Area roundup: Valle’s put-back at buzzer gives Whitworth men win

George Valle’s put-back at the buzzer gave the Whitworth men’s basketball team a 67-65 comeback win over Puget Sound in a Northwest Conference game Friday night in Tacoma.

With the score tied at 65, the Pirates’ Kenny Love took the inbounds pass, drove through traffic and put up a shot that bounced off the rim. Valle jumped for the rebound and put up the game-winning shot.

Love made 5 of 11 3-pointers and scored 24 points for the Pirates (23-1, 14-1), who erased a nine-point second-half deficit. Valle finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Kohl Meyer had nine points, 13 rebounds and seven assits for Puget Sound (13-11, 8-7). Whitworth plays Pacific Lutheran in Parkland, Washington, on Saturday.

Women’s basketball

(9) Arizona State 61, Washington State 39: Sophie Brunner had 15 points and 11 rebounds and the Sun Devils overwhelmed the Cougars in a Pac-12 game at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Arizona.

The loss was Washington State’s ninth straight.

Arizona State (23-4, 14-1), which never trailed, had a 40-29 rebounding advantage and forced 21 turnovers.

The Cougars’ leading scorer was Alexys Swedlund with nine points.

Washington State (12-14, 3-12) plays Arizona on Sunday in Tucson, Arizona.

Washington 74, Arizona 52: Kelsey Plum had 22 points and six assists and Talia Walton added 20 points, with 16 coming in the first half, and the Huskies (18-8, 9-6) routed the Wildcats (11-16, 2-13) in a Pac-12 game in Tucson, Arizona.

Chantel Osahor added 16 points and 11 rebounds for Washington, which shot 50 percent from the field and made 11 of 21 3-pointers.

The Huskies play at Arizona State on Sunday.

Puget Sound 82, Whitworth 59: The Loggers (17-7, 12-3) used an 18-0 first-quarter run in an easy win over the Pirates (14-10, 9-6) in a Northwest Conference game in Tacoma.

The win clinched second place for Puget Sound.

Emily Sheldon had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead the Loggers. Whitworth’s Faith Emerson scored a career-high 22 points and KC McConnell had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Whitworth closes the regular season Saturday against Pacific Lutheran in Parkland, Washington. The Pirates have already secured a spot in the conference tournament.

Baseball

Grand Canyon 7, Gonzaga 1: Brandon Smith had three hits and drove in two runs and the Antelopes scored five seventh-inning runs in a nonconference win over the Bulldogs in a season-opener in Phoenix.

Gonzaga scattered nine hits off six Grand Canyon pitchers. Brandon Bailey started for GU. He gave up one run on five hits in five innings.

The teams play a doubleheader on Saturday and wrap up the four-game series on Sunday.

Texas State 6, Washington State 2: Lucas Humpal allowed two runs through seven innings and the Bobcats beat the Cougars in a nonconference season opener in San Marcos, Texas.

Ian Hamilton started for Washington State. He gave up five runs on seven hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings.

The second game of the four-game set is Saturday.