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SPORTS FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2018 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS IRRIGON Women’s College Basketball No. 7 Ducks’ rise is no surprise Knights get their revenge Irrigon snaps drought against Umatilla By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian IRRIGON — With the Irrigon Knights grasping on to a two-point lead with only three seconds left, Knights’ forward Johnny Phillips nervously watched as Umatilla’s Kaden Webb Boys launched a half- Basketball court heave as the fi nal seconds of the game ticked away. Umatilla The shot looked good as it fl ew through the air, before it clanked off the backboard and the side of Irrigon the rim as the buzzer sounded, clinching a 50-48 Irrigon victory in front of a boisterous crowd on Thursday night at Irrigon High School. “I was nervous for sure,” an elated Phillips said afterward. “It took me a couple of seconds to register, but I’m glad it missed.” It was a long-awaited celebration for the Knights, who had lost four straight to the rival Vikings dating back to last season. The Vikings handed the Knights their fi rst loss of the season just 13 days ago on Jan. 12, and Thursday night was a game they were looking forward to. “It feels really good,” Phillips said. “We had to work hard and play good defense tonight. We knew it was going to be a tough one, but we did what we needed to and came out with the win and we’re excited about that.” The 6-foot-5 Phillips has been the Knights’ (17-2 overall, 6-1 EOL) go-to guy on offense but was held scoreless in the fi rst half as Irrigon trailed 18-16 at the break. However, in the second half Phil- lips pounded in 16 points, eight of Irrigon’s last 11, to lead the charge to victory. He also added 11 rebounds and three blocks to his line. “I just couldn’t get a handle in that fi rst half,” Phillips said of his night, “but I came out better in the second. I fi nally got my feet under See KNIGHTS/2B 48 50 Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard via AP Oregon’s Satou Sabally, left, celebrates with teammate Maite Cazorla as their team leads over Oregon State near the end of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018, in Eugene. Roster full of young talent helping Oregon reach new heights By RYAN THORBURN The Register-Guard EUGENE (AP) — Kelly Graves and his staff have built it. And Oregon women’s fans are starting to come out in droves. A crowd of 7,249 made its pres- ence felt during the Ducks’ 75-63 victory over rival Oregon State last Sunday at Matthew Knight Arena. It was the second-largest crowd for a women’s basketball game in the venue’s history. A record 12,320 fans attended the fi rst women’s game at Matthew Knight Arena on Jan. 23, 2011, which also happened to be the program’s previous win over the Beavers. No. 7 Oregon has the best home record (13-0) in the NCAA and is averaging 3,465 in attendance with four regular-season home games remaining. The Ducks (18-3 overall, 7-1 Pac-12) are in position to win the program’s fi rst conference title since the 1999-2000 season. Jody Runge’s team averaged 5,852 in attendance at McArthur Court during that championship season. Rob Mullens is not surprised by the program’s rise. This is what Oregon’s athletic director and senior associate athletic director/ women’s administrator Lisa Peterson envisioned when they hired Graves away from Gonzaga on April 7, 2014. “We knew Kelly’s track record when we recruited him here,” Mullens said. “When we were on the speaking circuit we were saying, this is going to happen and it’s probably going to happen faster than people think. See DUCKS/3B Oregon’s Sabrina Io- nescu, cen- ter,vbattles pressure from Ore- gon State’s Marie Gulich, left, and Kat Tu- dor during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college basketball game Sun- day, Jan. 21, 2018, in Eugene. Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard via AP MLB Lack of rings stings for new Hall of Famers By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK — Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero and Trevor Hoffman sat on a dais and were asked whether they would trade their new Hall of Fame memberships for a World Series title, an honor that eluded the trio during their distin- guished careers “I’m glad I didn’t have to answer that one,” Chipper Jones interjected with a big smile. “Yeah, because you guys beat us,” Thome quickly replied. Baseball’s four newest Hall of Famers gathered for a news conference Thursday, a day after they were elected to Cooperstown. They combined for 75 major league seasons and 29 All-Star selections yet just one championship, earned by Jones when his 1995 Atlanta Braves defeated Thome’s Cleveland Indians in six games. For that, Jones received a 10-karat yellow gold ring with 115 points of diamonds, including a 3/4-carat center stone. The sparkler is stashed in his safe. “I wore it for the fi rst year,” he said. “Every once in a while, a special occasion, I’ll pull it out, but it’s kind of faux pas to wear it. While you’re world champs, it’s OK to wear it. But once they crown somebody else, you put it away.” For the others, the lack of rings stings. They received new threads, cream-colored Hall of Fame jerseys, and were lauded with hosannas as glowing family members looked on. Hall President Jeff Idelson reminded all of how rare the honor is: There have been 19,183 men to appear in a major league game, and the Hall has just 323 elected members, including 226 players. Of those, 128 have been voted in by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Players who had responded to See HALL OF FAME/2B AP Photo/Frank Franklin II Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, from left, Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, Chipper Jones and Jim Thome, pose during Thursday’s news conference in New York. Sports shorts Brewers acquire OF Yelich from Marlins for 4 prospects MIAMI — Miami Marlins center fi elder Christian Yelich was traded Thursday to the Milwaukee Brewers for four prospects, including highly regarded outfi elder Lewis Brinson. Yelich became the fourth starter traded by the Marlins as they reduce payroll and rebuild their weak farm system under new CEO Derek Jeter. The Marlins earlier dealt away major league home run champion Giancarlo Stanton, stolen base champ Dee Gordon and All-Star left Yelich fi elder Marcell Ozuna. In the wake of the earlier deals, Yelich had said he preferred to play elsewhere this year rather than be part of a Marlins rebuilding effort. He’ll make $7 million this season in the third year of a $49.57 million, seven-year contract. Yelich batted .282 with 18 homers and 81 RBIs last year. “Well, fi nally someone picked me No. 1. That feels pretty good. It’s going to be fun competing against [teammates] Steph, Klay and Draymond.” — Kevin Durant Golden State Warriors forward on being the No. 1 pick in the NBA All-Star Game draft on Thursday. Durant was chosen by captain LeBron James, and joins James, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins in the starting lineup. Low concessions prices at new Falcons’ stadium a hit with fans ATLANTA (AP) — The site of next year’s Super Bowl already is celebrating a champion- ship for best concessions. Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons and MLS Atlanta United, fi nished fi rst in a 2017 NFL fan survey for quality and value of food and beverages. The results released Thursday show the lowered prices, including $2 hot dogs, $3 pizza slices and $5 beer, were a big hit with fans. Those prices will remain in place for Atlanta’s Super Bowl in 2019. The Falcons ranked 18th in surveys the last two years at the Georgia Dome before the 2017 debut season in the new $1.5 billion stadium. The lower prices led to more sales. Average spending per fan increased by 16 percent in 2017, according to the survey. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1960 — Pete Rozelle is chosen the new commissioner of the National Football League. 2002 — Jennifer Capriati produces the greatest come- back in a Grand Slam fi nal to overcome Martina Hingis and defend her Australian Open title. Capriati saved four match points before clinching a 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 victory over Hingis. 2007 — Martin Brodeur makes 28 saves, extending his NHL record for consecu- tive 30-win seasons to 11, as the New Jersey Devils beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com