Polk County Sports
12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 10, 2016
DALLAS BOYS BASKETBALL
CENTRAL ROUNDUP
Girls basketball Dragons hope White gives team a boost
downs Dragons
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
Itemizer-Observer staff report
INDEPENDENCE — Cen-
tral’s girls basketball team
strengthened its hold on the
No. 3 spot in the Mid-
Willamette Conference. The
Panthers
(12-6 over-
all, 7-2
MWC) de-
f e a t e d
South Al-
bany 55-43
on Feb. 3
b e f o r e
beating
Nash
Dallas 50-
43 on Friday.
Kylie Nash scored a game-
high 16 points against the
Dragons. Krista Omlid added
nine points, while Emma
Girod and Elizabeth Chavez
scored eight points each.
“I thought we executed
our game plan very well,”
Central coach Julie McDon-
ald said. “We played tough
defense on their posts and
rebounded the ball well. Of-
fensively, we executed our
plays and 75 percent of our
baskets were made off as-
sists, which shows great ball
movement, patience and
getting everyone involved.”
The Panthers entered the
week one game behind Cor-
vallis and two games behind
Silverton, the top two teams
in the league. Central played
Crescent Valley Tuesday after
press time. Central hosts
Lebanon Friday at 7 p.m.
and Silverton Tuesday at 7
p.m.
WRESTLING TAKES FIFTH
AT INVITATIONAL: Central’s
wrestling team placed ifth at
the Robert Paul Invitational on
Saturday. Collin Swinehart (152
pounds) and Sam Crow (195)
placed irst to lead the Pan-
thers. Opeti Tuipulotu (220) and
Marlon Tuipulotu (285) inished
second. The Panthers defeated
Woodburn 53-18 in a league
dual on Feb. 3. Central faces
Crescent Valley Wednesday
(today) in the team’s inal dual
meet before the MWC Confer-
ence district tournament Feb.
19-20.
DALLAS — A freak injury
has cost Dallas junior Aaron
White dearly during the
2015-16 school year.
Now, he’s hoping to make
up for lost time.
—
It was during a seemingly
routine play that White
broke his right wrist during
football
season in
a game
against
Central on
Sept. 25,
2015.
The in-
jury ended
his foot-
White
ball sea-
son early and kept him from
playing basketball until Jan.
22 against Crescent Valley.
But the hardest part was-
n’t the recovery or rehab —
it was having to sit on the
sidelines as the season pro-
gressed — and not being
able to help his teammates
out.
“I think it was even hard-
er watching us win than
playing while we lose,”
White said. “I wanted to be
out there with the guys.”
White has begun to work
his way back into Dallas’ ro-
tation, but the injury has
left its mark. White wears a
brace on his right wrist and
has forced some big
changes to his game.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas’ Everett Minahan (3) attempts to save the bas-
ketball over Central’s Andrew Barry (34) on Friday.
“With (the brace on), I
can’t bend my wrist at all,”
White said. “I have to use
more of my left hand when I
shoot. In the long run, this
may be bad for my form,
but I’ve been working on it
and I feel like I’ve been get-
ting better every day.”
White’s return gives the
team another offensive
weapon and depth at the
guard positions.
“Aaron’s return is espe-
cially good for us on the de-
fensive end,” Dallas coach
Trent Schwartz said. “He is
extremely quick and can
keep most anyone in front
of him with his perimeter
defense. He’s not afraid to
stick his nose in there and
draw charges. He has sur-
prised us as a coaching staff
with how well he has shot
the ball and handled the
ball playing with his brace.”
Schwartz hopes having
White back in the lineup
can spark Dallas.
The Dragons entered the
week tied for last in the
Mid-Willamette Conference
after a 47-29 loss to Wood-
burn on Feb. 2 and a 47-37
overtime loss to Central on
Friday. Dallas, Central,
South Albany and Crescent
Valley all entered the week
with a 3-6 mark in league
play and tied for fifth place.
The top six teams advance
to the postseason.
“We missed a golden op-
portunity to break away
from the bottom of the pack
in the conference had we
gotten a couple wins vs.
teams we’d beaten the first
time around,” Schwartz said.
The Dragons host South
Albany Wednesday (today)
at 7 p.m. before playing at
Corvallis on Friday and
hosting Crescent Valley Feb.
17 at 7 p.m.
Dallas has lost six of its
last seven games to fall into
the bottom half of the
league, but White said the
Dragons have all the ingre-
dients necessary to right the
ship. It’s just a matter of not
losing focus within drives
and taking advantage of the
opportunities presented to
them.
“We just have to finish
plays,” White said. “We do a
lot of good things. We’ll get
a good look on offense, but
miss the shot. We’ll run
through a play well and
have one bad pass or we’ll
play good defense and be a
little out of place for an in-
stant and they’ll get an easy
bucket.”
Pirates: Perrydale ready for postseason
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Central guard Harkie Bal attempts to go to the hoop
while Dallas’ Everett Minahan tries to stop him.
Panthers: Central
faces crucial games
Continued from Page 10A
“Alec has done a great job
shooting,” Kreta said. “We
want the ball in his hands
down the stretch. We need
him to be a little stronger
with the ball and make deci-
sions within the offense, but
we want him to pull the trig-
ger. We want him to shoot
before we want him pass-
ing.”
Central now has a chance
to move up in the standings.
The Panthers host Crescent
Valley Wednesday (today) at
7 p.m. A win and the Pan-
thers pass the Raiders in the
MWC. A loss could be a nail
in the coffin for the team’s
postseason hopes.
“Everyone is beating up
on each other,” Kreta said.
“That left the door open for
us (to move up in the
standings). We put our-
selves in this tough spot
and we have to get our-
selves out of it. But they left
the door open for us. We
need to pound and work
and, if it works out that we
can taste a little bit of that
success, we’ll love it and
take advantage of that.”
Last week’s wins will mean
little if the Panthers can’t
build on them, but for the
moment, it could help turn
their season around.
“We’re by no means where
we want to be,” Kreta said.
“But this win (against Dallas)
is a light. It gives the kids
hope. They’re grabbing onto
that.”
Itemizer-Observer
Athlete of the Week
Alec Barba
Central High
Barba, a junior wing, was held in check
on the offensive end for the Panthers’
boys basketball team’s game against Dal-
las on Friday. In the overtime period,
Barba made his presence felt. The junior
went a perfect six for six from the free-throw line, helping
Central defeat Dallas 47-37 on the road and move into a
four-way tie for the fifth spot in the Mid-Willamette Confer-
ence standings.
Emmi Collier
Western Oregon
Collier, a senior, led Western Oregon’s
women’s track and field team at the Port-
land Indoor Invitational on Thursday. Col-
lier won the women’s shot put with a
throw of 44 feet, 9 inches, the third best
mark in school history. The throw also gave Collier an NCAA-
provisional qualifying mark in her third event of the season.
Collier hopes to continue her strong season this week in
Seattle.
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.
Continued from Page 10A
The Pirates find them-
selves in a position they
haven’t been in during
Lowry’s tenure: front-run-
ner. But it’s a spot his play-
ers are thriving in.
“I’ve never been in this
position,” Lowry said. “My
first year, we were near the
top, but we had to fight
from behind. This year,
we’re the front-runner. I
talked to other coaches
about what do you do in
this position. We talk about
the mental stuff, being able
League title
• Perrydale’s boys basket-
ball team has clinched at
least a share of the Casco
League title.
• If the Pirates defeat
Crosshill Christian on Friday,
Perrydale will win the
league championship out-
right.
to get up for each game and
be ready mentally for play-
ing three games in three
days during the playoffs.”
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Perrydale’s Keenan Bailey looks to drive past Falls City’s
Zach Labrado on Friday night.
WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP
Wolves defeat Seattle Pacific in overtime
Itemizer-Observer staff report
SEATTLE — Western Ore-
gon’s men’s basketball team
overcame a 14-point half-
t i m e
deficit to
defeat
Seattle Pa-
cific 84-82
in over-
time on
Saturday.
A n d y
Avgi
Avgi, who
scored a game-high 29
points, led the WOU rally in
the second half. Avgi hit a 3-
pointer with 43 seconds left
in regulation to send the
game to overtime.
Western Oregon also de-
feated Saint Martin’s 74-62
on Thursday. WOU was
ranked No. 1 in the NABC
Division II national poll for
the first time in school his-
tory on Tuesday.
The Wolves (20-2 overall,
13-1 Great Northwest Athlet-
ic Conference) host Western
Washington Thursday at 7
p.m. and Simon Fraser Sat-
urday at 7 p.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
DROPS SEVENTH-STRAIGHT:
Western Oregon’s women’s
basketball team dropped a
heartbreaker to Alaska Fair-
banks 62-61 on Thursday be-
fore falling to Alaska Anchor-
age 77-42 on Saturday. The
Wolves and AFU entered the
fourth quarter tied, but Alaska
Fairbanks built a four-point
cushion in the inal seconds,
which WOU could not over-
come, despite a buzzer-beater
3-pointer from Sydney Azorr.
Western Oregon saw its losing
streak extend to seven games.
WOU (3-19 overall, 2-12 GNAC)
played Concordia Tuesday after
press time and faces Montana
State Billings Thursday at 6 p.m.
BASEBALL SPLITS OPEN-
ING SERIES: Western Oregon’s
baseball team split a four-game
series with Azusa Paciic on
Th u r s d ay,
Friday and
S a t u r d a y.
WOU won
the irst
two games
3-1 and 8-4
before los-
ing the
inal two
Crunkilton
games 2-1
and 7-6. Joey Crunkilton hit a
two-run home run in the irst
game to lead the Wolves. West-
ern Oregon also defeated Cali-
f o r n i a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y,
Dominguez Hills 7-6 on Sunday
thanks to an RBI sacriice ly in
the top of the ninth inning
from Nathan Etheridge. WOU
plays at Cal State University,
East Bay for a four-game series
on Friday, Saturday (double-
header) and Sunday.
SOFTBALL GOES 1-3:
Western Oregon’s softball
team opened the season with
an 8-6 win over Metropolitan
State 8-6 on Friday before
dropping a pair of games to
the University of California San
Diego (6-0 on Friday and 3-2
on Saturday) and a 6-2 contest
to Metropolitan State on Sat-
urday. Destiny Kuehl led the
Wolves with three hits during
the team’s lone victory. WOU
will compete at the Dixie State
tournament on Friday, Satur-
day and Sunday.
CORNISH SETS SCHOOL
MARK AT MEET: David Cor-
nish set a new school record
for Western Oregon’s track
and field team in the men’s
3,000-meter run at the Port-
land Indoor Invitational on
Thursday. Ribich took third
with a time of 8 minutes,
27.63 seconds. David Ribich
took first in the men’s mile
(4:12.41), while Cody Warner
took first in the 200 (21.80
seconds). Emmi Collier led
the women by taking first in
the shot put with a throw of
44 feet, 9 inches. WOU will
compete at the Husky Invita-
tional in Seattle on Thursday
and the University of Wash-
ington Indoor Open on Sun-
day.
DALLAS ROUNDUP
Wrestling wins Mid-Valley Classic
Itemizer-Observer staff report
SOUTH ALBANY — Dal-
las’ wrestling team won the
Mid-Valley Classic on Satur-
day in the team’s final tour-
nament before the Mid-
Willamette Conference dis-
trict championships on Feb.
19 and 20.
Jo s e p h Fo s t e r ( 1 1 3
pounds), Noah Sickles
(126), Ean Woodruff (138),
Tanner Earhart (152), Jeff
Dunagan (170), Clay Coxen
(182) and Marcos Molina
(220) placed first to lead the
Dragons.
“We are no longer trying
to add to our repertoire, we
are just trying to hone the
s k i l l s
w e ’ v e
shown the
wrestlers
at this
point,”
Dallas
c o a c h
Tony Olliff
Sickles
said. “If
we can stay healthy and
keep the wrestlers focused
at this point, that’s good.”
The Mid-Valley Classic
not only gave Dallas mo-
mentum, but played a big
role in preparing the Drag-
ons for a run at another dis-
trict title.
“One of the big reasons
we went to South Albany is
because that’s where our
district tournament is going
to be,” Olliff said. “I think
the gym will be pretty famil-
iar to us if we spend the Sat-
urday before in it. The other
goal is to get everyone some
varsity exposure so that
some of our younger district
entrees aren’t going through
any type of shock at the dis-
trict tournament.”
Dallas also defeated Sil-
verton 61-13 in the team’s
final dual meet on Feb. 3.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
SPLITS LEAGUE GAMES: Dal-
las’ girls basketball team de-
feated Woodburn 50-37 on
Feb. 3 before falling to Central
50-43 on Friday. The loss
meant the Dragons (10-9 over-
all, 5-4 MWC) fell two games
behind the
Panthers
for third
place. Dal-
las holds a
two-game
lead over
Crescent
Valley for
fourth. The
Dragons
Nelson
p l a y e d
South Albany Tuesday after
press time before hosting Cor-
vallis Friday at 7 p.m. Dallas
plays at Crescent Valley on
Tuesday.