Crossover tourney begins at YVCC today
November 21, 2008 by YH-R Sports
YAKIMA — Yakima Valley’s women will launch their basketball season today with the opening round of the High Hopes Crossover Tournament in Sherar Gym.
The three-day, eight-team, double-elimination event, sponsored by the Parker Youth & Sports Foundation, will include defending NWAACC champion Columbia Basin, led by former West Valley High School coach Cheryl Holden, along with Umpqua Community College of Winchester, Ore., Bellevue Community College, Seattle Community College, Lower Columbia College of Longview, Clark College of Vancouver and Mount Hood Community College of Gresham, Ore.
Action begins at 2 p.m. with Umpqua meeting Bellevue, followed by Seattle-Lower Columbia at 4, CBC-Clark at 6 and YVCC-Mount Hood at 8.
The Umpqua-Bellevue winner will meet the CBC-Clark winner in a 3 p.m. Saturday semifinal Saturday with the Seattle-LCC and YVCC-Mount Hood winners squaring off at 5.
The championship game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday.
“This is a great opportunity to showcase some of the best talent the NWAACC has to offer,” said Yakima Valley coach Cody Butler, whose Yaks were 26-6 last season and finished fourth in the NWAACC Tournament. YVCC, under Butler, has recorded three straight top-six tournament finishes.
In addition to returnees Kaiti Harris, Brittany Weaver, Chelsey Nill and Kylie Shaw, the Yaks will feature Western Washington transfer Kaitlin McBride, a 5-foot-7 guard from Bothell, Kate Urquhart, a 6-1 freshman from Highland and Christina Gough, a 5-8 sharpshooter from Reno, Nev.
“Christina could very well be the best shooter we’ve had at YVCC,” Butler said, “and I’m not forgetting that our last three guards have signed Division I scholarships.”
Consolation games are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. and noon on Sunday.
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