Polk County
Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • November 30, 2016 11A
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 30
Boys basketball: Central
at North Eugene, 7 p.m.
Falls City at McKenzie, 7
p.m.
Girls basketball: Gre-
sham at Central, 7 p.m. Falls
City at McKenzie, 5:30 p.m.
Men’s basketball: West-
ern Oregon at Oregon, 7
p.m.
THURSDAY, DEC. 1
Women’s basketball:
Seattle Pacific at Western
Oregon, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, DEC. 2
Boys basketball: Dallas
at Glencoe, 7:15 p.m. Ed-
dyville Charter at Falls City,
7 p.m. Perrydale at Alsea, 7
p.m.
Girls basketball: Central
at St. Helens, 7:15 p.m. Dal-
las at Marist, 7 p.m. Perry-
dale at Alsea, 5:30 p.m.
Wrestling: Central at
Tillamook Country Smoker,
noon. Dallas at McNary
Tournament, 4 p.m.
SATURDAY, DEC. 3
Boys basketball: Dufur
at Perrydale, 4:30 p.m.
Girls basketball: Dufur
at Perrydale, 3 p.m.
Women’s basketball:
Saint Martin’s at Western
Oregon, 7 p.m.
Wrestling Dallas at Perry
Burlison Classic, 9 a.m.
MONDAY, DEC. 5
Boys basketball: Perry-
dale at Delphian, 7:30 p.m.
Men’s basketball: West-
ern Oregon at Montana
State Billings, 6 p.m.
TUESDAY, DEC. 6
Boys basketball: Central
at Liberty, 7:15 p.m. Falls
City at Crosshill Christian, 7
p.m. Livingstone Adventist
at Perrydale, 7 p.m.
Girls basketball: Grants
Pass at Central, 7 p.m. The
Dalles at Dallas, 7 p.m. Falls
City at Crosshill Christian,
5:30 p.m. Livingstone Ad-
ventist at Perrydale, 5:30
p.m.
Swimming: Silverton at
Dallas, 4 p.m.
—
Schedules Subject to Change
Be aggressive
Boschma, Miller find new attitude, leadership roles
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — It’s a
change some might not
even notice.
When Western Oregon
sophomore Kaylie Boschma
steps up for a jump shot, it
may seem like a routine
play, but for Boschma, it’s a
signal of a major evolution
as a player.
As a freshman, Boschma
appeared in 26 games. She
was a solid distributor and
could always drive hard to
the hoop.
When it came to pulling
up for a jump shot — that
was another matter.
That’s no longer the case
this season.
“I feel I have improved the
most in the confidence of
my shot,” Boschma said. “I
feel comfortable with taking
the shot and not driving
every time or passing it up.”
Boschma spent much of
the offseason working with
teammate Ali Nelke.
“Ali gave me someone to
work out with to push our-
selves,” Boschma said. “Ali is
just as hard, if not a harder
worker, than me and she
makes me want to be better
and push myself.”
Boschma is no longer a
one-dimensional guard —
and a more potent offensive
weapon.
“I think I am more well-
rounded,” she said. “Instead
of just being a driver, I’m
harder to guard.”
Boschma had 10 points
and eight rebounds during a
59-50 win over Oregon Tech
on Saturday — despite play-
ing only 19 minutes because
of early foul trouble — and is
third in the team in points
per game.
“We can always count on
Kaylie to bring energy,”
WOU coach Holli Howard-
Carpenter said. “She works
extremely hard, and she
pushes her teammates even
harder. She wants to win,
and she approaches each
practice as an opportunity
to get better.”
Boschma isn’t the only
Wolf to show breakout po-
tential.
Junior forward Jasmine
Miller also scored 10 points
against Oregon Tech and is
second on the team in scor-
ing, averaging 11.6 points
per game.
“I think I play consistently
aggressive and improved my
leadership skills, as well,”
Miller said.
That aggressiveness is
something the Wolves have
been waiting to see. The
seeds were planted a season
ago.
“Last year was pretty
tough, but I learned a lot,”
Miller said. “We learned how
to play with heart because
every game was tough, and
we had to fight and not back
down. I also learned the im-
portance of leadership and
being there for your team-
mates. Most importantly, I
learned that you have to
want to get better each and
every day. That means every
practice, lift and game, you
have to put in the work to
get where you want to be.”
The work has paid off.
BRYAN RUBIO/ for the Itemizer-Observer
Western Oregon sophomore Kaylie Boschma scored 10 points against Oregon Tech on
Saturday. Boschma averages 10.4 points per game, good for third on the team.
She’s shooting a team-high
61 percent from the field
and leads the squad in re-
QUICK HITS
Williams scores
touchdown
HOUSTON — San Diego
Chargers wide receiver
Tyrell Williams had eight
catches for 70 yards and a
touchdown against the
Houston Texans on Sunday.
The Chargers won 21-
13.
Williams’ touchdown
came on a 21-yard strike in
the second quarter.
For the season, Williams
has 51 catches for 790
yards and five touchdowns.
WOU volleyball
adds DeCarli
MONMOUTH — Western
Oregon volleyball coach
Tommy Gott added to his
early signing class after
Sianna DeCarli, of
Petaluma, Calif., signed her
letter of intent.
DeCarli, a 6-foot outside
hitter and opposite, earned
All-Sonoma County league
honors as a junior at
Petaluma High School.
“We are very excited
about the addition of Sian-
na to our roster,” Gott said.
“She comes from a very
good and talented club in
California and is someone
who has a heavy arm and
should score lot of points
for us in the future during
her time as a Wolf.”
Western Oregon fin-
ished 10-17 overall during
the 2016 season.
STAT SHEET
3
The number of
losses Western Ore-
gon’s men’s basket-
ball team has so far
this season. The Wolves
lost four games total dur-
ing the 2015-16 cam-
paign.
5
The number of
touchdowns for-
mer Western Ore-
gon receiver Tyrell
Williams has caught so far
this season for the San
Diego Chargers.
www.polkio.com
BRYAN RUBIO/ for the Itemizer-Observer
Western Oregon junior Jasmine Miller is second for the Wolves in scoring. Miller aver-
ages 11.6 points per game. She scored 10 points against Oregon Tech on Saturday.
bounds (36).
“Jasmine has broken out
of her shell and made great
strides in being consistently
aggressive,” Howard-Car-
penter said. “She’s doing
things this year I knew she
could do, and she is playing
with a ton of confidence.”
Both players have taken it
upon themselves to spark a
change within the locker
room.
“You have to be commit-
ted to help change the pro-
gram, even if that means you
might not see immediate
success right now, but there
will be change in the future
and years to come, and I
want to be able to say I was a
part of the team that helped
change the culture at West-
ern Oregon,” Miller said.
WOU has nearly as many
wins (three) as all of last sea-
son (four) and Boschma and
Miller have played a big role
in the early success.
“Both Kaylie and Jasmine
have grown a lot and have
displayed the consistency
w e’ v e b e e n m i s s i n g ,”
Howard-Carpenter said.
Western Oregon begins
Great Northwest Athletic
Conference play Thursday at
7 p.m. against Seattle Pacific
and Saturday at 7 p.m.
against Saint Martin’s, when
WOU will find out just how
improved the team is.
“We have to start compet-
ing harder and growing as a
team,” Howard-Carpenter
said. “On the defensive end,
we have to be more relent-
less and focus on executing
our game plans. On offense,
we are focusing communi-
cating and making the easy
play. We don’t have to have
super star performances. We
have to make the easy pass.
When we do that, we can be
pretty tough to guard.”
Basketball
• Western Oregon’s
women’s basketball team
defeated Oregon Tech 59-
50 on Saturday.
• Jasmine Miller and
Kaylie Boschma scored 10
points each. Sydney Azorr
added nine points and six re-
bounds.
WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP
Men’s basketball splits games
Itemizer-Observer staff report
ST. GEORGE, Utah —
Western Oregon’s men’s bas-
ketball split its two games at
the Dixie
State Clas-
sic. The
Wolves de-
f e a t e d
We s t m i n -
ster 65-58
on Friday
b e f o r e
falling to
Omlid
Dixie State
78-73 on Saturday.
Junior forward Tanner
Omlid led all scorers with 23
points against Westminster
College. He also grabbed 10
rebounds for his third dou-
ble-double of the season and
also had five steals and two
blocks.
Akil Reese and Malik
Leaks each added 10 points.
A
l
i
Faruq-Bey
led WOU in
scoring
against
Dixie State
with 15
points,
w h i l e
Reese
O m l i d
added 11
points and
seven as-
sists.
Western
Oregon (3-3
overall)
h o s t e d
Concordia
Faruq-Bey
Tu e s d a y
after press
time. Western Oregon plays
a t O r e g o n We d n e s d a y
(today) at 7 p.m. before play-
ing at Montana State Billings
Monday at 6 p.m.
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer file
Ali Faruq-Bay (22) fights for a loose ball against San Francisco State on Nov. 18. Faruq-
Bay scored 15 points in a losing effort against Dixie State on Saturday.
www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209
www.twitter.com/PolkIOSports