Polk County Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • November 16, 2016 11A
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Wolves hope clean start brings success
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — It took
until Dec. 31, 2015, for West-
ern Oregon’s women’s bas-
ketball team to earn its sec-
ond win last season.
The Wolves reached that
mark after two games this
season.
Western Oregon defeated
San Francisco State 72-63 on
Saturday and California
State, East Bay 73-63 on
Sunday — the first steps in a
rebuilding process that play-
ers hope proves brighter
days are ahead for the
Wolves.
WOU hasn’t won more
than 10 games since the
2010-11 campaign, when
the Wolves finished 11-16
overall. Western Oregon
went 4-24 last season – but a
mix of new faces and players
stepping into expanded
roles has players confident
that it will improve signifi-
cantly on that mark.
Senior guard Launia
Davis has seen the change in
attitude firsthand. Davis
transferred from Walla Walla
Community College prior to
last season. She played 13
minutes per game as a jun-
ior, and averaged 4.0 points
per game, but as the Wolves’
losses mounted, so did
doubt about her game.
“It’s hard to only have four
wins in a whole season,”
Davis said. “For some of us,
we came from winning pro-
grams whether at high
school or a community col-
lege. The biggest thing is
being able to bounce back
and keep your focus know-
ing that the whole year was
setting up what is to come.”
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Senior guard Launia Davis averages 8.5 points per game
— more than double her average from 2015-16.
Davis vowed to make the
most of her senior cam-
paign and worked on every-
thing from her shot to her
court vision. Davis is aver-
aging 8.5 points per game
and is tied for the team lead
in assists.
“Launia is one of the
hardest workers we have,”
coach Holli Howard-Car-
penter said. “She put in a
ton of time in the gym. She
shoots almost daily. She’s a
more mature player, and she
sees the floor better. She’s
more confident, and I think
her teammates have more
confidence in her. Last year,
I counted on her 3-point
shooting. Her defense has
gotten so much better, and
she can make huge plays for
us with her court vision now.
She worked her butt off.”
The Wolves also hope sev-
eral new players will have a
positive impact.
Junior Shelby Snook is in
her first year with WOU. She
transferred from Lane Com-
munity College and was well
aware of WOU’s recent his-
tory — but she was sold on
Howard-Carpenter’s vision
for the program.
“I could really see myself
here,” Snook said. “I’m from
Oregon. I’m really close to
my family, and I wanted to
stay close to them.”
The junior’s ability to hit
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Western Oregon junior Shelby Snook averaged 17 points per game so far this season.
the long ball or drive inside
with relative ease makes her
a d a n g e ro u s o f f e n s i v e
threat, and it’s showing.
Snook is averaging 17 points
per game while shooting
61.9 percent from the field.
“She makes us way more
dynamic,” Howard-Carpen-
ter said. “She’s the type of
player who can score in
bunches if we need her to,
but she can also distribute
the ball. She understands
the flow of the game and
does what the team needs.”
T h e t e a m’s g r e a t e s t
strength could lie in its
depth. Six different players
scored in double figures over
the first two games.
“That was key for us in
the offseason,” Howard-Car-
penter said. “The returning
players really worked on
their offensive game, and
the people we added, we
had to add people who can
score.”
A year ago, the Wolves’ of-
fense struggled, averaging
52.1 points per game.
“Last year we had one
main scorer, and if they shut
her down, we were like, oh
gosh, now one of us has to
score,” Davis said. “We
weren’t handling that pres-
sure well.”
WOU has scored 72 and
73 points in its first two
games with several players
lighting up the scoreboard.
“I think they are hungry
a n d s o c o m p e t i t i v e ,”
Howard-Carpenter said.
“This team is very unselfish.
They just want to win. They
don’t care who scores as
long as we get a good shot,
and I think they have some-
thing to prove.”
Western Oregon has long
been an easy win for confer-
ence foes. The Wolves hope
to show they won’t be over-
looked any longer.
“I think we’re very positive
and motivated to improve
every day,” Snook said.
“We’re ready to have a really
good season, and a winning
season, at that.”
WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP
Men’s basketball opens season with wins
Itemizer-Observer staff report
FRESNO, Calif. — Western
Oregon’s men’s basketball
began the 2016-17 season
with a pair of victories.
The Wolves defeated Point
Loma 64-62 on Friday and
Fresno Pacific 85-54 on Sat-
urday.
Junior guard Ali Faruq-
Bey scored a team-high 19
points against Point Loma,
while junior forward Tanner
Omlid scored 17 points and
grabbed 10 rebounds.
Omlid
W O U
built a 13-
point lead
in the sec-
ond half
b e f o r e
holding off
P o i n t
Loma in
the game’s
closing minutes.
Junior guard Demetrius
Trammell hit five 3-pointers
against Fresno Pacific, fin-
ishing with a game-high 16
points to lead WOU on Sat-
urday. Omlid added 12
points, 10 rebounds, six as-
sists, four blocks and two
steals.
Se n i o r g u a rd Ya n i c k
Kulich and Faruq-Bey added
12 points each.
Wester n Oregon will
hold its home-opener
against San Francisco State
Friday at 7 p.m. during the
W O U / D o u b l e Tr e e b y
Hilton D2 Shootout.
WOU also plays UC San
Diego Saturday at 7 p.m.
FOOTBALL WINS FINAL
GAME: Western Oregon’s foot-
ball team won its final game of
the season, beating Simon
Fraser 40-13 on Saturday.
Quarterback Nick Duck-
worth threw for 343 yards and
four touchdowns.
Junior receiver Zack Suarez
had six receptions for 117
yards and two touchdowns.
Junior wide receiver Paul
Revis had eight catches for 109
yards and a touchdown. Revis
totaled 1,057 receiving yards
for the season — the first re-
ceiver to have two seasons
with more than 1,000 receiving
yards under coach Arne Fergu-
son.
Western Oregon trailed 13-
12 with 10:10 left in the third
quarter, but scored the game’s
final 28 points to pull away for
the win.
WOU finishes the 2016 sea-
son with a 4-6 record overall
and a 3-5 mark in Great North-
west Athletic Conference play.
VOLLEYBALL DEFEATS
MONTANA STATE BILLINGS:
Western Oregon’s volleyball
team defeated Montana State,
Billings 13-25, 25-20, 29-27, 25-
15 on Thursday in the team’s
final home match of the sea-
son.
Junior Alisha Bettinson led
the Wolves with 19 kills. Soph-
omores Amanda Short and
Mariella Vandenkooy added 13
kills each.
Western Oregon (10-15
overall, 7-11 GNAC) closes out
its season at Central Washing-
ton on Thursday and at North-
west Nazarene on Saturday.
Dallas: Lebanon beat
Central: Mendazona
Dallas 28-10 on Oct. 28 throws for five scores
Continued from Page 10A
“I’m not sure who it was,
but one of the coaches
brought us together and told
us to stay calm,” Earhart
said. “We were getting fraz-
zled, but we came together,
decided to take it one play at
a time and stayed calm.
After that, something on of-
fense just started clicking. I
don’t know if it was us decid-
ing it was our moment, or
them getting tired, probably
both.”
A kickoff return from Evan
Courtney gave Dallas the
ball on Summit’s 30, a drive
capped off by an Earhart
touchdown.
With about seven minutes
left in the game, the Dragons
attempted — and recovered
— an onside kick.
“We went up there to
win,” coach Tracy Jackson
said. “Honestly, I couldn’t
see waiting for a better mo-
ment.”
Dallas began its march
down the field again.
“I had watched ‘Rocky
Balboa,’” Jackson said.
“And boxers, they hit you,
and they hit you in the arm,
and the chest so by the
time you get to the ninth
round, your arms are so
tired you can barely lift
them up. Then your head
becomes a target and you
can go in for the knockout.
I felt if we just kept hitting
them and
driving
t h e m
down, it
w o u l d
work. They
looked real
good early,
but in the
Earhart
f o u r t h
quarter they started to
crack. Tanner was getting
bigger gains, and I thought
if they are going to blitz
everybody, we are going to
block everyone and run
right off the edges.”
And while Earhart had
been commanding most of
the attention, it was quarter-
back senior quarterback
Caedmon Blair who ran it in
for the touchdown.
Then came the two-point
conversion.
“I knew they would be
chasing Tanner left,” Jackson
said.
The Dragons ran a similar
play to the touchdown run.
“I thought, ‘coach is giv-
ing me the ball, oh crap,’”
Blair said. “What was run-
ning through my mind
was, catch the snap, is one.
Don’t fumble, and make
the two points. You’re
going to get this conver-
sion, no ifs, ands or buts
about it.”
An interception from
Aaron White gave the Drag-
ons a chance to run out the
clock, but were stuffed on
fourth down deep in Sum-
mit territory. The Storm
crossed midfield, but as
their final pass fell incom-
plete, Dallas celebrated a
huge moment.
“It was crazy,” Earhart
said. “I’ve never experienced
something like that. It’s
something I’ll never, ever
forget.”
The Dragons’ reward for
winning is a rematch with
No. 4 Lebanon Saturday at
2:15 p.m. at Hillsboro Stadi-
um.
Lebanon defeated Dallas
28-10 on Oct. 28.
“We looked at 17 plays
where one little thing, some-
thing even as small as step-
ping with the wrong foot
first, that made a difference
between us getting a 5-yard
gain, or leaving a crease
open that they blow past,
and tackling our guy for a 1-
yard gain.”
The winner advances to
the state title game on Nov.
26.
“It’ll be exciting to play
them again,” Blair said.
“Fo r t h e s e n i o r c l a s s,
Lebanon has probably
been our main rival since,
like, eighth grade I think.
We don’t really like them
too much, but it feels right
that we have to play them
to go to the championship.
It just feels right.”
Continued from Page 10A
Redmond found success
on the ground, but Central
got enough stops when it
mattered.
“We have a lot of courage
and heart on this team,”
Mendazona said. “Our de-
fense played really clutch.
They made some big plays
along with our offense. I’m
proud of our guys.”
The win brings Central’s
players into uncharted terri-
tory — the state semifinals.
“It feels great,” Tuipulotu
said. “We’ve always made it
to the quarterfinals but
never passed it.”
The Panthers face a dif-
ferent challenge against
Wilsonville.
Quar terback Connor
Neville leads an offense that
averages 39 points per
game and whereas Red-
mond boasted a great
ground game, Wilsonville
brings one of the state’s best
passing attacks.
“They have a Division 1
quarterback who commit-
ted to Washington State,”
Hedrick said. “They throw
the ball really well and have
scored huge amounts of
points.”
On defense, Wilsonville
will bring an aggressive, op-
portunistic attitude,
Hedrick said.
“Defensively, they play a
little scattered,” Hedrick
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Central players get ready for the start of the Panthers’
game against Redmond on Friday night.
said. “They take some risks
and that can be difficult for
an offense to deal with. We’re
going to have to slow down
their passing attack. We have
to win the turnover battle —
that’s going to be huge —
and we have to move the ball
like we have been the last
couple of weeks.”
The shift in focus pres-
ents a change in thinking
on defense.
“It’s going to be a real
challenge for us,” Hedrick
said. “You go from not fo-
cusing as much on the
passing game on defense
and putting an extra de-
fender on the defensive line
to having to stop the pass.
It’s a real dilemma for us
and it’s going to be diffi-
cult.”
The winner advances to
the state championship
game on Nov. 26 against the
winner of No. 8 Dallas vs.
No. 4 Lebanon.
“A couple years ago we
played Wilsonville and they
beat us,” Mendazona said.
“We want revenge. We know
their quarterback is good.
We know all that. We feel
like we can get them, and
we’re going to go out there
and give it our all.”