RED DEVIL HOLIDAY TOURNEY (Women)
LONGVIEW— This year’s Holiday Classic gave a chance for some new look teams to try and knock off undefeated Umpqua for the first time this year. In the best first round match up, Yakima Valley fell short of Umpqua after a hard fought game 84-75. Up next was Centralia who struggled to match up inside with the Riverhawk’s strong front court falling by a score of 65-48.
In the other semi-final, North Idaho and Lower Columbia would come down to the wire in a heated battle full of fouls and free throws but the Cardinals pulled ahead in the final seconds winning 62-57.
Championship Saturday was all about the 4th quarter. After getting up 53-39 through 3 quarters, North Idaho made a strong push behind the 13 points of Whitney Meyer but came up short 74-70. Tournament MVP Bria Thames lead all scorers with 22 points and added 6 rebounds. Taylor Stricklin added another 22 pts while Jordan Stotler flirted with a triple-double netting 14 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists and 6 blocks. Meyer finished with 22 for North Idaho.
In the 3rd place game, Lower Columbia defeated Portland 77-44. Hailey Niles scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Nizhoni Wheeler (leads NWAC in FG%) scored 13 on 6-8 shooting.
*Former Oregon State standout forward Deven Hunter lead the Delana Dragons All-Star team to two wins with 46 points, 28 rebounds, 7 steals and 7 blocks for the tournament.
All-Tournament Team
MVP- Bria Thames (Umpqua)
Jordan Stotler (Umpqua)
Taylor Stricklin (Umpqua)
Ronnie Harris (North Idaho)
Sydney Hovde (North Idaho)
Hailey Niles (Lower Columbia)
Kamri Von Oelhoffen (Yakima Valley)
Deven Hunter (Delana Dragons)
SKAGIT VALLEY HOLIDAY TOURNEY (Women)
MOUNT VERNON— The second of two 8-team tournaments for the weekend, featured round robin action from some quality NWAC competition. Both Spokane and Grays Harbor finished the tournament with a 3-0 record.
Alexia Thrower lead the way for the Chokers averaging 29 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in wins over Edmonds, Skagit Valley and Everett. For Spokane, Jessica Olsen had 21 points and 6 rebounds a game with wins over Everett, Bellevue, Edmonds. Bellevue and Big Bend each tallied 2 wins a piece.
Final Results All-Tournament Team
Spokane 3-0 MVP- Alexia Thrower (Grays Harbor)
Grays Harbor 3-0 Angela Sikora (Grays Harbor)
Bellevue 2-1 Molly Dixon (Bellevue)
Big Bend 2-1 Miranda Johnson (Big Bend)
Everett 1-2 Shania Graham (Spokane)
South Puget Sound 1-2 Jessica Olson (Spokane)
Skagit Valley 0-3 Katie Campana (South Puget Sound)
Edmonds 0-3 Tyra Lopez (Everett)
CLACKAMAS HOLIDAY TOURNEY (Men)
OREGON CITY— Clackamas played host to the only 8-team men’s tournament of the weekend. In round robin action, host Clackamas would emerge victorious as the only 3-win team on the weekend featuring wins over Centralia, #5-ranked Edmonds and #2 Walla Walla.
The Cougars were lead by Pool B MVP Isaiah Gentry who averaged 16 points and 8 rebounds.
Pool A resulted in a tie between Yakima and Linn-Benton and Peninsula all finishing 2-1. MVP Gamaun Boykin lead the way for Yakima with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists a game.
Pool A Final Results:
Linn-Benton 2-1
Peninsula 2-1
Yakima Valley 2-1
South Puget Sound 0-3
All-Tournament Team (Pool A):
MVP Gamaun Boykin (Yakima Valley)
Trey Delp (Yakima Valley)
Colby Jackson (Peninsula)
Kaelin Crane (Peninsula)
Bailey Evers (Linn-Benton)
Taylor Jensen (Linn-Benton)
Pool B Final Results:
Clackamas 3-0
Edmonds 2-1
Walla Walla 1-2
Centralia 0-3
All Tournament Team (Pool B):
MVP Isaiah Gentry (Clackamas)
Briggs Young (Clackamas)
Zach Walton (Edmonds)
Devin Price (Edmonds)
Damen Thacker (Walla Walla)
Marcus McKone (Walla Walla)
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