Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 11, 2015 11A
Polk County Sports
WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP
Wolves headed to regional tourney
Men’s basketball earns at-large bid to West Region, faces Azusa Pacific
Itemizer-Observer staff report
BILLINGS, Mont. — For
the first time in program his-
tory, Western Oregon’s men’s
basketball team is headed to
the national tournament.
The Wolves received an
at-large berth into the NCAA
Division II National Tourna-
ment on Sunday night.
“We are thrilled to be se-
lected and to represent our
conference and our univer-
sity in the NCAA tourna-
ment,” WOU coach Brady
Bergeson said.
Western Oregon (23-6
overall, 15-3 Great North-
west Athletic Conference),
which won the GNAC regu-
lar season title, received the
eighth seed in the West Re-
gional.
The Wolves will take on
top-seeded and tournament
host Azusa Pacific Friday at
March Madness
What: NCAA Division II
National Basketball Tour-
nament, West Region.
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.;
Saturday, 5 p.m.; Monday,
7 p.m.
Where: Azusa Pacific
University, Calif.
What’s at stake: West-
ern Oregon’s men’s basket-
ball team competes in the
first round of the west re-
gion. The region winner ad-
vances to the national
quarterfinals March 25 in
Evansville, Ind. Follow the
Itemizer-Observer on Face-
book and Twitter for up-
dates.
7:30 p.m.
The Cougars defeated
WOU 81-74 on Nov. 21 in the
teams’ lone meeting of the
season. Azusa Pacific enters
the regional with a 24-5
record.
“Azusa Pacific is loaded
with firepower,” Bergeson
said. “They can shoot it from
all positions. They are deep,
fast, and well coached. It is
exactly the type of challenge
we would want at this point
in the year.”
GNAC tournament cham-
pion Seattle Pacific earned
the seventh seed and will
take on BYU-Hawaii. Cali-
fornia Baptist, Dixie State,
Cal Poly Pomona and Chico
State round out the remain-
ing teams.
Quarterfinal winners ad-
vance to the semifinals on
Saturday, with the champi-
onship matchup on Monday
night.
The winners of the re-
gional advance to the na-
Central: Team goes 14-11
Continued from Page 10A
“Moving up to 5A was
mentally tougher than I
thought it was going to be,”
McDonald said. “The com-
petition was great and
didn’t let up. In 4A you’re
going to show up, but there
were some teams who were
weak and you could have a
bad game and still pull out
that win. In 5A, you’re going
to lose those games. The
close games are going to be
won or lost on mental deci-
sions that your team makes.
The girls have to be pre-
pared to make those deci-
sions on their own. I saw a
lot of growth in the mental
aspect of the game.
“The girls kept the per-
spective that it’s a long sea-
son and kept working at it
...” she continued. “They
did a good job focusing and
got after it in any situation.”
tional Division II quarterfi-
nals March 25 in Evansville,
Ind.
The Wolves received an
at-large berth to regionals
despite being upset in the
semifinals of the GNAC
men’s basketball tourna-
ment.
Western Washington de-
feated Western Oregon 88-
79 on Friday in Billings,
Mont., despite 29 points
from junior Andy Avgi.
Julian Nichols, Devon
Alexander and Jordan Wiley
also reached double digits in
scoring with 15, 14 and 13
points, respectively.
The Vikings lost to Seattle
Pacific 81-68 in the confer-
ence title game on Saturday
night.
BASEBALL WINS THREE:
Facing the Great Northwest
Athletic Conference preseason
favorite,
Western
O r e g o n’s
baseball
team took
three of four
games from
Central
Washington.
The Wolves
Pratt
lost the first
game of the series 4-1 before
winning 7-3 in Saturday’s
nightcap. Central High gradu-
ate Jesse Pratt threw a com-
plete game during the win,
throwing seven strikeouts.
WOU swept the Wildcats 17-6
and 5-3 on Sunday. Senior Matt
Taylor recorded eight hits dur-
ing the series, while Garrett
Harpole recorded seven hits
and eight RBIs. Western Ore-
gon (10-14 overall, 6-2 GNAC)
hosts Montana State Billings
for a pair of doubleheaders on
Friday and Saturday. First pitch
is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday
and noon Saturday.
TRACK AND FIELD SWEEPS
AT WILLAMETTE: Western
Oregon’s men’s and women’s
track and field teams won the
2015 Willamette Opener on
Saturday in Salem. Throwers
Justin Larson, Amanda Short
and Emmi Collier recorded
NCAA Division II provisional
qualifying marks at the meet.
Larson reached 200 feet, 10
inches, in the men’s javelin;
Short set a personal record by
13 feet in the women’s javelin
with a throw of 143 feet, 11
inches; and Collier won the
women’s shot put with a mark
of 44 feet, 11¾ inches. On the
track, sprinter Cody Warner
won the 100-and 200-meter
runs in 10.68 and 21.51 sec-
onds, respec tively, while
Stephanie Stuckey took home
the 800-meter title in 2:15.58.
WOU will compete at the
Saints Open on Saturday in
Gresham.
CLASS 5A PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Central goes cold
Panthers shoot 26 percent in loss
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
CLASS 5A PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
Dallas falls in play-in
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — For the third
season in a row, Dallas’ girls
basketball squad entered
the OSAA Class 5A play-in
round with hopes of mak-
ing a deep run in the state
playoffs.
For the third year in a
row, the Dragons were elim-
inated.
Dallas lost at home to
Eagle Point 47-39 on March
4 as the Dragons saw their
season come to an end.
“We had a great (year),”
Dallas coach David
Brautigam said. “The girls
played together and were
resilient and tough. We just
had a disappointing end to
a good season.”
Senior Taylor Fennell
scored a team-high 11
points, while Makenzie
Davis added nine points for
the Dragons, who led 21-18
at the half.
The Eagles took the lead
for good in the third quarter
and stretched their advan-
tage to double digits in the
fourth before holding off
Dallas over the final min-
utes.
The Dragons finished the
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas sophomore Olivia Nelson attemps to drive the
baseline against Eagle Point on March 4.
season 14-10 overall and 9-
5 in Mid-Willamette Con-
ference play.
Dallas’ lineup will be
vastly different next year
compared to this season.
Five seniors — Davis, Sarah
Mitchell, Fennell, Brianna
Classen and Eva Ronco —
graduate. All five were
starters or saw significant
game action off the bench.
It wasn’t the end they en-
Itemizer-Observer
Athlete of the Week
Amanda Evola
Western Oregon
Evola, a senior outfielder for the WOU
softball team, had a monster series
against Northwest Nazarene. Evola
recorded nine hits, six RBIs and five runs
scored over the four-game series to lead
the Wolves. Evola also hit two home runs, one in each of the
final two games in Saturday’s doubleheader, helping the
Wolves to a 4-0 start in Great Northwest Athletic Conference
play and earning GNAC softball Player of the Week honors.
Garrett Harpole
Western Oregon
Harpole, a senior infielder for the WOU
baseball team, helped spark the Wolves’
offense against Central Washington. Har-
pole recorded seven hits and eight RBIs
during the four-game series, including
two doubles and a triple. Harpole had five hits and seven
RBIs during the final two games of the series. Harpole was
named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s baseball
Player of the Week.
To submit nominations for the Itemizer-Observer Athlete of
the Week, contact Sports Editor Lukas Eggen at 503-623-2373
or leggen@polkio.com by 9 a.m. on Monday.
visioned, but Brautigam said
the Dragons shouldn’t hang
their heads. And for the re-
turning players, Brautigam
hopes this experience helps
drive them toward breaking
through in the future.
“I’m very proud of our
players, program, parents
and coaches,” Brautigam
said. “It’s fair to say that we
will use this as nothing but
motivation for next season.”
EUGENE — The outside
shot had been one of the
Central boys basketball
team’s most dependable
weapons during the regular
season.
In the first round of the
Class 5A state playoffs on
F r i d a y, t h e P a n t h e r s ’
strength turned into a night-
mare during a 51-31 loss to
Marist.
“During warmups, the
hoop seemed really nice to
us,” Central senior Kaj
Bansen said. “All our shots
seemed to go in. As soon as
the game started, it turned
in (the Spartans’) favor.”
The first half saw the Pan-
thers in a close battle, trail-
ing 17-15 entering the break
as neither team found any
offensive rhythm.
“We wanted to keep pres-
sure on their guards,”
Bansen said. “We thought
they would make a couple of
bad decisions and it would
prevent them from getting
the ball into the paint to
their big men.”
But Central went cold in
the third quarter, making
just one field goal as Marist
extended its lead to 28-19.
The Panthers shot 26 per-
cent from the field during
the game, including 1 for 17
from beyond the 3-point
line.
“We got the looks we
wanted to,” Central coach
Tim Kreta said. “The kids
worked their tails off (on Fri-
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Central senior Kyler Fleming reacts after the Panthers’ 51-
31 loss to Marist on Friday night.
day). Kyler (Fleming), Kaj
(Bansen), Josh (Smith) and
all those guys executed our
game plan. We had to take a
few more gambles in the
second half. Those gambles
paid off, the buckets just
didn’t fall.”
The Panthers opened the
postseason with a 51-41 vic-
tory over Crater on March 3
in the state play-in round.
Bansen scored a game-
high 20 points and Josh
Smith added 12 points.
“We knew we had to lock
d ow n t h e i r s h o o t e r s ,”
Bansen said. “On offense, we
knew we could run whatever
we wanted because they
didn’t pressure the ball as
much.”
Central finished the year
with a 14-11 overall record in
the team’s first year in the
Mid-Willamette Conference
and at the Class 5A level.
The Panthers faced their
share of adversity, including
seeing senior Kyler Fleming
miss nine games with a left
hand injury before returning
on Feb. 20. Yet, for every
challenge, Central found a
way to weather the storm,
Bansen said.
“We had a rough year,
but we stuck with it,”
Bansen said. “I think peo-
ple thought we were going
to be at the bottom in our
league. That was a big mo-
tivator. We didn’t want to
be the last-place team. We
wanted to prove everybody
wrong.”
Swing: WOU sweeps Crusaders
Continued from Page 10A
Those tweaks appear to
be paying off in a big way
for the Wolves.
Knowles leads the team
in home runs with three and
RBIs with 17, hitting in the
cleanup spot.
Yet, Knowles is more than
just a steady bat.
Her enthusiasm, even
when she’s not on the field,
is infectious in the team’s
clubhouse.
“She brings so much (to
the team),” WOU coach
Lonny Sargent said. “Her
enthusiasm, her hitting, her
offense and defense and her
love for the game is conta-
gious. Our kids love that.
When she’s not in the game,
she’s just as powerful in the
dugout. She’s earned her
role in the lineup and has
been a wonderful presence
for us.”
Knowles played a key role
as the Wolves swept North-
west Nazarene to open
GNAC play. WOU won 6-2,
8-3 on Friday and 3-1, 14-2
on Saturday.
Knowles recorded five
hits and four RBIs over the
four-game
series.
S h e
wasn’t the
only one
to see her
bat come
a l i v e
against the
Jennings
Crusaders.
Senior outfielder Aman-
da Evola had nine hits over
the four games, including
two home runs, while
sophomore shortstop Lexi
Jennings hit her first home
run of the season — a
grand slam — in the final
game of the series.
Senior Jourdan Williams
also hit a home run during
the weekend’s final con-
test.
“Amanda, she’s just in-
credible,” Sargent said. “To
have a kid like that on your
team and be that kind of
leader, that’s a big advan-
tage for us. Lexi, we know
she can hit and now she’s
starting to believe. She has
so much power that is fun to
watch.”
Western Oregon (7-11
overall, 4-0 GNAC) entered
the week-
end losing
seven of
its previ-
ous eight
c o n t e s t s.
W O U
showed
glimpses
Williams
of why it
was the co-preseason fa-
vorite to win the confer-
ence against the Cru-
saders.
“All the little pieces start
getting together,” Knowles
said. “We’ve learned that
we’ve had to move forward
from our nonconference
schedule. That’s what we did
here, and that’s the most
important thing for us right
now.”
Junior pitcher Alyson
Boytz threw a complete
game in the third game of
the series as the Wolves look
to show its nonconference
record wasn’t indicative of
the team’s true talent and
ability.
“After (the Desert Stinger
in Las Vegas) it was tough,”
Sargent said. “We played
some really good teams
down there. The biggest
thing is that was our pre-
season. Now, we have our
conference (season) and
hopefully, then our post-
season if we are fortunate
enough to make it. The
overall record doesn’t look
as good, but we’re 4-0 in
conference and that’s what
we’re focused on.”
WOU hosted Northwest
Christian Tuesday after
press time.
The Wolves continue con-
ference play this weekend,
hosting Simon Fraser Satur-
day at 1 p.m. and Western
Washington Sunday at noon
for a pair of doubleheaders.
For Knowles, it’s a con-
tinuation of a process to
remember to keep clear
eyes and a full heart each
time she steps up to the
plate.
“Confidence is key,”
Knowles said. “Community
college was a lot faster than
high school and Division II
is a lot faster than commu-
nity college, but I have to re-
member that I can compete
at this level. That’s the
biggest thing.”