YAKIMA, Wash. — Of course, they like to run.

For more than three seasons now, these Davis Pirates have left many an opponent in their wake, using a free-wheeling, high-flying and crowd-pleasing style.

But if running is who the Pirates are, it’s not necessarily what they do.

Or at least, all they do.

Devonte Luckett of Davis drives inside for a shot while defended by Walla Walla's Michael Lesmeister during the first half Friday, Feb. 10, 2011. (Andy Sawyer/Yakima Herald-Republic)

“Yeah, we love to run,” Devonte Luckett said Saturday night. “We like to get up and down the court and score. That’s when we’re at our best.

“But if we have to play a half-court game, we can. That wouldn’t be our first choice, but it’s not like we won’t be effective if we have to slow it down.”

Just ask the Walla Walla Blue Devils, who in a CBBN 4A district semifinal in Davis Gym controlled the tempo, but only the tempo, in a crushing 66-43 defeat at the hands of the top-ranked Pirates.

Davis’ 12th straight victory means another home district game, this for the championship, Friday night against Richland. A triumph there means a third consecutive Class 4A state berth for the Pirates (18-2).

As for Wa-Hi (8-12), which meets Chiawana in a loser-out game Friday, this game marked the third time this season in which coach John Golden’s squad had slowed the pace against Davis. But it also resulted in the most one-sided of the Blue Devils’ three defeats.

An example of what foes who choose to slow Davis can expect: On an early fourth-quarter possession, David Trimble backed toward the midcourt line against WW’s man-to-man defense. He then drove to his left, got a high screen and floated down the lane and spun a right-handed layup in off the glass.

It was the second bucket of a period-opening 6-0 run for Davis, which ballooned its advantage to 63-36 by the 3:21 mark.

Trimble finished with a game-high 19 points and Luckett had 14 of his 17 in the first half, during which the Pirates methodically built a 39-22 lead.

Cashing in on deft passes from Trimble and Cooper Kupp, and despite missing multiple dunks, Davis shot 50 percent from the field (27 for 54) while limiting Walla Walla to 37.

“We did do some nice things in terms of half-court execution,” Pirates coach Eli Juarez said, “and David got everybody involved. And at this time of the season, you’d better have a half-court offense because when a team makes a run on you, you need to be able to execute a play that will get you two points to stop that run.”

Davis also matched the much-taller Blue Devils on the backboards, coming away with a 31-30 deficit as Kupp grabbed seven, Trimble six and reserve Carlos Perea-Vijarro five.

Perea-Vijarro scored all eight of his points in the first half, not missing in four field goal attempts. Contributing to the usual Pirates offensive balance were LaVonte Allen with nine points and Kupp with seven.

Tanner Cranor, a 6-foot-6 junior, led Walla Walla with 12 points.

Udpated through Friday, Feb. 10

Note: YVCC men and women play Sunday due to regional wrestling in Sherar Gym on Saturday. Women play CBC at 2 p.m. Sunday, men follow at 4 p.m.

GNAC MEN
    Conf    Seas
Western Washington     12-1    21-3
Alaska Anchorage    11-3    17-5
Seattle Pacific          10-4     18-5
Western Oregon    8-5    15-7
MSU Billings    8-6    13-9
Central Washington    5-8    11-10
NW Nazarene    5-8    11-10
Saint Martin’s    4-9    8-14
Simon Fraser    3-10    8-13
Alaska Fairbanks    1-13    4-20
Thursdsay’s scores: Central Washington 99, MSU Billings 89; Western Washington 59, Alaska Anchorage 50; Simon Fraser 79, Alaska Fairbanks 71; Seattle Pacific 73, Northwest Nazarene 60.
Saturday’s games: Central Washington at Seattle Pacific; Alaska Anchorage at Simon Fraser; Alaska Fairbanks at Western Washington; Northwest Nazarene at MSU Billings, Western Oregon at Saint Martin’s.

GNAC WOMEN
    Conf    Seas
Alaska Anchorage    12-2    21-4
Western Washington    9-4    15-6
Simon Fraser    9-4    14-7
Seattle Pacific    9-5    15-7
MSU Billings    9-5    17-8
NW Nazarene    8-5    14-7
Western Oregon    4-9    5-18
Central Washington    3-10    6-14
Saint Martin’s    2-11    7-16
Alaska Fairbanks    2-12    6-18
 Thursday’s scores: MSU Billings 61, Central Washington 52; Alaska Anchorage 72, Western Washington 50; Simon Fraser 72, Alaska Fairbanks 64; Northwest Nazarene 81, Seattle Pacific 77.
Saturday’s games: Seattle Pacific at Central Washington (7 p.m.), Simon Fraser at Alaska Anchorage, Western Washington at Alaska Fairbanks, MSU Billings at NW Nazarene, Saint Martin’s at Western Oregon.
 
NWAACC EAST MEN
    Conf    Seas
Spokane    7-1    18-3
Walla Walla    7-2    15-6
BigBend    7-3    17-4
Yakima Valley    6-3    13-8
Blue Mountain    3-6    7-12
Columbia Basin    3-6    7-13
Treasure Valley    2-7    3-17
Wenatchee Valley    1-8    5-13
Friday’s scores: Spokane 114, Blue Mountain 73; Big Bend 99, Treasure Valley 68.
Saturday’s games: Walla Walla at Wenatchee Valley, Blue Mountain at Big Bend, Treasure Valley at Spokane.
Sunday’s games: Columbia Basin at Yakima Valley (women at 2 p.m., men at 4 p.m.).
NWAACC EAST WOMEN
    Conf    Seas
Columbia Basin    8-1    20-2    
Walla Walla    7-2    16-5
Yakima Valley    7-2    17-5
Blue Mountain    5-4    13-7
Big Bend    4-6    14-9
Wenatchee Valley    2-7    7-14
Treasure Valley    2-7    4-17

Spokane    1-7    6-14

Friday’s scores: Blue Mountain 79, Spokane 66; Treasure Valley 74, Big Bend 69.

Big 4th quarter pushes Zillah past Granger ||

ZILLAH, Wash. — It can’t be easy, ignoring the elements.

Not on a night like Saturday in a place like Zillah Alumni Gymnasium, where the stands were full, the decibels high and the pressure — from the perspective of playing a rival from only 10 miles down the road — enormous.

Zillah's Derrell Pascal shoots between Granger's Esau Cervantes, left, and Christian Ochoa during the first period Saturday, Feb. 4, 2011. (Andy Sawyer/Yakima Herald-Republic)

But the Zillah Leopards did it again, performing as if they were oblivious to the screaming, the score and their own malfunctions, surging past Granger 72-65 to secure the SCAC West championship and top district berth.

“We don’t really pay attention to the score,” said junior guard Robert Slack. “We just keep playing hard. We just bust our butts for 32 minutes and see where it takes us.”

Said Zillah coach Doug Burge, after his team had won yet another close game against yet another quality opponent, “I really don’t have an explanation. We were down nine with about two minutes to go the other night at Goldendale, and scored the last 11 points to win the game.”

Nothing that dramatic was required this time, but the sixth-ranked Leopards did trail No. 7 Granger 53-50 before staging a decisive 13-0 burst. It put them permanently ahead in a back-and-forth affair, gave them a regular-season sweep of the Spartans and allowed them to win despite a 30-point, 12-rebound performance from Granger’s Andrew Reddout.

Derrell Pascal had 15 points and 11 rebounds, Robert Slack totaled 14 points and Ricky Cuellar 12 for Zillah (10-1 league, 17-2 overall), which has won nine straight and will conclude its regular campaign with a Monday night makeup game at Highland.

“There are times where we don’t look very good,” Burge said, “then we just keep playing and do what we need to do. It’s not always pretty.”

And the Leopards endured a few flat spots in this one, some caused by the gritty, Reddout-led Spartans (9-3, 16-4) and others self inflicted.

They trailed 22-14 and 24-16 early in the second quarter, in part because Pascal had picked up a second personal foul and was watching. But Zillah also committed 11 turnovers in the first half, en route to a 30-28 deficit, and added just four more over the final two periods.

Still, Granger held the advantage starting the final eight minutes, thanks mostly to the irrepressible Reddout, who scored 11 third-period points including his team’s final seven.

Pascal, however, scored inside to start the quarter, Slack added a bucket and then Pascal scored again on a putback and then on an inside move through a foul. He missed the free throw, but Jace McKay converted a fast-break bucket, Slack hit a foul-line jumper and Cuellar capped the eruption with a top-of-the-key 3-pointer for a 63-53 Leopards lead with 4:35 to play.

With Pascal’s floor time limited by the aforementioned foul trouble — he sat part of the third quarter after being whistled for his third personal — Dee Villanueva did considerable heavy lifting by scoring eight points and grabbing a game-high 14 boards to lead Zillah’s 43-30 advantage on the glass.

Burge, meanwhile, was among the many impressed by Reddout.

“He’s just a heckuva player,” Burge said. “He took the game over for awhile there, and then we made some adjustments and I think he might have gotten a little tired. But my heart goes out to him.”

Brandon Castro, like Reddout another multi-year standout for the Spartans, added 13 points and Esau Cervantes had 10.

Ah, the home-court advantage.
Valley basketball fans who are at or near my age of 60 years (but I read at a 61-year-old level) can recall when playing at home was a huge advantage, especially in the old Valley A League.
Old gyms and good teams meant life on the road was often a losing proposition — Marquette (and later Carroll) rarely lost in the Yakima Armory, Mel Bowden’s Prosser Mustangs were tough to handle in their old-school venue and White Swan and Cle Elum offered unique challenges to their visitors with gyms that were old and courts that were small.
Highland was no bargain in its old building, one in which Pat Fitterer’s squads won 67 straight during the 1980s.
Fast-forward to 2012, however, and the home mystique has faded.
It has this season, at least, especially regarding the upper tier of the SCAC West which will feature a Granger-Zillah showdown Saturday night on the Leopards’ floor.
At this writing, Zillah tops the division at 8-1 with NV and Granger following, each at 8-2. And here’s the intriguing thing — all five of their collective losses have come at home.
Zillah lost to the Rangers at home, 48-45 on Jan. 6, but then won at NV 74-68 on Jan. 24; Naches Valley lost at home to Granger, 65-52 on Jan. 10, but beat the Spartans in overtime, 70-65 on the road last Saturday; and Granger lost its first meeting with Zillah, at home, 60-56 on Jan. 14.
Saturday night was to have marked the end of the SCAC West regular season, but snowouts have necessitated Monday games featuring Zillah at Highland and La Salle at Goldendale.
Stay tuned.

FROM THE QUOTE FILE

“People would say, ‘Well, you guys always seem to get every call up there.’ And instead of trying to deny that, I’d say, ‘Yeah, we seem to.’”

— Pat Fitterer, on the mystique of the old Highland gym, where he coached for 11 seasons

YAKIMA, Wash. — That five quarterbacks would be included in Blaine Bennett’s fifth Central Washington recruiting class might be misunderstood by some observers.

Yes, Bennett was himself a quarterback, first at Walla Walla High School and later at Whitworth University. But no, he doesn’t collect QBs as a hobby.

“To justify that, we only signed one quarterback last year and felt like we needed some young quarter-backs in the program,” Bennett said Wednesday on the release of CWU’s 28 signees. “But also, high school offenses have changed over the last four or five years, and a lot of coaches in our state are now putting their best athlete at that position. It used to be that the best athlete was probably a running back.

“So we feel like we’ve gotten some excellent athletes who are multiple position possibilities, although they’ll all start by being quarterbacks for awhile.”

Of course the Wildcats do have a quarterback history in the persons of Jon Kitna and Mike Reilly. The probable starter next season will be senior Ryan Robertson, but Bennett clearly wants to begin grooming QBs for the future.

The most highly rated of the newcomers, according to The Seattle Times, are 6-foot-1, 192-pound Jake Nelson of Lake Stevens and Drew Austin (6-2, 180) of Graham-Kapowsin.

Both were white chip selections by the Times — the highest rating is blue, followed by red and then white. Nelson completed 70 percent of his passes for 2,086 yards and 21 touchdowns with only four interceptions for the Vikings, who went 12-1 and reached the Class 4A state semifinals.

Three of Nelson’s teammates also signed with Central — wide receivers Brady Pahukoa and Christian Gasca and linebacker Korey Young.

Pahukoa’s father, Jeff, was an all-conference offensive lineman at Washington in the early 1990s and his uncle, Shane, was a UW safety.

Bennett also wants Central to become a faster team, and mentioned speed as a key ingredient his newest recruiting class.

“We signed some receivers, defensive backs and running backs with legitimate big-play speed,” he said. “This is probably the fastest class we’ve recruited since I’ve been here, and that was very important to us.”

Recruits are told they’ll redshirt during their true freshman seasons, although injuries and other circumstances have occasionally pressed some into varsity play sooner.

Bennett said David Fontenette, a 6-2, 228-pound tight end from Bethel High in Spanaway, is a physically mature prospect who could see playing time next fall.

“He’s an excellent athlete,” Bennett said of Fontenette, CWU’s lone Times red chip. “We tell them all they’ll redshirt, but you never really know. Sometimes a chance presents itself, even for a young guy who’s not quite ready but just gets thrown into the fire.”

Bennett also said the heights and weights listed with his signees are accurate as per measurements taken during the players’ on-campus visits.

“We signed one player who was 6-0 and 190 on his high school roster,” Bennett said. “We get him here and he’s 5-10 and 181. Those are two different people. In this case, he was a good enough athlete that it didn’t really matter.”

Next on Bennett’s agenda is to find a replacement for assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Joe Lorig, who left last month for a job at Arizona State.

There has been so much to admire and enjoy about the Davis Pirates, who are ranked No. 1 in this week’s Class 4A state poll by The Associated Press, that some of the positives go unmentioned if not unnoticed.
To be sure, there are the multiple talents and unselfishness of David Trimble, the poise and leadership of Cooper Kupp, the heady quickness and shooting range of Ray Navarro, the relentless rebounding of Devonte Luckett and the whatever-is-necessary inside play of LeVonte Allen.
But also — and Davis’ four other seniors and other varsity members qualify in this regard as well — it should be noted what the Pirates don’t do.
They don’t, for example, talk smack. They don’t whine to the officials, either verbally or via body language.
But they do, under Eli Juarez’s tutelage, play to their strengths.
“They are true students of the game,” Juarez said after Tuesday night’s win over Moses Lake on senior night. “They know the game and they know each other. They play off each other and know each other’s instincts.”
Last year, after the Pirates had qualified for their second straight state tournament berth, Juarez mentioned that some teams he’d coached during his distinguished career had contained great kids who weren’t so great in basketball terms and others had contained exceptionally talented kids who were more difficult to coach.
“When you have a group like this,” he smiled, “you have the best of both worlds.”
Juarez reiterated that sentiment Tuesday night, and like most everyone involved was surprised that the end — Davis’ last regular-season home game, at least, had come so quickly.
“You blink, and it’s senior night,” he said. “But yes, these kids have truly been a joy to coach.”
And to watch.

At Eisenhower, meanwhile, while the Cadets struggled through a one-win season the efforts of coach Colton Monti, his staff and players should not be dismissed.
Monti, assistants Humberto Perez and Drew Harris — all in their first seasons of varsity coaching — worked their tails off. And in spite of Ike’s on-court struggles they stayed positive and did not fall prey to finger-pointing or excuse-making.
Adversity, I’ve learned during almost four decades in this profession, reveals much more about one’s character than success. Having watched Monti, Perez and Harris play for several years — Perez and Harris at Davis and Ike, respectively, before they moved on to Central Washington, where Monti played for four seasons — I can attest to the competitive nature of each person. They hate losing.
Yet all have emerged from this experience older and wiser, not bitter and jaded.
Like that of the Davis Pirates, Ike’s on-court conduct has been a positive example for the community’s youth.

FROM THE QUOTE FILE
“Good manners never go out of style.”
— Dean Nicholson

YAKIMA, Wash. — Given the pregame festivities, which saw each of the nine Davis seniors presented with an action photograph of himself, there was only one realistic response Tuesday night — a performance suitable for framing.

And while the Pirates’ 86-61 demolition of Moses Lake was not without its imperfections, it must be remembered that with this team — and especially this group of 12th-graders — beauty is in the eye of the defender.

“That’s definitely a big part of what we do and who we are,” said Cooper Kupp, when told afterward that Davis had forced 24 first-half turnovers and finished the game with 35. “Every time we do that, it’s a two to three-point swing.”

For the overwhelming majority of this special occasion at Davis Gym, a night in which the second-ranked Pirates secured at least a tie for the CBBN 4A championship, defense ruled.

As is usually the case with Davis, opposition turnovers were often followed by flying Pirate buckets from point-blank range. And both came in bunches as coach Eli Juarez’s crew improved to 10-0 in league play and 15-2 overall.

Road games remain with Richland on Friday night and Wenatchee on Saturday, and a victory in either for Davis will mean an outright league title.

“Defensively is where I think we’re really coming together,” Juarez said. “These kids understand that they have to get stops, and that they feed offensively off their play at that end of the floor.”

In that regard the wealth was shared nicely, with Ray Navarro scoring 18 points, David Trimble 17, Kupp 13 and Carlos Perea-Vijarro 10. It marked the fourth straight game in which at least four Pirates hit double figures.

Tuesday’s foursome was especially efficient, shooting a combined 24 for 35 (68 percent) capped by Vijarro’s 5-for-5 marksmanship.

Then again, percentages tend to rise when a team is shooting layups.

Davis was at its larcenous best early, turning the Chiefs (4-6, 6-11) over 13 times en route to a 20-7 lead.

Ahead 25-18 midway through the second quarter, the Pirates staged a withering 16-0 burst started by a Devonte Luckett basket, featuring two Trimble hoops and capped by a Navarro 3-ball.

The game seemed over before it was over, much like the careers of Davis’ seniors.

“It’s been crazy,” said Trimble, who along with Luckett is in his fourth season as a varsity mainstay. “Growing up together, playing together and fighting together, it’s all gone by so fast. It’s all just been crazy.”

But of course there is much unfinished business for the Pirates, who seek their third consecutive Class 4A state berth after a 21-6 record and fifth-place finish last year.

“The whole goal,” Trimble said, “is just to get back (to state). That’s what we’ve been shooting for, and once we get there we’ll just try to take it as far as we possibly can.”

Kevin Bennett, a 5-foot-10 senior guard, connected on five 3-pointers and led Moses Lake with 18 points.

YAKIMA, Wash. — Every now and then, a community wins the lottery.

Circumstances, be it a job opportunity, military assignment or just a change of scenery, result in the arrival of a person whose combination of intelligence, personality, energy and integrity result in the dramatic improve-ment of said community.

It happens more often than one might think, and Yakima has had its share of such good fortune.

That said, there will only be one Joe Donahue.

And while the city, community and Valley will be forever enriched by the career move that brought Joe here from Twin Falls, Idaho, in 1947, it will also experience a substantial and permanent void left by his recent passing at age 94.

Never met Joe? Neither did I.

But a look at the photo accompanying his obituary in Tuesday’s Herald-Republic — eyes sparkling, face smiling and right hand waving — provides a sense of the true treasure Joe was to Yakima.

Yakima’s Joe Donahue, center, poses with Yakima-area sports legends, Pete Rademacher, a former heavyweight boxing champion and Olympic gold medalist, left, and Mel Stottlemyre, a former major league pitcher and pitching coach during a Parker Youth and Sports Foundation event. (Photo courtesy of Miles Donahue)

Then you talk to people, those among his many friends who really knew him and his multitude of contributions to the community, and the magnitude of his life becomes much clearer.

“He was just such a good guy,” said former Yakima Valley Community College coach and athletic director Bill Faller. “He had a sense of humor and was just a good guy to know, but also he was a real supporter of local athletics at all levels. It didn’t matter the level and it didn’t matter the sport.”

Said Bobo Brayton, who as YVCC’s baseball coach treasured Joe’s support and friendship more than five decades ago, “He was just a steady customer. Joe was always the same. You’d see him one day, then you’d see him a week later and he was still the same guy. He was tremendous that way, and he was always ready to jump in and help with whatever you had going.”

Many who so positively impact their place of residence do so as educators — as teachers, coaches or administrators. Joe was a businessman, one who after working as a photo engraver for this newspaper began his own operation and continued it through 1987.

“He was a really solid businessman and a very shrewd investor,” said close friend Paul George, who eulogized Joe at Thursday’s funeral. “He really knew his stuff.”

But doing so, providing for his wife and five children while contributing to the pecuniary prosperity of Yakima, wasn’t enough for Joe.

He involved himself in the community’s civic, social and sporting fabric, but not as a glad-hander or backslapper or someone ultimately in search of personal recognition.

The last original member of Yakima’s Monday Morning Quarterbacks, a group he helped form in 1948 along with Babe Hollingbery to help local athletes, Joe acted.

He developed the local Grid Kids program. He served on the Yakima Meadows board of directors. And for many years he joined longtime friend Oscar Soderstrom, a former Yakima police chief, as a booster and ambassador for YVCC who so profoundly benefited the school that Sherar Gymnasium displays a plaque in his honor.

“Many years ago,” Faller said, “a full scholarship at the college cost $300 a year. Joe and Oscar used to go around and get all their buddies to give $10 each. And for a number of years they produced scholarships for us that way.”

The Parker Youth and Sports Foundation, which Joe served as secretary during its early years and again aided in its 2004 rebirth, offers a Joe Donahue scholarship to a deserving YVCC athlete.

Joe also bowled, golfed, hunted and fished. He and his wife of 73 years, Fern, were affectionately known as Slowpitch Joe and Slowpoke Fern for their participation in that endeavor, one Joe continued into his 70s.

Even at age 90, he was able to put his pitching acumen to use at a Parker Youth golf event that served also to honor Joe.

Brayton was to start the festivities with a shotgun, Joe’s son Miles recalled, but was told he couldn’t fire the weapon. So with Mel Stottlemyre experiencing role reversal as a catcher and Brayton wielding his shotgun as a bat, Joe served up one more offering to begin the event.

But as playful and personable as Joe was, he selflessly gave. He contributed countless hours toward building and improving this community, and left it a far better place than he found it.

It has been our good fortune that Joe spent his final 64 years here. And it is sad that his life, while by all accounts joyful and fulfilling, has ended.

Because for Yakima, the arrival of Joseph Alton Donahue in 1947 was like winning the lottery.

• Roger Underwood can be reached at 509-577-7694 or runderwood@yakimaherald.com

GNAC MEN
    Conf    Seas
Western Washington     9-1    18-3
Western Oregon    7-4    14-6
Alaska Anchorage    9-2    15-4
Seattle Pacific          8-3     16-4
MSU Billings    7-4    12-7
Central Washington    4-7    10-9
Saint Martin’s    4-7    8-12
NW Nazarene    4-7    10-9
Simon Fraser    1-9    6-12
Alaska Fairbanks    1-10    4-17
Saturday’s scores: Alaska Anchorage 82, Central Washington 65; Northwest Nazarene 62, Alaska Fairbanks 53; Montana State Billings 82, Saint Martin’s 74; Seattle Pacific 61, Western Oregon 58; Western Washington 86, Simon Fraser 75.

GNAC WOMEN
    Conf    Seas
Alaska Anchorage    10-1    19-3
Western Washington    7-3    13-5
Seattle Pacific    7-4    13-6
MSU Billings    7-4    15-7
Simon Fraser    6-4    11-7
NW Nazarene    6-5    12-7
Western Oregon    4-7    5-16
Central Washington    3-8    6-12
Saint Martin’s    2-9    7-14
Alaska Fairbanks    2-9    6-15
 Saturday’s scores: Alaska Anchorage 80, Central Washington 48; Northwest Nazarene 83, Alaska Fairbanks 56; MSU Billings 58, Saint Martin’s 52; Western Oregon 79, Seattle Pacific 74; Western Washington 70, Simon Fraser 61.
 
NWAACC EAST MEN
    Conf    Seas
Yakima Valley    5-1    12-6
Spokane    4-1    15-3
BigBend    5-2    15-3
Walla Walla    4-2    13-6
Columbia Basin    2-4    6-11
Treasure Valley    2-4    3-14
Blue Mountain    1-5    5-11
Wenatchee Valley    1-5    5-10
Saturday’s scores: Yakima Valley 85, Treasure Valley 81; Spokane 82, Columbia Basin 79; Walla Walla 75, Big Bend 69; Blue Mountain 62, Wenatchee Valley 61.

NWAACC EAST WOMEN
    Conf    Seas
Yakima Valley    5-1    15-4
Columbia Basin    5-1    17-2    
Walla Walla    5-1    14-4
Blue Mountain    3-3    11-6
Big Bend    3-4    13-7
Wenatchee Valley    2-4    7-11
Treasure Valley    1-5    3-14
Spokane    0-5    5-12
Saturday’s scores: Yakima Valley 67, Treasure Valley 39; Columbia Basin 72, Spokane 54; Walla Walla 85, Big Bend 76; Blue Mountain 53, Wenatchee Valley 51.
   

On Wednesday night, Jan. 11, Simone Jordan came out of the Yakima Valley women’s locker room, made an abrupt right turn and walked quietly through the nearest exit of Sherar Gym.
Minutes earlier, the Yaks sophomore had missed the first of a one-and-one free throw opportunity. She could have sent YVCC’s game with Big Bend into overtime, but didn’t, resulting in a rare Yaks defeat at home, 65-63.
“I just felt so … bad,” Jordan said Friday night. “I felt I had let my teammates down. And the thing was, I was so confident when I went to the line.”
And why not? Jordan had made all six of her free throws to that point in the game.
This time, however, she felt much better after scoring 32 points in YVCC’s grinding 72-66 defeat of Blue Mountain. She added 13 points and five steals in Saturday’s 67-39 rout of Treasure Valley.
And with Jordan and Brittney Newcomb assuming the scoring leadership roles in the absence of Brandi Henton, who’s been lost for the season to knee surgery, YVCC is looking like a serious contender to successfully defend its NWAACC championship at 5-1 in the East Region and 15-1 overall.
Initially a Gonzaga recruit out of Portland’s Jefferson High School, Jordan played one year at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene before returning home. She was working for FedEx in Portland when Yakima Valley coach Cody Butler contacted her last summer, and Jordan’s play this season, barring injury, might well result in a chance to play at the NCAA Division I level.
Representatives from the University of San Francisco and San Jose State watched Friday night’s game.
But as good as Jordan has been, an added attraction has been her 2-year-old daughter, Saryah, who delightfully entertains by dancing during halftime and other breaks in YVCC home games.
“She just loves dancing,” Simone said, laughing Friday night. “She hears music and it’s like pressing a button, she just starts to dance.”

FROM THE QUOTE FILE
“That little girl should be on dancing with the stars.”
— A Yakima Valley women’s basketball fan, while watching Yaks sophomore Simone Jordan’s 2-year-old daughter, Saryah, dance at halftime of a recent home game.

Newcomb’s trey helps Yaks top Blue Mountain ||

YAKIMA, Wash. — Blue Mountain had the play scouted perfectly, and the Timberwolves defended it perfectly.

But when Yakima Valley went to plan B, a player the T-wolves had not wanted to beat them essentially did.

Brittney Newcomb’s 3-pointer didn’t end the YVCC’s 72-66 victory Friday night in Sherar Gym, but it was the biggest shot of one of the Yaks’ biggest wins of the season.

“It’s our basic out-of-bounds play,” coach Cody Butler said afterward. “We ran it a million times for Anna (Marchbanks, who’s now playing at Oregon State).”

Simone Jordan, with the ball under Yakima Valley’s basket, was to inbound to Sam Zapien, who was to pass to Kaylah Gonzales, who was to then get the ball back to Jordan, who to that juncture had scored 29 points.

Blue Mountain denied the pass to Zapien, however, but did not defend Newcomb in the near corner.

“I was surprised — very surprised — to see her that open,” said Jordan, whose pass was caught and quickly transformed into Newcomb’s second 3-ball of the night with 1:20 left in the game. “It wasn’t like Brit was knocking ‘em all down, but she’s much too good to leave that open. Especially in the heat of the moment.”

Jordan, who finished with a game-high 32 points, had tied the game at 66 with two free throws after a Jaimi Cox steal with 1:50 to play. Zapien, fouled after rebounding a missed Blue Mountain 3-ball, missed the first of a one-and-one with 1:25 left.

Jordan rebounded, however, and Butler called time.

Newcomb, YVCC’s scoring leader after a season-ending knee injury to Brandi Henton, didn’t hesitate before her shot gave the Yaks their first lead since the 12:10 mark, boosting them to 4-1 in the East Region and 14-4 overall.

The much-improved Timberwolves fell to 3-4 and 13-7.

“I was just open, and the shot felt good,” said Newcomb, whose 11 points on 3 of 12 shooting were six fewer than her average. “I knew it was in as soon as it left my hand.”

Butler was especially pleased by his team’s perseverance in a game that saw 13 lead changes and eight ties, with Blue Mountain going scoreless over the final 3:06.

He also noted two down-the-stretch 3-pointers from Kaylah Gonzales, who totaled 12 points, as looming large.

“Kaylah didn’t come out in the second half,” he said, “and for her to still be able to hit a couple of huge threes like that was really impressive. Another thing was our bench. Our girls were yelling like crazy, and we had ton of energy over the last two minutes.”

Butler was also mindful of the importance of winning close games, as was Jordan. Having stepped forward impressively in Henton’s absence, and with Newcomb having been previously slowed by a tender ankle, the athletic 5-foot-9 sophomore from Portland has increased her scoring average to 16.6.

Aggressive offensively while also trying to limit Blue Mountain guard Stephanie Lopez, who scored a team-high 23 points before fouling out in the final seconds, Jordan made 15 of 19 free throws.

BLUE MOUNTAIN — Cambronero 3-11 2-2 8, Weaver 2-5 0-0 4, Stephanie Lopez 5-15 13-14 23, Nadia Telles 5-9 0-0 11, Lovgren 0-0 0-0 0, Savedra 0-1 2-2 2, McKay 0-0 0-0 0, Rominger 0-1 0-0 0, Megan IcIntyre 5-8 1-2 11, Harrington 2-3 2-2 7. Totals 22-53 20-22 66.

YAKIMA VALLEY — Brittney Newcomb 3-12 3-4 11, Cox 3-7 0-0 6, Kaylah Gonzales 4-8 0-0 12, Simone Jordan 8-21 15-19 32, Zapien 2-6 0-1 4, Brewster 1-1 0-1 2, Swetzof 1-3 1-2 3, Lekson 0-2 0-0 0, Ferguson 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 23-63 19-27 72.

Halftime — YVCC 33-31. 3-point goals — BMCC 2-8 (Cambronero 0-2, Weaver 0-1, Saavedra 0-1, Lopez 0-1, Rominger 0-1, Telles 1-1, Harrington 1-1); YVCC 7-18 (Newcomb 2-6, Swetzof 0-1, Gonzales 4-6, Lekson 0-1, Jordan 1-4. Fouled out — Lopez. Rebounds — BMCC 37 (Lopez 8); YVCC 39 (Jordan 9). Turnovers — BMCC 19, YVCC 19. Total fouls — BMCC 23, YVCC 13.

It won’t be easy, because few things have been this season for Central Washington’s defending GNAC regular-season and tournament champion Wildcats.
But coach Greg Sparling is hoping his team has finally gained some traction after a brutal start in defense of its crowns, and will both reach and have an impact on the conference tournament.
After a 7-3 preseason that included wins over then-nationally ranked BYU-Hawaii and Rollins College of Florida, Central absorbed a GNAC-opening 99-62 haymaker at Alaska Anchorage and followed with a 91-80 overtime loss at Alaska Fairbanks.
The latter defeat came after a long, buzzer-beating 3-pointer tied the score at the end of regulation for the Nanooks, and the Wildcats have been recovering ever since.
They have, however, won two of their last three with a respectable showing last week at conference-leading and 18th-ranked Western Washington in a 99-86 loss.
At 3-6 in the GNAC and 9-8 overall, Central has nine games in which to move up at least one spot to qualify for the conference’s postseason tournament.
Unlike the first two GNAC tourneys which featured eight teams, this year’s event will include six. It will also be played at Saint Martin’s University’s Marcus Pavilion in Lacey.
Entering Thursday night’s home game with Fairbanks, CWU is seventh with the Saints (4-5) and MSU Billings (5-4) looming ahead.
The Wildcats play both, on the road, next month. Remaining home games are Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, Simon Fraser on Feb. 16 and Western on Feb. 18.
Scoring hasn’t been a problem for Central, with an average of 84.9 points a game and five players averaging double figures. But CWU has given up 80.9 points per outing, allowing opponents to shoot .465 from the field including .352 from 3-point range.
Sparling, meanwhile, remains optimistic.
“We’ve had some good practices this week,” he said recently, “and we seem to be developing a little bit of swagger. My hope is we’re turning the corner.”
Stay tuned.

FROM THE QUOTE FILE
“Never second guess yourself on a decision made with integrity, intelligence and hard work.”
— Dean Nicholson

Word out of Tacoma is that Jon Kitna is likely to be the next coach at his alma mater, Lincoln High School.
The former Central Washington standout who spent the first part of his 15-year NFL career with the Seahawks, has already landed a part-time math teaching job at the school and, according to The News Tribune of Tacoma, was the only applicant for the coaching job as of early this week.
Good news for Jon and great news for Lincoln.
Among my first assignments at the Herald-Republic in 1997 was a feature on Kitna, who in 1995 had led CWU to a co-NAIA national championship. I had followed his college career while working for the Bremerton Sun, having earned my degree from Central in 1974.
So one afternoon I drove to the Seahawks headquarters in Kirkland and waited for practice to end. When it did, Jon and I sat down and had a fascinating conversation that lasted in excess of 30 minutes.
Years later, when Jon arrived at a CWU fundraiser at Apple Tree Golf Course, then-coach John Zamberlin said, “Jon, do you know our sportswriter here, Roger Underwood?”
To which Kitna smiled, extended his hand and said, “Sure. He wrote one of the nicest stories anyone’s ever written about me several years ago.”
Earlier this month Jon retired after 15 years in the NFL, having most recently served as Tony Romo’s backup at Dallas. And don’t forget his World Bowl championship with the Barcelona Dragons.
If things continue as expected, good luck, coach Kitna. And go Abes.
Ironically, Kitna’s coach at Central in 1995, Jeff Zenisek, has also rejoined the prep ranks. Zenisek is presently head football coach and athletic director at Tenino High School, about 15 miles south of Olympia.

HOT (MOSTLY) HANDS PREVAIL AGAIN IN NFL PLAYOFFS

Chuck Knox was among the many NFL coaches who insisted that a quarterback with a hot hand was a necessity in the playoffs.
Knox never had a hand hot enough to reach the Super Bowl, but he was right, even if the two QBs left standing are coming off very different games.
Eli Manning was remarkable in the Giants’ victory at San Francisco, excelling despite wet conditions and taking at least 20 hits from the 49ers. ESPN’s Trent Dilfer said Manning played as well as he could possibly have during the circumstances and called his tepid QB rating “a joke.”
The Patriots, meanwhile, did something they rarely do — they won in spite of Tom Brady. To his credit, Brady acknowledged his poor performance after New England’s defense came to his rescue against Baltimore.
And while I’m not an overt Brady fan, I realize he’s one of the best the game has seen and do not expect a repeat of Sunday’s play on Feb. 5.
Eli vs. Brady II? Should be fun.

FROM THE QUOTE FILE
“You know that Eli doesn’t say much. When he says it, he means it, and you know it’s coming from the heart. It’s about business.”
— Antrel Rolle, of the New York Giants, about Eli Manning’s address of the team on Tuesday.

Pat Fitterer’s 35th season as a prep basketball coach is his first without his wife, Kathy, who died last June ||

YAKIMA, Wash. — Pat Fitterer was caught off balance, if not off guard, when he recently walked up some gymnasium bleacher steps to renew an acquaintance.

“With these shoes I’m wearing now, I slipped,” he recalls. “Almost fell on my keister.”

Pat being Pat, he regained his footing. But as his 35th season as a basketball head coach continues, the coach struggles to stay on his feet in the most demanding of contexts. Because his second season as coach of his alma mater, Ellensburg High School, is his first without the companionship, support and love of Kathy Fitterer.

E-burg was her school, too. Pat Fitterer and Kathy Bender were 1971 EHS graduates before becoming man and wife — and to a great extent coach and assistant coach — in 1976.

“Usually,” Pat says, recalling her presence behind his team’s bench, “she told me to watch my language.”

Kathy was there during the first 11 years of Pat’s career, at Highland, which culminated with a Class 1A state championship in 1988. Their daughters, Karly and Mindy, were born during that tenure.

Ellensburg coach Pat Fitterer talks to his players during their game against Toppenish on Tues. Jan 10, 2012. In honor of his wife, who passed away since last season, Fitterer is wearing a pink shirt and his players are wearing pink shoes for the season. (Sara Gettys/Yakima Herald-Republic)

She was there during Pat’s two seasons at Kentwood, during his 13 years at Sehome in Bellingham, during his seven years at Eisenhower and last year, also, during their first season back home, so to speak, with the Bulldogs.

The best part of that experience was seeing familiar faces, of reconnecting with many old friends.

The worst part was that Kathy was dying, and they both knew it.

BLINDSIDED

In the spring of 2010, all was well with the Fitterers. Pat and Kathy were enthralled with their first grandchild, Kai, and knew two more were on the way.

But Pat noticed that Kathy was putting socks in the wrong drawers, among other things, and also was having severe headaches.

An ensuing examination revealed their worst fears: Kathy had cancer, not only in her brain and lungs but elsewhere in her system.

“From the initial diagnosis, we knew. We both did,” Pat says. “That’s why I initially quit (as head coach at Ike), was to make the most of the time we had. But she wanted basketball to be a part of that, and she didn’t want me changing my lifestyle.

“Looking back, I think basketball kept her alive a lot longer.”

AN ELLENSBURG VICTORY TOUR

Though Pat resigned from his job at Ike immediately after Kathy’s diagnosis, eight days later he accepted the coaching job at Ellensburg.

“My retirement,” Pat joked at the time, “has been shorter than any of Brett Favre’s.”

Kathy and their daughters had urged him to resume coaching, so he did. And Kathy, despite the ravages of treatment and of cancer itself, attended the overwhelming majority of Ellensburg’s games last season, taking her accustomed seat behind Pat’s bench.

“The first two games Kathy went in a wheelchair, but she was embarrassed by that,” Pat says. “So the third and fourth games she used a walker, then by game five she went in on her own. It gave her a reason to get out of the house, and it gave us as an outlet as a family.”

Ellensburg players sport pink shoes in honor of the wife of their coach, Pat Fitterer, who passed away before the beginning of the season. (Sara Gettys/Yakima Herald-Republic)

A highlight was a night in which Kathy was honored at a home game.

“The whole thing was huge,” Pat says. “Not only was the ceremony at the game awesome, we were all at a restaurant afterward and she was walking from table to table, talking to family and friends.”

Last April, during spring break, the family went to Hawaii.

“The nurses at North Star Lodge were not overly thrilled with me for putting Kathy on a plane with all the blood pressure issues and everything,” Pat says. “But we really wanted to go to Lahaina for 10 days, just to be together as a family.”

Then last June 24, with Pat and her family at her side, Kathy passed away.

NEW WAYS OF REMEMBERING

Kathy Jo Bender Fitterer’s favorite color was pink. Pat’s players knew that, and during a clinic last summer in Seattle they saw some Nike basketball shoes in that very color.

This season, the Ellensburg Bulldogs wear them with the initials KF on the back.

When the Bulldogs debuted on Dec. 3 in the SunDome against Eisenhower, Cadets head coach Colton Monti and assistants Humberto Perez and Drew Harris also wore pink.

“That,” Pat says, “was extremely classy on their part.”

As for Pat, the khaki slacks, polo shirts and sneakers that had almost exclusively comprised his game-night wardrobe have given way to much more formal attire.

He starts each game in a full suit, replete with pink shirt, matching tie and dress shoes.

“I’ve never been accused of overdressing,” Pat says. “The jacket usually comes off fairly early in the game, and I hang it on the back of my chair.”

FAMILIAR FACES, RECOLLECTIONS LINGER

The behind-the-bench presence of his daughters and grandsons — Kai was joined by Bode in September of 2010 and Kohen last March — is reassuring to Pat during this unique season.

If basketball has been an integral part of his life for more than three decades, Kathy had been an even bigger part for an even longer period of time.

“We were married for 35 years and had dated for another 10,” he says. “So basically, we were together for 45 years.”

Pat, 58, has won 690 games and is the state’s winningest active high school coach. He was a 2007 inductee into the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

And memories from even the early coaching days are still fresh.

“At Highland,” he says, “we had player cards and the girls would play with them and trade them just like kids do with baseball cards. They’d color pictures for the players, and of course Kathy would help them.”

As her parents had traveled full circle, back to their alma mater, Mindy Schultz has taken a similar journey. She is presently an assistant principal at Highland.

“Sometimes,” Pat says, “I’d go overboard about game stuff after we’d get home, and Kathy would tell me I needed to leave it at the gym. But also she was really good about noticing things like if a kid’s dad was pushing him too hard, that he essentially had nobody in the stands and maybe needed a little more love.”

THE ROAD FORWARD

So the Bulldogs and Fitterers press on.

It’s helpful that among the familiar faces at games is Brad Schultz, Mindy’s husband, who assisted Pat at Ike and is now assisting at Ellensburg.

“The girls are still here, which is nice, and having a son-in-law at every minute of every game, along with my three grandsons, is helpful,” Pat says. “And Kathy and I have members of both of our families that are still in Ellensburg and come to our games. My brother, Brad, even helped me with my wardrobe. He set me up with some power ties.”

Still, with all the Fitterers, Benders and friends and extended family in the seats at most E-burg games, home and away, Kathy isn’t.

And knowing she won’t be seems the hardest part.

The newness of each season — different players and different challenges — have always been much of the attraction for coaches like Pat. He just wishes that this season, his 35th as a head coach, wasn’t his first without Kathy.

“We’re smiling,” Pat says, “but we’re really close to tears.”

• Roger Underwood’s Under the Radar blog is at sportsyakima.com He can be reached at 509-577-7694 or runderwood@yakimaherald.com