Western Washington has clinched the Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular season championship in women’s basketball and will host the conference tournament.
The Vikings also survived an injury scare with senior center Lauren Hefflin.
The Ridgefield High School graduate left Saturday’s 68-44 home win over Alaska-Fairbanks with a knee injury early in the second half — then Tuesday played 33 minutes ina 63-57 win Tuesday at Montana State-Billings.
Hefflin had eight points, three blocks and two rebounds in her final regular season home game against Fairbanks. The Vikings (24-1, 17-0 GNAC) have won 19 consecutive games, and are ranked No. 6 in the NCAA Division II rankings and on Wednesday rose to No. 1 in the NCAA-II West Region.
Western Washington said in a release Monday that Hefflin “jammed her knee” before leaving early in the second half against Fairbanks, and she is expected to play this week. She had 17 points and eight rebounds in the win at Billings.
The Vikings conclude the regular season Saturday at Seattle Pacific. They open the GNAC Tournament on Monday against Simon Fraser.
Linfield’s Olbrich down to one sport
Linfield College junior Abby Olbrich can concentrate on tennis now. The Skyview High School graduate — who plays No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles for the Wildcats — was also the starting point guard for the Linfield women’s basketball team.
Two seasons removed from a 3-22 season (2-14 in Northwest Conference play), the Wildcats completed a 13-11 season (8-8 NWC) on Saturday with a 64-51 win over Pacific Lutheran at Tacoma.
Olbrich, who played tennis for the Wildcats earlier in the day, scored seven points without missing a shot from the field or from the free throw line, and added four assists and a steal.
Linfield, which dropped a 60-54 thriller Friday against NWC power George Fox University, finished one conference win short of a berth in the NWC playoffs.
Earlier Saturday, former Skyview teammates Olbrich and Sarah Click won their doubles match in a win over Lewis & Clark, an 8-4 pro set victory over Amalia Nilsson and Isabelle Borris.
Gordon, GFU win another NWC title
Keisha Gordon scored 21 points of 7-of-12 shooting from the field as George Fox University claimed at least a share of the Northwest Conference women’s basketball championship for the fifth consecutive season Saturday with an 83-55 rout of Puget Sound.
The Heritage High School graduate is averaging 15.4 points and 7.5 rebounds a game for the Bruins (20-5, 14-2 NWC), along with 3.2 assists and 2.5 steals a game. She is shooting 45.8 percent (126 of 275) from the field and 78.2 percent (86 of 110) from the free throw line.
George Fox is the No. 2 seed in the four-team NWC playoffs, and will play host to No. 3 Puget Sound at 7 p.m. today. Conference co-champion Lewis & Clark is the No. 1 seed and will play host to No. 4 Whitman College, also 7 p.m. today. The higher-seeded winner will host the title game at 7 p.m. Saturday. The winner garners the NWC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.
WWU’s Porter wins GNAC 5,000 title
Western Washington University senior distance runner Sarah Porter won a second consecutive Great Northwest Athletic Conference title in the indoor 5,000 meters at the GNAC Indoor Track and Field Championships which ended Saturday in Nampa, Idaho.
The Hockinson High School graduate won the longest race in indoor track with a time of 17 minutes, 18.68 seconds.
She also helped the WWU women’s distance medley relay placed second, the women meeting the provisional standard for the NCAA Division II national championships with a time of 11:53.23.
Making up that quartet were Rachael Johnson, who ran the leadoff leg of 1,200 meters, followed by Eleanor Siler’s 400, Megan O’Connell’s 800 and Porter’s 1,600 anchor leg.
NNU’s Miller earns All-GNAC honors
Northwest Nazarene senior thrower Grant Miller placed second in the shot put and third in the weight throw at the GNAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Vancouver Christian High School graduate earned all-conference status in both events.
Miller totaled 14 team points in the two events, the second-highest contribution by any individual Crusader on either the men’s or women’s team.
Miller’s marks were 16.66m (54 feet, 8 inches) in the weight throw, and 15.51m (50-10¾) in the shot put. His shot put mark was just shy of the school record which he set earlier this season.
Cavaliers’ Herman top NAIA-II shooter
Concordia College freshman forward Adam Herman leads all of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division II in field goal percentage, making 64.5 percent of his shots for the playoff-bound Cavaliers.
The Prairie High School graduate was 160 of 248 in 29 games after last weekend’s play, and is six percentage points of Tennessee Wesleyan College’s Matt Towry (63.9, 200 of 313). Herman averages 14.5 points a game.
Concordia (12-18, 6-12 in regular season Cascade Collegiate Conference games) had its season end Wednesday with a 69-51 loss to CCC regular season champion Oregon Tech in the conference tournament quarterfinals. Herman was 1 of 3 in the loss.
Concordia’s roster also includes juniors Kevan West (Prairie), Austin Dunn (Mountain View High School) and Drew Preuninger (Camas High School), and Vancouver’s Ryan Miller, a sophomore graduate of Portland Christian High School.
West averages 12.6 points and 5.1 rebounds a game. Preuninger adds 10.0 points a game and Dunn 8.0.
WSU’s Ard homers twice in two games
Washington State redshirt sophomore first baseman Taylor Ard hit two home runs in two days during a season-opening weekend series at Cal State Bakersfield.
The Prairie High School graduate belted a solo shot in the eighth inning of an 11-10 loss Saturday. He then delivered a two-out, two-run shot in the seventh Sunday as the Cougars took a 4-3 lead that held up as the final score.
Washington State coach Donnie Marbut told wsucougars.com that Ard “gave us the big hit we needed” as the Cougars improved to 2-1.
Ard was MVP of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges playing for Mount Hood Community College in 2009 before redshirting last season.
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