Cougs sign tight end from JC

Washington State has signed tight end Peter Tuitupou from Orem, Utah, to a national letter of intent, Cougars football coach Paul Wulff announced Monday.

Tuitupou will enroll when the semester begins Jan. 12.

“Peter is a great addition to our program,” said Wulff. “He is a big, physical player with good hands and is a very good blocker. He provides a toughness to our blocking scheme while also being a skilled receiver.”

Tuitupou spent the last two years at Snow Junior College, where in 2008 he was named to the National Junior College Athletic Association All-American first team. He was also a first-team JC Gridwire All-American and an All-Western States League first-team pick.

Women’s basketball

Junior Derisa Taleni scored 31 points to lead Idaho to a come-from-behind 71-63 victory over Utah State on Monday in the Cowan Spectrum in Moscow, Idaho, to give first-year head coach Jon Newlee his first Western Athletic Conference win.

Taleni hit 10 of 16 shots from the field, including 5 of 6 3-pointers, and 6 of 11 free throws for her season- and career-high total for the Vandals (4-9 overall, 1-1 WAC). Yinka Olorunnife and Shaena Kuehu each added 11 points for UI.

Ana Pares led three Aggies in double figures with 15 points. Utah State (6-8, 0-1) led 36-28 at halftime. Idaho scored 18 points off 13 USU turnovers.

•Gonzaga University junior Heather Bowman is the West Coast Conference player of the week for the third time this season and eighth of her career.

The 6-foot-2 forward from Lewis and Clark averaged 26 points and 9.5 rebounds while shooting 62.5 percent from the field and a perfect 12 of 12 from the free-throw line, as GU split two games.

Men’s basketball

Whitworth moved up four spots to 15th in this week’s D3hoops.com Top-25 poll. The Pirates (10-1 overall, 2-0 NWC) have won four games since the previous poll by an average margin of 27 points.

Girls basketball

Pamela Bell hit a last-second shot from close range to lift Newport to a 39-37 non-league win over Timberlake at Spirit Lake.

The Tigers’ Kelly Madsen hit a 3-point shot to tie the game with 14 seconds left before Bell hit the game winner.

Timberlake’s Cassie Thompson led all scorers with 17 points.

In other non-league action, Ali Whitted scored 11 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead Sandpoint to a 48-27 win over visiting Lakeland.

Boys basketball

Newport’s Devon Willenbrock hit two momentum-changing 3-pointer in third quarter to help lift the Grizzlies to a 46-36 victory at Timberlake.

Willenbrock led Newport with 10 points. Timberlake’s Derek Tymesen led all scorers with 16.

Af2 football

The Spokane Shock added defensive back Damon Jenkins and offensive lineman Hercules Satele to their roster and traded linebacker Blair Boynton to Amarillo for future considerations.

Jenkins was signed by the Cleveland Browns after finishing his collegiate career at Fresno State. Satele was signed by the Arizona Cardinals after he finished at Hawaii in 2008. Satele’s brother, Samson, is the starting center for the Miami Dolphins.

Tickets for the 2009 season are on sale and can be purchased by calling 242-7462. The Shock open the season April 3 in the Arena.