Kevin Blocker

Kelly Gaines has the drive to help the Community Colleges of Spokane women's basketball team seek another NWAACC regional championship. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Eastern Washington's Kristy Missall did the damage to Gonzaga inside, and then teammate Tina Smith came along and did damage outside as the Eagles beat the Bulldogs 60-50 Thursday night at Reese Court. The win gave Eastern its first victory of the year against two losses, while Gonzaga fell to 1-3. Banging away inside, Missall finished with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds and Smith scored all her 12 points in the second half, allowing Eastern to pull away from a 23-23 halftime tie.

1. Fredrick 2. Hilbert

Opponents can't afford to overlook Whitworth forward Nate Dunham. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

In the fast and furious whirlwind that is North Idaho College basketball, the Spokane Sasquatch looked like mere dust granules caught in a wind storm Friday night. NIC's 94-72 win at Spokane Community College wasn't as close as the score indicated.

Sherri Northington, left, gives the Whitworth Pirates a lift. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

In Whitworth's season-opening win Monday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse, Pirates basketball coach Warren Friedrichs said his team struggled offensively. Well, if scoring 82 points is struggling, Friedrichs clearly has some lofty ambitions for the 1995-96 season. Whitworth battered Northwest College 82-56. "We didn't shoot the ball very well," Friedrichs said. "I thought we struggled offensively; defensively though, the effort was there."

EWU's Kristy Missall is ready to take off in her senior season. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Community Colleges of Spokane volleyball coach Irene Matlock and her team are going to Disneyland. Well, the Sasquatch are actually headed to the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges Championship Tournament to defend their 1994 title at Gresham, Ore. The tournament runs Thursday through Saturday. CCS defeated Columbia Basin College at Spokane Falls last Friday 15-9, 15-4, 15-5 to secure the East Region's No. 1 seed to the tournament.

McQuilkin

The Whitworth Pirates were defeated 23-6 by the Linfield Wildcats Saturday at the soggy Whitworth Pine Bowl. With the loss, the Pirates finished the season with an overall record of 1-8 and 0-5 in the Mt. Hood League. So while it may look like just another bad football season for the Pirates, a deeper perspective must be taken in analyzing the Pirates' future - which actually looks good. "We're disappointed, but we're not discouraged," first-year Pirates coach John Tully said. "This team continued to play hard all year long. In order to turn a program around, that's what you need."

With a win on Saturday, the Whitworth Pirates will finish the season undefeated and will head into the NCAA Division III football playoffs with the No. 1 ranking in the country. Pirates head coach John Tully, this year's coach of the year, said his team is ready for this week's showdown between it and No. 2-ranked Western Washington at the Whitworth Pine Bowl. . . . Wouldn't that be cool?

The next two weeks will determine what the Washington State volleyball team is made of. Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Beasley Coliseum, the 10th-ranked Cougars (10-4 Pac-10, 18-4 overall) host Oregon (1-13, 8-17) and then host Oregon State (5-9, 11-13) at 8 p.m. at Bohler Gym on Saturday. They will most likely do so without the services of All-American candidate Sarah Silvernail who was diagnosed with a viral stomach infection earlier this week. WSU coach Cindy Fredrick said she will start former Davenport star freshman Jennifer Stinson in her place.

Baxter

Even though the Whitworth Pirates are 0-3 in the Mount Hood League and 1-6 overall, linebacker and team captain Jeff Baxter said the team and coaching staff hasn't lost its sense of humor. As daylight and degrees have dwindled, the 13 players on the Whitworth roster from Hawaii have had a tough time adapting to the freezing temperatures. Whitworth defensive coordinator Chris Casey has had a little bit of fun at their expense. "All week long, the Hawaiians have whined about how cold it is," Baxter said. "(Wednesday) Coach Casey is checking out the blue sky just before sunset and says to some of them, 'See, look at this nice blue sky. It's just like Hawaii. Blue sky, blue water. . . '

The immediate challenge for the Whitworth football team is not so much finding a way to score as it is finding a way to keep opposing defenses from scoring off the Pirates' turnovers. At the bottom of this week's press release from the Whitworth sports department, an ominous note can be found: "Whitworth has given up five defensive touchdowns this season (two vs. Simon Fraser, three vs. Willamette); research indicates that has never happened before..."

The Arizona Wildcats' volleyball team infected Washington State like a flu strain Saturday night. Every time the Cougars thought they were rid of Arizona, the Wildcats just kept hanging around. And due to the fact Washington State didn't do a good job of taking care of itself, the Wildcats registered a 15-9, 7-15, 5-15, 15-13, 15-11 upset win at Bohler Gym in front of a stunned audience of 1,374.

Whitworth Pirates football coach John Tully is excited. He's as excited about his team now as he was at the start of the season. It doesn't matter that the team is 0-1 in the Mount Hood League and 1-4 overall. It doesn't matter that the young offense has struggled. And it doesn't matter that the Pirates have suffered key losses in personnel to injuries this year. "These things are a part of the game," Tully said. "The only things they have control over is their work ethic. Each week is another opportunity. For a team that is 1-4, we are still really up."

This article is in no way intended to jinx the Washington State women's volleyball team. It's just an informational note about NCAA tournament possibilities for WSU. The first round of the 48-team tournament will be played Nov. 29 at to-be-determined sites. First-round winners will advance to play other first-round winners, while some round-one winners will move on to play the top eight teams - as ranked by the NCAA Tournament Committee - which will have earned byes by virtue of their performance this season.

Whitworth goalie Jennifer Peterson has helped her team settle into first place. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

And all this time it was thought that No. 13 was the unlucky one. Not so, for the Whitworth Pirates have turned No. 14 into a maelstrom of misfortune. The Pirates football team is 1-3 this season. And that's because the Pirates have posted the numbers 14, nine and six in three key categories. In four games, the Pirates have fumbled 14 times with nine of those recoveries made by the opposition. Also Whitworth quarterbacks have thrown six interceptions.

Eastern's David Lewis breaks upfield against the Idaho State defense. Photo by Molly O'Hara/The Spokesman-Review

WSU's Shannon Wyckoff drives a shot over Stanford defenders. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

There were those who tried to say race wasn't an issue in the O.J. Simpson case. Probably they also believe it doesn't rain in the Pacific Northwest. The predominantly black, female jury sent a loud, clear message when it acquitted Simpson of murder. The message was, "Take that - white America!"