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Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian Thursday, March 23, 2017 Women’s College Basketball Pac-12 making statement with 5 teams in the Sweet 16 By TIM BOOTH Associated Press SEATTLE — A year ago was thought to be an anomaly for the Pac-12 Conference, advancing four teams to the regional semifi- nals of the NCAA Tournament and eventually seeing Washington and Oregon State make the Final Four. Based on what the Pac-12 did in the first week of the NCAAs this year, maybe last year’s perfor- mance might become the norm. “I think a lot of people wanted to think that was a fluke,” Wash- ington coach Mike Neighbors said. “I heard that a lot during the offseason. That it was a fluke year, blah, blah, blah. I think five in the Sweet 16 just backs it back up.” Stanford, Oregon State, Wash- ington, UCLA and Oregon will be playing during the second weekend of the tournament after advancing to the Sweet 16, all with impres- sive second-round victories. Oregon won at Duke and Stanford — despite being the higher seed — won at Kansas State. Oregon State handled Creighton, UCLA routed Texas A&M and Washington put up 108 points against Oklahoma while Kelsey Plum set yet another NCAA record, becoming the AP Photo/Elaine Thompson Washington players on the bench react to a 3-point score against Oklahoma during the second half of a second-round game in the NCAA women’s college basketball tournament Monday, March 20, 2017, in Seattle. all-time single-season scoring leader. The NCAAs have been a Pac-12 party thus far and it’s not just Stanford leading the way anymore. “Going back to the days when it was us and Stanford battling it out, only two teams in the tournament, maybe my life was a little easier night to night, but it doesn’t make you better, and I think this is what’s good for the league,” California coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. Seven Pac-12 teams made the NCAA Tournament and went 7-0 in the first round. Through two rounds, the conference is a combined 12-2, the only losses coming by Arizona State and Cali- fornia to No. 1 seeds. There were a few close calls with No. 2 seeds Stanford and Oregon State barely avoiding upsets by No. 15 seeds. All season long, the Pac-12 was rated as the top conference in the country. Coaches lobbied throughout the Pac-12 Tourna- ment that the conference deserved to have at least seven teams in the NCAAs. The selection committee agreed — and the performance thus far has validated those beliefs. “I remember having a conver- sation with (Washington coach) Mike Neighbors, my buddy in the league, we talk about this stuff, about getting the RPI and all that kind of stuff,” Gottlieb recalled. “We said early in the year, I don’t know if we have a Final Four team. I don’t know if there’s a legit top five team, but we said we could get five or six in the Sweet 16, and maybe there is a Final Four team or two, and I hope there will be.” The five Pac-12 teams in the Sweet 16 is a conference record. The conference was on the verge of having a sixth in the regional semifinals but Arizona State was unable to pull off the upset of No. 1 seed South Carolina, falling 71-68. The next closest conference is the ACC, with three teams in the regional semifinals. “Our kids pull for each other. They were texting me all night last night about the Arizona State game,” Neighbors said. “They were so nervous, they were so happy that Arizona State almost knocked off South Carolina.” The other piece helping the conference is the arrival — or return — of programs onto the national scene. Two years ago it was Oregon State bursting into prominence, followed by Washington last year. This year that surge belongs to Oregon, who under third-year head coach Kelly Graves is in the Sweet 16 for the first time. “It’s funny, we never really put a goal on how far we can go, just because we didn’t know what we had,” Graves said after upsetting Duke. “We’ve kind of attacked the entire season as a work in progress.” It will get tougher for all five teams from here. UCLA has the biggest challenge facing Connecticut in the round of 16. Washington takes on No. 2 seed Mississippi State; Oregon State gets Florida State; Oregon faces Maryland; and Stanford takes on Texas. “Our league has gotten so rugged it prepares you for any type of thing that you can see,” Neighbors said. BULLDOGS: Improve to 2-0 at home this season Continued from 1B there to back her up.” Almaguer was giving Bend trouble with her change-ups the first time through the lineup, but a hit batter to lead off the third inning gave the Lava Bears an opening. A steal and sacri- fice bunt then put a runner on third with one out in the scoreless tie. The Bulldogs defense snapped into action to erase the threat when Cameron fielded a grounder at second and delivered a perfect throw to Noland who made the tag at the plate. Then when Bend went looking for another steal, Noland rifled the ball to sophomore Sydney Stefani for the third out. With the score still 0-0, the defense came through again in the fourth when Bend loaded the bases with one out after an error, a walk and a single by Brooke Berry down the first-base line to break up Almaguer’s no-hit attempt. Bend wouldn’t bring them in. A hard grounder was fielded by Atilano, relayed to Noland for the force at the plate, then zipped into the glove of senior first baseman Ellery Jones for the double play. Although Stefani’s lead-off double in the bottom of the first was Hermiston’s only hit off Lava Bears starter Audrey Nelson, Bend opted for a pitching change to start the fourth inning. Almaguer (2 for 3) welcomed new hurler Brooklyn Jensen with a Staff photo by E.J. Harris Hermiston’s Julissa Almaguer throws from the pitch- ing circle in the Bulldogs’ 4-1 win against Bend on Wednesday in Hermiston. single to center field, and then Jones (1 for 2) doubled to the wall in left field to give them two runners in scoring position with no outs. “Right before that inning started I said, ‘Let’s not get comfortable. We’ve got to fight,’” Greenough said. “And (Almaguer) gets up and drills the ball, and (Jones) gets up and drills the ball, and they just weren’t going to stop. It was a turning point.” Jensen did get a strikeout for the first out, but was pulled for Allicitie Frost with Cameron coming to the plate. Cameron (2 for 3) saw her pitch and smacked a triple to the wall, just past the reach of a diving center fielder, and she would later score when a pick-off attempt at third bounced off her helmet. Bend left runners stranded on second and third in the fifth as Hermiston got out of the pinch with a ground-out to first and line drive back up the middle snagged by Almaguer. Hermiston then went up 4-0 in the fifth inning when Stefani (2 for 3) reached on an infield single, stole second and went to third on a passed ball before getting driven in by Almaguer with a single to center. Jensen hit an RBI double to the wall in left to drive in Lacey Bunting for Bend’s only run in the sixth inning. Freshman Daisy Maddox added a double in the score- less bottom of the sixth for Hermiston. The win improved the Bulldogs to 2-0 at home this season, and Noland said she felt like it was the type of performance the team is capable of repeating often. “I feel like we’re doing really good this season,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of freshmen on the team, but I think we really came out and showed them what we’ve got.” Hermiston will look for its first road win of the season on Friday when it plays at Pasco (WA) with a start time of 4 p.m. ——— R H E BHS 000 001 0 — 1 5 1 HHS 000 310 X — 4 8 2 A. Nelson, B. Jensen (4), A. Frost (4) and E. Mone. J. Almaguer and B. Noland. W — Almaguer. L — Jensen. 2B — B. Jensen (BHS); S. Stefani, E. Jones (HHS). 3B — A. Cameron 2 (HHS). AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill United States’ Ian Kinsler, right, celebrates his two- run home run with Jonathan Lucroy, left, and Adam Jones during the third inning against Puerto Rico in the final of the World Baseball Classic in Los Ange- les, Wednesday, March 22, 2017. WBC: Title game draws 51,000 fans Continued from 1B The right-hander won his first two starts of the tournament, including in the second round against Stroman and the U.S. In that game, Stroman gave up six consecutive singles in a four-run first inning and took the loss against Puerto Rico last Friday in San Diego. The Americans made it 4-0 in the fifth on RBI singles by Christian Yelich and Andrew McCutchen. Fans wore flags of both countries as capes and decorated their faces in team colors. Puerto Rico boosters pounded cowbells, tooted horns and blew whistles early on before their team fell behind 4-0. Fans were on their feet chanting “U-S-A” when the Americans loaded the bases in the seventh with two outs. They were rewarded with Crawford’s two-run single that chased J.C. Romero, extending the lead to 6-0. The U.S. tacked on another run on Giancarlo Stanton’s RBI single off Hiram Burgos past diving shortstop Francisco Lindor. Burgos’ wild pitch moved runners to second and third before he walked Lucroy to load the bases a second time. Kinsler flied out to end the inning. The Americans led 8-0 in the eighth on McCutch- en’s RBI single with two outs. SCOREBOARD Local Slate PREP BASEBALL Today Wilsonville at Hermiston, 4 p.m. Heppner at Umatilla, 4 p.m. Pilot Rock at Stanfield, 4:30 p.m. Walla Walla (WA) at Pendleton, 4:30 p.m. Friday Riverside at Columbia (WA), 3:30 p.m. Pendleton at Walla Walla (WA), 4 p.m. McCall (ID) at Mac-Hi, 6 p.m. Saturday Orofino (ID) at Mac-Hi (2), 11 a.m./1 p.m. Irrigon at Heppner (2), 11 a.m./1 p.m. Weston-McEwen at Stanfield (2), 1/3 p.m. PREP SOFTBALL Today Irrigon at Heppner (2), 2/4 p.m. Pendleton at Southridge (WA), 4 p.m. Friday Weston-McEwen vs Enterprise (at Pilot Rock), 9 a.m. Scio at Pilot Rock, 11 a.m. Columbia (WA) at Riverside (2), 2/4 p.m. Weston-McEwen vs Gaston (at Pilot Rock), 3 p.m. Hermiston at Pasco (WA), 4 p.m. Gaston at Pilot Rock, 5 p.m. Saturday Weston-McEwen at Pilot Rock, 11 a.m. Mac-Hi at Yamhill-Carlton, 11 a.m. Pendleton at Walla Walla (2), Noon/2 p.m. Weston-McEwen vs Scio (at Pilot Rock), 3 p.m. Enterprise at Pilot Rock, 5 p.m. Mac-Hi vs Banks (at Yamhill-Carlton), TBD PREP TENNIS Today Baker at Pendleton, 4 p.m. Friday Pasco (WA) at Hermiston, 4 p.m. PREP TRACK & FIELD Today Hermiston, Mac-Hi, Helix, Irrigon, Pilot Rock, Riverside, Stanfield, Umatilla, Weston-McEwen at Pendleton, 11 a.m. PREP GOLF Today Pendleton, Hermiston, Mac-Hi at Big River Golf Course (Umatilla), 10 a.m. PREP LACROSSE Friday Hood River at Hermiston, 7 p.m. COLLEGE BASEBALL Saturday Grays Harbor at Blue Mountain (2), 11 a.m./2 p.m. Sunday Southwestern Oregon at Blue Mountain (2), 11 a.m./2 p.m. COLLEGE SOFTBALL Friday Eastern Oregon at College of Idaho (2), 1/3 p.m. Blue Mountain at Columbia Basin (2), 2/4 p.m. Saturday Eastern Oregon at College of Idaho (2), 10 a.m./Noon Blue Mountain at Walla Walla (2), Noon/2 p.m. Basketball NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct GB x-Boston 46 26 .639 — Toronto 42 29 .592 3½ New York 27 44 .380 18½ Philadelphia 26 45 .366 19½ Brooklyn 14 56 .200 31 Southeast Division W L Pct GB Washington 43 28 .606 — Atlanta 37 34 .521 6 Miami 35 36 .493 8 Charlotte 32 39 .451 11 Orlando 26 46 .361 17½ Central Division W L Pct GB x-Cleveland 46 24 .657 — Milwaukee 36 35 .507 10½ Indiana 36 35 .507 10½ Chicago 34 38 .472 13 Detroit 34 38 .472 13 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L Pct GB x-San Antonio 54 16 .771 — x-Houston 49 22 .690 5½ Memphis 40 31 .563 14½ Dallas 30 40 .429 24 New Orleans 30 41 .423 24½ Northwest Division W L Pct GB Utah 44 28 .611 — Oklahoma City 41 30 .577 2½ Denver 34 37 .479 9½ Portland 32 38 .457 11 Minnesota 28 42 .400 15 Pacific Division W L Pct GB z-Golden State 57 14 .803 — L.A. Clippers 43 29 .597 14½ Sacramento 27 44 .380 30 Phoenix 22 49 .310 35 L.A. Lakers 20 51 .282 37 x-clinched playoff spot z-clinched division ——— Wednesday’s Games Charlotte 109, Orlando 102 Boston 109, Indiana 100 Chicago 117, Detroit 95 Oklahoma City 122, Philadelphia 97 Washington 104, Atlanta 100 Denver 126, Cleveland 113 Milwaukee 116, Sacramento 98 Utah 108, New York 101 Thursday’s Games Phoenix at Brooklyn, 4:30 p.m. Toronto at Miami, 4:30 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Memphis at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. New York at Portland, 7 p.m. NCAA Men’s NCAA Tournament EAST REGIONAL Regional Semifinals Friday South Carolina (24-10) vs. Baylor (27-7), 4:29 p.m. Wisconsin (27-9) vs. Florida (26-8), 7 p.m. Regional Championship Sunday, March 26 ——— SOUTH REGIONAL Regional Semifinals Friday Butler (25-8) vs. North Carolina (29-7), 4:09 p.m. Kentucky (31-5) vs. UCLA (31-4), 6:40 p.m. Regional Championship Sunday, March 26 ——— MIDWEST REGIONAL Regional Semifinals Today Michigan (26-11) vs. Oregon (31-5), 4:09 p.m. (TV: CBS) Purdue (27-7) vs. Kansas (30-4), 6:40 p.m. (TV: CBS) Regional Championship Saturday, March 25 ——— WEST REGIONAL Regional Semifinals Today Gonzaga (34-1) vs. West Virginia (28-8), 4:39 p.m. (TV: TBS) Xavier (23-13) vs. Arizona (32-4), 7:10 p.m. (TV: TBS) Regional Championship Saturday, March 25 ——— FINAL FOUR At University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, Ariz. National Semifinals Saturday, April 1 East champion vs. West champion South champion vs. Midwest champion National Championship Monday, April 3 NCAA Women’s Tournament BRIDGEPORT REGIONAL Regional Semifinals Saturday At Bridgeport, Conn. UConn (34-0) vs. UCLA (25-8), 10:30 a.m. Maryland (32-2) vs. Oregon (22-13), 8:36 a.m. Regional Championship Monday, March 27 ——— STOCKTON REGIONAL Regional Semifinals At Stockton, Calif. South Carolina (29-4) vs. Quinnipiac (29- 6), 1:06 p.m. Florida State (27-6) vs. Oregon State (31-4), 3 p.m. Regional Championship Monday, March 27 Hockey NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L OT Pts Montreal 73 41 23 9 91 Ottawa 72 40 24 8 88 Toronto 72 34 23 15 83 Boston 73 38 29 6 82 Tampa Bay 72 34 29 9 77 Florida 72 31 30 11 73 Buffalo 74 30 32 12 72 Detroit 72 29 32 11 69 Metropolitan Division GP W L OT Pts x-Washington 72 47 17 8 102 x-Pittsburgh 72 46 17 9 101 x-Columbus 72 47 19 6 100 N.Y. Rangers 74 45 25 4 94 N.Y. Islanders 72 34 26 12 80 Carolina 71 31 27 13 75 Philadelphia 72 33 31 8 74 New Jersey 72 27 33 12 66 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP W L OT Pts x-Chicago 73 47 20 6 100 Minnesota 72 44 22 6 94 St. Louis 72 39 28 5 83 Nashville 72 36 25 11 83 Winnipeg 73 33 33 7 73 Dallas 72 29 33 10 68 Colorado 72 20 49 3 43 Pacific Division GP W L OT Pts San Jose 73 42 24 7 91 Edmonton 72 39 24 9 87 Anaheim 72 38 23 11 87 Calgary 73 41 28 4 86 Los Angeles 72 34 31 7 75 Vancouver 72 29 34 9 67 Arizona 73 27 37 9 63 x-clinched playoff spot Philadelphia at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Dallas at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Edmonton at Colorado, 6 p.m. Winnipeg at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Baseball World Baseball Classic Championship Wednesday United States 8, Puerto Rico 0 GF GA 200 182 191 187 221 212 209 195 197 202 183 208 183 214 180 213 GF GA 232 161 252 199 230 169 235 195 213 220 186 206 188 216 167 211 GF GA 222 183 235 180 201 195 212 202 220 232 196 233 140 238 GF GA 198 169 209 186 186 178 203 197 175 181 166 211 178 233 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conference advance to playoffs. ———— Wednesday’s Games Toronto 5, Columbus 2 N.Y. Islanders 3, N.Y. Rangers 2 Edmonton at Anaheim, 7 p.m. Thursday’s Games Columbus at Washington, 4 p.m. Tampa Bay at Boston, 4 p.m. Arizona at Florida, 4:30 p.m. New Jersey at Toronto, 4:30 p.m. Carolina at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at Ottawa, 4:30 p.m. Vancouver at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Calgary at Nashville, 5 p.m. Motorsports NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Points Leaders Through March 20 1. Kyle Larson 184. 2. Brad Keselowski 178 3. Chase Elliott 171 4. Martin Truex Jr 153 5. Joey Logano 135 6. Ryan Blaney 127 7. Kevin Harvick 123 8. Jamie McMurray 119 9. Kurt Busch 105 10. Kasey Kahne 105 11. Ryan Newman 101 12. Trevor Bayne 100 13. Kyle Busch 97 14. Clint Bowyer 97 15. Denny Hamlin 97 16. Jimmie Johnson 93 17. Aric Almirola 90 18. Erik Jones 82 19. Paul Menard 78 20.Matt Kenseth 72 21. Daniel Suarez 72 22. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 71 23. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 70 24. Ty Dillon 68 25. Austin Dillon 66 26. Michael McDowell 62 27. Matt DiBenedetto 56 28. Landon Cassill 55 29. Danica Patrick 52 30. Cole Whitt 50 Upcoming Schedule Sunday — Auto Club 400, Fontana, Calif., 12:30 p.m. (TV: FOX) April 2 — STP 500, Martinsville, Va., 11 a.m. (TV: FS1) April 9 — O’Reilly Auto Parts 500, Fort Worth, Texas, 10:30 a.m. (TV: FOX) Golf PGA Dell Match Play At Austin Country Club Austin, Texas Yardage: 7,108. Par: 71 First Round Wednesday (Seedings in parentheses) Branden Grace (15), South Africa, def. Andy Sullivan (52), England, 4 and 2. William McGirt (48), United States, def. Brandt Snedeker (19), United States, 2 up. Soren Kjeldsen (62), Denmark, def. Rory McIlroy (2), Northern Ireland, 2 and 1. Gary Woodland (33), United States, def. Emiliano Grillo (26), Argentina, 3 and 2. Paul Casey (12), England, def. Joost Luiten (60), Netherlands, 2 and 1. Charl Schwartzel (24), South Africa, def. Byeong Hun An (45), South Korea, 6 and 5. Hideto Tanihara (54), Japan, def. Jordan Spieth (5), United States, 4 and 2. Ryan Moore (32), United States, halved with Yuta Ikeda (37), Japan. Bubba Watson (13), United States, def. Jhonattan Vegas (55), Venezuela, 1 up. Thomas Pieters (30), Belgium, def. Scott Piercy (39), United States, 3 and 2. Hideki Matsuyama (4), Japan, halved with Jim Furyk (51), United States. Louis Oosthuizen (23), South Africa, def. Ross Fisher (47), England, 4 and 3. Patrick Reed (9), United States, halved with Jason Dufner (59), United States. Brooks Koepka (20), United States, def. Kevin Kisner (34), United States, 6 and 5. Alex Noren (8), Sweden, def. Thongchai Jaidee (57), Thailand, 3 and 2. Bernd Wiesberger (36), Austria, def. Francesco Molinari (25), Italy, 2 up. Matt Kuchar (16), United States, halved with Brendan Steele (50), United States. Tommy Fleetwood (29), England, def. Zach Johnson (44), United States, 1 up. Dustin Johnson (1), United States, def. Webb Simpson (58), United States, 5 and 3. Martin Kaymer (41), Germany, def. Jimmy Walker (18), United States, 3 and 2. K.T. Kim (64), South Korea, def. Danny Willett (11), England, 4 and 2. Russell Knox (17), Scotland, def. Bill Haas (42), Unites States, 3 and 2. Justin Thomas (6), United States, def. Chris Wood (49), England, 2 and 1. Kevin Na, United States, def. Matt Fitzpat- rick (27), England, 5 and 4. Phil Mickelson (14), United States, def. Si Woo Kim (63), South Korea, 5 and 3. Daniel Berger (35), United States, def. J.B. Holmes (31), 7 and 5. Pat Perez (56), United States, def. Jason Day (3), Australia, match conceded after 6 holes. Marc Leishman (28), Australia, def. Lee Westwood (43), England, 3 and 2. Tyrrell Hatton (10), England, def. Charles Howell III (61), United States, 2 and 1. Rafa Cabrera Bello (22), Spain, def. Jeung- hun Wang (40), South Korea, 4 and 3. Sergio Garcia (7), Spain, halved with Shane Lowry (53), Ireland. Jon Rahm (21), Spain, def. Kevin Chappell (38), United States, 3 and 2. LPGA Upcoming Schedule March 23-26 — Kia Classic, Park Hyatt Aviara Resort Golf Club and Spa, Carlsbad, Calif. March 30-April 2 — ANA Inspiration, Mission Hill CC, Rancho Mirage, Calif.