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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2015)
14A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 18, 2015 Polk County Sports WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP Wolves find shot against Simon Fraser Four players score in double figures to lead women’s basketball team to GNAC victory Itemizer-Observer staff report MONMOUTH — Western Oregon’s women’s basketball team shot a season-best 59.6 percent from the field en route to a 68-45 Great Northwest Athletic Confer- ence victory over Simon Fraser on Thursday. The Wolves had four play- ers score in double figures, led by Dana Goularte’s 15 points. Jordan Mottershaw had 13 points; Elise Miller added 12 points and Jas- mine Miller finished with 10 points as WOU was 28-of-47 shooting from the field. Sami Osborne added 11 re- bounds and five assists in the victory. “It (four players scoring in double figures) meant the world just because we’ve been trying to really focus on being a w e l l - rounded team on defense and of- Goularte fense,” Goularte said. “We’re trying to play stronger together. It just feels great to have every- body get there and to have everybody succeed.” Western Oregon held Simon Fraser to 27.9 percent shooting (17 of 61) from the field. The celebratory mood was short-lived, however, as the Wolves struggled from start to finish in an 81-48 loss to Western Washington on Saturday. Goularte again led the Wolves in scoring with 12 points, while also grabbing seven rebounds. Junior Emily Howey added 10 points for WOU, which shot just 37.3 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from three-point range. “We dug ourselves a hole early in the first half and came out flat in the second half,” Western Oregon coach Holli Howard-Carpenter said. “We went away from everything that got us the win on Thursday night. Our consistency has been a struggle for us all season. We have the ability to compete with many of the teams in this conference and need to have more mental tough- ness when things aren’t going well.” WOU (3-11 GNAC, 6-16 overall) returns to action for league road games Thursday at Montana State Billings and Saturday at Seattle Pa- cific. MEN EXTEND WIN STREAK: Andy Avgi scored a game-high 22 points as the Western Ore- gon men’s basketball team de- feated Saint Martin’s 66-56 in Great Northwest Athletic Con- ference play Feb. 11, extending its winning streak to 11 games. The No. 18-ranked Wolves (13- 1 GNAC, 21-3 overall) shot 61.5 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes to take a 38-25 halftime lead. Julian Nichols added 11 points, four assists, four rebounds and three steals for WOU, which clinched a berth to the GNAC postseason tournament with the vic- tor y. The Wolves are home to host West- ern Was h- i n g t o n Thursday at 7 p.m. and Avgi Simon Fras- er Saturday at 4 p.m. BASEBALL DROPS THREE OF FOUR: Western Oregon dropped three of four games during a road trip at California S t a te - M o n te re y B ay. Th e Wolves lost the opening game 6-2 on Friday. WOU won the opening game of a double- header on Saturday 7-6 as pitcher Jesse Pratt , a Central High School graduate, earned the win. Matt Taylor hit a three-run double in the fifth inning and Garrett Harpole hit a solo home run in the ninth to secure the win. Western Ore- gon (2-10 overall) lost the final two contests in the series, 4-2 on Saturday and 2-1 on Sun- day. WOU closes out non- league play with a three-game series against Lewis-Clark State on Friday, Saturday and Sun- day. SOFTBALL WINLESS AT VEGAS: Western Oregon’s soft- ball team went 0-6 at the annu- al Desert Stinger tournament, played Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Las Vegas. Destiny Kuehl went 7 for 16 with three RBIs during the Desert Stinger to lead the Wolves (2-10 over- all). WOU faces Oregon Insti- tute of Technology Friday at 1 p.m. at Hood View Park in Clackamas in the Northwest Cup, an annual softball series. Western Oregon then plays Concordia Friday at 3 p.m. CLASS 5A PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL Dallas earns payback in win over Panthers Dragons move into third place in Mid-Willamette Conference after victories By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — The first time Dallas’ and Central’s girls basketball teams clashed, the Panthers earned a 51-36 win. Things were a bit different this time. The Dragons defeated Central 62-31 on Feb. 11, as Dallas passed the Panthers in the Mid-Willamette Con- ference standings. “At the end of the day, basketball is a simple game,” Dallas coach David Brautigam said. “We just played hard, aggressive, fo- cused and together. In the last couple weeks, our play- ers have really come togeth- er as one.” Sarah Zwicker scored a game-high 19 points, B e c c a R o n c o added 15 Zwicker points and Dallas held the Panthers to five total points over the sec- ond and third quarters as the Dragons pulled away for the win. “We’ve always been one of the best defensive teams in the state year in and year out, and that’s been our biggest improvement as of late,” Brautigam said. “We have five players flying around, which is leading to other pos- itive things out on the court. We’re more focused than ever and we’re playing with a sense of urgency.” Dallas’ victory over Cen- tral meant more than local bragging rights. The Dragons (7-3 MWC), who have won five of their last six games, moved into third place in the league standings behind Corvallis and Silverton, while Central dropped to fourth. The Dragons face the league-leading Spartans Wednesday (today) before hosting Crescent Valley Fri- day at 7 p.m. “Our next challenge is to find consistency in what we’ve done the last couple weeks,” Brautigam said. AARON YOST/for the Itemizer-Observer Dallas players celebrate during the Dragons’ 62-31 victory over Central on Feb. 11. Dal- las improved to 7-3 in Mid-Willamette Conference play. Swinehart: Senior in control Continued from Page 12A Collin Swinehart (sec- ond place at 138), Marlon Tuipulotu (second at 285) and Oscar Amezcua (fourth at 160) also quali- fied for state. Collin Swinehart was pinned by Crescent Valley’s Alex Rich, a four-time MWC champion, while Tuipulotu fell just short in a 3-1 deci- sion to Corvallis’ Andrew Lademarco. “They’re all getting bet- ter,” Holstad said. “We hoped for a little different re- sult for our two runners-up. Collin had an uphill battle, but we’ll hopefully be able to do enough to see (Rich) again at the state tourna- ment. With Marlon, it’s com- ing down to takedowns and whether we get one or give one. That’s usually the de- cider of the match.” Unlike previous seasons, there is two weeks be- tween dis- tricts and the OSAA Class 5A s t a t e wrestling champi- Negrete onships, which take place Feb. 27-28 in Portland, but don’t expect Central to take its foot off the gas during the added break. “We’ve never had two weeks before,” Holstad said. “We’re going to approach this the same. We are going to practice and condition, work on technique and live wrestling.” The Panthers may not have the numbers to com- pete for a state team title, but several of its individual quali- fiers figure to be major con- tenders next weekend at Vet- erans Memorial Coliseum. PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP Central falls to rival Dragons Panthers drop to fourth place LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Central’s Alberto Meza battles Dallas’ Mathew Thorsted on Saturday night. Meza won the 195-pound title. Fourth Time’s The Charm LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Dallas senior Matt Hofenbredl looks to gain an edge against South Albany’s Jordan Villarreal on Saturday night. Hofenbredl pinned Villarreal to earn the 132-pound Mid-Willamette Conference district title. Hofenbredl became the first wrestler in Dallas history to win four district championships. Hofenbredl, who was one of 17 Dragon wrestlers to qualify for the state tournament, helped Dallas win its sixth-straight district team title. Itemizer-Observer staff report INDEPENDENCE — A pair of Mid-Willamette Confer- ence loss- es saw the Panthers drop to fourth place in the Mid- W i l l - Nash amette Confer- e n c e standings. The Cen- tral girls basketball team lost to Dallas 62-31 on Feb. 11 Tapasa before falling to Crescent Valley 53-45 on Friday. “We haven’t played well the last couple of games,” Panthers coach Julie Mc- Donald said. Junior Kylie Nash led Central against the Raiders, scoring a team-high 16 points, while Mo Tapasa added 10 points. The Panthers enter the week one game behind Dallas at 6-4 in MWC play. Central plays at Lebanon Wednesday (today) before facing Silverton on Friday. PIRATES EARN FOURTH SEED: Perrydale’s girls basket- ball squad finished in fourth place in the Tri-river Confer- ence after defeating Santiam 48-31 on Feb. 10 and falling to St. Paul 49-41 on Friday. Telaney Newton scored a game-high 14 points against Santiam, while Cheyenne Locke led the Pirates with 10 points against St. Paul. Perry- dale hosts either East Linn Christian or St. Paul Thursday League Playoffs Perrydale will host East Linn Christian or St. Paul Thursday at 6 p.m. in the second round of the Tri- River Conference playoffs. The winner advances for a chance to qualify for the Class 2A state playoffs.. Falls City will play third- seeded Willamette Valley in the Casco League play- offs.The Mountaineers can clinch a Class 1A state berth with a victory. at 6 p.m. The winner advances to face the loser of the sec- ond-place Kennedy/third- place Regis matchup for the league’s third state playoff berth Saturday at noon. All Saturday games will be held at Crescent Valley High School in Corvallis. FALLS CITY CLINCHES SECOND SEED: Falls City is one win away from punching its ticket to the Class 1A state girls basketball playoffs. The Mountaineers clinched sec- ond place in the Casco League after defeating Livingstone Adventist 44-32 on Feb. 10 and Jewell 28-27 on Friday. Brittany Varney scored 18 points against Jewell and had 20 points against Livingstone Adventist. The Mountaineers play third-seeded Willamette Valley Wednesday (today) at 5:30 p.m. The winner clinches a berth to state and faces County Christian for the No. 1 seed from the Casco to state; Country Christian has won the regular season title, Friday at 5:30 p.m. The loser of Wednes- day’s game faces the winner of Livingstone Adventist/Jew- ell Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The winner advances to the state tournament, while the loser is eliminated. All league playoff games will be held at Warner Pacific College in Portland.