The Clackamas print., March 12, 2003, Page 6, Image 6

6
D
The Clackamas Print
March 12, 2003
Cougar men
take seventh
Basketball team finishes
with overall record of 21-10
Nic Delzell
The Clackamas Print
CORY PRICE Clackamas Print
After months of practice, the Cougar women will begin the 2003 season with the Fresno
City College Tournament on March 22-23 In Fresno, Calif. Last year, the Cougars fin­
ished second In the NWAACC tourney, losing to Lower Columbia College In the final.
Softball nears opener
her physical strength over the off­ but we are really looking forward
season, which in turn has led her to when her other season ends."
to hit the ball much harder in pre­
A solid group of freshmen are
season workouts." Comstock is coming into the Cougar mix this
also the unofficial team defensive season and a couple of the stand­
captain from her infield position.
outs are Carleen Lessard and
"Brooke is probably the most Brianne Thum. Thum was the
Frank Jordan
vocal of all of our players, and she Oregon Class 4A Player of the
The Clackamas Print is a very good leader. She is high­ Year last year, when she led
ly committed to the team and has Springfield to the state champi­
really bought in to what we want onship game, but the injury bug
The 2003 version of the
Clackamas softball team holds a to accomplish as a team," said has hit Thum hard since then.
Fiskum.
"Brianne had shoulder surgery
lot of promise as the Cougars look
Morgan
Huffstetter
was
voted
last
summer, and also was diag­
to improve on their second place
first-team
all-NWAACC
in
the
nosed
with an irregular heartbeat.
finish in last spring's Northwest
outfield
for
the
2002
season,
The
heart
problem was corrected,
Athletic
Association
of
Community
Colleges although she spent about two- but she soon after strained an
thirds of her time playing first base abdominal muscle, which has hin­
(NWAACC) championships.
for the Cougars.
dered her workouts," Fiskum said.
"We are very excited about the
"Morgan is the real deal. She "She is really chomping at the bit
upcoming season. We have anoth­
er strong group of kids," said Head has the complete package. She to get back out there. She has
Softball Coach Paul Fiskum. can hit for power, but she is also been throwing lightly and doing
"Let's just say that we are 'cau­ one of the best bunters in the con­ some conditioning drills. We real­
ference. Most of all, though, is ly look forward to her performing
tiously optimistic,' to coin a
that she is a great defensive play­ for us soon."
phrase, about our chances."
er,"
said Fiskum. "She probably
Lessard had very good fall
The Cougars return four soph­
has
the
best
hands
on
the
team,
workouts,
according to Fiskum.
omores from last year's team,
"Carleen played
which lost in the NWAACC and that makes her
a great defender,
for
one of the best
championship game to Lower
“We are very ASA (American
both at first ba$e
Columbia College. This group
excited about Softball
includes an all-tournament pitcher, and in the out­
field."
the upcoming Association)
a second-team all-NWAACC
Melissa
Gibson
teams
in the
season.”
infielder and a first-team all-
is another sopho­
Northwest
last
NWAACC outfielder.
summer. She has
Miranda Gillaspie threw a per­ more who is play­
ing for the first
a very good work
fect game for the Cougars last
Paul Fiskum
time
in
college.
ethic,
probably the
year, along with two other no-hit­
Head ßoftball Coach
She
was
a
first-
best
on
the team.
ters and two one-hitters. She has
She continues to
been "looking good in her work­ team all-stater in
talk to her ASA
outs through the fall and winter," high school and
currently
plays
basketball
for
pitching
coach
at least once a
according to Fiskum.
Clackamas. Fiskum convinced week to get advice."
Catcher Carla Lillis returns to
Last year's NWAACC champi­
her spot behind the plate as she her that she could be a real asset
on the softball diamond and on, Lower Columbia, may be the
looks to build on her performance
last season. Lillis led the team in encouraged her to come out for the pick of the coaches to challenge
team.
for this year's crown. Chemeketa
walks and on-base percentage
"Melissa
is
such
a
great
athlete,
CC
picked up an NCAA Division
from the number four spot in the
we
were
in
a
position
to
capitalize
II
transfer from Northern
offensive lineup, and has worked
on
her
skills,"
said
Fiskum.
"She
Colorado
that Fiskum tried to get
on improving her defensive skills
had a great high school career and to play for Clackamas, but the ath­
over the offseason.
Brooke Comstock led the we will fit her into our lineup, lete wanted to be closer to her
Cougars in 2002 in hits and sacri­ somehow, somewhere. She has home in Salem.
fice bunts, and Fiskum said "she had limited workouts with us due
has really worked on increasing to her commitment to basketball See Softball page 8
• The cougars have
four returning vets
from last year, opti­
mistic this year
The Clackamas men’s bas­
ketball team entered last week­
end’s
Northwest
Athletic
Association of Community
Colleges tournament in a three-
way tie for first place in the
Southern Region.
As of Sunday night the
Cougars were 2-1 in NWAACC
tournament play, and on
Monday they played for fourth
place in the tournament.
Unranked in the NWAACC
Coaches’ Poll, the Cougars
started off the tournament last
Friday night, with a come from
behind victory against Seattle.
Cougar guard Brandon Gill led
the scoring attack with 28
points. Down by as much as 12
in the first half, the Cougars
fought their way back and were
only down two going into the
second half. Scoring 46 points
in the second half, the Cougars
took control and finished the
game with an 81-63 victory.
The Cougars second game
was a disappointing loss to
Treasure Valley. Gill led the
way again with 20 points, Chris
Hoyt and Russ Schneider fol­
lowed with 15 each.
The
Cougars were up by as many as
18 in the first half but a deter­
mined Treasure Valley team
fought back and was down only
four going in to the locker room.
Outscoring the Cougars by 22 in
the second half, Treasure
Valley’s late game effort result­
ed in a 91-73 win.
With a win and a loss the
Cougars played in the fourth
place semifinal game on
Sunday. A hard fought game
where Cougar leading scorer
Evan Keiling got back on track
with 31 points ended in an over­
time Cougar victory 97-89.
Both teams led by no more than
eight, with 13 ties and eight lead
changes. Gill and Schneider
followed Kieling with 16 points
each.
Monday, the Cougars played
for fourth place. They were
defeated by Big Bend 96-84,
landing them with the seventh
place spot in the NWAACCs.
Gill once again led the Cougars
with 33 points; he also snagged
7 rebounds.
The Cougars finished the
season with a 21-10 record
overall. Yakima Valley knocked
off Green River in the
Championship
match
on
Monday. The close final of 80-
78 secured Yakima Valley’s first
title since 1976.
NWAACC
TOURNAMENT
FINAL STANDINGS
1st-Yakima Valley
2nd-Green River
3rd-Treasure Valley
4th—Big Bend
5th-Tacoma
6th-Bellevue
7th-Clackamas
8th-Mt. Hood
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