is Cal
Poly Pomona at No. 20.
Seattle Pacific Second in Scoring Defense
Seattle Pacific is ranked second in scoring defense in this
week's NCAA Division II national statistical report. The
Falcons, who are surrendering only 55.9 points per game,
trail only Tarleton State, Tex. (51.9).
SPU also ranks sixth in rebounding (9.2) and seventh in
field goal percentage defense (37.6).
Alaska Anchorage is second in both assists (21.7) and
assist/turnover ratio (1.68). Central Washington is third in
blocks (6.2) and Northwest Nazarene is fourth in threepointers made (10.4).
UAA's Travis Thompson is the highest ranked individual.
He is second in assist/turnover ratio (3.52).
Three GNAC players are ranked eighth - Anthony Golden
of NNU in three-pointers made (3.3), David Downs of SPU
in three-point percentage (49.5) and Kevin Davis of Central
Washington in blocked shots (2.9).
Women's Basketball: Alaska Anchorage Slips To No. 14
A loss to Simon Fraser last Thursday cost Alaska
Anchorage a Top 10 ranking in this week's USA Today
ESPN Division II Top 25 women's basketball poll.
The Seawolves (15-3) fell from eighth to 14th in this
week's poll. Two other GNAC teams - Western
Washington (47th overall) and Seattle Pacific (49th overall)
- were among "others receiving votes".
UC San Diego (16-0) was a near unanimous No. 1
receiving 26 of 31 first-place votes. Grand Canyon (12-1),
Cal Poly Pomona (11-2) and Cal State Monterey Bay (112) are ranked 12th, 17th and 22nd.
NNU's Dzhidzhiyeshvili 12th In Steals
Alla Dzhidzhiyeshvili of Northwest Nazarene ranks 12th in
steals in this week's NCAA Division II national statistical
report.
The top ranked GNAC player is Jordan Harazin of Seattle
Pacific, who ranks ninth in assist/turnover ratio at 2.43.
Also in the Top 15 are Briaunna King of Northwest
Nazarene, 13th in double-doubles (8) and Sasha King of
Alaska Anchorage, 15th in assist/turnover ratio (2.03).
Alaska Anchorage has six Top 10 team rankings, including
No. 1 in scoring margin (24.9). The Seawolves are fourth in
rebounding (13.1) and assists (19.0), sixth in scoring (80.7)
and eighth in field goal percentage (46.1) and field goal
defense (32.7).
Seattle Pacific has four Top 10 rankings - eighth in assists
(18.2), ninth in free throw percentage (78.2) and 10th in
rebounding (10.4) and fewest fouls (13.8).
Western Washington ranks fourth in three-point percentage
(39.6) and 10th in field goal percentage (45.6). Central
Washington ranks third in three-pointers (8.9). MSU
Billings is ninth in fewest turnovers (13.9).
Helwege was a unanimous first-team GNAC all-conference
selection during his final season with the Wildcats.
He totaled 51 receptions for 717 yards and eight
touchdowns finishing his four-year career ranked 12th in
school history in receiving yards (1,522) and 13th in
receptions (99).
FB Recap: HSU's Rowells Establishes 11 Records
Humboldt State running back Lyndon Rowells set nine
GNAC records and tied two others during the 2011 season.
His marks were among 35 set and 20 tied, according to
final official figures released by the conference office
Monday.
Rowells set new single season marks for rushing yards
(1,417), rushing yards per game (141.7), all-purpose yards
(1,672) and all-purpose yards per game (167.2).
He also set career marks for rushing touchdowns (29),
rushing yards per game (129.8), 100-yard rushing games
(14), 200-yard rushing games (4) and points per game (9.1).
He tied his own GNAC records for single-season 100-yard
(7) and 200-yard (2) rushing games.
Rowells was one of five players to set or tie three or more
records as individuals accounted for 36 of the new marks,
setting 23 and tying 13.
Football: Helwege to Play In Tucson All-Star Game
Dixie State freshman quarterback Stefan Cantwell set one
record and tied four others. Dixie return specialist Cache
Morgan set three records, while Red Storm kicker Jameson
Schultz tied three conference marks.
Wide receiver Justin Helwege will represent Central
Washington in the 2012 Casino Del Sol All-Star Game
tonight at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tucson,
Ariz.
Western Oregon place-kicker Kelly Morgan, who will take
a string of 56 consecutive extra points made into the 2012
season, also accounted for three records, setting one and
tying two. He was a perfect 38 of 38 on PATs this season.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (5 p.m.
Pacific). It can be seen on Fox Sports Arizona (DIRECTV
686 and DISH Network 415).
In all a total of 15 different players set or tied records
during the 2011 season. An additional 12 team records
were broken and seven others were tied.
Helwege, who completed both his football eligibility and
the requirements for his Bachelor's degree in law and
justice at CWU this past fall, is one of just four players
from a NCAA Division II institution selected to compete in
the game.
In addition to his 11 records, Rowells won three major
conference statistical titles for the second year in a row
leading the GNAC in rushing (1,417 yards), scoring (90
points) and all-purpose yards (1,672 yards).
Monday, Jan. 16
The 6-foot-5, 218-pounder will play for the Stripes team,
which will be coached by former Fresno State mentor Pat
Hill.
Among Helwege's teammates on the Stripes squad will be
former Washington State quarterback Marshall Lobbestael,
whose older brother John played baseball at CWU during
the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
Humboldt quarterback Mike Proulx also won three titles,
finishing first in passing yards (2,888 yards), passing
efficiency (152.4 rating) and total offense (2,942 yards).
Lumberjack kicker Brian Blumberg was the conference
leader in kick scoring (8.3 points per game), field goals
(13) and field goal percentage (13 of 17 for 76.5 percent).
Joe Don Duncan of Dixie State led the way in receptions
(6.4) and receiving yards (94.9) becoming the first tight end
in GNAC history to win those two statistical titles.
Dominique Gaisie of Central Washington was the punt
return leader (11.3 per return), Dixie's Cache Morgan led
the way in kick returns (23.5) setting league marks for most
returns (43), yards (1,012) and longest return (100). WOU's
Scott Buche was the punting leader (39.4).
In defensive categories, end Justin Capicciotti of Simon
Fraser was the leader in sacks (10) and tackles for losses
(16). SFU linebacker Casey Chin led the way in tackles per
game (8.2), while Western Oregon's Scotland Foss was the
leader in total tackles (84).
Western Oregon defensive back Isaiah Buchanan led in
passes defended with 14 including 13 breakups. WOU DB
Bryce Peila was the pace-setter in interceptions with nine,
returning them for a GNAC single-season record 243 yards.
In team categories, Humboldt State, which won its first
GNAC conference title, was the leader in virtually every
major team category including scoring (35.9), scoring
defense (19.7), total offense (464.9), total defense (330.0),
passing offense (295.1), passing offense efficiency (148.2),
passing defense (208.2) and passing defense efficiency
(107.4).
The only two major category titles to escape the
Lumberjacks were rushing offense and rushing defense and
they finishing second behind Simon Fraser (188.0) and
Central Washington (118.5), respectively, with averages of
169.8 and 121.8.
Lumberjack kicker Brian Blumberg was the conference
leader in kick scoring (8.3 points per game), field goals
(13) and field goal percentage (13 of 17 for 76.5 percent).
Joe Don Duncan of Dixie State led the way in receptions
(6.4) and receiving yards (94.9) becoming the first tight end
in GNAC history to win those two statistical titles.
Dominique Gaisie of Central Washington was the punt
return leader (11.3 per return), Dixie's Cache Morgan led
the way in kick returns (23.5) setting league marks for most
returns (43), yards (1,012) and longest return (100). WOU's
Scott Buche was the punting leader (39.4).
In defensive categories, end Justin Capicciotti of Simon
Fraser was the leader in sacks (10) and tackles for losses
(16). SFU linebacker Casey Chin led the way in tackles per
game (8.2), while Western Oregon's Scotland Foss was the
leader in total tackles (84).
Western Oregon defensive back Isaiah Buchanan led in
passes defended with 14 including 13 breakups. WOU DB
Bryce Peila was the pace-setter in interceptions with nine,
returning them for a GNAC single-season record 243 yards.
In team categories, Humboldt State, which won its first
GNAC conference title, was the leader in virtually every
major team category including scoring (35.9), scoring
defense (19.7), total offense (464.9), total defense (330.0),
passing offense (295.1), passing offense efficiency (148.2),
passing defense (208.2) and passing defense efficiency
(107.4).
The only two major category titles to escape the
Lumberjacks were rushing offense and rushing defense and
they finishing second behind Simon Fraser (188.0) and
Central Washington (118.5), respectively, with averages of
169.8 and 121.8.
Saturday, Jan. 14
Men's Basketball: Viks Beat UAA, Saints Surprise
WOU
Rory Blanche scored 18 points and John Allen added 17 as
Western Washington earned a sweep of its Alaska road trip
for the second year in a row defeating Alaska Anchorage
73-68 Saturday at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
The win, coupled with Saint Martin's 74-65 come-frombehind victory at previously unbeaten Western Oregon,
moved the Vikings (15-3, 6-1) into a first-place tie in the
conference standings with the Wolves (13-3, 6-1).
Meanwhile, Seattle Pacific (14-3, 6-2) climbed into third
place one-half game back of the co-leaders with a 71-66
road win at Northwest Nazarene.
Elsewhere, Central Washington (8-7, 2-5) snapped a fourgame losing streak outscoring Montana State Billings 115107 and Simon Fraser (6-9, 1-6) earned its first conference
victory of the season rallying to beat Alaska Fairbanks 6561.
Taylor Rohde had game-highs of 26 points and eight
rebounds for Alaska Anchorage (11-4, 5-2). The Vikings,
however, trailed just once in the second half at 66-65 after
two Rohde free throws with 1:49 to play.
A Blanche three-point play at the other end put the Vikings
up by two with 1:35 to go.
After UAA missed a three-pointer, Western Washington
worked the shot clock and Allen iced the game with a
three-point shot, banking one in from the top of the key, to
give WWU a 71-66 advantage with 20 seconds left.
Richard Woodworth had 11 points and eight assists for the
Vikings, who shot 54.0 percent (27-50) from the floor.
Blanche made eight of 14 shots and Allen converted on six
of nine, including three of five from the arc.
Western trailed 31-29 at halftime before opening the
second half with nine straight points, seven of them by
Allen, to take a 38-31 lead just 2:05 into the period.
The Vikings led by 11 (53-42) with 10:52 to play, but the
Seawolves rallied to tie the score at 59-59 on a Abebe
Demissie three-pointer with 5:28 left.
Travis Thompson had 11 points for UAA, and Kyle
Fossman added 10. Blanche's 18 points took him to 990 for
his career.
Poling also grabbed eight rebounds to lead SPU's 32-27
advantage on the boards. Cory Hutsen contributed 12
points and Jobi Wall had 11 points and seven rebounds.
Saint Martin's 74, Western Oregon 65
Anthony Golden tallied 16 points to pace NNU (8-7, 2-5),
which also got 12 apiece from Jonathan Hawkins and Keith
Moilanen and 11 from JB Pillard.
Saint Martin's (7-9, 3-4) outscored Western Oregon 30-9
over the final 9 1/2 minutes to overcome a 56-44 deficit
and hand the Wolves their first Division II loss since Nov.
11.
Jeremy Green had 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead four
players in double figures including true-freshman Will
Bond who came off the bench to score 11 of his 15 points
in the second half.
Bond came into the game averaging 5.1 points per game,
but made three three-pointers and a layup to help key the
comeback.
His first trey jump-started the comeback cutting WOU's
lead to 56-47 with 9:31 remaining.
Later he started a 15-0 Saint run with his layup, then tied
the game at 60-60 with his second trey and gave SMU a 6660 lead with his third.
“Will Bond came off the bench and gave us a lift,” SMU
coach Keith Cooper said. “He hit some big shots for us.”
Two free throws by Brady Bomber with 57 seconds
remaining capped off the scoring spree giving Saint
Martin's a 68-60 lead. The Saints then made six of seven
free throws during the final 45 seconds to clinch the
victory.
Also in double figures were Brok Pendleton with 15 points
and Roger O'Neill with 13. Bomber had nine assists and
was not charged with a turnover as he orchestrated the
Saint offense that shot 51.9 percent (27-52).
“Brady (Bomber) did a great job of running the team (and
handling their pressure),” Cooper said.
Blair Wheadon led Western Oregon with 20 points and four
steals. The Wolves, who were outrebounded 39-29, also got
12 points from Kolton Nelson and 10 from Kyle Long.
The Crusaders scored the game's first six points while
forcing the visitors into a turnover and two missed shots on
its first three possessions.
SPU tallied the next eight points, six of them from the free
throw line, to go ahead 8-6 with 15:49 left in the first half.
That was the first of 17 lead changes, all of them during the
opening period.
The Falcons forged what proved to be the game's final lead
change on a three-pointer by Scott Morse two minutes
before intermission. Hutsen followed with a basket at 1:04
for a 35-31 advantage.
Hawkins converted a three-point play with 40 seconds on
the clock to draw NNU within 35-34 at halftime.
After taking its largest lead of the game at 65-53 on a layup
by Wall with 2:03 left in the game, SPU missed four of its
next six free throws, one miss each by four different
players.
That enabled the Crusaders to close within 67-63 when
Golden converted two of three free throws with 35 seconds
remaining.
The Falcons found their stroke from the line and got a pair
of free throws from both Wall and Morse to stretch the lead
to a secure 71-63 with 17 seconds to play.
Seattle Pacific won for the 11th time in the last 13 meetings
against the Crusaders, improving its lead in the all-time
series to 47-22.
Central Washington 115, Montana State Billings 107
Lacy Haddock scored 35 points, including 12 of Central
Washington's final 16 points as the Wildcats outdueled
Montana State Billings in a scoring slugfest at Nicholson
Pavilion.
Seattle Pacific 71, Northwest Nazarene 66
Andy Poling led all scorers with 23 points for Seattle
Pacific, which captured the decisive lead just before
halftime on the way to a five-point victory at the Johnson
Sports Center.
Each team had three 20-point scorers. In addition to
Haddock who had the highest total for a CWU player since
Matt Penoncello scored 36 three years ago, the Wildcats
were led by Toussaint Tyler with 23 and Jody Johnson with
20.
Poling made eight of 11 shots from the field for the
Falcons, who shot 54 percent (22 of 41) as a team cruising
to to their fifth straight win.
Central also got 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds
from Kevin Davis and 14 points from Jordan Coby.
Johnson also had 10 rebounds.
The 6-foot-11 post player converted seven of eight free
throws, helping his team outscore the Crusaders 23-4 from
the line.
Antoine Proctor led MSUB (9-7, 4-4) with 35 points, 26 of
them in the second half before he fouled out with 2:03 left.
Jaxon Myaer netted 25 points and Taylor Stevens had 20.
Myaer helped shoot MSUB into an early 27-9 lead making
four consecutive three-point shots, but he was just one of
six from the arc the rest of the way.
CWU dug itself out of the early hole outscoring the
Yellowjackets 17-6 over the final 4:45 of the first half to
climb within one (52-51) at the break.
Their were eight second-half ties, including the final one at
98-98 with 3:27 when Johnson made the first of two foul
shots.
Johnson made the second as well and Haddock then scored
CWU's next 10 points including three free throws with 2:03
left to put the 'Cats ahead 104-100.
Proctor fouled out on that play and CWU then put the game
away at the free throw line making six straight during the
final 29 seconds.
The 2 hour, six minute marathon featured 58 fouls and 83
free throws. MSUB converted on 37 of 46 (Proctor was 17
of 20) and CWU made 28 of 37.
Central also shot 53.2 percent from the floor (41-77)
though they were just five of 19 on treys. The 'Jackets shot
45.3 percent (29-64), making 12 of 30 three-pointers, but
only four of 13 after the break.
The Nanooks were paced by Sergej Pucar, who tallied a
team-high 16 points.
Tica contributed 12 points on four triples, while freshman
Daniel Shaw added 10 points. Guard Nico Matthews led all
players with 10 rebounds and six assists.
Women's Basketball: Seawolves Win Showdown For
First
Alaska Anchorage hit its first eight shots to grab the early
advantage and then pulled away to defeat Western
Washington 75-55 Saturday in a showdown between teams
who came into the contest tied for first in the GNAC
standings.
The loss dropped the Vikings (11-4, 5-2) one game back of
the nationally eighth-ranked Seawolves (15-3, 6-1).
WWU is one of three teams with two league losses
including Seattle Pacific (12-4, 6-2) which moved one-half
game ahead of the Vikings and stayed one-half ahead of
Simon Fraser (10-5, 5-2) with a 72-58 home win over
Northwest Nazarene.
Simon Fraser kept pace cruising past Alaska Fairbanks 9166. In other games, Central Washington overcame a 17point first-half deficit to defeat Montana State Billings 6559 and Western Oregon won at Saint Martin's 67-53.
Simon Fraser 65, Alaska Fairbanks 61
Simon Fraser used a 12-2 run in the final 3:23 to rally for a
four-point win at the Patty Center.
Jordan Sergent scored 17 of his game-high 20 points in the
second half, including seven points in the last 74 seconds to
lift the Clan to their first conference win of the season.
Sergent's layup with 3:23 to go sparked the SFU run and
after a pair of free throws by Justin Brown with just over
two minutes remaining, the Clan took their first lead since
2-0 when Sergent slashed through the lane and completed a
three-point play with a bucket and a free throw with 1:16 to
play.
Hanna Johansson paced Alaska Anchorage scoring 18
points on eight of 11 shooting. The Seawolves also got 14
points and a game-high eight rebounds from Alysa Horn,
12 points from Haley Holmstead and seven points, seven
assists and seven steals from Sasha King.
WWU, which had a seven-game winning streak snapped,
was led by Britt Harris with 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Vikings also got 10 points each from Corinn Waltrip
and Trish Williams.
UAA opened the contest by not missing a shot for more
than seven minutes and jumping to a 17-7 lead.
Sergent drained a jumper with 32 ticks remaining to up the
lead to 62-59 and the Nanooks (4-13, 1-6) had a chance to
tie, but three-point attempts by Stefan Tica and Dominique
Brinson were both off the mark.
The Vikings used a 7-2 run to pull within five at 19-14 with
10:44 left in the first half, but never got that close again, as
the Seawolves, who shot 61.3 percent (19-31) from the
floor in the opening period, extended the margin to 18 (4628) at halftime.
Simon Fraser then got one free throw from Connor Lewis
and two from Sergent to twice open up four-point leads in
the final 11 seconds.
WWU, which committed 25 turnovers and was held to a
season-low point total, was never closer than 19 points in
the final 17 minutes. UAA's biggest lead was 26 points.
“We had two good three looks to tie from our two best
shooters, so it's unfortunate those didn't go in,” UAF coach
Mick Durham said.
Seattle Pacific 72, Northwest Nazarene 58
Other key contributors for the Clan included Justin Brown,
who had 19 points with four assists and three steals and
Lewis (12 points, 7 rebounds) and Ibrahim Appiah (11
points, 9 rebounds).
Katie Benson scored 17 points and Seattle Pacific blocked
a season-high 11 shots leading the Falcons to a win at
Brougham Pavilion
Benson tied her career high for blocks with three, a total
she had reached twice previously. She also had six
rebounds.
The Falcons also got 12 points and 10 rebounds from
Nyesha Sims who recorded her sixth double-double of the
season. Sims scored six points in the first 5 1/2 minutes as
SPU bolted to a 16-2 lead.
UAF didn't allow the deficit to grow until a 7-1 surge in the
final 90 seconds gave the home team a 48-32 at the break.
The Clan took over early in the second with a 14-3 run to
grab a commanding 66-41 lead with 14:39 left. The
Nanooks never got any closer than 20 as SFU led by as
many as 29 points three times down the stretch.
Central Washington 65, Montana State Billings 59
Seattle Pacific maintained a double-digit lead for all but 15
seconds of the remainder of the game leading by as many
as 17 in the first half and by 25 in the second period.
Aside from the 11 blocked shots – which was just two shy
of the team record set in 2004 and matched in 2005 – the
Falcons also put the defensive clamps on NNU guard
Megan Hingston, who came into the game averaging a
GNAC-leading 17.3 points.
Hingston was limited to just six points on two of 13
shooting before fouling out with 2:44 left in the game.
Sophie Russell scored 28 points and Jessica VanDyke had
10 points and 16 rebounds as Central Washington rallied
from an early 21-4 deficit to upset Montana State Billings
at Alterowitz Gymnasium.
Russell had all but nine of CWU's 25 first-half points
keeping the Wildcats (5-9, 2-5) within eight points (33-25)
at the break. Central, however, didn't catch the 'Jackets (127, 4-4) until a layup by Albrecht at 11:42 knotted the game
at 44-44.
SPU also kept Crusader forward Briaunna King in check
with 12 points, four below her 16.4 average that ranked No.
5 in the conference.
Central gained its first lead (53-52) of the game with 7:46
remaining on a free throw by Melanie Valdez. That was
part of an 8-0 run (including six points by Russell) that
turned a 52-50 deficit into a 58-52 lead.
Northwest Nazarene (9-6, 3-4) shot just 33.8 percent for the
game, making 24 of 71 and just two of 11 treys. Meanwhile
SPU shot 41.9 percent, making 26 of 62.
The Wildcats led the rest of the way as MSUB (12-7, 4-4)
pulled to within three points just once - on a three-pointer
by Quinn Peoples with 58 seconds left.
Chelsie Luke led NNU with 20 points and 13 rebounds.
Alli Dzhidzhiyeshvili had 16 points for the Crusaders,
while King had 11 boards to go with her 12 points.
VanDyke, however, then hit three free throws in the final
minute to clinch CWU's first road win of the season after
four losses. On the day, VanDyke made five of six foul
tosses.
Simon Fraser 91, Alaska Fairbanks 66
Simon Fraser shot over 50 percent from the floor and Nayo
Raincock-Ekunwe posted a double-double en route to a 25point win against Alaska Fairbanks Saturday at West
Gymnasium.
Albrecht joined Russell, who made nine of 20 field goal
attempts and seven of eight free throws, and VanDyke in
double figures with 11 points. Albrecht and Dunn each had
seven rebounds as the Wildcats controlled the backboards
51-37.
Raincock-Ekunwe tallied game-highs of 27 points and 11
rebounds as the Clan completed a sweep of the Alaska
schools.
Bobbi Knudsen led MSUB with 17 points and Peoples had
12. Janiel Olson led the 'Jackets, who made just nine of 29
second-half shots (31.0 percent), with 11 rebounds.
She also contributed three assists and four steals. Kristina
Collins and Chelsea Reist also scored in double figures
with 15 and 12 points, respectively, while Collins dished
out a game-best six dimes.
Western Oregon 67, Saint Martin's 53
SFU shot 54.4 percent for the game (31-57), and hit eight
of 16 treys. The Clan also dominated the boards by a 40-26
count.
Freshman Nicole Hartzog led the Nanooks (4-13, 0-7) with
19 points and a career-best five steals. Nicole Bozek had 15
points and six rebounds.
The Clan opened the contest with nine of the game's first
11 points for an early seven-point lead two minutes in.
Leading 11-6, SFU scored eight straight to up the lead to
19-6 with 13:31 left.
Jade Haas scored 15 points and Lorrie Clifford, Rylee
Peterson and Melissa Fowler each scored 10 to lead
Western Oregon to a 67-53 win at Marcus Pavilion.
The Wolves (4-13, 3-4) made 50 percent of their shots (2448), while holding the Saints to 34.1 percent (15-44)
including five of 20 in the first half.
Western Oregon jumped out to a 6-0 lead, holding the
Saints (7-10, 2-5) scoreless for nearly the first three
minutes of the game. Saint Martin's answered with a 7-0
run, taking a 7-6 lead on Angela Gelhar's three-pointer.
But Western Oregon then went on a 10-0 run and led 31-22
at the break.
In the second half, Saint Martin's closed to 44-38 on
Gelhar's layup with 10:03 left. But that's as close as the
Saints could get as Western Oregon went on an 11-1 run.
Kelsey Baker led the Saints with 13 points, but no one else
made more than eight.
Both teams struggled controlling the basketball as they
combined for 67 turnovers – 34 by SMU and 33 by WOU.
Haas had five of WOU's 18 steals and Erika Wilson had six
steals for the Saints.
Indoor Track and Field: WWU's Grandy Clears 5-8
Brittany Grandy of Western Washington cleared a schoolrecord 5-8 in the women's high jump and had the best finish
by a GNAC athlete in the Husky Preview Saturday at UW's
Dempsey Indoor. Grandy finished second posting the
fourth best high jump mark in GNAC history.
Grandy's mark was one of 11 that were GNAC All-Time
Top 10 performances, including a fourth-place time of 8.85
by Ali Worthen of Seattle Pacific in the 60 hurdles.
Worthen's time ranks second all-time in the GNAC.
Worthen's time was the best in the GNAC since Danielle
Ayers-Stamper of SPU ran a GNAC-record time of 8.66 in
2005. Worthen bettered her previous career best of 9.05 by
two-tenths of a second.
SPU's Kishia Mitchell had the seventh best 60 meter time
in GNAC history, though she was just 20th in the meet in a
time of 7.91.
On the men's side, eight athletes moved into the Top 10,
including Brett Watson of Western Washington and
Brennan Boyes of Central Washington who tied for fourth
in the high jump (6-7 ½) with the No. 3 marks in GNAC
history.
CWU's Lewis Meyers and WWU's Karsten Schick moved
into a tie for 10th in the high jump with leaps of 6-5 1/2.
Ryan Brockerville of Simon Fraser also claimed the
GNAC's No. 3 all-time best mark, finishing ninth in a
3,000-meter time of 8:24.11. Also moving into the Top 10
in that event was Saint Martin's Kyle Van Santen with a
No. 6 all-time rank of 8:32.11.
Nathan Seely took over eighth place on the GNAC chart in
the men's 800, placing sixth in a time of 1:53.60. Manny
Melo of Central Washington finished third in the long jump
(22-9 ¾), moving into ninth on the GNAC Top 10 list.
pole vault (11-8) and Ashley Potter of Western Oregon in
the triple jump (38-8 1/4).
In the men's division, qualifying marks were by Bryan
Mack of Central Washington in the 60 (6.95)and Seely in
the 800.
UW Husky Preview (Jan. 14 at Seattle): Women (Top 6): 200 –
6. Kishia Mitchell, SPU, 25.84. 400 – 6. Eleanor Siler, WWU,
58.62. 800 – 3. Lindsey Butterworth, SFU, 2:13.39; 4. Sarah
Sawatzky, SFU, 2:13.57. 60 Hurdles – 4. Ali Worthen, SPU, 8.85.
4x400 – 4. Seattle Pacific 4:01.10. High Jump – 2. Brittany
Grandy, WWU, 1.67 – 5-8; 4. Ali Worthen, SPU, 1.68 – 5-6. Long
Jump – 6. Ali Worthen, SPU, 5.51 – 18-1. Triple Jump – 5. Ashley
Potter, WOU, 11.79 – 38-8 ¼. Men (Top 6): 60 – 4. Bryan Mack,
CWU, 6.95. 400 – 4. Stuart Ellenwood, SFU, 49.80; 6. Dusty
Duncan, SPU, 50.15. 800 – 6. Nathan Seeley, SPU, 1:53.60. 60
Hurdles – 4. Brett Campbell, WOU, 8.61. High Jump – 4. Brett
Watson, WWU, and Brennan Boyes, CWU, 2.02 – 6-7 ½. Long
Jump – 3. Manny Melo, CWU, 6.95 – 22-9 ¾; 5. Matson Hardie,
WOU, 6.83 – 22-5. Triple Jump – 3. Matson Hardie, WOU, 14.29
– 46-10 ¾; 6. Bryan Mack, CWU, 14.03 – 46-0 1.2, Shot Put – 4.
Mike Jensen, CWU, 14.14 – 46-4 ¾; 6. Nelson Westlin, WWU,
13.92 – 45-8. Weight Throw – 6. Mike Jensen, CWU, 15.94 – 523 ¾.
Two Qualifiers For Northwest Nazarene
Northwest Nazarene's Maurus Hope and Joy Warrington
had top marks Saturday in the Boise State Blue and Orange
Invitational at Nampa.
Hope finished third in the men's 200 in a time of 22.06.
That ranks fifth on the GNAC All-Time Top 10 chart.
Warrington won the women's shot with a PNQ of 44-11
1/2. Her career best is 45-9 1/4 which she established two
years ago.
In addition to Warrington, Northwest Nazarene also got a
win from Barak Watson in the men's 3,000. Watson's time
of 8:34.90 ranks eighth in GNAC history.
Rimar Christie also had a GNAC Top 10 performance,
moving into eighth place with a 60 meter time of 6.99. He
finished seventh in the finals in a time of 7.04 after
establishing the quicker mark in the prelims.
Boise State Blue and Orange (Jan. 14 at Nampa): Men (Top
3): 200 - 3. Maurus Hope, NNU, 22.06. 3000 - 1. Barak Watson,
NNU, 8:34.90; 3. Kaleb Fleenor, NNU, 8:54.87. Women (Top 3):
Shot Put - 1. Joy Warrington, NNU, 13.70 - 44-11 1/2.
SMU's Washington Wins WSU Weight Throw
A total of seven of Saturday's performance met the NCAA
Division II provisional national standard. Worthen had two
of the seven, qualifying in both the 60 hurdles and high
jump.
Other women's division qualifiers included Grandy in the
high jump, Karis Anderson of Western Washington in the
Sam Washington of Saint Martin's won the men's weight
throw at the Washington State Indoor Open Saturday in
Pullman.
Washington had a mark of 55-4 1/4 and was the lone
GNAC winner in the meet. Last month, he had a throw of
57-11.
Kelsey Kreft of Central Washington finished second in the
women's 3,000 in a time of 5:37.01.
WSU Open (Jan. 14 at Pullman): Men (Top 3): 3000 - 3. Nathan
Minor, CWU, 9:28.87. Weight Throw - 1. Sam Washington, SMU,
16.87 - 55-4 1/4. Women (Top 3): 400 - 3. Seanna Pitassi, CWU,
1:01.74. 3000 - 2. Kelsey Kreft, CWU, 5:37.01. High Jump - 3.
Taylor Yoro, SMU, 1.55 - 5-1.
MSUB Athletes Win Six Events at Black Hills
Justine Simons of Montana State Billings won two events
Saturday in the Black Hills Yellow Jacket Indoor at
Spearfish, SD.
Simons swept the women's 60 (8.44) and 200 (27.76) to
account for two of MSUB's six wins in the meet.
Other winners included Stacey Pitt in the women's pole
vault (10-6), Brian Potter in the men's 3,000 (9:01.15),
Nick Kozub in the high jump (6-4) and Taylor Firestone in
the triple jump (43-1 3/4).
Black Hills Indoor (Jan. 14 at Spearfish, SD): Men (GNAC
winners): 3000 - Brian Potter, MSUB, 9:01.15. High Jump - Nick
Kozub, MSUB, 1.93 - 6-4. Triple Jump - Taylor Firestone, MSUB,
13.15 - 43-1 3/4. Women (GNAC winners): 60 - Justine Simons,
MSUB, 8.44. 200 - Justine Simons, MSUB, 27.76. Pole Vault Stacey Pitt, MSUB, 3.00 - 10-6.
Thursday, Jan. 12
Women's Basketball: SFU Hands UAA First D2 Loss
Kristina Collins scored 18 points leading a deadly threepoint shooting spree as Simon Fraser handed eighth-ranked
Alaska Anchorage its first Division II loss of the season
Thursday 77-69 at West Gym.
The loss dropped the Seawolves (14-3, 5-1) into a tie with
Western Washington (11-3, 5-1) setting up a first-place
showdown between the two in Bellingham Saturday.
The Vikings took advantage of UAA's defeat outscoring
Alaska Fairbanks 93-80 at Sam Carver Gym. Meanwhile,
Seattle Pacific (11-4, 5-2) moved to within one-half game
of the co-leaders breaking away from a 45-45 halftime tie
to defeat Central Washington 97-79.
Montana State Billings (12-6, 4-3) improved to 8-2 at home
defeating Northwest Nazarene 59-53.
Collins made five of seven treys as the Clan (9-5, 4-2)
cashed in on 14 of 22 from beyond the arc ruining UAA's
perfect 13-0 record against Division II opponents.
Simon Fraser also got 15 points from Erin Chambers, 13
each from Chelsea Reist and Carla Wyman and 11 points
and 15 rebounds from Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe in its win.
Chambers made four of six three-pointers and Wyman,
who had a game-high six assists, was three of five from the
arc. Overall, SFU shot 52.1 percent converting on 25 of 48.
Haley Holmstead scored a game-high 22 points for the
Seawolves, who also got 16 points and nine rebounds from
Hanna Johansson as they saw their 10-game winning streak
snapped.
UAA got off to a 13-3 lead but SFU used a 30-10 run to go
ahead 33-23.
The Seawolves ended the half with an 8-0 run of their own
and Johansson scored the first basket of the second period
to reclaim the lead, but SFU would not concede the
momentum.
A three-pointer by Chambers put the Clan up 54-43 at the
11:41 mark, and a layup by Raincock-Ekunwe gave the
Clan their largest lead (59-46) with 10:03 left.
Johansson sank a layup to draw UAA within 61-58 with six
minutes on the clock, but Simon Fraser got the next six
points and rebuilt a double-digit lead inside the final
minute.
Western Washington 93, Alaska Fairbanks 80
Guard Kristin Schramm scored 21 of her career-high 29
points in the first half as Western Washington outscored
Alaska Fairbanks.
Guard Corinn Waltrip had 21 points and seven assists for
the Vikings, who won their seventh straight game.
Center Nicole Bozek had 29 points and nine rebounds for
UAF (4-12, 0-6). Bozek came into the game with 998
career points and climbed from 47th to 44th place on the
GNAC all-time career scoring list with 1,027.
Guard Nicole Hartzog added 17 points and four steals for
the Nanooks who also got 11 points from Autumn Greene
and 10 from Jacqueline Lovato.
WWU never trailed, hitting nine of its first 11 three-point
attempts to open up a 33-15 lead with 9:20 left in the first
half.
UAF rallied, using a burst of 14 straight points in a threeminute span to narrow the margin to four (38-34) with 4:06
left in the period.
The Vikings held a 53-43 advantage at halftime, having hit
12 of 17 three-pointers (70.6 percent). Schramm had 21
points at halftime, going six of seven from the arc. Bozek
also had 21 points at half.
UAF got as close as seven twice in the second half, the
final time at 61-54 with 15:38 to play, but the margin
fluctuated between 12 and 17 the final 14 minutes.
Schramm, who was 10 of 17 from the field for the game,
also had a game-high 11 rebounds as WWU held a 52-33
advantage on the boards.
Five Vikings reached double figures. Guard Trishi
Williams had 14 points and eight rebounds on six of nine
field-goal shooting.
Katie Colard had 13 points, 11 of them in the first seven
minutes, and Kayla Bernsen had 10 points, nine rebounds
and four blocked shots.
Bernsen was making her first career start in place of Britt
Harris, who missed the game because of concussion
suffered in practice Tuesday.
Western seemed likely to break the school record of 15
three-pointers in the game early on, but went just one of
four in the second half, finishing 13 of 21 (61.9 percent).
Seattle Pacific 97, Central Washington 79
Nyesha Sims matched her season high with 22 points and
Katie Benson posted her second career double-double as
Seattle Pacific pulled away in the second half to beat
Central Washington.
Benson pumped in 16 points and tied her career high with
11 rebounds joining four other players including Sims in
double figures.
Rachel Murray scored 15, freshman Suzanna Ohlsen added
11 and Jordan Harazin tallied 10. Harazin also handed out
seven assists and did not commit a turnover.
“Hats off to Nyesha and Jordan and McKayla Gorman – at
times, they totally changed the game for us, whether it was
attacking the basket, rebounding or defensive pressure,”
Falcons coach Julie Heisey said.
The teams were deadlocked 45-45 at the end of racehorsepace first half that featured 10 lead changes and five ties.
Then, at 47-47 early in the second half, SPU ran off the
next nine points and never trailed again.
The Wildcats (4-9, 1-5) got as close as 56-53. From there,
Seattle Pacific went on an 18-6 surge, expanding the lead to
74-59 and keeping it in double digits the rest of the way.
“I was really proud of the way our starters came out in the
second half and changed the game,” Heisey said. “Our
attacking defense was better (Central missed its first five
shots after shooting 60 percent during the first half).”
Central, after its sharp-shooting first half (18 of 30), cooled
down to just 36.7 percent after the intermission (11 of 30).
The Wildcats also had five players in double figures, led by
the 19 points of Sophie Russell. Alex Dunn and Jessica
VanDyke each scored 17. Stacy Albrecht had 11 and
Courtney Johnson scored 10.
Montana State Billings 58, Northwest Nazarene 53
Quinn Peoples and Bobbi Knudsen each scored 16 points
and Montana State Billings held off a late surge by
Northwest Nazarene to beat the Crusaders at Alterowitz
Gym.
MSUB leaped to an early 24-8 lead and was up by 13 at
halftime (33-20). They still had a double-digit lead inside
the three minute mark before the Crusaders made it
interesting.
NNU (9-5, 3-3) pulled to within nine on two free throws by
Megan Hingston with 2:43 left, then got a layup by
Briaunna King and a three-pointer by Chelsie Luke at 1:17.
After a missed three-pointer by MSUB's Kalli Stanhope,
Megan Hingston got a tipin at the other end to narrow the
Crusaders deficit to 53-51.
Stanhope, who finished with 10 points, made two free
throws, but Hingston countered with 24 seconds left with
two foul shots. Knudsen was then fouled on the inbounds
and made one of two for a 56-53 lead.
After Luke missed a potential game-tying trey, Knudsen
put the game away with two foul tosses.
Hingston and King led NNU with 14 points apiece.
Hingston also had a game-high 16 rebounds. Luke had 11
points and Alli Dzhidzhiyeshvili had 10. Janiel Olson
paced MSUB on the boards grabbing 13.
“This was a great win for us, especially from a conference
standpoint,” said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin.
Men's Basketball: Seawolves Rally From 16 Against
SFU
Taylor Rohde scored a career-high 32 points and he and
Travis Thompson spearheaded a late rally as Alaska
Anchorage overcame a 16-point deficit to defeat Simon
Fraser 86-81 Thursday at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
The win kept the Seawolves (11-3, 5-1) tied with Western
Washington (14-3, 5-1) for second place going into their
contest with the Vikings Saturday in Anchorage.
The Falcons shot 58 percent from the field (40 of 69), their
third-highest mark of the season. That included a sizzling
62.9 percent (22 of 35) after halftime.
Western Washington posted a 20-point win at Fairbanks
defeating Alaska Fairbanks 101-81.
For the game, they also hit 50 percent (eight of 16) from
three-point range. Led by Benson's 11, they also dominated
the boards 41-22.
Both teams trail idle Western Oregon (6-0) by one game
and are half a game ahead of fourth-place Seattle Pacific
(13-3, 5-2) in the conference standings.
The Falcons sent defending champion Central Washington
(7-7, 1-5) reeling to its fourth consecutive loss 76-49 at
Nicholson Pavilion.
Thompson shot five of eight from the three-point line and
finished with five assists and no turnovers. His five steals
were the most for Seawolf in more than two years.
Montana State Billings (9-6, 4-3) joined Western
Washington and Seattle Pacific as road winners by
defeating Northwest Nazarene 94-75 at the Johnson Sports
Center in Nampa.
Fossman was the third Seawolf in double figures with 13
points, making three of eight three-pointers and tying his
career-high with seven assists.
Western Washington 101, Alaska Fairbanks 81
Alaska Anchorage avoided an upset against the last-place
Clan by closing with a 27-6 run over the final six minutes,
including 12 points from Rohde.
Richard Woodworth and Chris Mitchell each posted career
highs with 25 and 20 points, respectively, as Western
Washington cruised to a 20-point win at the Patty Center.
The Clan (5-9, 0-6) was led by 26 points and nine assists
from guard Justin Brown, whose back-to-back threepointers gave his team a 75-59 lead with seven minutes
remaining.
The Vikings also got 16 points each from Rory Blanche
and John Allen, while Sergej Pucar led the Nanooks (4-12,
1-5) with a career-high 25 points.
Simon Fraser also got 23 points from Jordan Sergent and
15 points from Connor Lewis. Brown made six of 10 threepointers as SFU cashed in on 12 of 27.
UAF's Stefan Tica netted 20 points and Dominique Brinson
also had a balanced stat line with nine points, a career-best
eight assists and three steals.
With six minutes left, Rohde grabbed an offensive rebound
and fed Thompson for a three-pointer, followed seconds
later by one of Thompson's career-high five steals.
Woodworth, who scored 19 points in the first half, finished
nine of 11 from the field, hitting five of six three-pointers.
Mitchell was eight of 13 from the floor, making three of six
treys.
Thompson then knocked down another trey to cut six
points quickly off the deficit.
After two Rohde free throws, Steve White (7 points, 7
assists) hit a short floater in the lane and the Seawolves
made another back court steal when Phillip Hearn poked
the ball away from behind.
Thompson quickly fed Hearn for an easy layup at the 3:11
mark, and UAA finally tied it (75-75) one minute later after
four more points by Rohde.
Sergent snapped a nearly six-minute scoreless drought for
the Canadians with a short jumper on the next possession,
only to be answered by another soft hook shot from Rohde,
who made 12 of 20 from the field and eight of 10 at the
charity stripe.
Clan forward Ibrahim Appiah threw the ball out of bounds
with a minute to play, and the Seawolves took advantage
when White fed Colton Lauwers for a corner three-pointer
that swished through, giving the Seawolves their first lead
(80-77) since late in the first half.
Blanche, who made seven of 10 field goals, also had eight
rebounds and five assists. Allen scored 14 of his points in
the second half.
The Vikings held an 8-6 lead four minutes into the contest,
then held UAF to just one field goal in the next seven
minutes, opening up a 30-12 advantage with 8:39 left in the
first half.
WWU led by as much as 21 in the opening period, but held
only a 45-35 lead at halftime as UAF scored the final 10
points of the half.
The Nanooks got within eight, 47-39, with two minutes
gone in the second period, but a three-pointer by Mitchell
gave WWU an 11-point advantage (50-39)and the Vikings
led by double figures the rest of the way.
The Vikings shot 56.3 percent (36-64) from the field,
hitting 11 of 23 three-pointers (47.8 percent), and
converting 18 of 20 free throws (90.0 percent).
Seattle Pacific 76, Central Washington 49
SFU missed a couple of contested layups on their next
possession, and Fossman secured the rebound and called
timeout.
Thompson could not convert his breakaway layup off the
ensuing length-of-the-court inbounds pass, but Rohde was
there for the easy tip-in with 16 seconds left, salting away
UAA's 13th straight win at the WFSC.
Rohde, also grabbed 12 rebounds and tied his career-high
with four assists.
David Downs scored 16 of his game-high 20 points during
the first half as the Seattle Pacific claimed control early en
route to a 27-point win.
The margin was SPU's fourth-largest in the all-time series
and the Falcons biggest win over Central since 1997.
Downs concluded his first-half barrage on a three-pointer
with 4.3 showing on the clock to give SPU a 39-24 halftime
advantage. That was his fourth trey in as many attempts
during the period.
Andy Poling recorded his fifth double-double with 16
points and 10 rebounds. He led SPU's commanding 54-19
advantage on the boards.
The Falcons have dominated the glass in their last four
outings, all wins, outrebounding opponents by a combined
205-89 during that span. Jordan Coby was the lone CWU
double-digit scorer with 15 points.
Football: Bighill, Reilly On Grey Cup Title Team
Former Central Washington football players Adam Bighill
and Mike Reilly, who played for the Grey Cup champion
BC Lions this fall, will be recognized at halftime of
Saturday's men's basketball game between Central
Washington and Montana State Billings at Nicholson
Pavilion.
The Lions won the Canadian Football League
championship winning the Grey Cup title on Nov. 27 in
Vancouver.
The Wildcats tallied the game's first five points, capped by
a Lacy Haddock three-pointer with 18:47 left in the half.
They would not score again for the next 6:17 while SPU
reeled off nine unanswered points.
Bighill, who played at CWU between 2007 and 2010, tied
for fourth in the CFL in special team tackles during his
rookie season this past fall.
CWU later got a steal and three-point play from Toussaint
Tyler to close a surge of six straight points that provided its
last lead at 12-11 with 11:31 left in the half.
The Montesano, Wash., native was named Gibson's Finest
CFL Special Teams Player of the Week following the
Lions' Sept. 30 win over Edmonton.
SPU answered with a 13-4 run take the lead for good at 2416 with 5:28 until halftime.
Reilly, who broke most of Jon Kitna's career passing
records during his four-year career at CWU from 2005-08,
was the Lions' third-string quarterback.
The lead increased to as many as 33 points in the second
half for the Falcons, who shot 55 percent (30 of 55) while
limiting CWU to 27 percent (15 of 56) accuracy from the
field.
He appeared in both of BC's pre-season games, but made
just one appearance during the regular season, completing 1
of 2 passes for 12 yards at Saskatchewan on Sept. 24.
Montana State Billings 94, Northwest Nazarene 75
Tuesday, Jan. 10
Antoine Proctor poured in 30 points to lead Montana State
Billings to a 19-point win.
Women's Basketball: Seawolves Move Up To Eighth
Proctor scored 22 of his points in the first half helping the
Yellowjackets build a 21-point lead (46-25) late in the half.
NNU (8-6, 2-4) closed the period with a 10-2 rush to pull
within 13 at the break (48-35) and then climbed to within
10 at 52-42 early in the second half.
MSUB, however, then outscored the Crusaders 17-4 to
establish its biggest lead of the night at 69-46 to effectively
put the game away.
Proctor, who also scored 30 in a game against Simon Fraser
on Dec. 3, made five of 10 first-half three-pointers. He and
guard Jaxon Myaer accounted for 55 of MSUB's 94 points
as Myaer made five of nine treys and netted 25 points.
Also in double figures was Robert Mayes with 11 point.
Mayes and Taylor Stevens each had seven rebounds as the
Yellowjackets, who converted on 12 of 27 treys, also
controlled the backboards 40-35.
Jonathan Hawkins paced NNU with 16 points as he was
perfect at the foul line making 10 of 10. Keith Moilanen
had 13 points, JB Pillard had 11 and Michal Kurimsky
scored 10. Pillard paced all rebounders with 10.
Alaska Anchorage, which is 13-0 against Division II
opponents, moved up one slot and is ranked eighth in this
week's USA Today ESPN Top 25 NCAA Division II
basketball poll.
The Seawolves (14-2 overall) are one of five West Region
teams in the Top 25 led by UC San Diego at No. 2. Grand
Canyon, Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Monterey Bay are
ranked 14th, 16th and 24th, respectively.
Western Washington received two ballot points and Seattle
Pacific got one and are 43rd and 46th, respectively.
In this week's national statistics, the Seawolves are ranked
in the Top 10 in six different team categories. The top
ranked GNAC players are Alex Dunn of Central
Washington and Jordan Harazin of Seattle Pacific.
Dunn is 12th in assists (5.5) and Harazin is 12th in
assist/turnover ratio (2.29).
UAA ranks second in three categories - scoring margin
(27.3), assists (19.8) and field goal percentage defense
(31.3). They are third in rebound margin (14.2), fourth in
scoring (81.8) and seventh in field goal percentage (46.3).
Seattle Pacific ranks sixth in free throw percentage (78.4)
and 10th in assists (18.1). Central Washington is fourth in
three-pointers made (8.9).
Men's Basketball: Four Among "Others" in NABC Poll
Only one West Region team - Cal Poly Pomona at No. 10 is ranked in this week's NABC Division II men's basketball
national poll.
Four GNAC teams, however, are among "others receiving
votes" led by Western Oregon (13-2), which is 26th overall,
just missing a Top 25 national ranking.
Alaska Anchorage (10-3), Western Washington (13-3) and
Seattle Pacific (12-3) also received votes and are 28th, 31st
and 33rd overall.
In this week's national stats, three players, including
Anthony Golden of Northwest Nazarene, have Top 10
rankings. Golden is ninth in three-pointers made (3.5).
Travis Thompson is the top ranked player, ranking second
in assist/turnover ratio at 3.52. Kevin Davis of Central
Washington is eighth in blocked shots.
Alaska Anchorage is ranked second in assists (21.7), third
in assist/turnover ratio (15.9) and ninth in scoring margin
(17.7).
Seattle Pacific ranks fourth in scoring defense (55.7) and
seventh in field goal percentage defense (37.8). Central
Washington is second in blocks (6.5) and Northwest
Nazarene is fourth in three-pointers made (10.6).
Women's Soccer: Arthurs Sets Shutout Record
Jamie Arthurs of Western Washington accounted for two of
the seven individual records that were set or tied during the
2011 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer
season, according to final figures released by the
conference office Tuesday.
Arthurs set a record for most career shutouts in conference
games and tied the single season record for shutouts in
conference contests.
She had nine to equal the season record set in 2010 by
Amelia Ng of Simon Fraser, increasing her career total to
17 and breaking the career mark of 16 set by Teresa Fish of
WWU (2003-05, 07).
Lindsay Bauman of Western Oregon also accounted for
two records, setting conference game records for shots
attempted (66) and shots per game (4.71).
Other record setters included Jaucelyn Richter of MSU
Billings (career shots per game, all games, 3.75); and
MSUB's Danielle Gordon (season most minutes,
conference games, 1303). Jessie Cahill of Northwest
Northwest tied the GNAC record for most career
conference games started (52).
Two team conference game records were also tied as
Seattle Pacific and Western Washington tied the record for
most shutouts (9) and Northwest Nazarene tied the mark
for most league losses (11).
Megan Lindsay of Seattle Pacific won the 2011 GNAC
scoring title finishing first in all games (1.79 points per
game) and conference games (1.60).
Lindsay also led the league in most goals for all games (12)
and tied MSUB's Heidi Greenback for most assists in
conference games (7).
Richter was the leader in conference game goals (10) and
Seattle Pacific's Kelsey Jenkins led the GNAC in assists for
all games (11).
Arthurs and two SPU goalkeepers shared the stat goal
keeping titles. Arthurs was the shutout leader for all games
(11) and conference games (9) and was the conference
game goals against leader (0.55).
SPU's Natalie Harold was the all-game leader in goals
against (0.34) and save percentage (.857), while the
Falcons' Brooke Yokers was the conference game leader in
save percentage (.848). (Click here for updated record
book).
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS SET: Career (All Games): Shots Per
Game – 3.75, Jaucelyn Richter, 57-214 , 2009-11 (old, 3.71, Jill
Webb, 56-208, 2008-10). Season (Conference Games): Shots
Attempted – 66, Lindsay Bauman, Western Oregon (old, 65, Leah
Wymer, Seattle, 2007). Shots Per Game – 4.71, Lindsay Bauman,
Western Oregon, 14-66 (old, 4.64, Wymer, Seattle, 2007). Most
Minutes – 1346:10, Danielle Gordon, MSU Billings (old, 1303,
Amelia Ng, Simon Fraser (2010). Career (Conference Games):
Most Shutouts – 17, Jamie Arthurs, Western Washington, 200911 (old, 16, Teresa Fish, Western Washington, 2003-05, 07).
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS TIED: Season (Conference Games):
Most Shutouts – 9, Amelia Ng, Simon Fraser (2010); Jamie
Arthurs, Western Washington (2011). Career (Conference
Games): Games Started – 52, Marie Smith, Northwest Nazarene
(2007-10); Jessie Cahill, Northwest Nazarene (2008-11).
TEAM RECORDS TIED: Season (Conference Games): Most
Shutouts – 9, Seattle Pacific (2003, 2004, 2008 & 2011); Simon
Fraser (2010); Western Washington (2011). Most losses – 12,
Northwest Nazarene (2002, 2008 & 2011 ), Saint Martin's (2007),
Western Oregon (2010).
Saturday, Jan. 7
Men's Basketball: Wheadon Shoots Wolves Into First
Guard Blair Wheadon hit seven of eight three-point shots
and scored 29 points lifting Western Oregon to an 83-73
victory over 23rd ranked Western Washington Saturday at
Sam Carver Gymnasium.
Combined with Seattle Pacific's 85-51 win over 18th
ranked Alaska Anchorage at SPU's Brougham Pavilion, the
Wolves' win left them as the lone remaining unbeaten team
in GNAC conference play.
Elsewhere Montana State Billings led wire-to-wire in
defeating Alaska Fairbanks 95-70, Northwest Nazarene
edged Central Washington 98-96 at Nicholson Pavilion and
Saint Martin's outscored Simon Fraser 90-68 at Burnaby.
Wheadon led WOU (13-2, 6-0) to a 12 of 21 three-point
shooting performance as the Wolves extended their win
streak against Division II opponents to 10.
Since losing its season opener to Chaminade, WOU has
won 13 of 14 games, losing only at Washington State.
Saturday's win also featured a pair of 14-point
performances from Kyle Long and James Gehring. Gehring
was the game's rebounding leader with nine, while Long
led all players with five assists.
Zach Henifin had team-highs of 23 points, seven rebounds,
four assists and four blocked shots for the Vikings (13-3, 41), who had their seven-game home win streak snapped.
That leaves Western Oregon (5-0) as the only team
unbeaten at home this season in the GNAC. WOU plays
five of its next seven games at home.
Downs was five of eight on three-pointers and distributed a
game-high eight assists.
The Falcons were credited with assists on 20 of their 28
field goals. That enabled them to shoot 53.8 percent (28 of
52) from the floor, while holding UAA at 30.6 percent (15
of 49).
Jobi Wall posted his first double-double as a Falcon,
compiling 15 points and 10 rebounds. He led SPU to a 4324 advantage on the boards. Cory Hutsen added 13 points.
Taylor Rohde was the lone Anchorage double-figure scorer
with 12 points. Only two other players - Travis Thompson
and Marcus Jackson - scored as many as seven points.
The Falcons scored the game's first five points en route to a
16-4 lead. The margin was 20-9 before UAA scored eight
straight points to draw within three with 7:05 left to play in
the half.
Kyle Fossman capped the Seawolves surge with back-toback three-pointers. SPU, however, responded with a 15-2
run, fueled by three three-pointers from Downs, to claim a
decisive 35-19 advantage.
The Vikings held a 15-14 edge midway through the first
half, but scored just two points in a span of nearly seven
minutes, allowing WOU to grab a 30-17 lead with 4:27 left
in the opening period.
Scott Morse closed the half with a three-pointer from the
right baseline with 1.4 seconds remaining to provide the
hosts a 39-22 lead.
The Wolves held a 36-25 advantage at halftime. Wheadon
led the way in the stanza scoring 19 of his points .
The lead stretched to as many as 36 points in the second
half as the Falcons made six on nine treys.
WWU chipped away at the margin throughout the second
half, trailing by more than 10 only once in the final 15
minutes. The Vikings narrowed the gap to five (71-66) on a
three-pointer by Chris Mitchell with 1:43 to go, but never
got closer.
Montana State Billings 95, Alaska Fairbanks 70
WWU also got 14 points from Richard Woodworth on five
of six shooting and 12 points from Rory Blanche.
Mayes connected on nine of 12 shots as MSUB shot at a 53
percent clip (35-66) in the win.
Seattle Pacific 85, Alaska Anchorage 51
The Yellowjackets were 12 of 28 on treys as eight different
players scored from beyond the arc including Jaxon Myaer
who made three of six and was one of three players - along
with Antoine Proctor and David Arnold - to net 11 points.
David Downs scored 15 of his game-high 20 points from
three-point range leading an impressive long-distance
shooting display for Seattle Pacific (12-3, 4-2) as it ended
Alaska Anchorage's 10-game win streak.
The 34-point final margin was the second-largest in SPU's
all-time meetings against the Seawolves (10-3, 4-1), who
still lead the series 33-26 despite losing in each of their last
eight visits to Seattle.
The Falcons most lopsided win over UAA was a 37-point
triumph (86-49) on Feb. 27, 1993 in Seattle.
SPU got three-pointers from six different players and shot
12 of 22 from beyond the arc. The Seawolves, who lost
their first game to a Division II opponent this season, made
half as many treys (6) in the same number of attempts.
Robert Mayes came off the bench to score 21 points and
Montana State Billings led wire-to-wire in defeating Alaska
Fairbanks at Alterowitz Gym.
Emery Henning was also in double figures with 13 points
(4-5 FG, 1-2 3FG, 4-4 FTs), missing just one shot.
Dominique Brinson paced the Nanooks with 23 points and
Sergej Pucar had 14 points. Nico Matthews had six points,
eight rebounds and seven assists leading all players in the
latter two categories.
UAF shot just 39.3 percent (22-56) as it fell behind by
double digits (32-21) in the opening 10 minutes and trailed
by 10 or more points over the game's final 25 minutes.
MSUB's biggest first half lead was 53-33 in the final
minute of the half and its biggest second half lead was 30
(90-60) with 3:16 remaining.
Northwest Nazarene 98, Central Washington 96
Jonathan Hawkins and Michal Kurimsky each scored 21
points to lead Northwest Nazarene (8-5, 2-3) to a two-point
win over Central Washington at Nicholson Pavilion
Saint Martin's 90, Simon Fraser 68
Saint Martin's (6-9, 2-4) opened the second half with a 17-5
run and went on to defeat Simon Fraser to earn its second
conference victory of the season.
The Saints led the Clan (5-8, 0-5) by just seven points (4033) at the break, but Jeremy Green scored 14 of his gamehigh 26 points and Brok Pendleton had 13 of his 21 points
in the second half.
Hawkins and Kurimsky led a quartet of Crusaders in
double figures as NNU won in Ellensburg for the first time
since Jan. 21, 2006.
SMU shot 59.4 percent (19-32) in the second half finishing
with a 51.5 percentage (35-68).
Anthony Golden finished with 18 points and a game-high
eight assists and JB Pillard added 12 points and a gamehigh seven rebounds.
SMU also got 15 points, eight assists, six rebounds and
three steals from Roger O'Neill. Green had nine rebounds
and Pendleton blocked six shots.
Pillard's layup with 8:17 left put NNU ahead for good (7877) in the game that featured 14 ties, 12 of them in the first
half.
Justin Brown paced Simon Fraser with 16 points and
Jordan Sergent had a 12-point, 15-rebound double-double.
John Bantock made three of six treys and scored 13 points.
Central Washington (7-6, 1-4) got a career-high 26 points,
including 16 in the second half, from Jody Johnson.
Johnson made seven of eight shots.
Saint Martin's made nine of 22 treys, but except for
Bantock, SFU made just one of 12 finishing four of 18
overall.
The Wildcats also got 24 points and six assists from Lacy
Haddock, 11 points from Jordan Coby and 10 from Kevin
Davis. Haddock had 17 after the intermission.
The Saints also had just five turnovers, the second lowest in
the GNAC this season and lowest for a conference game.
SFU had 15 turnovers which led to 25 Saint Martin's
points.
Davis led CWU with six rebounds, but the Crusaders, who
made 10 of 23 three-point shots, won the board battle 3630. It was just the third time this season CWU had been
outrebounded.
Women's Basketball: Seawolves Blitz Seattle Pacific
Central did have a 10-1 blocked shot advantage as Roby
Clyde rejected five. Clyde also scored seven points and had
five assists and four rebounds.
Haley Holmstead scored 27 points and Hanna Johansson
posted a monster double-double as Alaska Anchorage (142, 5-0) pulled away for an 82-59 victory over Seattle
Pacific in a GNAC women's basketball showdown at the
Wells Fargo Sports Complex Saturday.
The game was tied at half 47-47. CWU went ahead 64-56
on a three-pointer by Toussaint Tyler with 14:15
remaining.
Earlier, Corinn Waltrip scored 21 points including a threepointer with 1:13 left to earn Western Washington a 66-61
win over Western Oregon at Monmouth.
NNU, however, responded with a 9-2 run that included
Hawkins only three-pointer of the night, Golden and
Kurimsky lay-ins and a Kurimsky dunk to tie game at 7474 with 9:51 to go.
Western Washington's win left it as the lone one-loss team
in GNAC play. Seattle Pacific (10-4 overall) fell to 4-2 in
conference play with its defeat at Anchorage and Simon
Fraser (8-5) dropped to 3-2 losing 64-57 at Saint Martin's.
NNU led by as many as six with 3:27 left (90-84), but
CWU climbed to within one on a Clyde layup with 12
seconds left.
Northwest Nazarene (9-4, 3-2) overcame a nine-point
deficit with 4 1/2 minutes left in regulation to defeat
Central Washington 91-88 in overtime to join SPU and
SFU as two-loss teams.
The teams then exchanged turnovers before Hawkins added
the final point on a free throw with 1.1 seconds on the
clock.
After the free throw, Haddock launched a shot from just
inside the mid-court line that hit the front of the rim as
NNU escaped with the final two-point advantage.
Meanwhile, Montana State Billings (11-6) leveled its
conference record at 3-3 with a 84-58 win at Alaska
Fairbanks.
Alaska Anchorage got 22 points and 18 rebounds from
Johansson and Alysa Horn scored 13 of her 15 points in the
first half as UAA won its 10th straight contest.
The Falcons were led by 15 points apiece from Katie
Benson and Betsy Kingma, but the visitors were outshot
47.8 percent (33-69) to 30.5 percent (18-59) and
outrebounded 46-35.
UAA's margin of victory was easily its largest in 50 alltime meetings against the Falcons (SPU now leads the
series 33-17), topping a 71-55 home win on Nov. 30, 1982.
Despite never taking the lead, the Falcons hung tight early,
tying the game three times in the first 13 minutes. Knotted
at 21-21, Horn put UAA ahead for good with a pull-up
three-pointer that led to a 16-6 Seawolf run.
UAA took a 37-29 edge at halftime and slowly stretched its
lead throughout the second stanza.
Aubree Callen, who finished with 12 points, hit a corner
three-pointer to pull SPU within 59-50 at the 9:43 mark
before Horn and Johansson answered with successive short
jumpers, and the Seawolves would remain in control.
Holmstead, who had six points on three of 10 shooting in
the first half, was nearly unstoppable in the second, making
nine of 12 and grabbing four of her five rebounds.
The Salt Lake CC transfer topped her previous team
season-high of 26 points by one point. Johansson,
meanwhile, was a force in the post with her fourth straight
double-double.
The Swede's 18 rebounds tied for the eighth-most ever by a
Seawolf and was the highest total since Rebecca Kielpinski
had 21 against Western Oregon on Feb. 1, 2007. She also
had four assists and a pair of blocks.
Two nights after committing a season-low 14 turnovers in a
59-50 win over Montana State Billings, the Seawolves
were even better, committing just nine giveaways to tie for
the seventh lowest total in program history.
Gritt Ryder and Tijera Mathews both had five assists and
no turnovers for UAA, and Sasha King dished a career-high
seven assists. King, Kaylie Robison and Holmstead tallied
three steals apiece as UAA out-swiped SPU 14-6.
before Waltrip's basket but got her own rebound and fed
Waltrip for a wide-open trey three feet behind the arc.
Waltrip hoisted up the high arching shot which sailed
through the net giving WWU (10-3, 4-1) a 63-61 lead.
Western Oregon pushed the ball right back up the floor but
Rylee Peterson's deflected pass went off the Wolves, and
the Vikings, who have won six straight, reclaimed the ball
forcing WOU to play the foul game the rest of the way.
Peterson, who had 10 of WOU's 18 turnovers, led the
Wolves with 26 points and seven steals.
"(On the shot prior to the game-winning three-pointer) two
of our kids went up for the rebound and kind of hit each
other and the ball went loose," WOU coach Greg Bruce
said.
WOU also got 10 points from Lorrie Clifford and eight
points apiece from Jade Haas and Dana Goularte. Haas led
Western Oregon with nine rebounds as the two teams each
grabbed 33.
Britt Harris, who had nine points and six assists, had 10
caroms for the Vikings, who overcame a 53-45 deficit with
11:41 left going on a 13-2 run. Waltrip accounted for seven
of those 13 points.
"We competed very well today, something we have not
been doing much of recently," Bruce said. "WWU had been
outrebounding opponents by 11 a game and we matched
them rebound for rebound."
The Wolves also forced the Vikings into 23 turnovers and
outscored them 36-14 in the paint, however, in the end the
Vikings' going nine of 15 performance from long range
(Waltrip made three of five) proved to be the difference in
a contest which featured eight ties and 12 lead changes.
"We did everything right today except with the game and
that is the disappointing thing," Bruce added.
"Moral victories sound good but they don't do much for
you. Hopefully we realize we can do this if we keep
grinding it out in practice and get ready for the next game."
Mathews and King finished with seven points apiece, while
Horn's 15 points marked the fourth straight game in double
figures for the Kodiak product.
Saint Martin's 64, Simon Fraser 57
Western Washington 66, Western Oregon 61
Marelle Moehrle scored 20 points and Chelsea Haskey had
16 points and nine rebounds to lead Saint Martin's to a
seven-point home win over Simon Fraser.
Prior to Waltrip's go-ahead three-pointer, Western Oregon
(3-13, 2-4) had taken a 61-60 lead over Western
Washington with 2:57 to go on a free throw by Rylee
Peterson. But the Wolves did not score again, missing four
shots and turning the ball over twice in their final six
possessions
The Saints (7-9, 2-4) also held SFU's Nayo RaincockEkunwe to just five points, dropping her season average to
15.9. Raincock-Ekunwe fell from first place to sixth place
in the conference scoring race in the process.
The Vikings' Kristin Schramm, who had eight rebounds,
four assists and three steals, missed a three-point shot just
Moehrle, who made three of five three-pointers, also had
six rebounds and five steals and wasn't charged with a
turnover.
She also made seven of eight free throws, accounting for
SMU's only miss as the Saints converted on 19 of 20.
Kia Van Laare led Simon Fraser with 19 points and
Kristina Collins had 18 points and six assists. Erin
Chambers tossed in 11 points on four of five shooting
before fouling out after playing only 22 minutes.
CWU made 17 of 39 from the arc. Northwest Nazarene had
a 28-13 advantage from the foul line converting on all but
six of their shots and shooting 82.4 percent. The Crusaders
also had a 15-5 advantage in steals.
Montana State Billings 84, Alaska Fairbanks 58
Raincock-Ekunwe made just one of seven shots. She did,
however, grab 15 rebounds and blocked four shots.
Bobbi Knudsen led five players in double figures with 17
points and Montana State Billings broke open a close game
early in the second half to keep Alaska Fairbanks (4-11, 05) winless in the GNAC.
Saint Martin's led 32-27 at halftime and went ahead by 10
at 46-36 early in the second half. Simon Fraser pulled to
within one at 53-52 on a three-pointer by Collins with 4:24
remaining.
The Yellowjackets took the lead for good (27-26) on a
jumper by Knudsen with three minutes left in the first half.
The Saints, however, got a trey by Moehrle and two free
throws to go back up 58-52. Van Laare closed SFU's gap to
three with a trey.
Wilson, however, got back-to-back buckets and Megan
Teade added another two-pointer to establish a nine-point
SMU lead with 55 seconds remaining.
Then after scoring the final three points of the period to go
ahead 38-33 at the break, MSUB extended its run to 13-0 to
open up a 48-33 early in the second stanza.
From there the Yellowjackets pulled away going ahead by
as many as 31 (80-49).
Northwest Nazarene 91, Central Washington 88 (ot)
Joining Knudsen in the scoring parade were Quinn Peoples
and Kayleen Goggins with 15 points each, Monica
Grimsrud with 13 and Brooke Tolman with 11.
Megan Hingston scored 27 points, including a bucket with
19 seconds to play in regulation to force overtime, to lead
Northwest Nazarene to a home win at the Johnson Sports
Center.
Grimsrud scored all of her points in the second half, while
Peoples had 12 of her points after the break. MSUB, which
dominated the backboards 53-37, also got 11 rebounds
from Janiel Olson.
The Crusaders trailed by nine before outscoring CWU 13-4
over the final 4:28. The Wildcats (4-8, 1-4) had a chance to
win it in regulation, but Alex Dunn missed a layup as time
expired.
Nicole Bozek had the game's only double-double to lead
the Nanooks with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Nicole
Hartzog had 16 points for UAF.
In the overtime after the two teams traded three-pointers,
NNU took control running off eight consecutive points baskets by Briaunna King and Hingston and two free
throws each from Heather Adams and King - to go ahead
86-78.
MSUB shot 43.3 percent (29-67), while holding the
Yellowjackets to a 28.1 percentage (18-64) including 25
percent (7-28) in the final 20 minutes.
All-Sports: Vikings, Falcons Early Leaders
Three Northwest Nazarene and two Central Washington
players scored 20 or more points.
Defending champion Western Washington and Seattle
Pacific are the early leaders in the 2011-12 GNAC allsports competition.
In addition to Hingston who made 10 of 19 shots and all
seven of her free throws, Alla Dzhidzhiyeshvili finished
with 23 points, eight rebounds and six steals.
The competition awards points based on the final finishes
in the conference standings in each sport. Points are
awarded on two-point increments.
King posted the game's only double-double with 21 points
and 11 rebounds and Heather Adams chipped in with 11
points and a game-high six assists.
At the end of the fall sports season, the Vikings and
Falcons are tied in the overall standings with 68 points
each. Alaska Anchorage is third with 57.
Dunn led Central Washington with 28 points, 18 of them in
the opening 20 minutes. Jessica VanDyke netted 27 points.
The two combined to make 11 of 18 treys as Dunn
converted on five of seven and VanDyke made six of 11.
Western Oregon and Simon Fraser, which rank fourth and
fifth in the overall standings, are tied for first in the men's
competition with 24 points each.
VanDyke also led CWU with eight rebounds. Courtney
Johnson joined the two transfers from Carroll College in
double figures with 14 points. She made four of seven treys
as CWU outscored NNU 51-9 from the three-point line.
Seattle Pacific is two points ahead of Western Washington
(48-46) for the women's lead.
Seattle Pacific (volleyball, women's soccer) and Alaska
Anchorage (men's cross country, women's cross country)
each won two team titles in the fall, while Simon Fraser
(men's soccer) and Humboldt State (football) each won
one.
The Vikings started slowly, hitting just five of their first 18
shots as Saint Martin 's opened up a 17-12 lead just over
eight minutes into the game.
Overall – Western Washington 68, Seattle Pacific 68, Alaska
Anchorage 57, Western Oregon 54, Simon Fraser 46, Northwest
Nazarene 42, Saint Martin's 37, MSU Billings 36, Central
Washington 34, Alaska Fairbanks 20, Humboldt State 10, Dixie
State 2. Men – Western Oregon 24, Simon Fraser 24, Western
Washington 22, Seattle Pacific 20, Alaska Anchorage 20, Saint
Martin's 20, Northwest Nazarene 16, Central Washington 12,
MSU Billings 10, Humboldt State 10, Alaska Fairbanks 2, Dixie
State 2. Women – Seattle Pacific 48, Western Washington 46,
Alaska Anchorage 37, Western Oregon 30, MSU Billings 26,
Northwest Nazarene 26, Central Washington 22, Simon Fraser
22, Alaska Fairbanks 18, Saint Martin's 17.
But keyed by full-court pressure, WWU exploded into the
lead, hitting 15 of 17 shots the rest of the half, including a
stretch of 11 in a row, opening up a 47-32 lead at halftime.
Thursday, Jan. 5
Men's Basketball: Vikings' Jackson Gets 500th Victory
Brad Jackson became just the fifth college hoop coach in
the state of Washington to reach the 500-victory milestone
as Western Washington beat Saint Martin's 76-71 Thursday
in a GNAC game at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
The win enabled the Vikings (13-2, 4-0) to keep pace with
Western Oregon and 18th ranked Alaska Anchorage as all
three teams remained unbeaten in conference play.
The Wolves (12-2, 5-0), who visit Bellingham Saturday,
stayed one-half game ahead of both Western Washington
and Alaska Anchorage (10-2, 4-0) with a 74-73 road win at
Simon Fraser.
The Seawolves defeated Montana State Billings 80-72 in its
first road game of the season.
Seattle Pacific (11-3, 3-2) also posted a win Thursday
outscoring Alaska Fairbanks 67-54. The Falcons host the
Seawolves Saturday.
Rory Blanche had a team-high 20 points and Zach Henifin
added 17 points, 11 rebounds and four steals as the 23rd
ranked Vikings extended their home win streak to seven.
Jeremy Green had a game-high 23 points for the Saints (59, 1-4). Brok Pendleton added 21 points and eight
rebounds.
WWU, which also got 11 points from Richard Woodworth,
led by 11 (66-55) with under six minutes left, but the Saints
pulled within four twice in the late going including 69-65
with 2:14 to go.
Henifin hit a baseline dunk to push the margin to six and
after Saint Martin's missed three shots at the other end,
Henifin made one of two free throws to give the Vikings a
72-65 advantage with 1:12 remaining. The margin was
never less than five after that.
WWU shot 57.1 percent (20-35) from the field in the first
half, and 50.0 percent (29-58) for the game.
The Saints, who got 11 points and nine rebounds from
Roger O'Neill and 10 points from Ryan Votaw, shot 42.6
(26-61) and were also outrebounded 44-29.
Jackson, who is in his 27th season directing the Vikings,
joins Marv Harshman, Dean Nicholson, Hec Edmundson
and Leo Nicholson as the only college coaches in state
history to win 500 games.
He also is only the 40th NCAA Division II men's coach
nationally to accomplish that feat.
Western Oregon 74, Simon Fraser 73
Jordan Freelander converted a short off-balance shot with
nine seconds left for his only points of the game as Western
Oregon pulled out a one-point win at West Gymnasium.
Freelander, who had missed his five previous shots, scored
after the Wolves had been awarded the ball underneath
their own basket on a jump ball call with 14 seconds left
after a miss by Blair Wheadon.
Neither team led by more than six points in the contest
which was tied nine times. Simon Fraser was ahead 71-69
inside the final minute before Kyle Long hit a trey with 53
seconds remaining to give WOU a 72-71 lead.
The Clan (5-7, 0-4), however, retook the lead 12 seconds
later on two foul shots by Justin Brown. WOU then worked
the clock down before Wheadon's miss.
Wheadon and James Gehring led the Wolves with 16 points
each. Gehring also had nine rebounds and Wheadon had
eight assists. Kolton Nelson had 12 points and Brian
McGill scored 10.
Ibrahim Appiah led the Clan with a 17-point, 10-rebound
double-double. John Bantock made five of six treys and
netted 15 points.
Jordan Sargent chipped in with 12 and Brown and Connor
Lewis, who missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, each had
10.
Alaska Anchorage 80, Montana State Billings 72
Taylor Rohde had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead
Alaska Anchorage to an eight-point win at Alterowitz
Gymnasium.
The Seawolves also got 16 points from sophomore guard
Travis Thompson as they ran their winning streak to 10
games.
Thursday's lopsided 61-24 rebound differential included 30
offensive boards for Seattle Pacific, which outscored the
visitors 26-2 on second-chance points.
The Yellowjackets (7-6, 2-3) were led by 18 points from
guard David Arnold, who was 11 of 12 from the free throw
line.
David Downs tallied 10 of his team-high 15 points during
the first half as SPU took control early.
Trailing 14-13, UAA went on an 11-0 run to take the lead
for good, and Thompson converted a back court steal into a
layup to make it a 39-32 advantage at halftime.
The Seawolves then scored the first seven points after the
break and led for double digits for much of the way until a
late Yellowjacket run.
MSUB's Emery Henning hit a pair of free throws at the
2:31 mark to make it 71-67 and the hosts stole the ball
back, however Antoine Proctor missed a three-pointer that
would have made it a one-possession game.
Leading 73-69 a few moments later, Rohde took a feed
from Kyle Fossman and converted a three-point play at the
1:10 mark.
The Seawolves then clinched it from the free-throw line,
making four of six charities to end the game.
Thompson had an efficient outing, shooting four of five
from the field (2-3 3FGs) and six of seven at the stripe.
Rohde, meanwhile, controlled the interior, making nine of
13 from the field and seven of 10 on free throws.
Point guard Steve White had nine points and four assists as
UAA shot 59.5 percent (25 of 42).
In addition to Arnold, MSUB, which was outrebounded 3325, got double figure scoring from Antoine Proctor (15
points) and Taylor Stevens (14).
MSUB took 17 more shots than UAA, but made one fewer
converting on 40.7 percent (24-59).
Seattle Pacific 67, Alaska Fairbanks 54
Reserve Corey Hutsen scored 11 points and grabbed a
career-high nine boards leading Seattle Pacific to a GNACrecord 61 rebounds in a 13-point victory over Alaska
Fairbanks at Brougham Pavilion.
SPU established a record for rebounds in a conference
game, surpassing the previous mark of 58 held by
Humboldt State (2005) and Northwest Nazarene (2008).
Hutsen gathered seven offensive rebounds. Andy Poling
and Jobi Wall also collected nine total boards each for the
Falcons, who topped the 50-rebound plateau for the first
time since Dec. 9, 2000.
The Falcons shot 37 percent from the field (26 of 71), while
holding UAF at 35 percent (20 of 57).
The Nanooks (4-10, 1-3) claimed their only lead, at 4-3, on
a steal and layup by Nico Matthews 2:29 into the game.
SPU then went on a 10-point run, getting baskets from five
different players.
Jeff Dorman capped the surge with a tip-in that provided a
13-4 cushion with 11:57 on the clock.
The Falcons lead grew to as many as 13 points in the first
half before they settled for a 33-21 halftime advantage.
In the second half, SPU stretched its margin to 60-35 with
7:15 left to play. The Nanooks narrowed the deficit with a
9-1 game-ending run.
Jesse Ward tallied 16 points to lead UAF, which also got 11
from Dominique Brinson.
Fairbanks became the ninth opponent that failed to reach
the 60-point mark against the Falcons. SPU's defense is
surrendering just 56.1 points per game. The school singleseason record average of 61.8 points allowed was set in
1962-63.
Paired with Saturday's 47-22 margin on the glass at Saint
Martin's, the Falcons have compiled a 108-46 rebound
advantage in their last two outings.
Women's Basketball: Sims Powers Falcons Past UAF
Nyesha Sims scored 22 points and grabbed a career-high 19
rebounds and Katie Benson added 17 points on seven of 11
shooting powering Seattle Pacific to a 88-64 blowout of
Alaska Fairbanks Thursday at The Patty Center.
The second-place Falcons (10-3, 4-1) remained one-half
game back of GNAC leader Alaska Anchorage as the
nationally ninth-ranked Seawolves (13-2, 4-0) broke out of
a 26-26 halftime tie to defeat Montana State Billings 59-50.
Western Washington and Simon Fraser, meanwhile, both
won on the road to remain with just one conference loss.
The Vikings (9-3, 3-1) built a 25-point halftime lead on the
way to a 68-50 win at Saint Martin's.
Simon Fraser (8-4, 3-1) led by 15 at halftime (39-24) at
Western Oregon before settling for a 66-53 victory.
Sims fell one rebound shy of becoming the second player in
GNAC history to produce a 20-point, 20-rebound game.
The only woman to accomplish that feat has been Jenna
Washington of Humboldt State, who had 22 points and 22
rebounds against Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 17, 2005.
Sims bettered her previous career-high of 13 rebounds,
which she had posted three times – twice this season.
Her 19 boards matched the fifth-highest single-game total
in school history. The all-time SPU single game record is
26 by Pam Spencer on Feb. 5, 1977.
Sims' double-double was her fifth in the past seven games,
and gives her 10 for her career.
“Nyesha was pretty darn good. She's really, really
determined, and she's not afraid to go for the ball,” SPU
head coach Julie Heisey said. “She was guarding their point
guard, and she just took off and would go for the rebound.
She takes a lot of pride in it.”
Seattle Pacific also got 12 points from Aubree Callen and a
career-high nine assists from Jordan Harazin in winning its
fourth straight game heading into Saturday's showdown at
Anchorage.
Nicole Hartzog led Alaska Fairbanks (4-10, 0-4), which
was outrebounded 56-28, with 21 points. Nicole Bozek had
12 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Seattle Pacific broke the game open with a 16-2 first-half
scoring run, extending a 24-16 lead to 40-18. The margin
was 18 at halftime (44-26).
Alaska Anchorage 59, Montana State Billings 50
Alysa Horn scored 19 points and Hanna Johansson posted
another double-double as Alaska Anchorage overcame an
upset bid by Montana State Billings to post a nine-point
victory at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
The Seawolves also got 10 points and nine rebounds from
Kaylie Robison as they won for the ninth straight time,
both overall and against MSUB.
Point guard Sasha King added five points, five assists, no
turnovers and two steals to help UAA win despite a seasonlow 34.5 (20 of 58) field goal percentage.
The Yellowjackets (10-6, 2-3) got a game-high 20 points
and nine rebounds from Bobbi Knudsen, while Kalli
Stanhope added nine points on three of four three-point
shooting.
MSUB was a perfect 10 of 10 at the free throw line but
could not overcome 20 turnovers and a 40-28 rebounding
disadvantage.
The first half featured five lead changes and four ties,
ending at 26-26. Knudsen gave the Yellowjackets an early
edge with the first basket of the second half before UAA
made its run, getting six straight points from Horn during a
12-2 spurt that eventually decided the outcome.
Horn knocked down a three-pointer to put UAA up 50-38
at the 5:52 mark, and Johansson added a rebound basket for
the Seawolves' largest lead (53-40) with 4:05 to play.
The Yellowjackets sliced it to 53-48 on a deep threepointer from Stanhope with 1:47 left, but King and
Johansson answered with four straight free throws to ice
the win – UAA's 14th straight at the WFSC.
Following her school-record eight of eight shooting in
Saturday's road win over Northwest Nazarene, Johansson
shot just three of nine from the field. She was five of six at
the free throw line, however, and finished with 11 points
and 10 rebounds for her third straight double-double.
Western Washington 68, Saint Martin's 50
Guard Kristin Schramm led a balanced attack with 12
points as Western Washington ran its win streak to five
defeating Saint Martin's at Marcus Pavilion.
Marelle Moehrle came off the bench to score a game-high
18 points for the Saints (6-9, 1-4), all of them in the second
half. The Saints also got nine points, 10 rebounds and four
steals from Chelsea Haskey.
The Vikings took control early, using a run of 14 straight
points to take a 21-8 lead midway through the first
half. Another charge of 12 consecutive points extended the
advantage to 33-10 with 4:37 left in the period, and they
were ahead 37-12 at halftime.
WWU had a 23-12 advantage in rebounds in the first half
and held the Saints to just 20.8 percent (5-24) field goal
shooting. The margin was never less than 15 points in the
second half.
Trishi Williams came off the bench to score 11 points for
the Vikings, and forward Sydney Donaldson added 10
points. Both were five of eight from the field.
It was the eighth straight WWU victory over Saint Martin's,
and the 27th in the last 28 meetings.
Simon Fraser 66, Western Oregon 53
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe recorded her 10th double-double
of the season and Simon Fraser led wire-to-wire in
defeating Western Oregon.
Raincock-Ekunwe finished the contest with 18 points
connecting on seven of 10 shots and also had 13 rebounds
and six assists.
Kristina Collins contributed 12 points and Chelsea Reist
added 10. The Clan also got six assists from Marie-Line
Petit and six points, five assists, four rebounds and a steal
from Carla Wyman.
Western Oregon (3-12, 2-3), which was outrebounded 4029, was led by Jade Haas with 14 points. Rylee Peterson
had 12 points and Melissa Fowler scored 11.
The Clan used a 10-0 run midway through the first half to
open up a 25-10 lead. SFU led by as many as 21 points in
the second half and never let the Wolves get closer than 12.
Wednesday, Jan. 4
Men's Soccer: Schultz Sets Six GNAC Records
Tyler Schultz of Seattle Pacific set six Great Northwest
Athletic conference men's soccer records during the 2011
season, according to official statistics released by the
conference office Wednesday.
Steenhuis also won three stat titles. He had the lowest GAA
(0.67) and best save percentage (.831) for all games and
was also the save percentage leader for conference games
(.825).
Sanchez was the all-game assist leader (0.53 per game) and
tied Wallace for the conference game assist lead (0.50).
(GNAC Record Book).
Schultz's records were among 18 established by GNAC
players and teams during the season. Another 15 marks
were tied.
Tuesday, Jan. 3
Schultz set a single-season mark for shots taken in all
games (88). In conference games, he set single-season
records for game-winning goals (6), shots (54) and shots
per game (5.40) and career marks for shots (115) and
game-winning goals (9).
Alaska Anchorage is ranked 18th and Western Washington
is 23rd in this week's NABC Division II men's basketball
national poll.
Men's Basketball: Seawolves, Vikings Ranked
Falcon goalkeeper Zach Johnson set conference-game
season records for shutouts (7) and minutes (929:14) and a
career mark for shutouts (9).
The Seawolves (9-2), who have won nine straight but have
yet to play a road game, climbed two positions in this
week's poll, while the Vikings (12-2) debuted in the poll
after being among "others receiving votes" in the preChristmas rankings.
Another record setter was Roman Doutkevitch of Simon
Fraser who set an all-game career mark for assists per game
(0.44).
Cal Poly Pomona (8-0), which is one of eight remaining
unbeaten teams in the poll, is the top ranked West Region
team and is sixth in the national poll.
Record setters in conference games were Carlo Basso of
Simon Fraser (goals, season, 10), JJ Olson of Saint Martin's
(saves, season, 46), SMU's Tony Armitage (games started,
career, 35) and Alex Mangeac of Northwest Nazarene and
Drew Williams of Seattle Pacific (assists and assists per
game, career, 14 and 0.44).
Western Oregon and Humboldt State are among "others
receiving votes" this week and are tied for 35th with two
ballot points.
Alaska Anchorage travels to Billings to take on Montana
State Billings Thursday, while Western Washington hosts
Saint Martin's before taking on Western Oregon Saturday.
Williams also tied the career all-game mark for assists (24).
Juan Sanchez of Simon Fraser tied the single season assist
record with 10 and Roman Doutkevitch tied the career
multi-assist game record with his fourth.
Viking coach Brad Jackson will be seeking his 500th career
win in Thursday's contest.
Simon Fraser accounted for nine of the 10 team records set
and four of the five tied on the way to a near perfect 18-0-1
record. Among those were most goals and most points in
all games (65, 186) and conference games (33, 96).
Jackson would become the fifth college coach in state
history to win 500 games with a victory Thursday joining
Marv Harshman (Pacific Lutheran, Washington State,
Washington); Dean Nicholson (Central Washington), Hec
Edmundson (Washington) and Leo Nicholson (Central
Washington).
SFU also tied their own GNAC record (which they share
with the 2004 Seattle University national championship
team) for most consecutive wins (16).
UAA No. 1 In Assists, Assist/Turnover Ratio
Schultz, Basso, Johnson, Sanchez, SFU's Sheldon
Steenhuis and the Clan's Justin Wallace all won or shared
season statistical titles during the 2011 season.
Schultz led the league in all-game points (1.75 per game),
while Basso was the top goal producer for all games (0.84)
and conference games (1.00) and the point leader for
conference games (2.00).
Johnson led the GNAC in all-game (11) and conference
game shutouts (7) and was the conference game leader in
goals against (0.68).
Alaska Anchorage is ranked first in assists (23.0) and
assist/turnover ratio (1.81) in this week's NCAA Division II
national statistical report.
The Seawolves, led by this week's GNAC Player-of-theWeek Taylor Rohde, are also fourth in scoring margin
(23.6) and sixth in rebounding margin (9.6.).
Rohde, who leads the GNAC in field goal percentage
(62.7), ranks second in scoring (20.1) and third in
rebounding (8.5).
UAA guard Travis Thompson is the top ranked GNAC
player in the national report, ranking second in
assist/turnover ratio at 3.88.
Alaska Anchorage Ranked Ninth in National Poll
Kevin Davis of Central Washington is sixth in blocked
shots (3.2) and eighth in double-doubles (8). Anthony
Golden of Northwest Nazarene is ninth in three-pointers
(3.5).
Also in the Top 10 is Nico Matthews of Alaska Fairbanks.
He ranks 10th in steals (3.0).
Team-wise, Seattle Pacific and Northwest Nazarene rank
sixth in scoring defense (56.2) and three-point field goals
(10.7), respectively. Central Washington is fourth in
blocked shots (6.3).
Women's Basketball: Seawolves No. 1 in FG Defense
Alaska Anchorage is ranked in the Top 10 in six different
national statistical categories, including No. 1 in field goal
percentage defense through games of Jan. 1.
Individually, Hanna Johansson is the top-ranked UAA
player. Johansson, this week's GNAC Player-of-the-Week,
ranks 14th in field goal percentage shooting 58.2 percent.
Alex Dunn of Central Washington is ninth in assists (5.6)
to earn the top individual rank by a GNAC player.
In addition to field goal percentage defense, UAA ranks
second in scoring margin (28.9), third in assists (19.7),
fourth in scoring (83.4) and rebound margin (14.6) and
eighth in field goal percentage (46.9).
Seattle Pacific ranks ninth in free throw percentage (77.5)
and fewest fouls (13.7). MSU Billings ranks eighth in
fewest turnovers (13.7) and Central Washington is 10th in
three-pointers made (8.12)
Alaska Anchorage moved up one position and is ranked
ninth in this week's USA Today ESPN Division II Top 25
coaches' poll.
The Seawolves (12-2 overall) are 11-0 against Division II
opponents and are one of four West Region teams ranked in
the Top 25. UC San Diego (12-0) is ranked third, defending
regional champion Cal Poly Pomona (8-1) is 11th and
Grand Canyon (8-1) is tied for 15th.
Five other West Region teams are "among others receiving
votes" including Seattle Pacific (37th overall) and Western
Washington (48th).
Alaska Anchorage hosts Montana State Billings Thursday
before entertaining Seattle Pacific Saturday.
DECEMBER
Saturday, Dec. 31
Women's Basketball: Triple Double For CWU's Dunn
Alex Dunn recorded the first triple-double in the GNAC in
nearly six years leading Central Washington to a 97-74 win
against Alaska Fairbanks Saturday at Nicholson Pavilion.
Bobbi Knudsen scored 22 points and Janiel Olson had 14
rebounds to pace Montana State Billings to a convincing
69-49 home win over Western Oregon at Alterowitz
Gymnasium.
Hanna Johansson was perfect from the field in a 21-point,
11-rebound double-double as 10th ranked Alaska
Anchorage defeated Northwest Nazarene 79-71.
Western Washington and Seattle Pacific also recorded
wins. The Vikings handed Simon Fraser its first GNAC
loss defeating the Clan 76-55 and leaving UAA as the only
remaining unbeaten team in league play. Seattle Pacific
crushed Saint Martin's 70-39.
Dunn had 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to post just
the second triple-double in CWU school history. Molly
Mickle had 18 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocked shots
against Eastern Oregon on Dec. 2, 1994.
The last triple double in the GNAC occurred on Feb. 18,
2006 when Alaska Anchorage's Rebecca Kielpinski had 17
points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists against Saint Martin's.
CWU (4-7, 1-3) also got a pair of big halves from Sophie
Russell and Melanie Valdez in its win.
Russell scored 19 of her game-high 23 points in the second
half as the Wildcats, who led by just seven at the break (3932), pulled way for the win. CWU made 22 of 41 shots in
the period in outscoring the Nanooks 58-42.
Valdez netted all 16 of her points in the opening 20
minutes. CWU also got 18 points from Jessica VanDyke
and 11 from Courtney Johnson as all five starters scored in
double figures.
"Melanie (Valdez) did a great job offensively to keep us in
the game early," CWU head coach Shawn Nelson said.
In the second half, the Wildcats used a 17-0 run over a span
of 2:45, exploiting the Nanooks for four turnovers while
making six of seven shots during that span.
After UAF closed to within 15 on two occasions later in the
half, the margin reached 21 at the 10:31 mark and remained
in the twenties the rest of the way.
Autumn Greene led the Nanooks (4-9, 0-3) with 19 points.
Jacqueline Lovato came off the bench to score 18, while
Nicole Bozek and Nicole Hartzog scored 15 and 10,
respectively.
CWU, which ended a nine-game conference game loss
streak, shot 43.4 percent for the game (33-76) and
outrebounded UAF 51-39. The Nanooks made 35 percent,
converting on 21 of 60.
Montana State Billings 69, Western Oregon 49
The Yellowjackets jumped to a 16-4 lead in the first 6 1/2
minutes and were never seriously challenged by the
Wolves.
MSUB led by 23 (36-13) late in the first half (3:13) and
were up by as many as 24 (68-44 with 2:43 left) in the
second period.
WOU shot 40.4 percent, but was able to launch just 47
shots (making 19) against the MSUB defense which forced
the Wolves into three second-half 30 second violations.
Knudsen had a game-high four assists in addition to her
career-high 22 points. Quinn Peoples added 10 points and
Olson, who had a career high for rebounds, had nine for
MSUB (10-5) which leveled its conference record at 2-2.
Melissa Fowler paced Western Oregon (3-11, 2-2) with 18
points. Rylee Peterson, who came in leading the GNAC in
scoring (16.9) was limited to seven points. Peterson did
have nine rebounds.
MSUB, which shot 42.6 percent (26-61) dominated the
backboards 44-29 and also had eight fewer turnovers (1119). Kalli Stanhope led the 'Jacket defense with four steals.
Alaska Anchorage 79, Northwest Nazarene 71
Hanna Johansson made all eight of her shots and led Alaska
Anchorage to a 39-27 rebounding advantage as the
Seawolves ran their win streak to eight with a win at the
Johnson Sports Complex in Nampa.
The Seawolves (12-2, 3-0), who improved to 11-0 against
Division II opponents, also got 17 points and four steals
from guard Haley Holmstead as they survived a late
Crusader run.
The Crusaders (8-4, 2-2) were led by forward Briaunna
King who scored a game-high 22 points.
Guard Alli Dzhidzhiyeshvili had 19 points, five rebounds,
four assists and three steals, but NNU still suffered its
seventh consecutive loss to UAA.
Johansson, a 6-2 center, continued her stellar play with her
second straight double-double, powered by a school-record
100 percentage from the floor.
The Swede also tied her career-high with seven assists and
added three steals and two blocks.
Forward Alysa Horn was the third Seawolf in double
figures with 10 points, including the biggest shot of the
game – a corner three-pointer with 56 seconds left that
extended UAA's lead to 77-71.
Guard Betsy Kingma added 13 off the bench for SPU (9-3,
3-1), which won its third straight. Forward Rachel Murray
and freshman guard Suzanna Ohlsen tallied 12 points each.
Prior to that, the Crusaders had sliced a 17-point deficit –
64-47 with 9 minutes to play – to a one-possession game on
three separate occasions.
Chelsea Haskey led Saint Martin's (6-8, 1-3) with 18
points. No one else was in double figures for the Saints.
Johansson and Holmstead had the answer each time the
game got close, however, and freshman Gritt Ryder stole
the ball with 31 seconds left to clinch the win.
The Falcons had a 10-9 lead early in the first half when
they started their 20-point run, with six different players
contributing.
The Seawolves shot over 50 percent (29 of 55, .527) for the
fourth time in five games and outrebounded their hosts 3927.
SPU kept Saint Martin's without a field goal for the final 13
minutes, 36 seconds of the half, forcing the Saints into 21
straight misses from the field.
Western Washington 76, Simon Fraser 55
The only points for Saint Martin's during that stretch came
on two free throws, and the Falcons took a 35-11 lead into
the locker room at the break.
Center Britt Harris scored a career-high 22 points and
grabbed eight rebounds lifting Western Washington to a
21-point victory over Simon Fraser at Sam Carver
Gymnasium.
Center Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe had a game-high 24 points
and eight rebounds for the Clan, and forward Chelsea Reist
added 10 points.
The Vikings (8-3, 2-1) led by just three (22-19) with seven
minutes left in the first half, but went on a 16-2 run. Guard
Trishi Williams scored 10 of the points.
WWU, which led 40-25 at halftime, put the game
completely out of reach, opening the second half with a 235 run to take a 63-30 advantage with 12:38 left.
Harris had 12 points in the run, hitting five straight shots
from the field, and Corinn Waltrip had seven points.
Waltrip finished with 17 points and four assists, and
extended her string of free throws without a miss to 18.
Williams added 14 points and 10 rebounds, with all of the
points coming in the opening half.
WWU, which has won four straight, shot 50.0 percent (2958) from the field, including 57.1 percent (16-28) in the
second half.
Harris, who was 10 of 16 from the floor, also had two steals
and one blocked shot.
Simon Fraser (7-4, 2-1) shot just 38.2 percent (21-55) from
the field, and were 0 of 17 on three-pointers.
Raincock-Ekunwe, who entered the contest leading the
GNAC in rebounds at 15.0 a game, had just over half that
and came up short of a double-double in points and
rebounds for the first time in the last nine contests.
Seattle Pacific 70, Saint Martin's 39
Forward Katie Benson scored 15 points and Seattle Pacific
blew open the game with a 20-0 first-half scoring spree to
rout Saint Martin's.
Men's Basketball: Wolves Improve To 4-0 in GNAC
Guards Blair Wheadon and Kyle Long each scored 18
points and had nearly identical shooting percentages as
Western Oregon stayed on top the GNAC standings with a
71-60 home win over Montana State Billings Saturday.
The Wolves (11-2) are off to a 4-0 GNAC start for the first
time in the 11-year history of the conference.
Western Washington and Alaska Anchorage also stayed
unbeaten in conference play. The Vikings (12-2, 3-0)
defeated Simon Fraser 87-73.
Meanwhile, the Seawolves (9-2, 3-0) outscored Northwest
Nazarene 85-62 earning their ninth consecutive victory and
matching their fifth longest win streak in school history.
Elsewhere Seattle Pacific (10-3, 2-2) outscored Saint
Martin's 56-41 and Alaska Fairbanks (4-9, 1-2) defeated
Central Washington 91-80 in overtime earning its first
conference victory of the season and dropping the
defending GNAC champions to 1-3 in the conference.
Both Wheadon and Long made seven of 14 field goal
attempts in Western Oregon's victory. Long also had seven
rebounds.
WOU also got 11 points from Kolton Nelson, including
three consecutive baskets that fueled a key 18-2 run in the
first half.
Trailing 21-14 with 8:12 left in the first period, the Wolves
held MSUB (7-5, 2-2) without a field goal for 13 minutes,
32 seconds to take control of the contest.
Nelson pulled WOU to within one point at 21-20 with his
three baskets. Wheadon then hit a trey to put the Wolves
ahead for good.
After a MSUB free throw, WOU scored nine of the final 10
points of the half to go ahead 32-23 at the break. MSUB's
field goal drought continued in the second half before
Antoine Proctor got a layup at the 17:24 mark.
WOU extended its lead to 17 (47-30) with 11:10 remaining.
The 'Jackets rallied to within eight at 53-45 with 6:33 left
but WOU then scored the next eight points to effectively
close it out.
Jaxon Myaer led three players in double figures for MSUB
with 16 points. Robert Mayes scored 14 points and Taylor
Stevens, who had MSUB's last field goal of the first half (a
trey with 10:56 left in the period), had 13 points and eight
rebounds.
Proctor scored nine points and also had 11 rebounds, 10 in
the opening half.
Western Washington 87, Simon Fraser 73
Forward Rory Blanche scored a game and career-high 26
points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Western Washington
defeated Simon Fraser at West Gymnasium on the SFU
campus.
Center Dan Young, seeing his first action after missing
three games with a concussion, came off the bench to
contribute 12 points and grab a career-high 15 rebounds for
the Vikings.
Guard Justin Brown had 19 points and five assists for the
Clan (5-6, 0-3), and Connor Lewis added 16 points and five
assists.
The victory was the 499th for WWU coach Brad
Jackson. Jackson, who is in his 27th season, needs just one
more triumph to become only the fifth collegiate coach in
all divisions in the state of Washington to achieve that feat
and the 40th men's coach in NCAA Division II history.
SFU led by as much as seven in the opening half and held a
40-36 lead at halftime. A Connor three-pointer to open the
second half pushed the margin to seven, but then Blanche
took over.
Blanche scored 16 points, including two dunks, in the next
10 minutes as WWU went on a 30-11 charge to take a 6654 lead with 9:14 to play.
The Clan responded with 11 straight points to pull within
one (66-65) with 5:49 to go, but the Vikings were able to
pull away after that, using a 12-3 run to put the game out of
reach.
Forward Zach Henifin had 13 points, eight rebounds and
four steals for WWU, which had a 50-23 advantage in
rebounds. Guard John Allen had 11 points and seven assists
and guard Richard Woodworth added 10 points.
SFU, which played the game without forward Javari
Williams who leads the GNAC in scoring at 23.8 points a
game, got 12 points from Jordan Sergent.
Alaska Anchorage 85, Northwest Nazarene 62
Center Taylor Rohde scored 17 points and point guard
Steve White had a career-high 10 assists to lead 20thranked Alaska Anchorage to a 23-point victory over
Northwest Nazarene at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
The Seawolves shot 59.6 percent (31-52) from the field and
outrebounded the Crusaders 32-23 in improving their
Division II record to 5-0.
UAA also got 15 points from Travis Thompson and 13
from Kyle Fossman as the two sophomore guards
combined to make 11 of 15 shots. Thompson converted six
of seven including three of four treys and Fossman made
five of eight. He was three of six from the arc.
Marcus Jackson contributed 10 points, four assists and no
turnovers, while Abebe Demissie and Liam Gibcus chipped
in eight points apiece. Demissie also had a game-high three
steals.
The Crusaders (7-5, 1-3) got 15 points each from starting
guards Anthony Golden and Keith Moilanen as they took
29 of their 51 total shots from behind the three-point arc.
White got the Seawolves off to a quick 7-3 lead with assists
on his team's first two baskets, and UAA pulled away
midway through the half with a 17-5 spurt.
First-year NNU head coach Dave Daniels was whistled for
a technical foul with his team trailing 28-18 at the 6:24
mark, and UAA took all of the momentum at that point,
earning a 44-24 lead at the break. The Seawolves started
the second half with a 9-0 run to erase all doubt.
White topped his previous career-high of nine assists and
committed just two turnovers in 26 minutes. He also added
seven points on perfect shooting (2-2 FG, 3-3 FT) and
came one rebound shy of his career-best with six.
Seattle Pacific 56, Saint Martin's 41
Andy Poling led all scorers with 21 points and Seattle
Pacific limited Saint Martin's to 28 percent shooting en
route to a 15-point win at Marcus Pavilion.
Poling completed his fourth double-double of the season
with 13 rebounds. He helped SPU dominate the boards 4722. Eleven of his points came from the free throw line
where Poling got 16 attempts.
The Saints (5-8, 1-3) led only once, at 2-1 on a Brok
Pendleton jumper 2:30 into the game. SPU then went on an
8-1 run, with points from four different players, to take the
lead for good.
SMU shot just 15 percent (4 of 26) in the first half and
missed all seven of its three-point tries.
The Falcons capitalized on that poor shooting to build a 2615 halftime advantage. They held an opponent under 20
points in the first half for the fourth time this season.
Ryan Votaw opened the second half with a three-pointer to
narrow the gap to 26-18, but that was as close at the Saints
would come. SPU stretched its lead to as many as 23
points.
In the extra frame, the Nanooks opened on an 8-0 run to
lead 82-74 with 2:16 to go. The Wildcats never came closer
than six as UAF made five of seven shots in overtime and
drained seven of eight free throws, while limiting CWU to
one basket in seven attempts.
Brinson led four Nanook players in double figures with a
team-high 20 points, while Tica had 19 points.
David Downs was the only other Falcon in double figures
with 11 points. SPU converted 41 percent (16 of 39) of its
shots from the floor.
Sophomore center Sergej Pucar posted his first doubledouble of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while
Matthews also had 16 points to go with seven rebounds.
Jeremy Green tallied 19 points to pace Saint Martin's,
which shot 40 percent (10 of 25) in the second half to finish
with 14 field goals in 51 attempts for the game.
Kevin Davis led Central with 23 points and 13 rebounds
and also blocked four shots. Nine of his 13 boards came off
the offensive glass.
SPU won despite committing 22 turnovers, eight of them
coming off steals by Votaw who tied a record for GNAC
games in the process.
Toussaint Tyler had 13 points and nine assists. Other
double figure scorers for CWU included Lacy Haddock and
Jody Johnson with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The 41 points were the second-fewest surrendered this
season by the Falcons, who defeated Academy of Art 63-33
on Nov. 26.
Thursday, Dec. 29
Their defense is yielding just 56.2 points per game. The
school single-season record average of 61.8 points allowed
was established in 1962-63.
Kolton Nelson scored 13 points, including a three-pointer
and two free throws in the final 39 seconds Thursday lifting
Western Oregon to a 64-58 home win over Seattle Pacific
at the New PE Building.
Alaska Fairbanks 91, Central Washington 80
Guard Dominique Brinson drained a three-pointer with 1.1
seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime and
Alaska Fairbanks then outscored Central Washington 17-6
in the extra period to earn an 11-point victory at the Patty
Center.
The victory for the Nanooks marked the first time since
March 4, 2006 that they had defeated the Wildcats (7-5, 13), snapping a 10-game losing streak in the series. It was
also head coach Mick Durham's 250th win of his career.
Trailing 73-68 with 1:32 to go, guard Nico Matthews drove
through the lane for the layup to cut the deficit to three.
After a missed three by CWU, Stefan Tica was fouled and
made one of two, but UAF picked up the offensive rebound
to maintain possession.
Tica received the inbounds pass, but his three was off the
mark and Trey Gross went to the line for a pair with 17.6
left. Gross missed both free throws and freshman guard
Jesse Ward nearly tied it with a fast-break layup, but it
rimmed out.
Gross went back to the line with 8.2 ticks on the clock and
after missing the first, he converted on the second to give
CWU a 74-71 lead.
On the ensuing possession, Matthews brought it up court
and dished it off to Brinson, who fired a leaning three from
the right corner and it dropped with 1.1 to go to tie the
game at 74-74 to force overtime.
Men's Basketball: Western Oregon Holds Off Falcons
Alaska Anchorage ran its win streak to eight crushing
Central Washington 99-62 and handing the Wildcats their
most lopsided loss in 13 years.
Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene recorded
road wins. The Yellowjackets defeating Saint Martin's 7961, while the Crusaders outscored Alaska Fairbanks 93-83
in the opening game of their Alaska journey.
Western Oregon (10-2) remained undefeated in three
conference games while SPU (9-3) saw its league ledger
drop to 1-2.
The Falcons trailed for most of the second half, but drew
within 57-56 on a layup by Andy Poling with 1:03 left in
the game. Nelson answered on a trey with 39 seconds
remaining.
Nelson responded to another Poling layup at 0:20
converting two free throws with 17 seconds to play. WOU's
Jamaal Veal capped the scoring on a pair of free throws
with four seconds showing on the clock.
Kyle Long led the Wolves with 14 points, eight of them
coming from 12 free throw attempts.
Poling paced SPU with 17 points on six of eight shooting
from the field. He also grabbed nine rebounds. David
Downs added 12 points.
The Falcons got the game's first five points, but then fell
behind for most of the first half. The trailed 30-21 before
finishing the half with a 13-3 run.
A three-pointer by Downs with 26 seconds left gave SPU a
34-33 halftime edge.
Alaska Anchorage 99, Central Washington 62
Taylor Rohde scored 27 points and guard Kyle Fossman
added 17 points and five assists as 20th-ranked Alaska
Anchorage rolled to a 37-point blowout of defending
GNAC champion Central Washington at the Wells Fargo
Sports Complex.
In a rematch of last year's GNAC tournament title game –
won 84-73 by the Wildcats – the Seawolves turned the
tables, taking an early 12-2 lead and hardly looking back.
After CWU sliced its deficit to 16-11, UAA answered with
nine straight points and led by double figures throughout.
The 37-point final margin was the largest for either team in
25 all-time meetings and marked the Wildcats' worst loss
since a 114-75 setback against Chaminade on Jan. 30,
1999.
Three other MSUB players were in double figures as Jaxon
Myaer had 18 points, Antoine Proctor scored 17 and had
six rebounds and Emery Henning had 11 points and eight
boards.
The Yellowjackets owned the boards during the game,
recording their highest margin of the season with a 57-27
advantage, including a game-high 15 from Preston
Richards.
MSUB shot 46.9 percent (30-64) from the floor and were
nine of 23 from beyond the arc.
Saint Martin's (5-7, 1-2) shot just 35.3 percent (24-68) from
the floor including three of 14 treys.
Jeremy Green led the Saints with 20 points, while Roger
O'Neill scored 15 and Ryan Votaw and Brok Pendleton
each added 10.
The Yellowjackets, who never trailed in the game, broke
the only tie of the game at 9-9 with a three-pointer from
Proctor at the 14:59 mark.
That trey sparked a 12-2 run over the next four minutes,
which was capped by another Proctor three-pointer.
UAA (8-2, 2-0), picked narrowly to win the league in this
year's preseason coaches' poll, shot 57.6 percent (34 of 59)
from the field and outrebounded CWU 44-23.
The Jackets maintained the double-digit lead throughout
much of the first half, increasing the lead by as many as 14
with 1:47 to go on a lay-in by Proctor.
Led by 10 of 13 shooting from Rohde, the Seawolves'
starters combined to outscore their counterparts 78-39.
Saint Martin's climbed to within seven points (55-48)
midway through the second period, but the Yellowjackets
then went on a 16-2 run to increase their lead to 23 (77-54)
with 2:45 remaining.
CWU (7-4, 1-2) was led by 20 points and five rebounds
from guard Lacy Haddock. Haddock made seven of 10
shots. Reserve Jody Johnson, however, was the only other
Wildcat in double figures. He had 11 points.
In addition to Rohde's big night, the Seawolves got other
solid performances from Fossman (6-10 FG, 3-6 3FG),
guard Travis Thompson (14 points, 7 assists, 4-6 FG, 2-3
3FG, 4-5 FT) and point guard Steve White (10 points, 6
assists, 3-5 FG).
Meanwhile, sophomore guard Colton Lauwers barely
missed his first career double-double with 10 points and
nine rebounds. Lauwers also had three assists, two steals
and no turnovers.
Montana State Billings 79, Saint Martin's 61
Robert Mayes registered a double-double with a team-high
20 points and 12 rebounds, 10 coming on the offensive end
of the floor, as Montana State Billings (7-4, 2-1) cruised to
a 18-point road win inside Marcus Pavilion.
Mayes was eight of 11 from the floor and a perfect four of
four from the free throw line. His 10 offensive rebounds
equaled the fifth highest total in GNAC history.
The Jackets outscored SMU 36-22 in the paint and
converted 23 second chance points, while the Saints had
just 11. The MSUB bench also won the battle as they
outscored SMU 20-6.
Northwest Nazarene 93, Alaska Fairbanks 83
Jonathan Hawkins scored a game-high 19 points to lead
Northwest Nazarene to a 10-point victory over Alaska
Fairbanks at the Patty Center.
Hawkins led five players into double figures for the
Crusaders (7-4, 1-2).
Following Hawkins, JB Pillard scored 18, Anthony Golden
finished with 17 points and a game-high seven assists.
Keith Moilanen added 12 and Michal Kurimsky chipped in
with 10.
The Nanooks were impressively balanced as all seven
players who scored reached double digits.
Daniel Shaw, Sergej Pucar and Dominique Brinson all
scored 13. Jesse Ward had 12, Stefan Tica and Nico
Matthews finished with 11 and Ben Teer scored 10.
NNU shot 49.2 percent (29-59) from the field and were 11
of 24 from the three-point line, while UAF finished at 40
percent (29-72) from the floor, but were just five of 21
from the arc.
In addition to her double-double, Johansson added four
steals, three assists and two blocks. Sasha King came off
the bench to earn a team-high six assists.
Montana State Billings 72, Saint Martin's 43
UAF out-rebounded the Crusaders 44-36, as both Matthews
and Ward posted double-doubles with 11 rebounds each.
Women's Basketball: UAA Fights Off CWU Challenge
Hanna Johansson scored 23 points and grabbed 11
rebounds Thursday as 10th-ranked Alaska Anchorage
fought off a challenge from Central Washington to beat the
Wildcats 78-60 at Nicholson Pavilion.
Quinn Peoples, meanwhile, scored a game-high 19 points
including 11 in the second half as Montana State Billings
pulled away for a 72-43 home win over Saint Martin's at
Alterowitz Gymnasium.
Elsewhere, Seattle Pacific handled Western Oregon 74-51
and Northwest Nazarene outscored Alaska Fairbanks 8362. In a non-conference contest, Simon Fraser slipped past
Trinity Western 56-50.
In addition to Johansson's 23, Alaska Anchorage (11-2, 20) also got 11 points apiece from Haley Holmstead, Alysa
Horn and Kaylie Robison in winning its seventh straight
game.
The Wildcats (3-7, 0-3), who led much of the first half, got
17 points from forward Jessica VanDyke and 12 from
center Courtney Johnson.
CWU, which has now lost 10 straight to UAA, led early
(10-4) and late (34-31) in the first half.
Holmstead, however, hit a short jumper with 1:28 left in the
period and Johansson scored on a spinning layup at the
buzzer to give UAA a 35-34 lead at the break.
The run would stretch to 12-0 spanning the halves as
Robison and Holmstead each scored a pair of quick buckets
to make it 43-34 with 17:39 remaining.
Johansson, who shot nine of 13 from the field and five of
six at the free throw line, added a layup at the 16:21 mark
to put UAA ahead by double digits for good with 16:21
remaining.
Quinn Peoples scored 15 of her 19 points from the arc
making five of six three-point shots and also had six
rebounds in MSUB's victory.
The Yellowjackets (9-5, 1-2) also got 18 points from Bobbi
Knudsen and 11 from Annie Depuydt.
Chelsea Haskey was the lone player for the Saints (6-7, 12) in double figures as she posted a 10-point, 12-rebound
double-double.
The game was a one-point contest until MSUB scored the
final six points of the first half. Peoples then hit a trey to
open the second period and give the Yellowjackets a
double-digit lead at 33-23.
Saint Martin's managed to climb within seven points a few
minutes later, but trailed by double-digits most of the rest
of the way.
MSUB's lead was 13 (52-39) with 9:47 remaining. The
'Jackets then ran off 16 consecutive points to go ahead 6839 with 3:14 left.
MSUB had a plus 16 takeaway advantage (12-28) earning
34 points off SMU's miscues.
They also held the Saints to just six second-half field goals
in 27 attempts. Overall, the 'Jackets outshot SMU 40.4
percent (23-57) to 32.6 percent (15-46).
Seattle Pacific 74, Western Oregon 51
Nyesha Sims had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Seattle
Pacific (8-3, 2-1) led from start to finish in a 23-point rout
of Western Oregon.
Sims tied her career high with the 13 boards – the second
time she has reached that total this season and the third
time overall.
Sims has had four double-doubles in SPU's last five games
running her career total to nine.
The Seawolves stretched their largest advantage to 66-45
midway through the half.
Forward Katie Benson added 11 points and guard Betsy
Kingma chipped in 10.
UAA shot 54.2 percent (32 of 59) overall, including 46.7
percent (seven of 15) from three-point range. Holmstead
and Robison both made five of seven while Horn knocked
down three of six treys.
Western Oregon (3-10, 2-1) was led by Melissa Fowler
with 14 points. GNAC leading scorer Rylee Peterson, who
came in averaging 17.3, was held to 13.
The Wildcats were 23 of 63 (.365) from the field and
became the first team this season to outrebound the
Seawolves, doing so by a 37-34 count.
Peterson got all of them in the second half after missing her
first nine shots and picking up her fourth foul less than a
minute after halftime.
The Falcons scored the first four points of the game and
quickly built a 20-4 lead. The margin never dipped below
double-digits the rest of the night.
“But our shot selection was pretty poor most of the night
and we had too many unnecessary turnovers. Our defense
was better than last night and that kept us in it.”
It was 39-16 at halftime, and the closest Western Oregon
got in the second half was 17, the last time at 53-36 with
8:27 left.
The Clan won despite making just 17 of 52 including two
of 16 from beyond the arc. Trinity, however, made only 19
of 60, including 0 of 6 over the final four minutes. They
also had four turnovers in that span.
SPU beat the Wolves for the 27th consecutive time.
Western Oregon won the first two games of the all-time
series between the teams in the 1981-82 season, but has not
beaten the Falcons since then.
Seattle Pacific dominated on the boards 49-27. In addition
to Sims' 13, center Joani Reimer pulled down seven. The
Falcons also handed out 21 assists on their 27 baskets,
including five by guard Aubree Callen.
Northwest Nazarene 83, Alaska Fairbanks 62
Megan Hingston scored 17 and Briaunna King added a 14
point, 11 rebound double-double to lead the Crusaders (8-3,
2-1) to a 21-point win at the Johnson Sports Center.
Monica Garcia netted 13 and Chelsie Luke scored 10 as
Northwest Nazarene returned from Christmas break to
shoot 45.2 percent (33-73) from the floor and go five of 15
(33.3 percent) from the three-point line.
Nicole Bozek led the Nanooks (4-8, 0-2) with a game-high
20 points. Autumn Greene chipped in with 12 as the
Crusaders held UAF to 38.9 percent shooting at 21 of 54
from the field.
Trailing 50-45, SFU got baskets from Raincock-Ekunwe at
4:01 and Carla Wyman at 3:41, then went ahead at 2:10 on
two free throws by Reist.
The Clan then added five more points - a basket by Katie
Lowen, a free throw by Raincock-Ekunwe and two more
foul shots by Reist - over the final 64 seconds.
Wednesday, Dec. 28
Women's Basketball: Another Double-Double For Nayo
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe recorded her seventh consecutive
double-double to lead four players in double figures in
Simon Fraser's 83-61 home win over Manitoba Wednesday
at West Gym.
Raincock-Ekunwe, who is averaging 16.6 points and 14.7
rebounds per game, scored 20 points and grabbed 11
rebounds as the Clan improved to 6-3 on the season.
She has reached double figures in rebounds in all nine of
SFU's games and in points in eight of the Clan's nine
contests.
Northwest Nazarene forced 27 Nanook turnovers resulting
in a 24-9 advantage in points off turnovers and also outrebounded UAF 46-36. That led to a 38-22 lead in points in
the paint.
Raincock-Ekunwe made nine of 11 shots including a
perfect six of six as SFU built a 44-32 first-half lead. The
Clan never trailed and led by as many as 18 (40-22) in the
opening 20 minutes.
NNU led by as many as 18 in the first half before settling
for a 37-25 lead at the break. The Crusaders opened up 25point leads on four separate occasions in the second half,
the final one at 79-54 with 2:38 remaining.
Manitoba climbed to within 10 points on three different
occasions in the second half including 60-50 with 10:54
remaining.
Simon Fraser 56, Trinity Western 50
But at that point SFU ran off 22 consecutive points over a 6
minute, 40 second span to go ahead 82-50. Chelsea Reist
scored eight of her 15 points in that stretch.
Simon Fraser survived a scare from Trinity Western
scoring the final 11 points of the game and escaping the
Langley Events Centre with a six-point victory.
Chelsea Reist led the Clan with 12 points, including four
free throws in the final 2:10.
Meanwhile, Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe recorded her eighth
straight double-double netting 11 points. She also led all
players with 18 rebounds.
“Trinity really competed hard tonight,” said SFU coach
Bruce Langford. “I thought we played really well in the
first four minutes and the last four minutes.”
SFU also got 16 points from Kelsey Binns on six of eight
shooting including three of four from the arc and 10 from
Kia Van Laare, who made three of five treys.
Mubo Ilelaboye led Manitoba with 15 points, while
Brittany Koop and Melanie Edel each had 11.
Simon Fraser blistered the nets for a 63.6 percentage (21 of
33) in the opening 20 minutes before finishing with a 52.2
percentage (35 of 67).
The Clan also outrebounded Manitoba 37-30, had seven
fewer turnovers (19-26) and three times as many assists
(25-8) including seven by Kristina Collins.
Tuesday, Dec. 27
Football: Rowells, Duncan on Hansen All-Region Team
Humboldt State running back Lyndon Rowells and Dixie
State tight end Joe Don Duncan, who both had recordbreaking seasons have been named to the Don Hansen
NCAA Division II Super Region IV all-star squad.
The two first team selections were among 12 GNAC
players named to the squad. Three other GNAC players
were named to the second team and seven players earned
third team slots.
Faraimo, HSU (LB, 5-11, 240, Sr., Sacramento, CA); Isaiah
Buchanan (CB, 5-10, 175, Sr., Portland, OR); Dominique Gaisie,
CWU (S, 5-9, 162, Sr., West Covina, CA).
Daktronics: First Team - Bryce Peila, WOU (S, 6-1, 200, Jr.,
Central Point, OR). Second Team - Joe Don Duncan, DSC (TE,
6-4, 270, Jr., Corona, CA); Jason Slowey, WOU (OL, 6-4, 300,
Sr., Medford, OR); Lyndon Rowells, HSU (RB, 5-10, 200,l Sr.,
Largo, Fla.).
Sunday, Dec. 25
Volleyball: Seven Records Fall During 2011 Season
Rowells rushed for a GNAC record 1,417 yards finishing
sixth nationally. He also finished 10th nationally in allpurpose yards with a 167.2 per game average.
Alaska Anchorage middle blocker Robyn Burton set four
Great Northwest Athletic Conference records during the
2011 volleyball season.
Duncan had GNAC-record totals for a tight end, catching
64 passes for 949 yards and nine touchdowns.
Her records were among seven set by conference athletes
or teams during the season.
All five GNAC teams were represented on the all-region
team led by Western Oregon, which placed five players on
the all-star unit including two second team picks - safety
Bryce Peila and offensive tackle Jason Slowey.
Burton set a GNAC single-season record for the highest
hitting percentage (.434) in conference matches. She also
moved into first-place on the GNAC all-time career list in
blocking assists per set for all matches (0.98) and
conference matches (1.06) and for most total blocks per set
(1.31) for conference matches.
Peila was earlier named to the Daktronics all-region first
team selected by the region's sports information directors.
Only four GNAC players were named to that squad and
Peila was the lone first team pick.
Named to the Hansen third team from Western Oregon
were wide receiver Trevor Gates, defensive end Gavin
Drake and cornerback Isaiah Buchanan.
Humboldt State placed four players on the team. In addition
to Rowells, offensive guard Drew Shaw was a second team
selection and quarterback Mike Proulx and linebacker Jona
Faraimo were third team picks.
Also named to the third team were Simon Fraser defensive
end Justin Capicciotti and Central Washington safety
Dominique Gaisie.
The Don Hansen team carries out the legacy of long-time
small college football advocate Don Hansen, who died in
2010 at the age of 75.
Hansen published the National Weekly Football Gazette for
three decades, selecting Division II All-American teams for
the first team in 1988. This year's All-American team will
be announced in January.
Don Hansen: First Team – Lyndon Rowells, HSU (RB, 5-10,
200, Sr., Largo, Fla.); Joe Don Duncan, DSC (TE, 6-4, 270, Jr.,
Corona, CA). Second Team – Drew Shaw, HSU (OG, 6-3, 280,
Sr., Encinitas, CA); Jason Slowey, WOU (OT, 6-4, 310, Jr.,
Medford, OR); Bryce Peila, WOU (Saf, 6-1, 200, Jr., Central
Point, OR). Third Team – Mike Proulx, HSU (QB, 5-11, 203, Sr.,
Castro Valley, CA); Trevor Gates, WOU (5-8, 185, Sr., Hillsboro,
OR); Justin Capicciotti, SFU (DE, 6-3, 245, Sr., Toronto, Ont.);
Gavin Drake, WOU (DE, 6-3, 285, Jr., Portland, OR); Jona
With two seasons of eligibility remaining, she will have to
maintain those averages to permanently etch her name in
stone in the GNAC career record book.
The only other individual conference records set were by
Kaitlyn Tuholski of Northwest Nazarene who set marks for
most single-season triple-doubles for all matches (5) and
conference matches (4).
The Crusaders set the lone team record, establishing a
GNAC single-match record by hitting .694 in a 3-0 win
over Walla Walla on Oct. 21. (more)
Saturday, Dec. 24
Men's Soccer: Two Academic All-Americans For
Seattle Pacific
Seattle Pacific midfielders Tyler Schultz and Drew
Williams have been selected to the CoSIDA NCAA
Division II Academic All-American team.
The two were the only GNAC athletes from any fall sport
to earn Academic All-American honors. Both players
earned second team honors.
All fall teams have been selected except for cross country
which is combined with track and field and is selected in
the spring.
A total of nine GNAC athletes earned CoSIDA academic
all-region honors including Schultz and Williams in men's
soccer; Kelsey Jenkins and Janie Wurth of Seattle Pacific
and Jennifer Larsen of MSU Billings in women's soccer;
Brian Walton of Western Oregon in football, and Emily
Jepsen of Western Washington, Lindsey Wodrich of Seattle
Pacific and Brooke Tolman of MSU Billings in volleyball.
Indoor Championships and won the 4x800 meters at that
championship as well as breaking the record in the same
competition at the NAIA Outdoor Championship.
The All-American award is the third this fall for Schultz
who was earlier voted to the Daktronics and NSCAA AllAmerican teams selected by the sports information
directors and coaches, respectively.
The biological sciences major posted an amazing grade
point average of 4.08 (the Canadian system awards 4.33
points for an A+).
Schultz, who is a music major and has a 3.48 GPA, led the
GNAC in points with 35 and tied for the conference lead in
total goals (16) in sharing GNAC Player-of-the-Year
honors with Carlo Basso of Simon Fraser.
He finished his career ranked fourth all-time in the GNAC
in both goals (38) and points (84).
Williams, who carries a 3.58 GPA and is a psychology
major, ranked second this fall in the GNAC in assists with
nine, tying the GNAC all-time career record of 24 assists.
He now shares that record with Chris Andre of MSU
Billings (2007-10) and Pat Doran of Seattle University
(2002-05).
COSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-REGION: Men's Soccer - Tyler
Schultz, SPU (Music, 3.48, Sr., Scottsdale, AZ); Drew Williams,
SPU (Psychology, Sr., 3.58, Bend, OR). Women's Soccer Kelsey Jenkins, SPU (M, Political Science, Sr., 3.94, Kent, WA);
Janie Wurth, SPU (D, Nursing, 3.54, Sr., La Mirada, CA); Jennifer
Larsen, MSUB (D, General Studies, 3,89, Jr., Mesa, AZ).
Football - Brian Walton, WOU (DL, Criminal Justice, 3.90, Jr.,
Fruitland, ID). Volleyball - Emily Jepsen, WWU (Business
Administration-Finance, 3.85, Sr., Kennewick, WA); Lindsey
Wodrich, SPU (Family/Consumer Sciences, 3.71, Sr., Richland,
WA); Brooke Tolman, MSUB (Secondary Education, 3.86, Sr.,
Honeyville, UT).
Track and Field: Crofts Top Canadian Student-Athlete
Simon Fraser University track and field runner Helen
Crofts (West Vancouver, BC) has been named the recipient
of the Frank Tees Memorial Trophy as the outstanding
athlete enrolled in a Canadian University for 2011 by
Athletics Canada. Crofts, in her junior season with the
Clan’s track and field team, had a long list of
accomplishments.
Crofts also captured gold in the 800 meters at the Canadian
Championships and was a finalist at Summer Universiade
(FISU).
Wednesday, Dec. 21
Men's Soccer: SFU Places Four on All-American Team
Simon Fraser placed four players on the 2011 National
Soccer Coaches Association of America NCAA Division II
All-American team, including two players on the first team.
Forward Carlo Basso and defender Max Baessato were
both first team selections. Also named to the first team was
Seattle Pacific midfielder Tyler Schultz.
SFU midfielder Josh Bennett and Seattle Pacific defender
Jon Pearman were second team selections, while SFU
defender Matt Besuschko was named to the third team.
Basso and Schultz earlier were voted the GNAC CoPlayers of the Year, while Pearman was selected the GNAC
Defender-of-the-Year.
Schultz and Pearman were previously named to the
Daktronics first team All-American team selected by the
nation's SIDs. As provisional members Simon Fraser
players were not eligible to be selected to the Daktronics
team.
ALL-AMERICANS: NSCAA (Coaches): First Team - Carlo
Basso, SFU (F, 6-4, So., Coquitlam, BC); Tyler Schultz, SPU (M,
5-11, Sr., Scottsdale, AZ); Max Baessato, SFU (D, 6-0, Jr., North
Vancouver, BC). Second Team - Josh Bennett, SFU (M, 5-8, Sr.,
Hamilton, Ontario); Jon Pearman, SPU (D, 6-2, Jr., Glendale, AZ),
Third Team - Matt Besuschko, SFU (D, 5-10, So., Port Moody,
BC. Daktronics (SIDs): First Team - Tyler Schultz, SPU (M, 511, Sr., Scottsdale, AZ); Jon Pearman, SPU (D, 6-2, Jr.,
Glendale, AZ). Honorable Mention - Zach Johnson, SPU (GK, 63, Jr., Snohomish, WA).
She set a new record in winning NAIA 800 meter outdoor
competition, breaking SFU head coach Brit Townsend’s
record in that competition.
Women's Soccer:
American
She was also named the Most Outstanding Performer at the
GNAC and NAIA National Outdoor Championships. She
also shared the GNAC Athlete of the Year award in both
indoor and outdoor track and field.
Forward Megan Lindsay of Seattle Pacific has been named
to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America
NCAA Division II All-American team. Lindsay, who was
the lone GNAC player selected was a third team pick.
She won the 400 and 1500 in the GNAC outdoors and the
400 in the indoor meet.
Lindsay, who was an honorable mention selection on the
Daktronics All-American team selected by the nation's
SIDs, led the GNAC in scoring this past season with a total
of 32 points, including 12 goals and eight assists.
Crofts was also a part of the Clan team that broke the
NAIA record in the distance medley relay at the NAIA
Lindsay
Named
NSCAA
All-
Lindsay was earlier joined on the Daktronics All-American
team by teammates Taylor Sawyer and Kelsey Jenkins.
Sawyer was a second team selection and Jenkins was voted
to the third team.
NSCAA (Coaches): Third Team - Morgan Lindsay, SPU (F, Jr.,
Spokane, WA). Daktronics (SIDs): Second Team - Taylor
Sawyer, SPU (D, 5-5, Jr., Gig Harbor, WA). Third Team - Kelsey
Jenkins, SPU (M, 5-8, Sr., Kent, WA). Honorable Mention Megan Lindsay, SPU (F, 5-7, Jr., Spokane, WA).
All-Sports: Alaska Anchorage 18th in Directors' Cup
Alaska Anchorage is ranked 13th in NCAA Division II at
the end of the fall sports season in the 2011-12 Learfield
Sports Directors' Cup all-sports standings.
Teams earn points in the Learfield competition based on
their NCAA national and regional finishes.
UAA earned 163 points in the fall, including 72 in women's
cross country, 66 in men's cross country and 25 in
volleyball.
The Seawolves placed sixth in the women's national cross
country meet and eighth in the men's meet and qualified for
the regionals in volleyball.
Travis Thompson of Alaska Anchorage and Riley Stockton
of Seattle Pacific are ranked third (3.46) and sixth (3.18),
respectively, in assist/turnover ratio.
In team categories, Alaska Anchorage is ranked No. 1
nationally in both assists (22.1) and assist/turnover ratio
(1.70). The Seawolves also rank sixth in scoring margin
(19.6).
Central Washington is ranked fourth in blocked shots (6.5).
Northwest Nazarene is sixth in three-point field goals
(10.6) and Seattle Pacific is ninth in scoring defense (56.9).
Alaska Anchorage 20th in NABC National Poll
Alaska Anchorage, which has won seven straight to
improve to 7-2, climbed two spots and is ranked 20th in
this week's NABC Division II men's basketball poll.
The Seawolves are one of three West Region teams ranked
in the poll. Cal Poly Pomona (6-0) is ranked eighth and
Humboldt State (7-2) is ranked 16th. The top-ranked team
is Metro State (Colo.).
Western Washington missed a Top 25 ranking by just one
ballot point and is 26th overall.
Women's Basketball: UAA Top Ranked In Rebounding
Four other GNAC schools earned points in the fall. Seattle
Pacific scored 128 points and currently ranks 25th, while
Western Washington is 34th with 114 points.
Alaska Anchorage is the No. 1 ranked team in two national
statistical categories this week including rebounding.
Western Oregon is 97th with 48 points and Alaska
Fairbanks ranks 99th with 40 points. Grand Valley State
(Mich.) is the national leader with 260 points, three ahead
of Chico State.
The Seawolves are outrebounding their opponents by 16.9
rebounds per game to earn the No. 1 rank in NCAA
Division II. They also rank No. 1 in field goal percentage
defense (29.7).
Tuesday, Dec. 20
UAA also ranks second in scoring margin (32.9), third in
assists (20.6), fourth in scoring (86.3) and fifth in field goal
percentage (47.0).
Men's Basketball: CWU's Davis Ranked Sixth In
Blocks
Central Washington sophomore Kevin Davis is ranked in
the Top 10 in two categories in this week's NCAA Division
II national statistical report.
Seattle Pacific ranks seventh in free throw percentage
(79.9). Western Washington is eighth in rebound margin
(11.4) and Montana State Billings is eighth in fewest
turnovers (13.7),
Davis, who shared GNAC Men's Basketball Player-of-theWeek honors this week with Zach Henifin of Western
Washington, ranks sixth in blocked shots (3.3) and eighth
in double-doubles (5).
Two individuals hold No. 16 national rankings - UAA's
Haley Holmstead in field goal percentage (58.5) and
Briaunna King of Northwest Nazarene in double-doubles
(5).
He also ranks 19th in rebounding (9.5) and 28th in field
goal percentage (60.2). Davis is just the second CWU
sophomore in the GNAC's 11-year history to win the Men's
Basketball POW award.
Track and Field: UAA Adds Assistant Coach
Three other GNAC players earned Top 10 rankings this
week. Anthony Golden of Northwest Nazarene is ranked
eighth in three-point field goals (3.6).
Ryan McWilliams will join the University of Alaska
Anchorage staff as assistant cross country and track & field
coach.
McWilliams, a former All-American who will work
primarily with the sprinters, multi-eventers and jumpers,
served as the graduate assistant for the Seawolves for two
seasons after competing for the Angelo State Rams from
2005 to 2009.
“We are excited with Ryan joining our staff,” said UAA
coach Michael Friess, “He has not only demonstrated the
ability to coach talented athletes, but his recruiting
knowledge will certainty help us move the program
forward.”
From Alpine, Texas, McWilliams registered six Top 10
finishes at the NCAAs, including three All-America honors
in the decathlon and two in the 110 hurdles.
The Rams' team captain ended his career with a runner-up
finish in the decathlon, seventh in the 110 hurdles and
fourth in the mile relay at the 2009 NCAA Div. II
Championships.
McWilliams graduated from ASU in 2009 with a major in
kinesiology and exercise science and is currently working
on a master's in public health at UAA.
one basket in PLU's first 12 shots. The Lutes second score
came on a layup by Kilcup with 13:13 left in the half.
A 16-1 SPU surge, that featured baskets from six different
players, extended the margin to 37-13 with 3:50 left until
halftime.
The Lutes started the second half with a 13-8 surge to draw
within 56-32. But after Potter capped the run on a jumper
with 16:07 left to play, they did not score again for the next
6:50.
Potter's layup with 9:17 remaining stopped a streak of 23
consecutive points that gave SPU a 79-32 advantage.
SPU shot 50 percent for the game (40 of 80) while holding
the Lutes to 29 percent (20 of 68).
Alaska Anchorage 62, St. Xavier 45
Monday, Dec. 19
Women's Basketball: Falcons Routs Pacific Lutheran
Betsy Kingma came off the bench to score a career-high 14
points as Seattle Pacific routed Pacific Lutheran 96-46
Monday at Brougham Pavilion.
Alaska Anchorage and Montana State Billings also posted
wins on the final day of action prior to the NCAAmandated (for Division II) one-week break (Dec. 20-26).
The Seawolves (10-2) outscored St. Xavier, Ill., 62-45 in
Honolulu, while the Yellowjackets (8-5) completed their
four-game Hawaii road trip with a 3-1 record defeating
BYU-Hawaii 67-54.
Simon Fraser (5-3) also completed its pre-Christmas
schedule losing in overtime to Grand Canyon 65-57.
Seattle Pacific's scoring output was its highest since a 9747 home victory over Alaska Fairbanks on Feb. 21, 2009.
SPU's bench players outscored their counterparts 55-8,
including a career-best 13 from Joani Reimer.
Reserve Suzanna Ohlsen matched her career-best scoring
total of 12 while starters Katie Benson and Nyesha Sims
tallied 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Sims recorded a double-double as her 10 boards helped the
Falcons out-rebound PLU 57-34.
The Lutes (3-5) were led by the 16 points of Samantha
Potter. Potter also had seven rebounds to tie Shelly Kilcup
for team honors.
Ten different players scored during the opening 20 minutes
for the Falcons, who built a 48-19 halftime advantage.
SPU (7-3) jumped out to a 13-2 lead on the strength of tight
defense that forced three early turnovers and yielded just
Hanna Johansson scored 15 points and Kaylie Robison had
a double-double to lift Alaska Anchorage to a 62-45 victory
over NAIA power St. Xavier in the Hoop 'N Surf Classic at
McKinley High School.
The Seawolves, ranked No. 10 in NCAA Div. II, overcame
a slow start to win their sixth straight game, getting a
career-high-tying 14 points from point guard Gritt Ryder as
well.
The Cougars (9-3), the No. 13 NAIA Div. I team in the
nation, were led by 12 points and eight rebounds of forward
Morgan Stuut.
UAA fell behind 22-15 midway through the first half, but
Ryder – a freshman from Denmark – gave the Seawolves a
spark with a three-pointer and a pair of free throws.
UAA's other Scandinavian, Swedish senior Hanna
Johansson, added a pair of quick layups to draw the
Seawolves within 26-24, and Alysa Horn gave UAA the
lead with a three-point play at the 3:15 mark.
The Seawolves led 32-28 at the half and came out of the
locker room with a dominating defensive effort.
UAA got rolling with a pair of layups from Robison to start
the second half with a 12-0 run, and the Cougars managed
to make just one field goal in the first 13 minutes of that
stanza.
The lead increased to 53-31 on another trey by Ryder at the
10-minute mark, and the opponents from Chicago would
not be able to make a run.
“This was a good test for us tonight against an excellent
team,” said UAA head coach Tim Moser. “The final score
was misleading because they really had us on the ropes in
the first half.
"I'm proud of how we bared down on defense after
halftime, which, in turn, really sparked our offense.”
Ryder shot four of six from the field, including two of four
on three-pointers, while Johansson was five of 11. Robison,
meanwhile, tallied her team-high fourth double-double of
the season with 11 points and 14 rebounds, grabbing eight
boards on the offensive end.
Point guard Sasha King had three of UAA's 13 steals, while
St. Xavier managed just two swipes as a team.
MSU Billings 67, BYU-Hawaii 54
Bobbi Knudsen and Kayleen Goggins each scored 17
points to lead Montana State Billings to a 13-point win over
BYU-Hawaii at Laie, Hawaii.
The Yellowjackets fell behind early 9-5, but then scored 24
unanswered points opening up a 20-point.
BYUH pulled back to within 35-19 at halftime and then
went on a 14-4 run to start the second half.
Simon Fraser was seven seconds away from a win in
regulation before Maylinn Smith hit two free throws to tie
the game at 50-50 and force the extra five minutes.
The Clan lost by 16 points to the same team on Sunday.
“We played a tight game against a top ranked team, in their
gym," SFU coach Bruce Langford said.
"They got to the free throw line 30 times (making 24) but
we still had a chance to win with seconds left in the game. I
think we played well."
Smith led all scorers in the contest with 22 including a
perfect 12 of 12 from the foul line. The Antelopes also got
13 points and 13 rebounds along with four steals from
Jallisa Butler. Joslynn Frazier chipped in with 10 points.
Erin Chambers led Simon Fraser with 11 points, while
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, Chelsea Reist and Kristina
Collins all netted 10 points. Raincock-Ekunwe also had 11
rebounds.
The Seasiders later closed to within three points off a layup
but Shayla Washington with 10:29 remaining, but the
Yellowjackets extended their lead back out to the final 13
points over the remaining minutes.
“We competed much better today,” said Langford. “We
were better on the offensive boards (grabbing 16 caroms),
and we handled screens better in the lane.
In addition to scoring 17 points, Knudsen also had seven
rebounds, a team-high five steals and four assists to tie
Brooke Tolman for the team lead in that category.
"They play a very physical style on defense and they
contest shots really well, that’s why they are one of the best
defensive teams in the country," Langford said.
MSUB controlled the backboards 56-40 as Janiel Olson had
10 and also had six fewer turnovers (19-25). That helped
offset a 32.9 shooting percentage (25-76) which included
four of 29 from the three-point line.
Grand Canyon limited Simon Fraser to a 30.2 shooting
percentage (19-63), including six of 30 from the three-point
line. SFU was just three of 12 shooting in the overtime.
Men's Basketball: Pendleton Powers Saints Past Lutes
Washington paced the Seasiders (1-8) with 21 points and
10 rebounds, while Brianna Jessop had 11 points and seven
rebounds.
“Overall, I think this was a good trip for us,” MSUB coach
Kevin Woodin stated. His team's only loss was a one-point
decision Sunday at Hilo in a game in which it was
outscored at the free throw line 21-2.
“To play four games in five days and come out 3-1 (is a
good accomplishment). . .it was very physically exhausting
but good for our young players, especially ending with this
win. After some good rest over the holiday break, we will
be ready to jump into conference play.”
Grand Canyon 65, Simon Fraser 57
Grand Canyon made three of five shots and nine of 12 free
throws in outscoring Simon Fraser 15-7 in overtime in an
eight-point win at Phoenix to complete a sweep of a twogame series.
Neither team led by more than six points until the
Antelopes went on a 7-0 run in the final minute of overtime
to open up a 10-point lead at 65-55.
Brok Pendleton scored 10 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and
blocked six shots to power Saint Martin's to a 69-52 win
over Pacific Lutheran Monday at Marcus Pavilion.
The Saints (5-6) shot 65.4 percent in the first half (17-26)
in building a 35-24 lead at the break and didn't cool off
much in the second half converting on 15 of 28 to finish
with a 59.3 percentage (32-54).
It was the second time in three outings SMU has made 32
of 54 shots. They had identical shooting numbers Friday
against Grand Canyon.
Pendleton was one of three players to score in double
figures. Roger O'Neill led the way with 17 points on eight
of 14 shooting and Jeremy Green made eight of 12 netting
16 points.
Ryan Votaw scored nine points and had five assists, while
Brady Bomber had team highs of six assists and four steals.
James Conti was the only player in double figures for
Pacific Lutheran (4-5) with 13 points. The Saints held the
Lutes to a 33.9 shooting percentage (20-59).
Sunday, Dec. 18
Hawaii Hilo 49, MSU Billings 48
Men's Basketball: Cougars Snap WOU Streak At Nine
Hillary Hurley made two foul shots to give Hawaii Hilo (45) its only lead of the game with 55 seconds to go and the
Vulcans then held on to beat Montana State Billings (7-5).
Marcus Capers had nine points to lead Washington State to
a 66-42 victory against Western Oregon Sunday at
Pullman's Beasley Coliseum before a crowd of 2,318.
Western Oregon trailed by just three points at intermission,
but made only four of 23 second-half field goals as WSU
used a 20-5 run in the second half to put away the Wolves
and snap their nine-game winning streak.
The 'Jackets had two opportunities in the final minute, but
Kalli Stanhope missed a trey with 47 seconds left and
Bobbi Knudsen missed a deuce with 15 ticks left.
MSUB never trailed up to that point after leaping to a 9-0
lead. The Yellowjackets' biggest lead was 25-13 with 4:57
left in the first period. At halftime, Billings led 30-23.
WSU (7-4), which has won five straight, enjoyed a 36-28
rebounding advantage and outscored Western Oregon 2414 in the paint. Charlie Enquist had eight points and six
rebounds for the Cougars.
Hurley finished with 13 points, converting on nine of 10
foul shots. UHH's Jameia McDuffie scored 12 points and
Kirsten Shimizu had 11.
Kris White scored 13 points for the Wolves, making six of
nine shots. White also had seven rebounds.
Knudsen paced MSUB with 14 points and Annie DePuydt
came off the bench to score 10.
For the game, Western Oregon made only 12 of 46 shots
(26.1 percent). The Cougars cashed in on 50 percent of
their shots (22-44), including nine of 22 three-pointers.
Eleven different players scored for WSU.
However, the Yellowjackets were outscored from the foul
line 21-2 by the Vulcans offsetting a MSUB 24-6
advantage on three-point shots.
Even with the loss Western Oregon is off to a 9-2 start, its
best since the 1982-83 season when it finished 26-6.
Hawaii Pacific 69, Western Oregon 45
Women's Basketball: Clan Loses At Grand Canyon
Mana Hopkins led five players in double figures with 15
points and Hawaii Pacific held Western Oregon to a 26.9
shooting percentage (14-52).
Maylinn Smith scored 13 of her 17 points in the first half as
Grand Canyon handed Simon Fraser a 64-48 loss in the
first game of a two-game series at Phoenix Sunday.
The Sea Warriors (6-4) got 12 points from three players Taiyande Huskey, Melody Ladrido and Mikela Thoemmes
and 11 from Paris Gravely.
GNAC teams also lost a pair of games in Hawaii as Hawaii
Hilo edged Montana State Billings 49-48 and Hawaii
Pacific disposed of Western Oregon 69-45.
Hopkins made seven of 12 shots and Ladrido and
Thoemmes each made four of seven as HPU converted on
25 of 52.
Grand Canyon (7-1) opened up its first double-digit lead at
27-16 with 5:31 remaining in the first half and except for a
27-second period early in the second half led by 10 or more
points the remainder of the way.
Jade Haas paced Western Oregon (3-9) with 12 points and
a game-high eight rebounds, but WOU fell to 1-9 in nonconference games.
The Antelopes limited SFU (5-2) to a 29.8 shooting
percentage (17-57), outrebounded the Clan 43-37 and had
four fewer turnovers (16-20). SFU was just three of 18
from the arc.
"We struggled shooting the ball all day," SFU assistant
coach Courtney Gerwing said. "They played aggressively
on defense and that had us on our heels a little bit.
Rylee Peterson, who had eight points, was the only other
WOU player with more than five points.
The Wolves outrebounded HPU 41-32, but had nine more
turnovers (23-14) and made just one of 14 three-point
shots.
Saturday, Dec. 17
Men's Basketball: Wolves Win Streak at Nine
"There was a point midway through the second half where
we were doing a great job defensively, but we couldn’t cut
into their lead because we weren’t making our shots.”
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe accounted for a large share of the
SFU offense, scoring 20 points and hauling in 16 rebounds.
Kristina Collins had 11 points and a game-high five assists.
Kolton Nelson made all four of his first-half shots and
finished with 19 points and Western Oregon led wire-towire in defeating Notre Dame de Namur 77-60 for its ninth
consecutive win Saturday at Belmont, Calif.
Simon Fraser (5-5) and Alaska Anchorage (7-2) also
recorded easy wins. The Clan disposed of Kwantlen (B.C.)
87-39 and the Seawolves outscored Lincoln Christian 9556 for their seventh consecutive win.
Meanwhile, Saint Martin's (4-6) lost to Dixie State 77-60 at
Phoenix. In an exhibition game, Montana State Billings
thumped its Alumni 104-82.
Nelson, who made eight of 10 shots for the game, scored
10 points in the first half as Western Oregon jumped to a
17-5 lead and led 36-22 at the break.
The Argonauts clawed back to within five points midway
through the second half (50-45), but WOU got a bucket by
Nelson and a three-pointer by Brian McGill and NDNU
never got closer than eight the remainder of the way.
In addition to Nelson, WOU (9-1), which plays Washington
State in Pullman Sunday, was also led by Blair Wheadon
with 14 points and Kyle Long with 13. James Gehring had
eight points and eight rebounds.
Wesley White led the Argonauts (3-6) with 15 points, 10
rebounds and seven blocked shots. Micah Dunhour had 11
points and Tyler Fricke had 10.
Dixie State 77, Saint Martin's 60
Dixie State, which reached the West Regional
championship game last season, opened up a 20-point
halftime lead on the way to a 77-60 win over the Saints.
McKay Massey led the Red Storm (6-3) with 19 points and
eight rebounds. Dixie also got 16 points from Griffon Jones
and 14 each from Dalton Groskreutz and Steven Larson.
Jeremy Green led the Saints (4-6) with 19 points and six
rebounds. Brady Bomber and Brok Pendleton each had 10
points for the Saints. Bomber also had seven assists and
four steals.
Dixie made 19 of 33 first-half shots compared to eight of
26 by the Saints in building their big lead. They also
dominated the backboards outrebounding SMU 40-24.
Massey made seven of eight shots, including all three of his
treys. Groskreutz converted on five of seven. For the game,
Dixie outshot SMU 52.6 percent (30-57) to 40.0 percent
(22-55).
MSU Billings 104, Alumni 82
Simon Fraser 87, Kwantlen 39
Javari Williams, who missed Simon Fraser's last game,
came off the bench to score 19 points and grab seven
rebounds to lead the Clan to a 48-point home victory.
Williams also had three assists and three steals as the Clan
evened their overall record at 5-5.
SFU also got 17 points from Justin Brown, 12 from Jordan
Sergent and 11 from Matt Ravio. Sergent and Ibrahim
Appiah each had 11 rebounds as SFU doubled up Kwantlen
62-30 on the backboards.
Kwantlen was led by Steven Adusei with 13 points and six
steals, though he made just two of 12 shots and had nine
turnovers.
Alaska Anchorage 95, Lincoln Christian 56
Taylor Rohde scored a game-high 24 points and also had
12 rebounds earning his second double-double in as many
nights and his third of the season in leading the Seawolves
to a two-game sweep of Lincoln Christian.
Steve White and Marcus Jackson added 15 apiece and
Colton Lauwers netted 14.
UAA guard Travis Thompson recorded 12 assists - his
second double-digit assist total in three games.
LCU was led by the trio of Mark Hamm (14 points), Chris
Lawson (13 points) and Brady Cremeens (13 points).
UAA outrebounded LCU 45-26 and the Seawolves shot
49.3 percent (35-71).
Robert Mayes registered a double-double of 19 points and
10 rebounds and David Arnold had 11 points and 10 assists
leading Montana State Billings past its Alumni.
Taylor Stevens was also productive with 17 points and five
boards, while Antoine Proctor and Preston Richards each
had 12 points and Jaxon Myaer scored 10. Proctor nearly
had a double-double of his own as he tallied nine boards.
The Yellowjackets connected on 46.4 percent (39-84) of
their shots from the floor and were hot from the arc during
the second half as they hit seven of 14 three-pointers and
went 14 for 31 for the game. MSUB forced 23 turnovers
and held a 51-38 advantage on the battle for the boards.
The Alumni team got a 26-point performance from Mark
Hamilton and a 21-point day from Jerett Skrifvars.
Skrifvars also led the Alumni with seven rebounds, while
Brian Cook ended his day in double figures with 10 points.
Women's Basketball: Crusaders Score 107 In Win
Briaunna King posted a game-high double-double of 21
points and 13 rebounds to lead Northwest Nazarene to a
107-44 non-conference victory over Walla Walla Saturday
night at the Johnson Sports Center.
Western Oregon, meanwhile, earned a 86-69 victory over
BYU-Hawaii in Hawaii as Rylee Peterson led the way with
24 points.
King led seven of nine active NNU players into doublefigure scoring as the Crusaders (7-3) entered triple-digits
for the first time this year and scored their highest point
total since Nov. 21, 2008 in a 106-69 victory over Cascade
College.
Megan Hingston was right behind King with a 19 point, 11
rebound double-double and Heather Adams scored 13 and
matched Monica Garcia with a game-high nine
assists. Garcia, playing in her first game of the season, also
scored nine points.
Falissa Smith scored 12 points and also had four assists,
Chelsie Luke added 11 points and both Vanessa Schindler
and Alla Dzhidzhiyeshvili netted 10 points.
Walla Walla (0-15) was led by Karly Joseph with 20 points
that included a 10 for 10 effort from the free throw line.
NNU outrebounded Walla Walla 60-33 and shot 47.9
percent (45-94) from the field and eight of 17 (47.1
percent) from the three-point line.
Paced by Adams and Garcia, the Crusaders dished out a
season-high 22 assists against a season-low six
turnovers. Smith's four steals were part of a 16-steal effort.
Western Oregon 86, BYU-Hawaii 69
The Wolves (3-8) earned their first non-conference win in
eight contests as Peterson made 10 of 18 shots, including
four of seven three-point shots.
Joining Peterson in double figures was Jade Haas with 16
points, Lorrie Clifford with 13, Dijana Topalovic with 11
and Melissa Fowler with 10.
Taylor Mann led the Seasiders (1-7) with 17 points, while
Shayla Washington had 16 points and Danna Lynn Hooper
tallied 12 points.
on its four-game visit to the islands and extend its win
streak to four games.
WWU forward Sydney Donaldson had 14 points and a
game-high 10 rebounds. Erica Groose led Drury with 20
points on seven of 10 field-goal shooting.
Drury led 12-10 eight minutes into the contest, but the
Vikings held the Panthers without a field goal for more
than six minutes, opening up a 19-13 advantage.
Drury later pulled to within two (26-24) before WWU
closed the half with a 9-2 run for a 35-26 lead at the break.
The Panthers climbed to within six (35-29) on a Casey
Carroll three-pointer in the opening minute of the second
half, but never got that close again, and the margin
remained in double digits over the last 15 minutes.
Carroll finished with 14 points and was six of eight from
the floor, but outside of Carroll and Groose, the rest of the
Panthers were just seven of 37 as Drury shot 34.5 percent
(20-58) from the field.
Joining Schramm on the all-tournament team were
Donaldson and Trishi Williams of WWU, Courtney Harper
of Central Oklahoma, Jessica VanDyke of Central
Washington and Bethanie Funderburk of Drury.
Williams had six points and six assists in Friday's game
after contributing 12 points and seven rebounds on
Thursday.
Central Oklahoma 77, Central Washington 66
Haas had a solid overall game also grabbing a game-high
10 rebounds as WOU won the boards 38-30. She also had
game-highs for assists (6) and steals (6).
Central Oklahoma shot nearly 60 percent from the field in
the second half to break open a close contest and defeat
Central Washington.
The Wolves forced BYU-Hawaii into 31 turnovers (12
more than WOU) and had 16 steals, including three each by
Clifford and Peterson.
Sophie Russell came off the bench to lead the Wildcats (36) with a game-high 19 points, and forward Jessica Van
Dyke added 15. Guard Britney Morgan led the Bronchos
(9-4) with 18 points.
Friday, Dec. 16
Women's Basketball: Western Washington Wins LV
Title
Tournament MVP Kristin Schramm scored a career-high
24 points leading Western Washington to a 76-57 win over
Drury (Mo.) in the sixth annual Great Western Shootout at
The Arena at South Point Friday.
The Vikings (7-3) won the Las Vegas tournament
championship for the second straight year extending their
tournament win streak to five games.
CWU never led, but the score was tied six times, the final
one at 47-47 with 12:35 to go.
The Bronchos then went on a 12-3 run, with Autumn
Huffman and Heather Davis each scoring six points, to
open up a 59-50 advantage with 8:37 left. The Wildcats
never got closer than six points after that.
Huffman finished with 13 points and seven rebounds for
UCO, which shot 58.6 percent (17-29) from the field in the
second half, including five of nine on three-pointers.
Both Drury and Central Oklahoma, which defeated Central
Washington 77-66 Friday, had 1-1 tourney marks.
Central Oklahoma center Courtney Harper, starting in place
of leading scorer Paiten Taylor, who was injured early in
Thursday's contest, had 15 points and seven rebounds.
In a non-tournament game in Hawaii, Montana State
Billings (7-4) defeated Chaminade 84-76 to improve to 2-0
Guard Alex Dunn had 10 points and five assists for CWU,
which shot just 35.3 percent (24-68) from the field.
Montana State Billings 84, Chaminade 76
Kayleen Goggins scored 18 points to lead five players in
double figures as the Yellowjackets kept Chaminade
winless in six contests.
Goggins made six of 10 shots from inside the arc and also
converted on six of eight free throws.
MSUB was also led by Janiel Olson with 12 points and
eight rebounds. Three players - Bobbi Knudsen, Annie
DePuydt and Kabri Emerson - each had 11 points.
Jordan Ahakuelo led Chaminade with 17 points, 11
rebounds, five assists and three steals. The Silverswords
also got 15 points from Glacen Florita and Rhani
Kaneaiakala and 13 from Nikki Tauau.
The game was tied five times in the first half and three
more in the second half before MSUB took the lead for
good at 46-44 on a basket by Quinn Peoples with 14:06
left.
The 'Jackets eventually stretched their lead to 14 points
(77-63) on two free throws by Peoples, who ended up with
eight points, with 1:18 left.
Men's Basketball: CWU Beats No. 10 Rollins 88-80
Magee hit five of nine shots including two of three treys.
He also made eight of nine foul shots including five of six
in the final 36 seconds.
Jordan Coby made five of 12 three-point shots and led the
Wildcats in both points (15) and assists (6).
Point guard Lacy Haddock had 13 points and five assists
and center Kevin Davis had 12 points, six rebounds and all
three of CWU's blocks.
Central led by just one (63-62) with under nine minutes to
play, but went on a 13-5 run that included a trio of threepointers - by Trey Gross, Magee and Philipp Lieser - to go
ahead 76-67 with 6:27 remaining.
Rollins, which was outrebounded by the Wildcats 37-33,
never got closer than four points after that. CWU reserve
Jody Johnson grabbed a game-high 13 caroms.
CWU's Davis and Rollins' Malcolm were named to the alltournament team.
Zane Campbell of Alabama Huntsville was named
tournament MVP, and was joined on the all-tournament
team by teammates Jaime Smith and Josh
Magette. Forward Zach Henifin of Western Washington
also earned all-tournament honors.
]
Brandon Magee came off the bench to lead a balanced
attack with 20 points as Central Washington topped Rollins
(Fla.) 88-80 in the final game of the sixth annual Great
Western Shootout at The Arena at South Point Friday.
Alabama-Huntsville 77, Western Washington 74
Earlier Western Washington lost a nail biter to AlabamaHuntsville 77-74.
The Vikings (11-2), who had a nine-game win streak
snapped, got 19 points each from Henifin and guard Rico
Wilkins and forward Rory Blanche added 11 points and a
game-high 14 rebounds.
In other games Friday, Saint Martin's snapped Grand
Canyon's five-game win streak defeating the Antelopes 7869 at Phoenix, Montana State Billings cruised to a 82-66
home win over Dickinson State and Alaska Anchorage won
its sixth straight game crushing Lincoln Christian 116-67 at
the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
Both the Wildcats and Vikings finished the tournament at
Las Vegas with 1-1 records with wins over No. 10 Rollins
and losses to No. 18 Alabama Huntsville.
CWU lost to UAH 85-75 Thursday. Ironically that was the
exact score they lost to Rollins last year in this same
tournament.
Rollins, which came into the tournament with a perfect 7-0
record, was led by center Chris Malcolm with 28 points.
The Tars also got 18 points from Jeremy Sharpe and 12
from Myk Brown.
CWU countered with four players in double figures and got
43 points from its bench, including Magee's 20. The Tar
bench produced just six points.
Campbell had a game-high 27 points and added seven
rebounds leading Alabama-Huntsville to a three-point win
and the tournament title.
UAH's Smith had 20 points as he combined with Campbell
for all but 30 of his teams points. The Vikings held a 41-40
lead at halftime but never led after that. They did, however,
have opportunities to tie or lead in the final minute.
Trailing by two (76-74) with 17 seconds left, WWU turned
the ball over, but after UAH's Xavier Baldwin made one of
two free throws, the Vikings' Richard Woodworth and
Henifin each had potential game-tying three-pointers go
awry in the final five seconds.
WWU had a 35-25 advantage in rebounds, but shot only
44.1 percent (26-59) from the field, its third-lowest mark of
the season. UAH shot 50 percent (22-44) from the floor.
Campbell made nine of 14.
Saint Martin's 78, Grand Canyon 69
Brok Pendleton, Roger O'Neill and Jeremy Green
combined for 65 of Saint Martin's 78 points as the Saints
defeated Grand Canyon 78-69 Friday snapping the
Antelopes five-game win streak and handing them their
first loss in their new arena.
free throws by Mayes keyed a 7-0 run to put them back on
top 41-36.
Pendleton scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the first
half, while O'Neill tallied 15 of his 23 points in the second
period. Green chipped in with 16 points.
The Jackets steadily built a double digit lead going ahead
57-45 with 8:57 remaining. MSUB extended that lead to 20
points (73-53) at the 5:08 mark before settling for a 16point win.
All three players had eight rebounds, a number also
produced for assists by Brady Bomber.
The Saints, who led for all but 59 seconds but never by
more than 11 points, made a season-high 59.3 percent of
their shots (32-54) eclipsing the 50 percent mark for the
third time in its last four outings.
Pendleton converted on 12 of 17 chances, while O'Neill
made eight of 11 and Green connected on seven of 12.
Meanwhile, the Saints held the Antelopes to a 39.3
percentage (24-61), including four of 17 from the arc.
SMU, which led 39-35 at halftime before opening up a 4837 lead early in the second period, was just two of eight on
treys. The Saints also led 50-39 and 52-41 and never let
GCU get closer than six the rest of the way.
Montana State Billings 82, Dickinson State 66
Jaxon Myaer scored 14 points on five of 10 shooting to
lead five players in double figures as the Yellowjackets (64) posted a 16-point victory at Alterowitz Gym.
MSU Billings also got 12 points from Robert Mayes, 11
points from Preston Richards and Taylor Stevens and 10
from David Arnold.
Richards, who made five of seven shots, also had nine
rebounds as MSUB controlled the backboards 40-33.
John Hanstad paced Dickinson State with 15 points, while
Jarek Hansen scored 14 and Casper Hiesseldahl netted 11
points.
MSUB's defense forced Dickinson into 27 turnovers and
Mayes had a GNAC season-high seven steals equaling the
fourth highest total in conference history. Its the 17th time
a GNAC player has had seven steals in a game.
“I was happy with our energy defensively," first-year head
coach Jamie Stevens said.
MSUB also connected on 12 of 27 three-points shots and
had 22 assists, including four by Chase Richards.
Dickinson State took their first lead of the game at 22-21
with 6:04 remaining in the half on a three from Hansen.
The Jackets quickly answered as they ended the half on an
11-6 run, including four points and a blocked shot by
Mayes.
MSUB led 32-28 at the break but fell behind 36-34 early in
the second half until a basket by Preston Richards and three
Alaska Anchorage 116, Lincoln Christian 67
Taylor Rohde paced six Alaska Anchorage players in
double figures with 25 points to lead the Seawolves to a 49point home win over Lincoln Christian.
Thanks to the inside play of Rohde and the the three-point
shooting of Travis Thompson and Kyle Fossman, the
Seawolves had run out to a 28-4 lead by the 11:28 mark of
the first half and were never headed.
The 6-foot-9 Rohde also added a game-high 12 rebounds to
post his second double-double on the season and lead UAA
to a dominating 55-19 rebound advantage over the Red
Lions, whose tallest player is 6-4.
UAA's Phillip Hearn added a career-high nine boards. The
rebound margin was the Seawolves' fourth-largest in
program history.
Thompson finished with 19 points making four of eight
treys for the Seawolves. Other double-figure scorers for
UAA included Marcus Jackson with 15, Liam Gibcus 14,
Fossman 13 and Chris Weitzel 12. Fossman converted on
five of seven shots, three of four from the arc.
Lincoln Christian was led Chris Lawson and Mark Hamm
who tallied 17 and 16 points respectively.
UAA shot 59.2 percent from the field (45-76) and dished
out 32 assists, led by Jackson's six.
Thursday, Dec. 15
Men's Basketball: Vikings Knock Off No. 10 Rollins
Forward Zach Henifin had 18 points, 10 rebounds, four
assists and four steals leading Western Washington to an
80-61 victory over previously unbeaten Rollins Thursday at
the sixth annual Great Western Shootout.
In the nightcap at The Arena at South Point in Las Vegas,
Alabama - Huntsville defeated Central Washington 85-75.
Guard John Allen had game-highs of 20 points and five
assists for WWU, which won its ninth straight game to
improve to 11-1.
Rollins (7-1), ranked No.10 in the NABC NCAA Division
II Top 25, was led by forward Dave Diakite with 14 points.
The Vikings, who never led in an 80-70 loss to Rollins at
the 2010 GWS, outscored the Tars 17-2 in a five-minute
span to open up a 22-7 advantage with 12:22 left in the first
half.
close again, and the margin was never in single digits in the
final seven minutes.
Henifin and Allen each had six points in the run. Henifin
ignited it with a driving dunk and Allen capped it off with
back-to-back three-pointers.
Women's Basketball: Second-Half Burst Keys WWU
Win
WWU, which hit seven of 13 first half three-point attempts,
held a 38-28 lead at the break.
Western Washington used a burst early in the second half
to break open a tight game and defeat Central Oklahoma
69-53 Thursday in Game 2 of the sixth annual Great
Western Shootout .
The Vikings then broke the game completely open early in
the second half, running off 10 straight points for a 62-38
lead with 12:26 to play. The margin was never less than 15
points after that.
Drury won the opening game defeating Central Washington
70-67 at The Arena at South Point in Las Vegas.
Forward Rory Blanche had 12 points for WWU, which had
a 39-30 advantage in rebounds and shot 50.0 percent (1428) on treys.
The triumph was the third for the Vikings over a nationally
ranked opponent this season, having already notched
victories over No.3 BYU-Hawaii and No.19 Seattle Pacific.
The 80 WWU points were the most allowed by Rollins this
season and the 61 points scored by the Tars were just one
better than their previous low.
Alabama-Huntsville 85, Central Washington 75
Guard Josh Magette had game highs of 26 points and nine
assists leading 18th ranked Alabama-Huntsville to a 10point win over Central Washington.
The Chargers (7-2) also got 15 points and eight assists from
Jaime Smith, 14 points and 10 rebounds from Zane
Campbell and 11 points from Srdjan Boskovic.
Forward Kevin Davis led the Wildcats (6-3) with 21 points
and a game-high 14 rebounds, and guard Lacy Haddock
added 14 points. Also in double figures were Jordan Coby
with 11 points and Jody Johnson with 10.
UAH scored the first nine points of the game - taking
advantage of a technical foul on the CWU bench just 38
seconds into the contest - and led by as much as 13 before
settling for a 47-40 lead at the break.
The Chargers shot 60.6 percent (20-33) from the field in
the opening period led by Magette who made five of seven
shots and was also credited with seven assists.
Central rallied in the early stages of the second half taking
its only lead of the game (56-54) on a basket by Johnson
with 12:48 to play.
But UAH then went on a 12-1 run, scoring on six of eight
possessions and opening up a 66-57 lead with 9:22
remaining.
The Wildcats, who made only 11 of 25 free throws, pulled
to within seven (68-61) with 8:12 to go, but never got that
Meanwhile, Montana State Billings opened up a four-game
trip in Hawaii by defeating Hawaii Pacific 72-69.
Freshman forward Sydney Donaldson and guard Trishi
Williams each had 12 points for Western Washington (6-3),
which handed Central Oklahoma just its fourth loss in 12
starts.
Neither team led by more than four points until the dying
moments of the first half, when WWU closed the period
with five straight points to take a 34-28 halftime lead.
The Vikings then blew the game open early in the second
half, starting the period with a 22-6 run in the first seven
minutes to take a 56-34 lead. The margin was never less
than 14 points after that.
Both teams played most of the game without one of its
starters. Central Oklahoma lost freshman center Paiten
Taylor, who entered the game as the Bronchos' leading
scorer and second-leading rebounder, early with an
apparent knee injury. Erika Ramstead played just six
minutes for the Vikings.
In addition to Donaldson and Williams, guards Katie
Colard and Kristin Schramm scored in double figures for
the Vikings with 11 and 10 points. Chelsi Dennis paced the
Bronchos with 13 points.
The Vikings held the Bronchos to 27.5 percent (19-69)
field-goal shooting and had a 55-39 advantage in rebounds,
with center Britt Harris grabbing a game-high 12 and
Donaldson having eight.
The 53 points were a season low for Central Oklahoma,
which came into the contest averaging 81.5 points a game
and had been held below 70 just twice previously this
season.
WWU blocked a season-high seven shots. Donaldson, who
was six of eight from the floor, Sarah Hill and Kayla
Bernsen each had two.
Drury 70, Central Washington 67
Guard Bethanie Funderburk had a game-high 25 points, 18
of them in the first half, and also had six assists and five
steals, leading Drury to a three-point victory over Central
Washington.
Jessica Van Dyke led the Wildcats (3-5) with 20 points and
eight rebounds, going five of nine from three-point range.
Central, which trailed by as much as 11 in the first half and
was down eight (37-29) at halftime, rallied to tie the game
at 51-51 on a Kelsi Jacobson three-pointer with 10:39 to
play.
But Drury got a layin and free throw from Casey Carroll
and a layin by Kylie Williamson to regain a lead it held the
rest of the way.
The margin was never more than eight after that, and the
Wildcats had three possessions while trailing by three in
the final minute.
CWU, however, missed a two-pointer, had a charging foul
and then failed to get off a shot after gaining possession
with 13 seconds left.
Abby Bracker had 14 points and five steals for Drury,
which missed four straight foul shots in the final minute.
Drury shot 52.9 percent (27-51) from the field including six
of 11 on treys.
Courtney Johnson and Melanie Valdez each finished with
10 points for the Wildcats. Valdez also notched six assists.
Central took a 10-3 lead to begin the game, but Drury
responded with a 20-4 charge, grabbing a 23-14 advantage
with 8:32 left in the first half and eventually opened up a
37-26 margin in the final minute of the period.
MSU Billings 72, Hawaii Pacific 69
Bobbi Knudsen scored all 17 of her points in the second
half including a free throw with 29 seconds left to snap a
69-69 tie as MSU Billings overcame a five-point deficit
with 3 1/2 minutes left to beat Hawaii Pacific.
In addition to Knudsen's 17 points, MSUB also got 15
points from Quinn Peoples and 11 from Stanhope. Knudsen
also had five assists. Janiel Olson had nine rebounds.
Hawaii Pacific was led by Mana Hopkins with 21 points,
while Skye Savini had 14 points, eight rebounds and six
assists. Mikela Thoemmes had 11 points and nine
rebounds.
HPU outrebounded MSUB 42-32, but the Yellowjackets
made 10 of 27 treys, including four of 10 by Peoples
outscoring the Sea Warriors 30-12 from the three-point
line.
Wednesday, Dec. 14
Women's Basketball: UAA Completes Sweep of CUH
Forward Kaylie Robison had 16 points and 12 rebounds
Wednesday powering Alaska Anchorage to a 91-47 win
against Chaminade in a NCAA Division II West Regional
game at McCabe Gymnasium.
In Wednesday's only other game played in San Francisco,
Academy of the Art defeated Saint Martin's 67-62.
The Seawolves (9-2) earned their fifth straight win and a
sweep of the two-game road series with the Silverswords.
UAA won Tuesday's game 100-45.
The Seawolves jumped to a 14-0 start however Chaminade
used a 7-0 run to pull within 18-13. UAA took control at
that point, however, and went into halftime ahead 45-20.
Along with Robison's third double-double of the season,
UAA also got 16 points from guard Haley Holmstead, 13
apiece from guard Bruna Deichmann and center Hanna
Johansson and 11 points from forward Tijera Mathews.
Johansson just missed her fourth double-double of the
season with nine rebounds, while Mathews finished with
six rebounds and four steals.
The Yellowjackets led by 15 points (34-19) with 4:45 left
in the first period before the Sea Warriors scored the final
eight points of the period.
Four of UAA's five starters shot better than 50 percent from
the field, with Deichmann finishing six of eight, Holmstead
six of nine, Robison seven of 12 and Johansson six of 11.
HPU continued its comeback after the intermission tying
MSUB at 41-41 and eventually going ahead 63-58 before
Knudsen got a layup at 3:02 and a trey at 2:39 to tie it at
63-63.
UAA outshot Chaminade 55.2 percent (37-67) to 28.8
percent (15-52) and won the rebounding battle 50-24.
Chaminade, which remained winless in five games, was led
in scoring by Jordan Ahakuelo with 10 points.
The game was also tied at 65-65 and 67-67 and again at 6969 on a layup by Knudsen with 54 seconds left. After a
HPU miss, Knudsen converted one of two free throws to
put her team ahead by a point.
Academy of Art 67, Saint Martin's 62
A Hawaii Pacific turnover then set up Kalli Stanhope for
two clinching free throws with five seconds left.
Lorraine Etchell scored 11 of her game-high 16 points in
the second half as Academy of Art (4-4) rallied from a 10point deficit early in the second period to defeat Saint
Martin's (6-6) and even the season records for both teams.
Both squads enjoyed double-digit leads in the contest.
AAU jumped to a 13-3 lead before the Saints bounced back
to go ahead 36-28 at the break.
After SMU scored the first basket after intermission for a
38-28 advantage, the Urban Knights bounced back and
used a 9-0 run to go ahead 58-49 with 5:24 left.
The Saints still trailed by eight points with 25 seconds left
before Megan Teade hit a deuce with 15 seconds left and a
trey with six ticks remaining to climb within three points.
Devin London then clinched the win with two foul shots.
In addition to Etchell, Academy of Art was paced by
Jordan Rogers with 11 points. Nicol Biesek and Ariel Dale
scored eight each. Teade led the Saints with 13 points and
Jordyn Richardson scored 10.
Saint Martin's shot just 32.8 percent in the contest (20-61)
and made only four of 17 three-pointers. The Saints were
also outrebounded 43-28.
Women's Soccer: SPU Places Three On All-Region
Team
Led by GNAC Player-of-the-Year Kelsey Jenkins, Seattle
Pacific placed three players on the National Soccer
Coaches Association of America NCAA Division II West
Region first team all-star team.
Joining the SPU midfielder on the first team were Falcon
forward Morgan Lindsay and defender Josie Graybeal.
Jenkins and Lindsay were earlier named to the Daktronics
first team selected by the region's sports information
directors.
SPU also earned one slot on the second team - forward
Kellie Zakrzewski.
Men's Soccer: Simon Fraser Dominates All-Region
Team
Western Washington placed four players on the second
team - midfielder Justina MacDowell, defenders Alicia
Patten and Emily Warman and goalkeeper Jamie Arthurs.
Simon Fraser dominated the National Soccer Coaches
Association of America NCAA Division II West Region
all-star team announced this week earning five of the 11
first-team positions.
Central Washington and Montana State Billings each had
one second team and two third team picks. Named to the
second team were CWU forward Carson McKole and
MSUB defender Jennifer Larsen.
Simon Fraser players named to the first team were forward
Carlo Basso, midfielder Josh Bennett, defenders Matt
Besuschko and Max Baessato and goalkeeper Sheldon
Steenhuis.
Third team picks were forwards Heidi Greenback of MSUB
and Amy Pate of CWU and defenders Whitney Siler of
MSUB and Hilary Franks of CWU.
Seattle Pacific placed two players on the first team forward Tyler Schultz and defender Jon Pearman. Basso
and Schultz earlier were voted the GNAC Co-Players of the
Year, while Pearman was selected the GNAC Defender-ofthe-Year.
Pearman and Schultz earned their second all-region
selection. They were also named to the Daktronics team
selected by the region's sports information directors.
Two GNAC players - Simon Fraser defender Anthony
DiNicolo and Seattle Pacific goalkeeper Zach Johnson were selected to the NSCAA second team.
NSCAA (Coaches): First Team - Carlo Basso, SFU (F, 6-4, So.,
Coquitlam, BC); Tyler Schultz, SPU (M, 5-11, Sr., Scottsdale, AZ);
Josh Bennett, SFU (M, 5-8, Sr., Hamilton, Ontario); Jon Pearman,
SPU (D, 6-2, Jr., Glendale, AZ); Matt Besuschko, SFU (D, 5-10,
So., Port Moody, BC); Max Baessato, SFU (D, 6-0, Jr., North
Vancouver, BC); Sheldon Steenhuis, SFU (GK, 6-0, Jr., Morgan
Hill, CA). Second Team - Anthony DiNicolo, SFU (D, 5-10, Sr.,
Maple Ridge, BC); Zach Johnson, SPU (GK, 6-3, Jr., Snohomish,
WA). Daktronics (SIDs): Player-of-the-Year – Tyler Schultz,
SPU (M, 5-11, Sr., Scottsdale, AZ). First Team – Zach Johnson,
SPU (GK, 6-3, Jr., Snohomish, WA); Jon Pearman, SPU (D, 6-2,
Jr., Glendale, AZ); Tyler Schultz, SPU (M, Sr., Scottsdale, AZ).
NSCAA (Coaches): First Team - Morgan Lindsay, SPU (F, Jr.,
Spokane, WA); Kelsey Jenkins, SPU (M, Sr., Kent, WA); Josie
Graybeal, SPU (D, So., Gig Harbor, WA). Second Team - Kellie
Zakrzewski, SPU (F, So., Cheney, WA); Carson McKole, CWU (F,
Jr., Oak Harbor, WA); Justina MacDowell, WWU (M, Sr.,
Bellevue, WA); Jennifer Larsen, MSUB (D, Sr., Mesa, AZ); Alicia
Patten, WWU (D, Sr., Seattle, WA); Emily Warman, WWU (D, Sr.,
Sedro-Woolley, WA); Jamie Arthurs, WWU (GK, Jr., Richland,
WA). Third Team - Heidi Greenback, MSUB (F, So., Woodinville,
WA); Amy Pate, CWU (F, Sr., Federal Way, WA);Whitney Siler,
MSUB (D, So., Monroe, WA); Hilary Franks, CWU (D, Sr.,
Yakima, WA). Daktronics (SIDs): First Team – Taylor Sawyer,
SPU (D, 5-5, Jr., Gig Harbor, WA); Kelsey Jenkins, SPU (M, 5-8,
Sr., Kent, WA); Meghan Lindsay, SPU (F, 5-7, Jr., Spokane, WA);
Jaucelyn Richter, MSUB (F, 5-5, Jr., Billings, MT). Second Team
– Alicia Patten, WWU (D, 5-9, Sr., Seattle, WA); Jamie Arthurs,
WWU (GK, 5-8, Jr., Richland, WA).
Football: WOU's Bryce Peila Daktronics All-American
Western Oregon defensive back Bryce Peila has been
named to the Daktronics NCAA Division II All-American
second team.
Peila was the lone GNAC player selected to the Daktronics
team by the nation's sports information directors.
Peila (6-1, 200, Jr., Central Point, Ore. - Crater HS) ranked
third in Division II this season with nine interceptions and
set a GNAC record with 243 return yards.
He finished the season with 58 tackles (31 solo) and 13
passes defended. Peila ranks second in league history with
15 career interceptions.
SPU (9-2) went 8-1 in non-conference games. Dominican
of San Rafael, Calif. dropped to 1-9, including an 86-63
loss at Central Washington on Monday.
Peila and WOU offensive lineman Jason Slowey are also
finalists for the 2012 Beyond Sports Network AllAmerican team. That All-American team will be
announced Jan. 5.
On Saturday Hutsen made all five of his shots from the
field en route to a 14-point performance that helped SPU
win 89-76 at BYU-Hawaii.
The 2012 BSN All-American list will be made up of the
top players from the FCS, D2, D3, and NAIA levels.
Rowells, Proulx Earn Two Top 10 Final National
Rankings
Running back Lyndon Rowells and quarterback Mike
Proulx each earned two Top 10 national rankings in the
final 2011 NCAA Division II national statistical report.
Rowells finished sixth nationally in rushing (141.7) and
10th in all-purpose running (167.2), while Proulx ended up
seventh in passing yards (288.8) and ninth in total offense
(294.2).
The only other GNAC players ranked in the Top 10 were
defensive backs Bryce Peila of Western Oregon and
Genesis Fonoimoana of Central Washington who ranked
third and 10th in interceptions per game with totals of nine
and five, respectively.
In team statistics, Humboldt State earned four Top 20
national rankings, including a No. 11 ranking in total
offense (464.9).
Individuals: Scoring – 17. Lyndon Rowells, HSU, 9.0. Field
Goals - 16. Brian Blumberg, HSU, 1.30. Rushing - 6. Lyndon
Rowells, HSU, 141.7. Pass Efficiency - 13. Mike Proulx, HSU,
152.4. Receptions – 23. Joe Don Duncan, DSC, 6.4. Passing - 7.
Mike Proulx, HSU, 288.8. Receiving Yards - 16. Joe Don Duncan,
DSC, 94.9; 25. Trevor Gates, WOU, 89.8. Total Offense - 9. Mike
Proulx, HSU, 294.2. All-Purpose – 10. Lyndon Rowells, HSU,
167.2. Punt Returns - 24. Dominique Gaisie, CWU, 11.3.
Interceptions - 3. Bryce Peila, WOU, 0.82; 10. Genesis
Fonoimoana, CWU, 0.62. Team: Total Offense - 11. Humboldt
State 464.9. Rushing Defense - 30. Central Washington 118.5.
Pass Offense – 12. Humboldt State 295.1. Pass Efficiency - 23.
Humboldt State 148.2. Scoring - 20. Humboldt State 35.9. Scoring
Defense - 22. Humboldt State 19.7. Pass Defense Efficiency - 21.
Humboldt State 107.4. Turnover Margin - 12. Humboldt State
1.10. Note: Simon Fraser ineligible to be ranked).
A 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman post player, Hutsen matched
that point total Tuesday. He shot six of 10 from the floor
and converted two of three free throws.
Hutsen was one of four Falcons double-figure scorers. Jobi
Wall and David Downs added 13 points apiece and Andy
Poling chipped in 12.
Wall also handed out five assists, a season-best mark he has
reached five times. SPU was credited with assists on 22 of
26 baskets and shot 53 percent (26 of 49).
Jacob Noisat scored 14 points to lead the Penguins, who
were limited to 35 percent shooting (19 of 54). The 43
points by Dominican was the third-lowest total allowed by
SPU this season.
Seattle Pacific led for all but the opening moments when
Jammall Clark scored the first basket of the game. The
Falcons then ran off the next nine points.
The Penguins got as close as four at 18-14 before SPU
gradually enlarged the margin to double-digits, taking a 3423 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
The lead never dipped below 11 during the second half and
grew to as many as 32 points at 67-35 with 3:16 to play.
Vikings, Wildcats on ROOT Sports January 18
The Central Washington at Western Washington game
scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 18, at Sam Carver
Gymnasium on the WWU campus will be televised live on
ROOT Sports. Tip-off is 7 p.m.
It is the third straight year that the contest will be carried on
regional TV. A capacity crowd of 2,500 is expected to be in
attendance.
Tuesday, Dec. 13
Based in Bellevue, ROOT Sports is the cable home of the
Seattle Mariners, Seattle Sounders FC, Portland Timbers ,
Washington Huskies, Washington State Cougars, Oregon
State Beavers, Gonzaga Bulldogs and Seattle University
Redhawks.
Men's Basketball: Hutsen Leads SPU Past Penguins
Alaska Anchorage Maintains No. 22 Ranking
Corey Hutsen tied his collegiate high with 14 points and
collected a career-best six rebounds as Seattle Pacific
concluded its non-conference schedule by rolling past
Dominican 68-43 at Brougham Pavilion Tuesday.
Alaska Anchorage maintained its No. 22 national ranking
in this week's NABC Division II Coaches poll.
The Seawolves (5-2), who have won five straight, are one
of three West Region teams ranked in the Top 25.
Humboldt State is ranked eighth and Cal Poly Pomona is
ranked 11th.
Metro State (Colo.), from the Rocky Mountain Athletic
Conference, is ranked No. 1.
The game was tied at halftime at 28-28 and remained tight
throughout before the Saints took the lead for good at 60-59
on two free throws by Haskey with 3:10 left.
Women's Basketball: Seawolves Crush Chaminade
Bruna Deichmann and Alysa Horn scored 22 points apiece
as 10th-ranked Alaska Anchorage had little trouble with
Chaminade earning a 100-45 road victory at McCabe
Gymnasium.
Saint Martin's also earned a road victory slipping past
Dominican 67-61 to improve to 6-5 after an 0-4 start.
Western Oregon, meanwhile, slipped to 2-8 losing at
Division I Portland State 78-58.
Alaska Anchorage (8-2) earned its fourth straight victory –
all against Pacific West Conference foes – outshooting the
Silverswords 56.9 percent to 23.4 percent and
outrebounding them 49-27.
The Seawolves controlled action from the opening tip,
jumping to leads of 9-0 and 28-2 as Deichmann and guard
Kylie Burns each surpassed their career scoring highs in the
opening 20 minutes.
Burns – whose previous career-high of nine points had
been achieved four times – finished with 16 points on four
of six three-point shooting.
Deichmann shot 10 of 15 from the field, including two of
two on three-pointers. She also had five rebounds, four
assists and a pair of steals.
Horn reached her season-high scoring total on nine of 15
marksmanship, making making four of six from long range.
Forward Tijera Mathews was the fourth Seawolf in double
figures with 10 points, while posts Hanna Johansson and
Kaylie Robison tied for game-high honors with 10
rebounds each.
Sasha King totaled six assists and five steals and Johansson
added five assists. Chaminade was led by Nikki Tauau and
Dianna Zane with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Alaska Anchorage remained in 10th place in this week's
USA Today ESPN Division II Top 25 women's basketball
poll.
The Seawolves are one of four West Region teams in the
Top 25. UC San Diego is ranked fourth, Cal Poly Pomona
is ranked 11th and Grand Canyon is ranked 15th.
Saint Martin's 67, Dominican 61
Chelsea Haskey scored 15 of her game-high 21 points in
the second half and Megan Teade tallied all 11 of her
points in the final 20 minutes leading Saint Martin's to its
sixth win in its last seven contests.
With SMU leading 62-61, Haskey hit a jumper with 34
seconds remaining. The Saints then put the game away
making three free throws, including two by Teade.
Earlier in the half, Teade scored seven consecutive points two free throws, a trey and a two-pointer- to briefly give
the Saints a six-point lead (58-52) with 5:35 left.
Saint Martin's dominated the backboards 49-28 as Haskey
and Kelsey Baker had eight each. SMU also outshot the
Penguins 43.9 percent (25-57) to 37.9 percent (25-66).
Dominican (1-7) was led in scoring by Taki Te Koi with 15
points. Sarah Nelson netted 14 points and also had eight
rebounds.
Portland State 78, Western Oregon 58
Rylee Peterson poured in a season-high 27 points on 12 of
21 shooting and also pulled down 10 rebounds but her
double-double could not overcome Portland State as
Western Oregon sustained a 20-point loss at Stott Center.
Peterson, who recorded her fourth double-double of the
season, also had three blocks and two steals.
WOU's Jade Haas also had a double-double with 11 points
and 12 rebounds. She added in five assists. Kate Lanz led
Portland State with 15 points.
The game was tied early at 13-13 before Portland State
went on a 17-4 run to go up 30-17. The Wolves cut their
deficit to seven at halftime (42-35).
The Vikings rebuilt their lead early in the second half and
led by double digits over the final 15:56.
Western Oregon outrebounded Portland State 38-33, but
the Vikings had 13 fewer turnovers (29-16) and made 21 of
22 free throws to outscore the Wolves from the charity
stripe by 15 points.
Monday, Dec. 12
Men's Basketball: Central, Western Earn Home Wins
Central Washington to a 86-63 NCAA Division II West
Region victory over Dominican (Calif.) Monday at
Nicholson Pavilion.
Western Washington, which now heads to Las Vegas along
with the Wildcats for Thursday and Friday's Great Western
Shootout, won its eighth straight game defeating Quest
(B.C.) 106-61.
Johnson had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Davis had 14
points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and five steals to lead
Central to its sixth win in eight starts.
The Wildcats shot 55.2 percent (16 of 29) including six of
eight from the arc in building a 44-26 halftime lead. CWU
finished the contest shooting 52.6, its first percentage above
50 percent this season.
Johnson, Davis and Brandon Magee, who had 14 points,
were all five of eight from the floor. Also in double figures
were Jordan Coby with 12 points and point guard Lacy
Haddock with 11 points.
Dominican, which slipped to 1-8, got 15 points from
Connor Haysbert and 11 points and seven rebounds from
Jacob Noisat.
The Penguins didn't make a three-pointer in five tries and
shot only 38.1 percent (23 of 62) from the floor.
It was first time in eight seasons -- and just the second time
in Greg Sparling 's 17 seasons as CWU head coach -- that
the Wildcats have held their opponent without a made
three-point field goal.
Central never trailed in the contest leaping to a 22-9 lead
midway through the period. The Wildcats led by as many
as 20 (44-24) in the first half and had a lead ranging from a
low of 14 to a high of 27 in the second half.
Western Washington 106, Quest 61
Forward Paul Jones came off the bench to score a teamhigh 18 points as Western Washington cruised past Quest
at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
The Vikings (10-1) had five players score in double figures
including Cameron Severson and Rico Wilkins with 13
each. Rory Blanche netted 12 points and Chris Mitchell
chipped in with 11. Severson was playing his first game of
the season.
Guard Jose Colorado led Quest with a game-high 19 points,
17 of them in the second half. The Kermodes (1-10) got
nine each from three other players - Connor Heinrichs,
Dylan Kular and Sunny Johal.
The win was No.497 for WWU head coach Brad Jackson,
who is in his 27th season at WWU. He is looking to
become just the fifth men's collegiate coach in state of
Washington history to reach that plateau.
The Vikings took control quickly, hitting six of their first
nine shots to jump to a 13-2 lead less than five minutes into
the game. WWU extended the lead to 31-13 with nine
minutes left in the half and held a 52-23 advantage at
halftime.
Quest's 61 points matched the fewest allowed by WWU
this season. The Kermodes had 26 turnovers, 23 of them on
Viking steals. Severson and guard John Allen each had five
steals.
WWU's steal total was the second highest in GNAC history
topped only by Western Oregon, which had 26 steals last
Saturday against Walla Walla.
WWU also had a 45-23 advantage in rebounds with six
players having five or more.
UAA's Thompson Top Ranked GNAC Player In
National Report
Alaska Anchorage sophomore guard Travis Thompson is
one of five GNAC players ranked in the Top 10 in the
inaugural NCAA Division II national statistical report of
the 2011-12 season.
Thompson, who also ranks 23rd in assists (5.7), is ranked
No. 4 in assist/turnover ratio (3.64) for the top ranking by a
GNAC player.
Blair Wheadon of Western Oregon ranks seventh in free
throw percentage (96.2). Kevin Davis of Central
Washington is eighth in blocked shots (3.1), Nico
Matthews of Alaska Fairbanks is ninth in steals (3.2) and
Anthony Golden of Northwest Nazarene ranks ninth in
three-pointers (3.5).
In team categories, Central Washington and Alaska
Anchorage are the top-ranked team. The Wildcats are third
in blocked shots (6.6) and the Seawolves are third in
assist/turnover ratio (1.61).
Alaska Anchorage also ranks fourth in assists (20.7) and
Northwest Nazarene ranks sixth in three-point field goals
(10.6).
Women's Basketball : Seawolves No. 1 In FG Defense
Alaska Anchorage ranks No. 1 in the nation among NCAA
Division II schools in field goal percentage defense in the
first national statistical report of the season.
The Seawolves, who rank in the Top 10 in five different
team categories, are allowing their opponents to shoot just
30.3 percent.
They also rank second in rebound margin (15.3) and assists
(20.9), third in scoring margin (29.2) and fifth in scoring
(84.2). Seattle Pacific is the only other team to rank in the
Top 10 in any category. The Falcons are seventh in free
throw percentage (79.9).
Only three GNAC players rank in the Top 30 in any
individual category, led by Briaunna King of Northwest
Nazarene who is 21st in double-doubles with four.
Haley Holmstead of UAA ranks 22nd in field goal
percentage (57.8) and Alex Dunn of Central Washington is
23rd in assists (5.0).
Live From Vegas: Western Tournament To Be
Streamed
UAF center Daniel Shaw was called for a foul
simultaneously, giving the ball back to UAA.
For the first time, the Las Vegas Great Western Shootout,
hosted by Western Washington, will be video streamed.
Fossman took the ensuing inbounds pass from Thompson
and swished another trey from the exact same spot to cut
six points off the Seawolf deficit in three seconds.
The eight-game tournament which includes both the
Western Washington and Central Washington men and
women, begins Thursday morning at 11 a.m. (Pacific) with
a women's game matching Drury and the Wildcats.
Saturday, Dec. 10
UAF held onto a 51-41 lead with 13 minutes left when
guard Dominique Brinson (17 points, 6 rebounds) hit a
three-pointer from the corner, but the Nanooks would not
score again for over five minutes.
Men's Basketball: Seawolves Rally To Beat Nanooks
The Seawolves took advantage of the drought with a 10-0
run to tie the game for the first time on a three-point play
by Thompson at the 9:22 mark.
Taylor Rohde scored 24 points and sophomore guards
Travis Thompson and Kyle Fossman led Alaska Anchorage
back from a 17-point second-half deficit in a 68-62 win
against Alaska Fairbanks Saturday at the Wells Fargo
Sports Complex.
UAA took its first lead (55-53) on a short jumper by Rohde
with 6:44 remaining, followed quickly by a layup from
UAF's Nico Matthews.
The contest was the conference opener for both teams.
Elsewhere GNAC teams won three of five non-conference
contests.
Northwest Nazarene hit a record 24 three-point field goals,
rolling to a 109-56 victory over Multnomah at the College
of Idaho/Northwest Nazarene Holiday Classic at the J.A.
Albertson Activities Center.
The Seawolves executed perfectly on what might have been
the deciding play of the game on their next possession,
converting an out-of-bounds play with one second on the
shot clock.
Guard Steve White lobbed a cross-court pass to a wideopen Colton Lauwers, whose rainbow three-pointer beat the
buzzer and started an 8-0 UAA surge.
The Crusaders (6-4) hit 24 of 64 three-pointers – breaking
school and GNAC records for three-pointers made and
attempted.
Consecutive treys by Tica and Brinson sliced UAA's lead
to 63-61 with 1:42 remaining, only to be answered by
another three-pointer from Fossman, who made five of six
shots from long range and seven of eight overall in the
second half.
David Downs scored 33 points as Seattle Pacific (8-2)
completed a two-game sweep in the islands with a 89-76
win at BYU-Hawaii. Western Oregon (8-1) thumped Walla
Walla 94-29 setting a GNAC single-game record for steals.
Leading 66-61, UAA survived consecutive three-point
misses by Tica and Brinson on the next possession and
clinched the win on a Rohde layup with 29 seconds left.
GNAC losers were Simon Fraser (4-5), which was edged
by Academy of Art from the PacWest Conference 84-83
and Montana State Billings (5-4), which lost to Rocky
Mountain 71-66 in an intercity game in Billings.
Rohde shot 11 of 21 from the field and tied with Pucar for a
game-high nine rebounds. Lauwers chipped in six points
off the bench, while White had five rebounds and four
assists.
Alaska Anchorage (5-2), ranked No. 22 in NCAA Division
II, earned its fifth straight win overall and its 12th in a row
against the Nanooks.
UAA has not lost t