FOREST GROVE, Ore. — Walla Walla Community College’s women’s basketball team found the Willamette Valley drinking water just fine over the weekend.
The Warriors routed Pacific University’s junior varsity squad 84-52 here Sunday to finish off a three-game road sweep.
The Walla Wallans won at Chemeketa CC in Salem 67-48 on Friday, defeated Portland 89-57 Saturday and headed home following Sunday’s victory with a 6-2 season record.
They’ll be back on the west side of the Oregon Cascades this coming weekend, however, to participate in an NWAC crossover tournament at Mount Hood CC in Gresham. Walla Walla faces Chemeketa for the third time this season on Friday and will be matched against either Bellevue or Lower Columbia on Saturday.
The young Boxers were no match for the Warriors Sunday as they fell behind 41-27 at the half and never made a serious run after the intermission. Walla Walla shot 45 percent from the field — 30 percent from beyond the 3-point arc — and dominated the backboards 55-31.
“We shot it pretty well and rebounded really well,” Warriors coach Bobbi Hazeltine said. “We seem to be a pretty good rebounding team, and we pass the ball well.”
Sophomore Bailey Nygaard led WWCC rebounders with 10 and freshman point guard Kennedy Corrigan dished out 10 of her team’s 24 assists. Nygaard was also one of four Warriors in double figures with 12 points.
“That was probably Bailey’s best game,” Hazeltine said of Nygaard’s double-double. “And it all starts with our point guard. Kennedy Corrigan makes a world of a difference.”
Vincent Paige led the Warriors offensively with 14 points and also snared eight rebounds. Devyn Johnson scored 12 points, Courtney Davis added 10 and sharpshooter Karli McHone tallied nine points on 3-for-6 shooting from behind the 3-point line.
Pacific’s Kelse Viani-Wittwer led all scorers with 17 points and Jillian Ross was in double figures with 11. Kaela Collins pulled down nine rebounds for the Boxers.
“Pacific’s actually pretty good,” Hazeltine said. “Some of those girls also play on the varsity which is really good for us. We didn’t pull away from them until the second half.”
So far, so good, Hazeltine said of her team’s progress during the early going.
“We are way further along than we were last year at this time,” the coach said. “Our two losses are legitimate losses to ranked teams (Centralia, Peninsula) so I am really happy. We will take 6-2 right now, and we’re going to get better.”
Sunday Boxscore
Walla Walla 84, Pacific JV 52
WALLA WALLA (84) — McHone 3-6 0-0 9, Devynn Johnson 6-10 0-0 12, Hutchinson 3-7 0-0 6, Nygaard 5-9 0-0 12, Corrigan 2-9 0-0 5, Green 1-3 3-3 5, Dylan Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, L. Davis 3-7 1-2 8, C. Davis 4-10 2-4 10, Vincent 5-9 4-7 14, Dennis 0-1 0-0 0, Knerr 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 33-73 11-18 84.
PACIFIC JV (52) — Ross 4-7 0-0 11, Collins 3-11 0-1 6, Warren 0-9 0-0 0, Viani-Wittwer 5-11 6-8 17, Palacios 3-4 0-0 6, Stott 1-5 0-0 2, Pacarro 2-8 2-2 8, Quarischy 1-5 0-0 2, Richards 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-60 8-11 52.
#Halftime — WWCC 41, Pacific 27. 3-point goals — WWCC 7-23 (McHone 3-6, Nygaard 2-6, Corrigan 1-8, Green 0-1, L. Davis 1-2), Pacific 6-19 (Ross 3-4, Warren 0-6, Viani-Wittwer 1-3, Stott 0-1, Pacarro 2-5). Total fouls — Pacific 15, WWCC 14. Fouled out — none. Technical fouls — WWCC (Devynn Johnson). Rebounds — WWCC 55 (Nygaard 10), Pacific 31 (Collins 9). Turnovers — Pacific 15, WWCC 12. Assists — WWCC 24 (Corrigan 10), Pacific 8 (Collins 3).
