NW Briefs | Familiar foe for Wildcats
Central Washington will take on a very familiar foe today in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs - Nebraska-Omaha, a team the Wildcats lost to just two weeks ago.
The Mavericks (10-0), who will host the 11 a.m. game, won 59-21 in Ellensburg on Nov. 10 and have won all three previous meetings between the teams. But Wildcats coach Beau Baldwin isn’t conceding anything.
“Whether their first 22 are better than our first 22, or whether our first 22 are better than theirs doesn’t really matter,” Baldwin said earlier this week. “Some people might think I’m crazy for saying that.
“But it’s not about taking down a giant. It’s about beating Nebraska-Omaha.”
Should Central (9-2) defeat the Mavericks, it would advance to the playoff quarterfinals on Dec. 1 at either Grand Valley State or North Dakota.
The Mavericks’ previous successes also means nothing to Omaha coach Pat Behrns, who is 1-6 in playoff games.
“I’m always nervous,” he said. “The last two playoff games at home, we lost each one by three points. But there’s no question there should be an advantage when you’re at home.”
Central won its first-round game 40-24 over Ashland (Ohio), with Mike Reilly passing for 218 yards and a touchdown and running for another score. Johnny Lopez ran for 153 yards and two TDs.
“Omaha’s a great team, no doubt,” Baldwin said. “But our goal is for them not to be better than we are on this particular Saturday. That’s how the guys feel, and that’s how I feel.”
Men’s basketball
Shaun Berl scored 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting to lead Seattle University (3-0) to a 74-71 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay in the Notre Dame de Namur Thanksgiving tournament in Belmont, Calif.
• Guard Marques Echols scored a game-high 27 points, leading Seattle Pacific to a 107-77 victory over Bloomfield (N.J.) in the Western Washington-Chuck Randall Thanksgiving Classic in Bellingham.
Center Rob Will had 16 points for the Falcons (2-1), who shot 63.6 percent (42 of 66) from the field.
• Ira Graham had 14 points as Western Washington (3-1) defeated Northwest University 85-69 in the Chuck Randall Classic.
Women’s basketball
India Soo scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, but it wasn’t enough as Western Washington fell to San Francisco State 68-63 in the WWU Lynda Goodrich Classic in Bellingham.
Claire Palansch added 16 points and nine boards for the Vikings (2-3), who took just their second loss in 21 Goodrich Classic games.
• Western State (Colo.) held Saint Martin’s without a point for more than five minutes in the second half and claimed a 65-56 victory in the Goodrich Classic.
Jamey Gelhar had a game-high 19 points for the Saints (1-1), who committed 28 turnovers and shot just 34.5 percent (19 of 55).
• Seattle U. has received four letters of intent for 2008-09: Carley Butcher (Coquitlam, B.C.), Elle Kerfoot (White Rock, B.C.), Samantha Messersmith (Herald, Calif.) and Bianca Williams (Torrance, Calif.).
Volleyball
Brittany Johnson had a team-high 18 kills for Washington State (10-22, 1-17 Pac-10), which beat Oregon State 22-30, 30-28, 28-30, 30-25, 15-8 to end its season with its lone conference win, end a 20-match loss streak and avenge an earlier five-game loss to the Beavers.
• Eastern Washington (15-15) reached the semifinals of the Big Sky tournament with a 32-30, 28-30, 28-30, 30-18, 15-11 victory over Northern Arizona, then was swept 30-20, 30-17, 30-20 by host Sacramento State.
Compiled from sports-information and wire reports.
The Yakima Herald-Republic contributed to this article.