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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 10, 2018)
SPORTS TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2018 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS From a Grizzly to a Bruin Helix’s Wilson to play volleyball at George Fox University By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian HELIX — Sporting a gray, longsleeve Nike dri-fit shirt with a small, blue George Fox University logo on the chest, Helix senior Sadie Wilson sat down at a table at the front of her school cafeteria on Monday morning, ready to make a dream come true. With the entire Griswold High School student body as well as her family looking on, Wilson was there to trade in her allegiance from one bear mascot to another as the Grizzlies’ three-sport standout signed her National Letter of Intent with the George Fox Bruins to play volleyball beginning in the fall. Wilson has wanted to play collegiate volleyball since she was in junior high, she says, and is thrilled she not only has the chance to play but play at the NCAA Division-III level with a school such as George Fox. Along with George Fox, Wilson received offers from four other programs, including Pacific University, Lewis & Clark College and Whitman College. Wilson’s very first offer came from Pacific just prior to Thanks- giving, which brought with it a ‘pinch me’ moment for her, just as George Fox’s initial offer in January did. “After I got my first offer from Pacific to play I was like ‘Did that really just happen?,” Wilson recalled thinking. “Once I got that first one and started getting the other ones I was so beyond excited ... I feel so lucky to be able to even have one offer to play in college.” Wilson’s decision came down to a two-school race between Pacific and George Fox. She admitted it was a difficult decision to decide between the two schools, however everything about George Fox from the campus setting in the town See WILSON/2B Staff photo by Eric Singer Helix senior Sadie Wilson, center, signs her National Let- ter of Intent to play volleyball at George Fox University as Helix volleyball coach Dianna Melton, left, and former Helix coach Tammie Parker, right, look on during a cer- emony at Griswold High School on Monday morning. Lillard’s 25 not enough in loss to Nuggets Trail Blazers blew an 11-point third-quarter lead in their fourth- consecutive loss By ARNIE STAPLETON Associated Press D ENVER — Nikola Jokic posted his 10th triple- double of the season and the Denver Nuggets kept their playoff hopes alive by rallying past the Portland Trail Blazers 88-82 on Monday night. The Nuggets have won a season-high six straight games and a seventh, on Wednesday night in Minnesota, would clinch their first playoff berth since 2012-13. Jokic scored 15 points and pulled down a season-best 20 rebounds and had 11 assists. Will Barton added 22 points, leading a comeback from an 11-point third-quarter deficit. The Trail Blazers, who lost for the fourth consecutive time, were in it until the very end, but Jusuf Nurkic, who had 20 points and 19 rebounds, missed one of two free throws with 47 seconds left and Jamaal Murray sank two free throws with 30 seconds left to put Denver ahead 84-80. Daman Lillard, who led the Trail Blazers with 25 points, missed a 15-footer and Paul Millsap grabbed the rebound. The Trail Blazers, who hold the inside track for securing the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs, blew an 11-point third-quarter lead. Jokic posted his 16th career triple-double when he fed Devin Harris for a 3-pointer that put the Nuggets ahead 73-71 with eight minutes left, their first lead of the second half. They didn’t trail again. Nuggets coach Michael Malone was concerned about Portland’s offensive rebounding going into the showdown, which came exactly one year after Russell Westbrook’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave Oklahoma City a 106-105 win at Denver that eliminated the Nuggets from last year’s playoff party. “They’re one of the better 3-point shooting teams in the league and one of the better offensive rebounding teams in the league,” Malone said Prep roundup Pioneers sweep Baker in league opener East Oregonian BAKER CITY — Amidst numerous game cancellations across the region due to inclement weather on Saturday, the Mac-Hi softball team managed to squeeze in a doubleheader with Baker to open Greater Oregon League play. The outcome favored the visiting Pioneers, who swept the first of two doubleheaders Mac-Hi and Baker will play this season. In Game 1, both teams produced 11 hits and a combined three home runs but it was the Pioneers who had the advantage over the Bulldogs, and earned a 14-8 win. In the second matchup, Mac-Hi again got out to an early lead and ended the game after just five innings with a 15-3 victory. The Pioneers (10-2 overall, 2-0 GOL) had a total of 23 hits on the day and 11 extra-base hits from nine different batters. Graci Bullock and McKenna Stallings each homered for the Pioneers, while Faith Kelly and Courtney Cain each had three hits total and five runs scored. Kelly added two doubles and three RBI total. Stallings earned the win in the circle in Game 2, pitching all five innings and striking out five while allowing seven hits and three runs. She also threw 1 2/3 score- less innings in the first game, coming in relief of Sydney Earls, who allowed nine hits and eight runs in 5 1/3 innings. ——— Game 1 R H E MHHS 530 004 2 — 14 11 3 BHS 100 016 0 — 8 11 5 (M) S. Earls, M. Stallings (6). (B) G. Cook. W — Earls, L — Cook. 2B — F. Kelly, M. Yensen (M); R. Gauillin (B). HR — G. Bullock (M); G. Cook, K. Mosser (B). AP Photos/Jack Dempsey Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, left, drives past Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Mur- ray, right, during the first quarter of Monday’s game in Denver. Game 2 R H E MHHS 540 42X X — 15 12 0 BHS 000 03X X — 3 7 6 (M) M. Stallings. (B) H. Minor, G. Cook (4). HR: M. Stallings (M). 2B: A. Banek, S. Birdwell 2, J. Burks, F. Kelly, K. Reichert, B. Wells (M); G. Cook, N. Nelson (B). UP NEXT GRANT UNION 11-12, HEPPNER 0-0 — The Heppner Mustangs were swept after hosting Grant Union for a doubleheader. Both of the Prospectors’ win were double-digit victories after they took Game 1 11-0 and Game 2 12-0. The scoreless Mustangs dropped to .500 on the season with a 5-5 overall record. Portland Utah Trail Blazers Jazz (48-33) (47-33) • Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. • at Trail Blazers about two hours before tip-off. “And that’s what scares me: when the shot goes up, can we have a physical, hit-first mentality and not allow them to dominate the glass? And that’s been an issue for us as of late.” BASEBALL Portland Trail Blazers guard Shabazz Napier, center, passes around Denver Nuggets guard Devin Harris (34) during the first quarter of Monday’s game in Denver. BAKER 12-6, MAC-HI 2-0 — At Baker Cit, the Mac-Hi baseball team opened Greater Oregon League play with a doubleheader against the Baker Bulldogs See ROUNDUP/2B Sports shorts Hachimura will return to Gonzaga next season SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Forward Rui Hachimura has decided to return for his junior year at Gonzaga. Hachimura said in a news release Sunday that he was looking forward to improving his game. The 6-foot-8 native of Japan was one of Gonzaga’s most exciting players this season, despite coming off the bench, and had been listed on several NBA mock drafts. THIS DATE IN SPORTS Kyle Busch wins at Texas for his and Joe Gibbs’ 1st victory of year FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Kyle Busch’s return to Victory Lane only 10 races after his last win just seemed to take much longer. There were all those runner-up finishes in between, one in particular. A runner-up finish in the 2017 season finale kept Busch from winning another NASCAR Cup Series championship, something he had to contemplate the entire offseason. Then he had three runner-up finishes in the first six races this year, including two that Kevin Harvick won. On Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, points leader Busch finished ahead of Harvick and the rest of the field. 1934 — The Chicago Black Hawks edge the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 to win the Stanley Cup. 1961 — South Africa’s Gary Player becomes the first foreign player to win the Masters, edging Arnold Palmer and Charley Coe by one stroke. 1977 — Tom Watson pulls away in the final four holes to beat Jack Nicklaus by two strokes in the Masters. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com