10A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2017
CONTACT US
FOLLOW US
facebook.com/
DailyAstorianSports
Gary Henley | Sports Reporter
ghenley@dailyastorian.com
Athletes of the Week
(FOR THE WEEK OF FEB. 27-MARCH 4)
MADDI
UTTI
Seaside
ATTIKIN
BABB
Seaside
Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Damian Mulinix/For EO Media Group
he senior is saving her best for last.
T
Trailing 13-4 early in their Sweet 16 playoff game at Molalla, Utti went
down hard after a foul, and left the game momentarily with injuries to her chin
abb was in foul trouble in Seaside’s fi rst round state playoff game vs. Cas-
B
cade, but the senior played a great second half, made some key free throws
down the stretch and led the Gulls with 16 points, in a 68-49 win.
and wrist.
She returned, scored the fi rst seven points of the second half, and led Seaside
to a 38-31 win over the Indians. Utti led all scorers with 20 points.
Not by coincidence, Utti and the Gulls are taking part in their fourth straight
state tournament.
Babb had three fouls in the fi rst half and was on the bench for much of the
second quarter.
“We settled down in the second half and started running our off ense a little
better,” Seaside coach Bill Westerholm said. “We got better looks, Attikin started
running the baseline and hit a couple shots. We got the ball inside and got to the
free-throw line, which gave us that cushion.”
Haniger won’t go
unnoticed after
trade to Mariners
By STEPHEN HAWKINS
Associated Press
AP Photo/John Locher
California’s Kameron Rooks, right, blocks a shot by Oregon State’s Kendal Manuel (24) during the first half
of an NCAA college basketball game in the first round of the Pac-12 men’s tournament Wednesday in Las
Vegas. California’s Jabari Bird is on the left. Oregon State team ends its season with a 5-27 record.
Beavers season ends in
Pac-12 tourney opener
By JOHN MARSHALL
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — Jabari Bird scored
20 points and converted a key 3-point
play with 54 seconds left, helping Cal-
ifornia grind out a 67-62 victory over
Oregon State Wednesday in the fi rst
round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Cal (20-11) labored for most of
the game offensively and had a hard
time containing Oregon State’s Ste-
phen Thompson Jr. The fi fth-seeded
Bears pulled it out behind Bird and a
strong second half by Ivan Rabb, earn-
ing a spot in Thursday’s quarterfi nals
against fourth-seeded Utah.
Rabb fi nished with 12 points and
13 rebounds after scoring two on
1-of-7 shooting in the fi rst half.
Thompson had 25 points and hit 5
of 6 from 3-point range to keep Ore-
gon State (5-27) in the game until late.
The Beavers pulled within 59-57, but
Bird was fouled on a layup and hit the
free throw to put Cal up fi ve.
The Bears came into the game
knowing they couldn’t afford a let-
down against the 12th-seeded Beavers
to maintain any hope of reaching the
NCAA Tournament.
Cal won the two regular-season
meetings against Oregon State by a
combined 41 points, but the Beavers
were ready for the Bears in round
three.
Oregon State opened the game by
making three of its fi rst four shots from
3-point range and hounded Cal defen-
sively. The Beavers had an early 10-4
run to lead by eight and withstood
a run by Cal to stay within 32-29 at
halftime.
Oregon State continued to hang
around, still within one after Cal for-
got to guard Thompson on back-to-
back 3-pointers midway through.
Even when the Bears tried to pull
away, the Beavers stayed on their
heels, keeping the game closer than
expected.
Cowboys to release quarterback Romo today
By SCHUYLER DIXON
Associated Press
DALLAS — Tony Romo’s star-
crossed career as the starting quarter-
back for the Dallas Cowboys will soon
be over.
A person with knowledge of the
decision tells The Associated Press
that the Cowboys will release Romo
when the NFL year opens today. The
person spoke to the AP on Wednesday
on condition of anonymity because the
team hasn’t announced a decision on
Romo, who will get a chance to pursue
a starting job elsewhere.
Romo will leave the Cowboys as
the franchise leader in yards passing
(34,183) and touchdowns (248). But
he could never match the postseason
success of Hall of Famers and multi-
ple Super Bowl winners Roger Stau-
bach and Troy Aikman.
A 10-year starter who joined the
Cowboys as an undrafted free agent
in 2003, Romo lost the job last season
to rookie Dak Prescott after breaking a
bone in his back in a preseason game.
When he was healthy again, Romo
conceded the job to Prescott during
a franchise-record 11-game win-
ning streak. His departure has been
expected ever since.
A trade was unlikely because Romo
turns 37 next month, carries a $24 mil-
lion salary cap hit and has missed most
of the past two seasons with injuries.
But he should be attractive as a free
agent to contenders wanting a quarter-
back, a list that could include Denver
and Houston.
A release will free about $5 million
in cap space for the Cowboys, who can
split the dead money from a $19 mil-
lion hit over two seasons.
Romo was 78-49 as the starter, but
his playoff debut 10 years ago illus-
trated the postseason struggles ahead
when he infamously fl ubbed the snap
on what could have been a winning
fi eld goal in Seattle.
PEORIA, Ariz. — Some peo-
ple viewed young outfi elder Mitch
Haniger as a throw-in prospect in
the offseason deal that got the Seat-
tle Mariners top-notch shortstop
Jean Segura.
The Mariners certainly never
felt that way about Haniger, even
though he has played in only 34
major league games.
Not only did Seattle want Segura
in its lineup, general manager Jerry
Dipoto and manager Scott Servais
expect Haniger to be their starting
right fi elder this season.
“I feel blessed to be valued and
that’s something that Jerry and
Scott told me when I got traded
over here, that they really liked me
as a player,” Haniger said. “I’m not
doing anything different now than I
have in the past as far as work ethic.
In my mind, I’m still fi ghting to
make the team, to earn my spot.”
Haniger homered twice in his
fi rst seven spring training games
with the Mariners, who acquired
him last November in a fi ve-player
swap in which they also got reliever
Zac Curtis from Arizona. Seattle
traded away right-handed pitcher
Taijuan Walker and shortstop Ketel
Marte.
Before spending the fi nal six
weeks of last season with the Dia-
mondbacks, Haniger hit .321 with
24 doubles, 25 homers and 96 RBIs
in 129 minor league games.
“Haniger last year, by the num-
bers, was able to show that he was
the best offensive player in the minor
leagues,” Dipoto said. “You put the
numbers together and he produced
more runs ... than any other hitter in
minor league baseball.”
Dipoto describes Haniger as
having right-hand power that
“really manifested itself similarly
to Jean Segura once he made swing
adjustments and really took off over
the course of last year and a half.”
Segura hit .319 and led the NL with
203 hits last season.
As for his time in the majors
with the Diamondbacks, when he
hit .229 with fi ve homers and 17
RBIs, Dipoto said that by any mea-
sure Haniger proved to be one of
the three best defensive outfi elders
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
Seattle
Mariners
outfielder
Mitch Haniger talks to reporters
during the teams annual pre-
season briefing in Seattle. Some
viewed young outfielder Mitch
Haniger as a throw-in prospect
in the offseason deal that got
the Seattle Mariners a top-notch
shortstop. The Mariners never
felt that way. Not only did they
want Jean Segura in their line-
up, they expect Haniger to be
their starting right fielder after
only 34 major league games.
in the big leagues.
Haniger’s locker in the Arizona
spring training clubhouse is next to
that of third baseman Kyle Seager.
“He’s coming into a good situa-
tion,” said Seager, a stalwart on the
Mariners roster that has drastically
changed in the 1 1/2 years Dipoto
has been the GM. “He’s defi nitely
a guy that’s got a lot of upside, and
looks like he can help a team on
either end of the ball.”
The 26-year-old Haniger was
drafted 38th overall by the Mil-
waukee Brewers in 2012 and
traded two years later to Arizona,
where he started to rework his hit-
ting mechanics. He advanced from
Class A Visalia at the start of 2015
to the majors by the end of last
season.
“When you get out there, it’s
like ‘Wow, I’ve made it.’ But for
me, I would just put blinders on
and started to say, ‘OK, I’m play-
ing the game I’ve always played’,”
he said. “I’m playing against big-
name guys, but at the same time,
they’re human, they’re just like me.
So that’s kind of how I dumb every-
thing down so that everything feels
normal.”
SCOREBOARD
LOCAL PREP SCHEDULE
THURSDAY
Boys Basketball — OSAA 4A State Tournament: Gladstone vs. Seaside, 1:30 p.m.,
at Pacific University.
Girls Basketball — OSAA 4A State Tournament: Seaside vs. Cascade, 3:15 p.m., at
Forest Grove HS.