Polk County
Sports
SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, JAN. 8
Swimming: Blanchet at
Dallas, 4 p.m. Central at New-
port, 4 p.m.
Men's
Basketball:
Northwest Nazarene at
Western Oregon, 7:30 p.m.
Women's Basketball:
Alaska Anchorage at West-
ern Oregon, 5:15 p.m.
FRIDAY, JAN. 9
Boys Basketball: St. He-
lens at Central, 7 p.m. Regis
at Perrydale, 7 p.m. Falls City
at Crosshill Christian, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball: Regis
at Perrydale, 5:30 p.m.
Wrestling: Central, Cor-
vallis, Lebanon at Dallas,
4:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, JAN. 10
Wrestling: Dallas Brun-
ner Invitational, 9 a.m.
Amity, Banks, Siuslaw at
Central Four-Way, noon.
Swimming: Central at
Clemens Invitational, Philo-
math, 10:30 a.m.
Men's Basketball: Cen-
tral Washington at Western
Oregon, 7:30 p.m.
Women's Basketball:
Alaska Fairbanks at Western
Oregon, 5:15 p.m.
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 7, 2015 10A
CLASS 5A PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Fleming realizes the power of positive
Senior looks to give Panthers a burst of energy every time he gets the ball
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE —
Fro m t h e m o m e n t
Kyler Fleming
arrived to play
with Central’s
boys basketball
team, the Pan-
thers’ coaching
staff knew he could
be something special.
But Fleming wasn’t ready
to shine — yet.
“When Kyler came to us
as a freshman, he knew he
didn’t have all the bas-
ketball fundamentals
honed in,” Central
coach Tim Kreta
said. “He has a
motor that doesn’t
stop though, and we
wanted to tap into that
motor and fine tune those
basketball skills.”
Now in his senior year,
Fleming is realizing the po-
tential his coaches saw in
him from the moment he
stepped on the court as a
freshman.
Prior to this season,
F l e m i n g w a s n’t
called upon to be
the vocal leader of
the Panthers. When
he did speak up, it
Rising star
Sophomore guard emerges as offensive threat for Wolves
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — When
sophomore Jordan Motter-
shaw arrived at Western Ore-
gon University last season, it
wasn’t the speed of the game
that was her biggest adjust-
ment. Nor was it living on
her own, or attending col-
lege classes for the first time.
Mottershaw, who was
born and raised in San
Diego, wasn’t prepared for
the cold.
“I still get cold all the time
here in the winter,” Motter-
shaw said smiling. “There
are times that I think, man, I
wish it was hotter here.”
Mottershaw may still be
adjusting to the colder
weather, but on the court
she’s heating up in her sec-
ond season with the Wolves.
As a freshman, Motter-
shaw averaged 5.6 points per
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 15
Boys Basketball: Dallas
at Woodburn, 7 p.m. South
Albany at Central, 7 p.m.
Wrestling: Woodburn at
Dallas, 6 p.m. Central at
South Albany, 7 p.m.
—
Schedules Subject to Change
QUICK HITS
Tuipulotu earns
football honor
Rogue Farms to
host workshops
INDEPENDENCE — Rog-
ue Farms will host Winter
Sports with REI Saturday
from 2 to 4 p.m.
Located at 3590 Wigrich
Road in Independence, the
workshop will teach atten-
dees how to snowshoe,
cross-country ski and more.
There is no cost to attend
and it is open to people of all
ages.
For more information:
Rogue Farms, 503-838-9813.
STAT SHEET
1
The number of
home losses West-
ern Oregon’s men’s
basketball team has
this season. The Wolves
host Northwest Nazarene
and Central Washington
this week.
loud and being a leader.
“It’s definitely different,”
Fleming said. “I’m used to
having a Tanner Omlid or a
Grant Lindley to look up to.
It’s different having some-
one else look up to you.”
Fleming embraced his ex-
panding roles and responsi-
bilities. Now, he can be seen
giving advice, though there’s
a big difference.
See FLEMING, Page 11A
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
TUESDAY, JAN. 13
Boys Basketball: Perry-
dale at East Linn Christian, 7
p.m.
Girls Basketball: Perry-
dale at East Linn Christian,
5:30 p.m. Woodburn at Dal-
las, 7 p.m. Central at Corval-
lis, 7 p.m.
Swimming: Crescent Val-
ley at Dallas, 4 p.m. Central
at Corvallis, 4 p.m.
INDEPENDENCE — Cen-
tral sophomore Marlon Tuip-
ulotu was named second
team Sophomore All-Ameri-
can by
M a x
Preps, a
national
h i g h
school
athletics
website.
Tuipu-
lotu was
Tuipulotu
named
to the second team defense
after recording 72 tackles, 12
sacks and five fumble recov-
eries on the defensive line.
wasn’t always to say the right
things.
“I used to be loud,
but in the wrong
ways,” Fleming said.
“I was more nega-
tive.”
As his role
i n c re a s e d ,
he learned
the differ-
ence be-
tween being
game, while recording 27
steals and 21 assists, but
never felt fully comfortable
on the court.
“It’s different,” said Mot-
tershaw, a 5-foot-10 guard.
“We were all the best players
on our high school teams.
We all have different roles
now, and you have to learn
and embrace your role and
just do your thing.”
Mottershaw has done just
that, and Western Oregon is
reaping the rewards.
Through the Wolves’ first
11 games, Mottershaw is
second for WOU in scoring,
averaging 12.3 points per
game. She has also recorded
20 assists and 16 steals.
“I’ve definitely learned a
lot from last year,” she said.
“You learn to play within
yourself and not try to do too
much. Your second year, you
learn so much.”
See STAR, Page 11A
By The Numbers
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
12.3
20
31.2
The number of
points per game
Mottershaw is av-
eraging. She av-
eraged 5.6 points
last season.
The number of
assists Motter-
shaw has this
season. She had
21 total as a
freshman.
The number of
minutes per
game Motter-
shaw averages,
the most on the
team.
Jordan Mottershaw sets up on defense against Saint Martin’s on Saturday.
CLASS 2A PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
Senior ready to shoulder responsibility
Sarah Nelson undergoes new treatment to strengthen shoulder ligaments
By Lukas Eggen
PRP Therapy
The Itemizer-Observer
PERRYDALE — For the
past few years, Perrydale
senior Sarah Nelson has
been among the Pirates’
most consistent athletes, re-
gardless of sport.
Whether it was volleyball
in the fall, basketball in the
winter, or softball in the
spring, Nelson stood out on
talented rosters.
But her biggest challenge
wasn’t any opponent — It
was her own shoulder.
Nelson has been dealing
with shoulder subluxation, a
condition that causes her
ligaments to be stretched
out, making her right shoul-
www.polkio.com/ns/sports
• Platelet Rich Plasma
therapy uses white blood
cells to help strengthen lig-
aments.
• Perrydale senior Sarah
Nelson hopes the proce-
dure will strengthen her
right shoulder and prevent
further injuries.
der prone to dislocation-like
injuries.
She’s hoping a relatively
new procedure can help give
her shoulder a new lease on
life.
With the basketball sea-
son in full swing, Nelson’s
shoulder proved to be a sig-
nificant hurdle for the 5-
foot-5 wing. The question
became finding a solution
that could help strengthen
her shoulder without caus-
ing her to miss a significant
portion of the season.
“This was the only thing
that we found that had a
short recovery time that we
could try, so hopefully it
helps,” Nelson said.
That option was Platelet
Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy.
“They take out some of my
blood and they run it
through a machine that gets
it down to the white blood
cells,” Sarah said. “Then, they
inject those back into my lig-
aments in my shoulder.”
See SHOULDER, Page 11A
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Sisters Emily (left) and Sarah Nelson share a close rela-
tionship on and off the court with the Pirates.
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DALLAS
121 Main St • 503-623-8155
INDEPENDENCE
1710 Monmouth St • 503-838-6340
www.LesSchwab.com
Prices good through 1/31/15
Mon -Fri 8am - 6pm • Sat 8am - 5pm