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10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2017 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com VINCE DULCICH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT SPORTS IN BRIEF St. Helens scores sweep over Gulls The Daily Astorian ST. HELENS — St. Helens won a low-scoring battle with Seaside in a nonleague girls bas- ketball game Wednesday, 34-25. Bryre Babbitt scored seven points with six steals and four rebounds for the Gulls, who were 11-for-39 from the field, and did not attempt a single free throw. In the boys’ game, St. Helens handed No. 6-ranked Seaside its second loss of the season, with a 67-60 win over the Gulls. Leach mum on Falk’s injury going into Holiday Bowl Associated Press Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Brooklynn Hankwitz, left, and Samatha Hemsley put defensive pressure on a Clatskanie player. Big Lady Tigers rally nets Clatskanie win over Astoria By GARY HENLEY The Daily Astorian T he action tipped off Wednesday night in Astoria High School’s 49th annual Vince Dulcich Memorial basketball tournament. Over the next three days, 16 teams (nine girls, seven boys) will take part in 25 games at the Brick House. Two girls’ games took place Wednesday, both part of a three-day schedule of pool play games on the girls’ side. Banks defeated R.A. Long 76-41 in Game 1, and Clatskanie won a thriller in the sec- ond game, as a 3-pointer from Tiger fresh- man Shelby Blodgett with three seconds left resulted in a 54-52 come-from-behind win over Astoria. The Lady Fishermen played one of their best halves of the season in the first half, con- necting on 13-of-25 shots from the field for a 31-17 halftime advantage. Leading 13-11 early in the second period, Astoria went on an 18-6 run to close the half. Sam Hemsley sparked the rally with a 3-pointer, followed by scores from Gracie Cummings, Brooklynn Hankwitz and fresh- man Kelsey Fausett. Cummings hit back-to-back buckets, fresh- man Halle Helmersen added another score, The Lady Fishermen go up for a rebound against Clatskanie. and Hemsley’s bank shot beat the buzzer to end the half. After a cold first half (0-for-9 on 3-point- ers), the Tigers heated up in the second. Clatskanie was within 40-35 to end the third quarter, and freshman Olivia Sprague knocked down a pair of shots from beyond the arc to bring the Tigers to within 44-43 early in the fourth period. Macy Simmons’ offensive rebound bas- ket gave Clatskanie a brief lead, before Hailey O’Brien answered with a short jumper to put Astoria in front, 46-45, with 4:02 left. From there, a 3-pointer by Clatskanie freshman Alexis Smith gave the Tigers a 48-46 lead at the 3:45 mark; Hemsley’s layup tied it 49-49 with 1:58 remaining; and Blodgett hit a jump shot for a 51-49 Tiger lead with just under two minutes remaining. Hemsley responded by hitting one of two free throws, then drove the lane and scored on a layup to give the Lady Fishermen a 52-51 lead with 13 seconds left. Without calling a timeout, the Tigers worked the ball to Blodgett, who nailed a 3-pointer from straightaway with three sec- onds left for the final lead change. Astoria was unable to get off a shot in the final 2.8 seconds. Blodgett and Hemsley each finished with 21 points. Tournament action continues today with three girls’ games, while six of the seven boys’ teams begin action in bracket play. The Asto- ria boys have a bye today, and will play twice Friday (9:30 a.m. and 8 p.m.). Pivec matures in her second year with No. 17 Oregon State By ANNE M. PETERSON Associated Press Sophomore guard Mikayla Pivec was unsure of the reaction she’d get when she approached Oregon State coach Scott Rueck last spring about possibly joining the track team. Lots of athletes run track in the offseason to help them stay sharp, but Pivec was a bit unusual in that she wanted to moonlight as a jave- lin thrower. Rueck agreed, but with a caveat: The javelin couldn’t take the place of hoops. To Rueck’s relief, it didn’t, and Pivec is a guiding force for the No. 17 Beavers this season. “He said: ‘Stay healthy and go out there and compete,’” Pivec said about Rueck’s reaction. “I was thankful for him to have that blessing.” The Beavers open the Pac-12 sea- son at home on Friday against Wash- ington. Oregon State (9-2) wrapped up the nonconference schedule with a six-game winning streak, capped by a 61-47 victory over UC Davis last week. Pivec had 14 points and nine rebounds. The Beavers are one of four ranked teams in the conference, joining No. 10 Oregon, No. 11 UCLA and No. 20 California. Stanford dropped out of the poll this week, ending a string of 312 weeks in the AP Top 25. UP NEXT: BEAVERS • Washington Huskies (6-5) at Oregon State Beavers (9-2) • Friday, 2 p.m. Andy Cripe/The Corvallis Gazette-Times Oregon State guard Mikayla Pivec, left, brings the ball upcourt against San Jose State’s Danae Marquez during a Dec. 10 game in Corvallis. Pivec is averaging 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 58.7 per- cent from the floor this season, taking over at point guard for Sydney Wiese, now with the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks. It’s a heavy responsibility: Wiese finished her career as one of Oregon State’s all-time greats. She set records for most assists and 3-pointers (with 373, also a Pac-12 record). She also helped guide the team to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past four seasons, including Sweet 16 appear- ances in the last two. Pivec said it was a privilege to learn from Wiese. “There’s no way you can replace Syd. She definitely left a lot of holes for us to fill,” Pivec said. “I don’t feel any extra pressure. I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help the team be successful and win.” As a freshman last year, Pivec was soft-spoken and even seemed a bit shy when she faced postgame questions from the media. This season, she’s shown growing confidence both on and off the court. “A year ago, you wouldn’t hear a word out of Mik. You’d have to just wait, then ask a question, and then wait, and then she might say some- thing,” Rueck joked. He said Pivec communicated in her own quiet way, eventually developing a rapport with her teammates. “This year she has the ball in her hands a lot, she’s much more vocal, she’s way more in tune with me. It’s been fun to watch that develop. ... I’m seeing a lot more progress in commu- nication, which is leadership,” Rueck said. “Offensively, running the point, she’s much more efficient getting us into plays, her transition game, her rebounding, her ability to shoot the three. Those things were in place a year ago. Everything’s just a step up.” SAN DIEGO — The first ques- tion for Washington State coach Mike Leach during Wednesday’s pre-Holiday Bowl news confer- ence was about the cast on quar- terback Luke Falk’s non-throwing left wrist. The seventh question was about the pet raccoon Leach had when he was a kid, which he men- tioned in an article he wrote for the Players’ Tribune. Naturally, Leach was much more forthcoming about the rac- coon, which was named Bilbo Baggins after the character in “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings,” than he was about his quarterback’s health. “He’s doing great. You can use your imagination all you want about the cast,” Leach said about Falk, who despite what- ever’s going on with his wrist is still expected to lead No. 21 WSU (9-3) against No. 18 Michigan State (9-3) on Thursday night. “He has had something on his hand all year and hence we named him ‘the Kingslayer.’ Beyond that you’re on your own.” Shiffrin beats Holdener, Hansdotter for World Cup slalom win Associated Press LIENZ, Austria — Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin mas- tered a tricky slalom course on Thursday to cruise to her 36th career World Cup win. Backed by a huge 1.14-sec- ond lead from the opening leg, the defending overall World Cup champion avoided risks and posted only the 11th-fastest time in the final run but still comfort- ably beat second-place Wendy Holdener of Switzerland by 0.89 seconds. Frida Hansdotter of Sweden was 1.22 behind in third, and Bernadette Schild of Austria was a further 0.55 behind in fourth. SCOREBOARD PREP SPORTS SCHEDULE TODAY Girls basketball: (Dulcich Tourna- ment) Redmond vs. Astoria, 8 p.m. FRIDAY Boys basketball: (Dulcich Tourna- ment) Astoria vs. TBA, 9:30 a.m.; As- toria vs. TBA, 8 p.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL Clatskanie 54, Astoria 52 Clatskanie 8 9 18 19—54 Astoria 13 18 9 12—52 CLA (54): Shelby Blodgett 21, Sprague 14, Smith 7, Warren 6, Sim- mons 2, Moravec 2, Sizemore 1, Bak- er 1. AST (52): Sam Hemsley 21, Cum- mings 8, Hankwitz 7, Helmersen 6, O’Brien 4, Rogers 2, Fausett 2, Jack- son 2, Feldman, Norris. St. Helens 34, Seaside 25 Seaside 7 8 4 6—25 St.Helens 13 6 9 6—34 SEA (25): Bryre Babbitt 7, Ideue 5, Smart 4, Angulo-Joli 3, Garhofer 2, Davis 2, Hoekstre 2.
