Monday, March 9, 2020
Oregon Ducks Women 89
Stanford Cardinal Women 56
One could understand the logic: Stanford decided that if any UO starter was going to beat the Cardinal, it would be Minyon Moore.
Not Oregon’s “Big Three,” all candidates for national player of the year. And not Erin Boley, who went for 18 the night before. No, the Cardinal would sag off of Moore to defend the others in Sunday’s Pac-12 Championship game.
Gambling is big in Vegas. Stanford took that gamble Sunday at Mandalay Bay Events Center. And the Cardinal lost.
Behind a season-high 21 points from Moore, not to mention 20 by the incomparable Sabrina Ionescu and 24 from Ruthy Hebard, the UO women’s basketball team won the conference tournament title for the second time in three years Sunday, 89-56 over the Cardinal.
The Ducks (31-2) avenged their loss to Stanford in the 2019 final, became the first Pac-12 team other than Stanford to win multiple conference tournament titles, and recorded the first three-game win streak over the Cardinal by any conference team in over 30 years.
Ethan Moritz’s jumper with 4:12 remaining gave the Triad Timber Wolves of Klamath Falls the lead for good, and second-seeded Triad held on for a 58-56 victory over top-seeded Damascus Christian in the Class 1A boys basketball state final Saturday at Baker High School in Baker City.
Moritz finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, one of four scorers in double figures for the Timber Wolves (27-4), who claimed the program’s first state title. Zane Napoli-Sorg had 16 points, Michael Irvine added 14, and Micah Young scored 12.
The Mazama Girls Basketball’s season ended Friday in a 42-25 loss on the road to No. 7-seed Valley Catholic in the opening round of the Class 4A state playoffs.
The Valiants stunned the Vikings from the jump, surging to a 17-point first quarter and leaving Mazama behind with just six points for an 11-point first-quarter lead.
The Vikings rallied in the second and held Valley Catholic to just four points while managing eight to get within seven points. The third quarter was a 4-4 stalemate, but the Valiants turned it up again in the final ten minutes to outscore Mazama by ten points and take the 17-point victory.
Junior Averie Romander led the Vikings with eight points and Mazama’s only 3-pointer. Freshman Ella Baley followed with five points, while Macy Clemens, Mercedes Charkins and Kennedy Lease added four apiece.
Valley Catholic’s Josie Napoli matched the entire Vikings efforts with 25 points.
Oregon Tech Men’s Baseball Team dropped two NAIA-West games on Sunday afternoon at Harris Field as Lewis-Clark State College took a 5-1 victory in the opener and a 13-0 shutout in a 7-inning nightcap game. Oregon Tech is now 4-18, 0-6 NAIA-W on the young season.
The Hustlin’ Owls will get another shot at the Warriors today, with games at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm in a second NAIA-West doubleheader. The team will then travel to Caldwell, Idaho to take on College of Idaho next Saturday and Sunday before returning for their first home series on the 21st.
With not much to look forward to at this point, Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum got into a scuffle with Sacramento Kings forward/center Alex Len on Saturday night. Both fined by the NBA for their roles in the on-court incident.
McCollum was fined $20,000 for shoving Len and attempting to escalate the altercation. Len was fined $15,000 for shoving McCollum.
The incident, which resulted in technical fouls for both players, occurred with 8:50 remaining in the third quarter of the Kings’ 123-111 win over the Trail Blazers on Saturday.
McCollum and Len engaged in a physical altercation and had to be separated with the Kings leading 80-60. After a review, Len was called for an offensive foul for a screen. Although both players put their fists up, neither threw a punch and both stayed in the game.
Mariners Baseball
It’s that time of year where pitchers tinker with new toys in their arsenal, and Justus Sheffield showcased his latest weapon on Sunday.
Sheffield unveiled a two-seam fastball in the Mariners’ 8-4 win against the Giants, which helped him to five strikeouts against the 11 batters he faced in what was yet another gem in his superb spring.