B2
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Friday, March 8, 2019
Mariners: ‘He’s
a God over there’ Ekmark leads No. 20 Arizona State
women over Colorado in 66-49 win
PAC-12 WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT
Continued from Page B1
“It was like a $5,000
suit that looked as crisp and
clean as you can imagine.
Impeccable knot in his tie
with the dark sunglasses.
My first reaction to him
was not to shake his hand
and introduce myself or the
like, I slapped him in the
chest and said, ‘I thought we
were going casual?’ He said
to me, and this was my intro
to Ichiro, he said to me, ‘To
me, this is casual.’”
That initial introduction
for Dipoto to the World of
Ichiro was only a small taste
compared to what the Mari-
ners are about to experience
when they open the sea-
son in Tokyo with a pair of
games against the Oakland
Athletics. The most deco-
rated player ever to export
his talents from Japan to the
major leagues is returning
home for what could be a
farewell to his Hall of Fame
career on both sides of the
Pacific.
It will be nearly a week
of celebration and hype
surrounding Ichiro. And
his teammates are perhaps
more excited, more eager
than the star himself to see
how massive the reception
will be.
“I can’t imagine what
that’s going to be like. I
want to see what it’s like
when Ichiro Suzuki walks
down the street in Tokyo,”
said Seattle pitcher Wade
LeBlanc, who spent the
2015 season pitching in
Japan. “He’s a God over
there. I don’t throw that
around lightly, either. I’m
excited to see it.”
There is no question
Suzuki will be on Seattle’s
roster for the two games
March 20-21 in Japan. He
signed a minor league deal
before the season, but with
the intention of being on
the expanded major league
roster against the A’s. After
Japan, there have been no
promises about what, if any,
role Suzuki will have with
the team.
This may have only
heightened the anticipation
for seeing what happens in
Japan knowing this could
be the career finale for the
45-year-old outfielder.
“You’re talking about
a whole country that just
cherishes that he is theirs.
... He’s just such a special
player and someone that
transcends both leagues,
both cultures and really
done incredible things that
are almost a little bit unbe-
lievable,” Seattle’s Jay
Bruce said.
LeBlanc joked that he
wants to strap a camera to
his head, hang back about
30 yards and watch the
reaction from onlookers
if Suzuki goes out in pub-
lic. Of the current Mari-
ners roster, Dee Gordon
has the longest relationship
with Suzuki from their time
playing together in Miami.
“It’s much-needed for
him. Not just being in Japan
but being in your home
country as who he is, and
who he is respected as, he
deserves it,” Gordon said.
“I want to see him happy.
I want to see how happy
it makes him. I know he’s
going to be all professional
but I actually want to see
if we can get a reaction
out of him. Some type of
emotion.”
This won’t be the first
time Ichiro playing in his
home country creates all
sorts of hoopla. He had
four hits in the 2012 season
opener in Tokyo when the
Mariners and A’s last made
this trip. But at that point,
the twilight of Suzuki’s
career was not on the hori-
zon. He had yet to be traded
to the New York Yankees,
had yet to get his 3,000th
major league hit, had yet to
fully solidify his spot as a
potential first-ballot Hall of
Famer whenever his retire-
ment becomes official.
His future beyond these
two games in Japan is
cloudy. Suzuki could decide
this is it, saying goodbye
in front of his countrymen.
He could return to Seat-
tle and try to earn a spot
on the Mariners roster. He
could move into a hybrid
role like the one he had last
year when he started the
season on the active roster
due to injuries and eventu-
ally shifted into an advisory
position.
While he wouldn’t com-
ment about Suzuki’s future,
Dipoto did give a glimpse
of the scenario he would
love to see come to fruition.
“He’s in the lineup on
opening day, and that as the
flashbulbs go off, and he’s
at the bat, he answers with
an inside-out single to left
field. That’s his trademark,”
Dipoto said. “I know that
Ichiro doesn’t run the way
he did maybe 15 years
ago, but he still runs above
average, shockingly, for a
45-year-old man. I would
love to see him get on base
and do the things that Ichiro
did 15, 18 years ago and
excite the crowd and engage
the community there in
what we’re doing because I
think the fact that the Mari-
ners are going to play in this
opening series in Japan, it’s
kind of an homage to the
franchise’s history with Jap-
anese players. More so than
our present attraction.
“I think this provides
us with an opportunity to
pay tribute to Ichiro, to his
career, and to all that he’s
been to this franchise, and
really to international base-
ball. It seems the right thing
to do for everybody.”
Bucks: ‘We didn’t
start playing until
the third quarter’
Continued from Page B1
“He is as advertised,”
Dong said of Bittle. “They
do a good job camping
him out by the hoop, and
you get anywhere close
and he’s going to swat it.
Offensively, he can shoot
it. At 6-10, there’s not
much you are going to do
about it.”
The Bucks and Comets
played an even first quar-
ter, with Crater holding an
18-14 lead. Pendleton led
10-9 with 2:43 to play in
the first, but Crater would
finish the quarter with a
9-4 run to pull ahead.
Crater took control of
the game in the second
with a 28-9 run to lead
46-23 at the half.
“You dig yourself a
hole against these teams,
it’s hard to get out,” Dong
said.
Pendleton had the
upper hand in the second
half, outscoring the Com-
ets 39-32, but the hole was
too big to climb out of.
Dakota Sams added
17 points for the Bucks,
while Redmond O’Han-
lon chipped in 10, with six
coming in the fourth quar-
ter. O’Hanlon also and 11
rebounds.
“Dakota did a good job,
just a little bit too late,”
Dong said. “We didn’t
start playing until the third
quarter.”
Bittle scored 13 of his
points in the third quarter
as the Comets held a 63-44
lead.
“He is going to be a
force to be reckoned with
the next two years,” Dong
said.
Nathan Horton and
Kruger Edwards each had
15 points for Crater, while
Jayden Vranes had seven
points and nine assists.
LAS VEGAS (AP) —
Charli Turner Thorne was
happy to get the opening
game jitters out of the way.
Courtney Ekmark scored
18 points and No. 20 Ari-
zona State used a run at the
start of the fourth quarter
to pull away from Colorado
and win 66-49 on Thursday
in the opening round of the
Pac-12 Tournament.
“I told our team in the
locker room, sometimes it’s
not the worst thing to have
the play-in game,” Turner
Thorne said. “The first
game is the hardest. ... The
pressure and excitement of
the moment can get to you.”
Ekmark hit six 3-point-
ers for the Sun Devils (20-
9), who will play UCLA on
Friday in the quarterfinals.
Fifth-seeded
Arizona
State led by 12 at the half,
but 12-seed Colorado (12-
18) rallied to within a point
in the third quarter after
scoring the first seven
points of the period. Char-
nea
Johnson-Chapman’s
putback before the buzzer
gave the Sun Devils some
momentum heading into the
final period. Ekmark hit a
3-pointer to begin an 11-2
burst that restored the dou-
ble-digit advantage.
Kiara Russell and Sophia
Elenga had back-to-back
3-point plays that gave Ari-
zona State a 54-42 lead with
5:42 left.
“I think one of the knocks
on us at times is that we’ll
take our foot off the gas,”
Turner Thorne said. “They
took their foot off the gas.
You can’t do that in March.
You can’t do that in our con-
ference. We already know
that. It was a great teachable
moment and reminder to us.
You’ve got to be 40 minutes
and all out.”
The Buffaloes could get
no closer than 10 the rest of
the way.
“The fourth quarter saw
a reversal on both ends of
the floor,” Colorado coach
JR Payne said. “In the
fourth quarter, fatigue set in
a little bit.”
Alexis Robinson scored
19 points to lead Colorado.
The senior was emotional
after the game as she put on
a Colorado uniform for the
final time.
“She’s definitely been
really big in my life,” said
Robinson fighting back
tears, about her coach JR
Payne.
It was easy to see that
it was going to be Ari-
zona State’s day. Before the
game, the Arizona State
mascot, Sparky, hit a half-
court shot over its head
looking at the other basket,
much to the delight of the
hundreds of school kids in
attendance.
In other opening round
games on Thursday, Ari-
zona faced Southern Cal-
ifornia; California played
Washington State and Utah
met Washington.
AP Photo/John Locher
Colorado’s Alexis Robinson, left, and Arizona State’s Robbi Ryan battle for a rebound during
the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Pac-12 women’s tournament on
Thursday in Las Vegas.
was second in scoring for
USC (17-13) during the sea-
son averaging 15.1 points,
missed her first 10 shots and
didn’t have a basket until
early in the third quarter.
She finished with 12 points,
going 7-for-8 from the foul
line.
Anigwe’s big game
helps Cal beat
Washington State
AP Photo/John Locher
Arizona’s Dominique McBryde, left, fouls Southern Califor-
nia’s Kayla Overbeck during the first half of an NCAA col-
lege basketball game at the Pac-12 women’s tournament on
Thursday in Las Vegas.
McDonald and
Reese help Arizona
rout Southern Cal
LAS VEGAS (AP)
— Cate Reese and Aari
McDonald scored 19 points
each to help eighth-seeded
Arizona beat ninth-seeded
Southern Cal 76-48 in the
opening round of the Pac-12
Tournament on Thursday.
The Wildcats (18-12) will
face top-seeded Oregon on
Friday in the quarterfinals
of the tournament.
Arizona led 13-12 mid-
way through the first quar-
ter before scoring eight of
the final 10 points. The team
kept the momentum going
in the second quarter with a
16-5 run to open the period
and never looked back. The
Wildcats led 44-21 at the
half.
The Wildcats maintained
at least a 20-point advan-
tage for most of the second
half that allowed coach Adia
Barnes to get her starters
some rest with another game
Friday. Arizona has already
secured its first 18-win sea-
son since 2010-11. That’s
the last time the team was
over .500 in the regular
season.
Mariya Moore, who
LAS VEGAS (AP) —
Kristine Anigwe had 27
points and 16 rebounds to
lead seventh-seeded Cal to a
77-58 win over 10th-seeded
Washington State in the
opening round of the Pac-
12 Tournament on Thursday
night.
When these two teams
met last Sunday, Anigwe had
32 points and 30 rebounds
— the first Division I player
since 2002 to reach 30 in
both categories in the same
game. She single-handedly
outrebounded the Cougars
by eight that night as Cal
won by 22.
Anigwe did her part for
Cal (19-11) on Thursday
despite facing constant dou-
ble and triple teams. She
recorded her 31st straight
double-double, the longest in
Pac-12 history.
SCOREBOARD
NBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic
Toronto
Philadelphia
Boston
Brooklyn
New York
Southeast
Miami
Orlando
Charlotte
Washington
Atlanta
Central
x-Milwaukee
Indiana
Detroit
Chicago
Cleveland
W
46
41
40
34
13
W
30
30
29
27
22
W
49
42
32
19
16
L
19
24
26
33
52
L
34
36
35
37
44
L
16
24
31
47
49
Pct
.708
.631
.606
.507
.200
Pct
.469
.455
.453
.422
.333
Pct
.754
.636
.508
.288
.246
GB
—
5
6½
13
33
GB
—
1
1
3
9
GB
—
7½
16
30½
33
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Southwest
W
Houston
39
San Antonio
37
New Orleans
30
Dallas
27
Memphis
26
Northwest
W
Denver
43
Oklahoma City 39
Portland
39
Utah
37
Minnesota
30
Pacific
W
Golden State
44
L.A. Clippers
37
Sacramento
32
L.A. Lakers
30
Phoenix
15
x-clinched playoff spot
———
Wednesday’s Games
L
25
29
37
37
40
L
21
25
25
27
35
L
20
29
32
35
51
Pct
.609
.561
.448
.422
.394
Pct
.672
.609
.609
.578
.462
Pct
.688
.561
.500
.462
.227
GB
—
3
10½
12
14
GB
—
4
4
6
13½
GB
—
8
12
14½
30
Detroit 131, Minnesota 114
Miami 91, Charlotte 84
Washington 132, Dallas 123
Brooklyn 113, Cleveland 107
San Antonio 111, Atlanta 104
Chicago 108, Philadelphia 107
Utah 114, New Orleans 104
Phoenix 107, New York 96
Boston 111, Sacramento 109
Denver 115, L.A. Lakers 99
Thursday’s Games
Milwaukee 117, Indiana 98
Oklahoma City 129, Portland 121
Friday’s Games
Dallas at Orlando, 4 p.m.
Washington at Charlotte, 4 p.m.
Cleveland at Miami, 5 p.m.
Detroit at Chicago, 5 p.m.
Philadelphia at Houston, 5 p.m.
Toronto at New Orleans, 5 p.m.
Utah at Memphis, 5 p.m.
Denver at Golden State, 7:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Sacramento at New York, 9 a.m.
Brooklyn at Atlanta, 4 p.m.
Washington at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Boston at L.A. Lakers, 5:30 p.m.
Charlotte at Milwaukee, 6 p.m.
Phoenix at Portland, 7 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Chicago at Detroit, 9 a.m.
Indiana at Philadelphia, 12:30 p.m.
Toronto at Miami, 12:30 p.m.
New Orleans at Atlanta, 3 p.m.
Orlando at Memphis, 3 p.m.
Houston at Dallas, 4 p.m.
Milwaukee at San Antonio, 5 p.m.
New York at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Phoenix at Golden State, 5:30 p.m.
NHL
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Tampa Bay
68 51 13 4 106 263 179
Boston
67 41 17 9 91 202 167
Toronto
67 41 21 5 87 241 191
Montreal
67 36 24 7 79 204 194
Buffalo
67 30 28 9 69 194 216
Florida
67 28 27 12 68 212 231
Detroit
67 24 33 10 58 185 229
Ottawa
68 23 39 6 52 201 255
Metropolitan GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Washington 67 39 21 7 85 231 211
N.Y. Islanders 67 39 21 7 85 196 163
Pittsburgh
67 36 22 9 81 232 204
Carolina
66 36 23 7 79 199 180
Columbus
67 37 27 3 77 205 201
Philadelphia 67 32 27 8 72 204 224
N.Y. Rangers 67 27 28 12 66 192 222
New Jersey
67 25 33 9 59 189 225
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Nashville
69 39 25 5 83 207 184
Winnipeg
66 39 23 4 82 224 198
St. Louis
66 35 25 6 76 192 185
Dallas
67 35 27 5 75 171 170
Minnesota 68 33 27 8 74 189 196
Colorado
68 29 27 12 70 220 215
Chicago
67 28 30 9 65 225 254
Pacific
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Calgary
68 41 20 7 89 235 196
San Jose
66 39 19 8 86 238 206
Vegas
68 37 26 5 79 203 188
Arizona
67 33 29 5 71 179 186
Edmonton 67 30 30 7 67 190 218
Vancouver 68 28 31 9 65 185 211
Anaheim
68 26 33 9 61 151 209
Los Angeles 66 24 34 8 56 159 210
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for
overtime loss. Top three teams in each
division and two wild cards per confer-
ence advance to playoffs.
Wednesday’s Games
Washington 5, Philadelphia 3
Vancouver 3, Toronto 2, OT
St. Louis 5, Anaheim 4
Vegas 2, Calgary 1
Thursday’s Games
Boston 4, Florida 3
Pittsburgh 3, Columbus 0
Detroit 3, N.Y. Rangers 2, SO
N.Y. Islanders 4, Ottawa 2
Minnesota 3, Tampa Bay 0
Dallas 4, Colorado 0
Chicago 5, Buffalo 4, SO
Edmonton 3, Vancouver 2
Arizona 2, Calgary 0
Montreal at San Jose, 7:30 p.m.
St. Louis at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m.
Friday’s Games
Minnesota at Florida, 4 p.m.
New Jersey at Washington, 4 p.m.
Winnipeg at Carolina, 4:30 p.m.
Montreal at Anaheim, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Buffalo at Colorado, 12 p.m.
St. Louis at San Jose, 1 p.m.
New Jersey at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m.
Philadelphia vs. N.Y. Islanders at Nassau
Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 4 p.m.
Toronto at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
Ottawa at Boston, 4 p.m.
Detroit at Tampa Bay, 4 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Columbus, 4 p.m.
Chicago at Dallas, 5 p.m.
Carolina at Nashville, 5 p.m.
Los Angeles at Arizona, 5 p.m.
Vegas at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Detroit at Florida, 2 p.m.
Winnipeg at Washington, 4 p.m.
Boston at Pittsburgh, 4:30 p.m.
Vegas at Calgary, 6:30 p.m.
Los Angeles at Anaheim, 7 p.m.