10_______
WedNEsdAy, MARch 6, 2002
Sports
TR e CI ac I íamas P rín ]
Women basketballers shooting for NWAACCs
_______ ELENA BORYSKA
Sports Editor
In the final league game of
the year, the women’s basket
ball team humiliated Mt. Hood
at home, slamming them down
with a final score of 83-36. This
was victory number eight for
the Cougars, in a winning
streak which began all the way
back on Jan. 30.
The Cougars were greatly
helped in this victory by their
impressive defense, which held
Mt. Hood to a measly 14 points
in the second half. Kayla Steen
led her fellow Cougars with 18
points and seven assists, Mel
issa Gibson was behind her
with 16 points and five re
bounds, Regina Joo had 12
points and five assists, while
Jennie Kooch scored eight and
grabbed nine boards.
This win helped the women
to finish the season with a 12-2
record in league, and a 24-4
standing overall. The Cougars
moved up on the Coaches’ Poll,
from the number three spot, to
number two. Umpqua is di
rectly above them, holding
strong at number one. Since
Umpqua lost their last game of
the season, they tied with the
Cougars for first place, with the
two teams now sharing the title
of Southern Region Champion.
“We thought for sure
that...Linn-Benton loss was
going to keep us from getting
it (the title), but we got a little
help when we needed it,” said
Head Coach Jim Martineau.
“Anytime you go 12-2 in our
Southern Region it’s... very,
very good.”
Going into the NWAACCs,
the Cougars will be the number
two seed from the Southern
Region due to a number which
determines the placing in the
event of a tie, and will be fac
ing Clark in the first round.
The last time these two teams
SALENA DE LA CRUZ / Clackamas Pri
Kayla Steen dribbles the ball against a Mt. Hood player in what was her last regular season game In a Cougar uniform.
Steen and the rest of the Clackamas basketball team finished the season with a 12-2 league record, Including their most
recent victory at Mt. Hood. They will be heading up to Washington March 8-11 to compete in the NW A ACC tournament.
played each other was before
Christmas. It was, according to
Martineau, one of the worst
Cougar efforts of the year. But
he says his team wants to get a
chance to play them again and
is looking forward to it.
One of the only things that
Martineau is worried about is
his team staying healthy for the
tournament.
“If we can get up there and
get through the first round, and
Cougar pieties:
stay healthy, I think we’ve got
a
good
chance,”
said
Martineau. “I really feel if we
play hard and are ready... to
play every game, we’re going
to be in good shape. And we’ve
done that the last eight or nine
league games. I’m not worried
about us playing hard. The
girls are focused, they’re ready
to go.”
Besides the Cougar’s chances
up at the tournament, Martineau
jVlens & Womens Basketball
JW^CCCburqarqeqt, )Viarcl| S-11 at
The Clackamas baseball team
rattled the bats to score 11 runs
in 13 innings to begin the 2002
season. The double header was
played on March 2 against Blue
Mountain Community College in
Pendleton, and the Cougars won
one of the two games.
The Cougar’s defense in the
first game helped secure a 4-2 lead
going into the bottom of the sev
enth inning, but the Cougars al
lowed Blue Mountain to came
back and win the game with a fi
nal score of 5-4.
Jordan Denny was the starting
pitcher for the first game, going
three innings and throwing six
strikeouts, with Brandon
Fergusen and Matt Paulsen com
ing in to try to finish the job.
Fergusen allowed one run to
✓
Baseball
jYlard) 9 at <£ower Columbia
Softball
JVlarch 8'9 Courqafqeqt at treasure
Valley Cotqrquqily College
the Grossmont Tournament in
December. Martineau is hopeful
about his team’s chances in th!
tournament.
“If you go up there and wit
four straight games...you’ve ob
viously got to play well, bu
you’ve got to have some breaks
and you’ve got to have a littlj
luck on your side.”
To reach Elena Boryska e-ma
MightyMouse030@hotmail.com a
drop by B-104.
Baseball team starts season, splits a
double header at Blue Mountain
ELENA BORYSKA
^eqqewic\, Washiqgtoq
also thinks that Umpqua and
Lane, which was the team to hand
Umpqua their latest loss, are
very strong contenders for the
NWAACC title. Clackamas was
3-1 against these two teams, los
ing only to Umpqua back on Jan.
16. It will require a strong team
to be able to win the four in a
row it takes to be NWAACC
champion, but Clackamas has al
ready won a tournament with
four wins this season, winning
Sports Editor
score, while Paulsen let the other
four slip past.
In game two, the Cougars
turned on their offense, slamming
out seven runs on nine hits, and
following through with what
Head Coach Robin Robinson
called “exceptional defense.”
The game ended with a 7-5 vic
tory by the Cougars.
Sophomore Tom Henderson
stole the show, finishing the day
with four hits and four RBI’s, af
ter a bases-loaded double that
scored three.
“He hit the ball hard all day,”
said Robinson.
Gavin Stephens had a ¡double
and a triple and scored two runs
for Clackamas, and Paul Monroe
and Paulsen each stole two
bases. Clackamas swiped a total
of nine bases for the day, six of
them coming in the second half
of the double header.
Robinson was pleased with th|
overall performance of his team]
but knows that the pitching mua
get better, as they struck out
total of 15, but handed out 11
walks.
Robinson says that defense i
one of the Cougars’ strengths
but that they still need more fieli
time to develop their “tremen
dous defensive abilities.”
They scored 11 runs off 16 hits
including a triple, five double!
and three balls hit off of tha
fence.
But some things that the Cou
gars need to work on are bunting
running the bases better and no
striking out so much.
The next stop for Clackamas is I
double header at Lower Columbia
at Longview, Wash, on March 9.
To reach Elena Boryska e-mm
MightyMouse030@hotmail.com d
drop by B-104.