CWU’s tournament rained out
February 7, 2010 by YH-R Sports
TURLOCK, Calif. — For the second consecutive day, the Central Washington fastpitch team’s game in the Best of the West tournament were rained out. The rest of the tournament was canceled.
Central played two of its six scheduled games, losing 2-0 to UC San Diego and 3-0 to Cal State Dominguez Hills.
Central’s next scheduled game is part of a GNAC doubleheader against Western Oregon on Feb. 27 in Ellensburg.
YVCC men stun first-place Big Bend
February 7, 2010 by YH-R Sports
MOSES LAKE, Wash. — Two weeks ago, Yakima Valley’s season was quickly slipping away after a last-second loss to Columbia Basin.
My, how things can change.
Getting righted with two lopsided home wins, the Yak men have kept that momentum going with two impressive road wins, the latest an 87-79 victory over NWAACC East Region-leading Big Bend on Saturday afternoon.
The victory improved the Yaks to 6-3 in the region (12-9 overall), while Big Bend slipped to 7-2 and 12-5.
“That’s a big win for us,” YVCC coach Ray Funk said. “These guys are really showing some resiliency.”
Jordan Kidd, Damar Wilson and Willie Blodgett did much of the damage, combining for 60 points.
Kidd led the way with 28 points, with Wilson adding 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Blodgett collecting 13 points, five assists and four steals.
Trailing 37-32 at the half, Yakima Valley tightened its defense, limiting Big Bend to 37-percent shooting (13 of 35), while getting its own offense in gear.
The Yaks shot 52.5 percent in the second half (21 of 40) to outscore the Vikings 55-42. Yakima Valley took the lead early in the second half and never relinquished it, ultimately building a 15-point lead (76-61) before cruising home.
YAKIMA VALLEY — Skelton 1-3 0-0 3, Blodgett 4-6 4-4 13, De. Wilson 1-6 0-0 2, Da. Wilson 8-14 2-2 19, Kidd 9-23 10-14 28, Dorrik 4-8 0-0 9, January 5-9 1-4 11, Kirvin 1-7 0-0 2. Totals 33-76 17-24 87.
BIG BEND — Nunn 2-5 3-4 7, Winn 2-7 2-4 8, Marsh 5-14 4-4 14, Hatch 1-2 2-4 4, Johns 2-6 3-4 7, Brumfield 2-8 7-8 12, Hattar 6-7 0-0 13, Brooke 0-1 0-0 0, Snow 2-4 1-1 5, Martin 0-0 0-0 0, Ramstrom 3-9 2-6 9. Totals 25-63 24-35 79.
Halftime—Big Bend 37, Yakima Valley 32. 3-Point Goals—Yakima Valley 4-15 (Skelton 1-3, Blodgett 1-2, De. Wilson 0-2, Da. Wilson 1-1, Kidd 0-2, Dorrik 1-3, January 0-2), Big Bend 5-21 (Nunn 0-1, Winn 2-6, Marsh 0-5, Johns 0-1, Brumfield 1-4, Hattar 1-2, Ramstrom 1-2). Fouled out—Da. Wilson. Johns. Rebounds—Yakima Valley 49 (Da. Wilson 11), Big Bend 43 (Brumfield 11). Assists—Yakima Valley 19 (Blodgett 5, Kidd 5), Big Bend 16 (Marsh 4). Totals fouls—Yakima Valley 26, Big Bend 19. Turnovers—Yakima Valley 17, Big Bend 19. Steals—Yakima Valley 12 (Blodgett 4), Big Bend 9. Blocked shots—Yakima Valley 2, Big Bend 1.
W. Oregon overtakes Central
February 7, 2010 by YH-R Sports
MONMOUTH, Ore. — Fresh off a victory over the region’s top seed, Central Washington couldn’t maintain that momentum as Western Oregon used a big finishing kick to defeat the Wildcats 77-74 in a GNAC men’s basketball game Saturday afternoon.
Western Oregon (4-5, 11-9) outscored the Wildcats 10-2 in the final 1:51 to pull out the victory over a Central team that was coming off an upset of Seattle Pacific this past Thursday.
Chris Sprinker and Toussaint Tyler scored 21 points apiece to lead Central (6-3, 12-7), which had an eight-game winning streak against the Wolves snapped.
Sprinker also had 10 rebounds and matched his career-high with six blocked shots.
Tyler scored nine of Central’s final 12 points before fouling out with 4 seconds to play. His final basket gave Central a 74-70 lead.
But Blair Wheadon made two free throws and then hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 21 seconds left to rally Western Oregon.
Central missed a 3-pointer and had a turnover on its final two possessions.
Wheadon had 18 points to lead six Western Oregon players in double figures.
CENTRAL WASHINGTON — Chris Sprinker 10-15 1-2 21; Toussaint Tyler 8-13 4-6 21; Jon Clift 4-12 2-2 12; Miller 4-9 0-0 8; Gibler 2-2 0-0 4; Cook 2-12 0-0 4; Clyde 1-4 1-1 3; Sivak 0-1 1-2 1; Snowden 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 31-70 9-13 74.
WESTERN OREGON — Blair Wheadon 4-11 6-8 18; Rico Myles 6-13 1-3 13; Tarance Glynn 4-11 3-4 12; Kyle Long 4-10 3-4 11; Kolton Nelson 4-9 2-2 10; Matt Schmidt 4-12 2-2 10; Johnson 1-5 0-0 3; Chippoletti 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 27-74 17-23 77.
Halftime: CWU 34, WO 34. 3-point goals: CWU 3-16 (Clift 2-6; Tyler 1-2), WO 6-21 (Wheadon 4-8; Johnson 1-3; Glynn 1-2). Fouled out: Tyler. Rebounds: CWU 42 (Sprinker 10), WO 51 (Myles 11). Assists: CWU 14 (Miller 3; Tyler 3), WO 14 (Wheadon 5). Total fouls: CWU 18, WO 12. Technical fouls: None.
Marchbanks leads Yaks to win
February 7, 2010 by YH-R Sports
MOSES LAKE, Wash. — Anna Marchbanks sparked a quick start and Yakima Valley’s women kept their NWAACC East record perfect with a 74-59 victory over Big Bend on Saturday.
Marchbanks made 8 of 9 shots in the first half as the Yaks flew out to a 47-26 lead. She finished with 23 points on 10-for-14 shooting with five rebounds and seven steals.
Rosetta Adzasu chipped in 15 points with seven rebounds, four steals and three assists and Nicole DeRosier had four 3-pointers and 14 points as Yakima Valley improved to 9-0 in the East and 17-4 overall.
The Yaks travel to second-place Walla Walla on Wednesday.
YAKIMA VALLEY — Jones 1-2 2-4 4, French 2-6 0-0 4, Roe 0-2 2-2 2, Gray 0-4 0-0 0, Anna Marchbanks 10-14 1-2 23, Rosetta Adzasu 7-14 1-2 15, Nicole DeRosier 5-15 0-0 14, Urquhart 3-6 0-0 6, Hull 0-1 0-0 0, Fenumiai 2-5 2-2 6. Totals 30-69 8-12 74.
BIG BEND — Parker 1-6 0-0 3, Ashley McGowan 3-10 2-4 10, Hirz 2-5 0-1 6, Anderson 0-1 1-4 1, Whitted 0-0 0-0 0, Canfield 0-1 0-0 0, Schwulst 0-4 0-0 0, Lacey Nordby 4-6 7-11 16, Dana Bates 7-18 3-5 19, Hengst 0-3 4-4 4. Totals 17-54 17-29 59.
Halftime: YVCC 47, Big Bend 26. 3-point goals: YVCC 6-21 (DeRosier 4-10, Marchbanks 2-4), Big Bend 8-23 (Hirz 2-3, Bates 2-4, McGowan 2-6, Nordby 1-1, Parker 1-6). Fouled out: Urquhart. Rebounds: YVCC 40 (Adzasu 7, Jones 6), Big Bend 44 (Anderson 9, Bates 7). Assists: YVCC 13 (Gray 3, Adzasu 3), Big Bend 8 (McGowan 5). Total fouls: YVCC 24, Big Bend 14. Steals: YVCC 16 (Marchbanks 7, Adzasu 4), Big Bend 4.
Central falls at Western Oregon
February 7, 2010 by YH-R Sports
MONMOUTH, Ore. — Katie Torland made four 3-pointers, connected on 8 of 13 shots and finished with 29 points to lead Western Oregon to a 69-58 win over Central Washington in GNAC play Saturday afternoon.
Senior Shaina Afoa made 7 of 10 field-goal attempts and scored a season-high 16 points and Sophie Russell led with 17 points for Central, which fell to 3-6 in conference and 6-13 overall.
CENTRAL WASHINGTON — Sophie Russell 6-14 4-5 17; Shaina Afoa 7-10 2-2 16; Sara Bergner 3-6 4-6 10; Betteridge 3-7 1-2 7; Jacobs 1-7 2-2 4; Albrecht 1-5 0-0 2; Duerr 0-4 2-3 2; WalkingChild 0-4 0-0 0; Calhoun 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-57 15-20 58.
WESTERN OREGON — Katie Torland 8-13 9-12 29; Sara Zahler 5-10 4-5 16; Clifford 2-9 3-4 7; Corder 1-3 3-4 6; Bellando 2-4 0-0 4; Shearer 1-4 2-2 4; Wilson 1-3 0-0 2; White 0-8 1-2 1; Whitsett 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 22-29 69.
Halftime: Western Oregon 30, CWU 24. 3-point goals: CWU 1-8 (Russell 1-3), WO 7-24 (Torland 4-7; Zahler 2-5; Corder 1-2). Fouled out: None. Rebounds: CWU 40 (Bergner 7), WO 38 (Zahler 9). Assists: CWU 6 (Jacobs 2), WO 7 (Clifford 2; Corder 2; Zahler 2). Total fouls: CWU 21, WO 20.
Central games rained out
February 7, 2010 by YH-R Sports
TURLOCK, Calif. — Heavy rain forced the cancellation of Saturday’s games in the Best of the West Invitational softball tournament.
Central Washington (0-2) was scheduled to play Sonoma State and Humboldt State. The Sonoma State game will be played today, while the Humboldt State game will not be rescheduled.
Far from a starter, Reilly has a start
February 6, 2010 by Roger Underwood
YAKIMA, Wash. — He has gotten his foot in the door, if not on the playing field.
But then Mike Reilly has been down this competitive road before, and has been undeterred by such speed bumps.
“No playing time yet,” the former Central Washington quarterback said of his first NFL season, which consisted of three weeks as a Green Bay practice squad member and four on the St. Louis active roster. “But I spent four weeks with the Rams learning the offense and taking on the role of emergency backup. So at least I was suited up and standing on the sidelines, ready to go in.”
Reilly and his wife, Jessica, had recently returned to their home in Kennewick when contacted by yours truly. Their 1,900-mile drive had been complicated by harsh conditions in the Midwest — “there were maybe 125 to 150 cars off the road and there were semis upside down in the medians,” Reilly reported — and his football year had been an emotional roller coaster.
It started on a down note when Reilly wasn’t chosen in April’s NFL draft, but reversed itself when he was signed as a free agent by defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh.
Reilly was cut by the Steelers just prior to the start of the regular season, however, and returned to Kennewick where he put his CWU engineering degree to work.
He and Jessica bought a house, and while Reilly settled into something of a 9-to-5 routine, he continued to work out, wait and hope.
In November, the Packers called and signed him to their practice squad. And while he wasn’t an active member of the team, he at least was in an NFL camp. Then the Rams, whose quarterback ranks had been thinned by injuries to starter Marc Bulger and backup Kyle Boller, signed Reilly to their active roster.
That meant wearing a uniform on game day. It also meant substantially more money, from the $5,200 (with no benefits) practice players earn weekly to approximately $18,000 as a full-fledged roster member.
So for his seven weeks as an NFL player, including three as a practice squad member, Reilly banked close to $90,000, according to the league’s pay schedule.
He is also signed through the 2010 season, for which the minimum NFL salary will be $325,000.
So the move from Washington State, where Reilly became convinced he would not get to play, to Central, where he started every game for four years, turned out golden.
It’s true that the Rams were abysmal, finishing 1-15, but from such rubble can be found opportunity for a comparative unknown like Reilly.
“When a team goes 1-15, there are obviously issues and you figure there will be a lot of changes during the offseason,” he said. “From what I’ve heard from my agent, and some other people, the GM (Billy Devaney) is pretty high on me. That they signed me through 2010 shows they hopefully have some sort of plan for me.”
And if the Rams don’t have a plan for him, Reilly does for them.
“My thing is to go out and win the starting job for next year,” he said, “and that should always been your approach whether you’re a freshman in high school or a senior in college or whatever.”
Now that he has a functional grasp of the West Coast offense deployed by St. Louis coach Steve Spagnuolo — and also by Green Bay’s Mike McCarthy — Reilly figures he’s worth more.
“The reason Brett Favre was able to come to Minnesota in the middle of training camp and take over is because the Vikings run the West Coast offense,” he said. “A lot of teams run it. So if you know it, it makes you more valuable as a quarterback.”
And even if Reilly has yet to take his first NFL snap, his seven-week career has enriched him personally.
“In Green Bay, to be on the sideline in Lambeau (Field) and see the crowd and watch guys do the Lambeau leap — that was great,” he said. “And to be in St. Louis, to suit up and wear the jersey and pads and go through pregame warmups knowing, OK, if something happens, I’m going to go in the game.
“It was good to get that feeling back. It had been awhile.”
And for Mike Reilly, maybe the next such period will not last nearly as long.
Women’s wrestling tournament canceled
February 6, 2010 by YH-R Sports
YAKIMA, Wash. — The National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Association women’s regional championships scheduled for today at Yakima Valley College’s Sherar Gym have been canceled, according to YVCC athletic director Ray Funk.
Fastpitch: Wildcats Drop First Two
February 6, 2010 by YH-R Sports
TURLOCK, Calif. — Central Washington University’s fastpitch team opened the season against some tough pitching on Friday in the Mizuno Best of the West Invitational at Pedretti Park.
The Wildcats fell to UC San Diego, 2-0, and Cal State Dominguez Hills, 3-0.
Central’s Danielle Monson went 2-for-3 against Dominguez Hills
The Wildcats are scheduled to continue tournament play today against Sonoma State and 11th-ranked Humboldt State.
| UC San Diego 2, CWU 0 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Gaito and Saari. Hadenfeld; Reime (6) and Kopczynski. Highlights: Ashley Fix (CWU) 1-2, 2 |
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| Cal State Dominguez Hills 3, CWU 0 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Baxter, Reime (6) and Kopczynski. Harper and Miranda. Highlights: Danielle Monson (CWU) 2-3. |
Coach: Arizona plans self sanctions
February 5, 2010 by The Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — Arizona first-year coach Sean Miller said late Thursday his school will impose its own sanctions on the basketball program for violations by former coach Lute Olson related to an offseason AAU tournament in 2008.
Miller confirmed the action after his Pac-10 co-leading Wildcats lost at Washington.
He did not confirm or deny a Foxsports.com report that the Wildcats are going to sacrifice a scholarship, recruiting days in the summer and on-campus visits by recruits.
“I’m aware of it. It doesn’t come as a surprise to me,” Miller said. “I’m very confident that our university and our athletic department is handling it the way it should be handled.”
Miller, whose young, surprising team (11-10, 6-4 Pac-10) next plays Saturday night at Washington State, said he’s been aware of the situation since well before the former coach at Xavier took the Arizona job in April.
Olson returned to lead the Wildcats in the spring of 2008, after missing the previous season while on personal leave. A few months later, Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood announced Olson had sent a letter to a basketball boosters group asking for a donation to Jim Storey’s Arizona Cactus Classic basketball tournament, held in May 2008 at the university’s McKale Center.
NCAA rules prohibit institutional representatives or boosters from arranging financial assistance for potential recruits.
Olson denied any knowledge of the letter, sent over his electronic signature, or of the request for donations. He called it a “clear-cut violation of NCAA rules.”
The NCAA began an investigation.
Arizona would be the second Pac-10 men’s basketball team to impose its own sanctions in the last month, though the Wildcats appear destined for far more minor penalties than Southern California received from its own university.
A USC investigation found rules were violated during current NBA player O.J. Mayo’s lone season with the Trojans in 2007-08 under former coach Tim Floyd. On Jan. 3, USC announced a one-year ban on postseason play following the current regular season, including the Pac-10 tournament; a loss of one scholarship for this season and the 2010-2011 season; a loss of one coach permitted to engage in off-campus recruiting during the summer of 2010; and the loss of 20 recruiting days (from 130 to 110) for the 2010-2011 academic year.
USC is also vacating 21 victories during the 2007-08 season, when Mayo competed while ineligible.
