Hepton Knows Charity Begins At The Foul Line

She doesn’t step up to the free-throw line until the referee hands her the basketball.

She spins the ball and then lines herself up with the rim. Next, she methodically bounces the ball five or six times and positions it in her hands, making sure the belly button is not visible.

“I do that, and then I shoot. And it usually goes in,” said University of Portland’s Kristin Hepton, the country’s top women’s free-throw shooter.

Usually goes in?

How about 58 of 62, a 93.5 percent success rate for the 1995 Central Valley High School graduate?

Hepton and the West Coast Conference division-leading Pilots were in Spokane last week and picked up a 77-63 win against Gonzaga on a night Hepton didn’t get to the foul line. Three days later, when the teams met again in Portland, Hepton was 4 for 4 from the line. The unranked Pilots won again 88-67, and remain perfect in WCC play at 10-0. They’re 21-1 overall.

Hepton, a 6-foot-1 starting forward, has contributed to that success by averaging 12.9 points per game (98-of-217 shooting), 4.6 rebounds per game and of course, her Ms. Automatic approach from the foul line.

“I’m always shocked when she misses, even in practice. She does everything the same. She has such a great rhythm,” Portland coach Jim Sollars said.

Added freshman Jennifer Swinton, Hepton’s former Greater Spokane League rival from Ferris High and a current teammate: “She’s real low-keyed about it. She missed a few at one game.”

Actually, the misses came in singular fashion. There was one in the first game of the year against Boise State, one in December against Boston University, and then two in January, against Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount in back-to-back games.

Hepton began to build her deadeye reputation as a child.

She finished her high-school career as a 71.8 percent free-throw shooter. During her senior year, she hit 29 consecutive foul shots over five games. In the 1994 state tournament, she sank a record 26 for 26 as Central Valley won the AAA championship.

Her older sister, Courtney, a member of CV’s Class of ‘93 and a Saint Mary’s graduate, set a CV record by making 18 of 18 free throws in one game.

“My parents always told us that’s one of the easiest things you can do,” Hepton said. “It’s a free throw, it’s free, no one’s guarding you.”

The Hepton girls also learned practicing free throws was a great way to make a few bucks.

“They had to shoot 100 and they’d get three cents a shot,” explained their father Jim, who played college basketball at Washington State University in 1960. “They’d just have to shoot. They didn’t even have to make them.

“But they had to retrieve their own balls and that’s a lot of work … and you gotta give kids spending money anyway.”

Jockeying for postseason position

The Idaho Vandals have a chance to improve their position in the Big West Conference Eastern Division Sunday, when they play Nevada in Memorial Gym.

Nevada and Boise State are tied for first place at 6-3. Idaho and New Mexico State are 5-4. The top four teams from the Eastern and Western divisions qualify for the conference’s postseason tournament, March 5, 6 and 8 at Reno, Nev.

Idaho forward Alli Nieman continues to put together an outstanding freshman year. The 6-1 forward is coming off a 27-point game against Cal Poly SLO and is ranked third in the conference averaging 18 ppg.

Although Whitworth College has won five straight, the Pirates find themselves in a battle for the Northwest Conference postseason tournament. The top four teams will be invited to the Feb. 25-29 tournament, hosted by the conference winner. Fifth-place Whitworth (7-5) is a half-game back of George Fox (8-5). Whitworth has the tougher final two weeks with home games against No. 1 Puget Sound and No. 2 Pacific Lutheran.

Pattern points to a UW loss

Washington (11-9, 6-5 Pac-10 Conference) makes its annual trip to Washington State (8-12, 2-9) Saturday in the midst of an unusual streak. Following back-to-back wins over UCLA and Oregon State in January, the Huskies have lost, won, lost, won, lost, won, lost, won.

UW holds a 34-17 edge in the series, beating WSU earlier this year 78-56 for a third consecutive time. So which outcome is next?

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: AREA LEADERS

Scoring Player, school FG-FGA FT-FTA 3pt Avg. Alli Nieman, UI 124-264 121-161 8 18.0 Tanya Kirk, EWU 110-331 56-79 31 14.6 Jen Tissue, Whit. 92-220 53-59 16 14.1 Rebecca Moore, Whit. 92-257 40-67 37 13.7 Amy Saneholtz, WSU 90-174 72-105 0 12.6 Yvonne Kunze, WSU 102-199 43-71 0 12.4 Shana Ray, EWU, 56-139 36-53 1 11.5 Rachel Ferguson, EWU 79-159 66-85 0 10.7 Sherri Northington, Whit. 87-173 44-82 1 10.9 Joanna Smith, WSU 75-173 14-23 51 10.8

Rebounding Nieman, Idaho, 9.7 (203); Northington, Whitworth, 9.6 (191); (162); Kirk, EWU, 7.1 (150); Andrea Sherer, Whitworth, 6.5 (129); Kunze, WSU, 6.0 (119).

Assists Jade Hyett, WSU, 8.0 (159); Jennifer Sutter, EWU, 5.0 (105); Tissue, Whitworth, 4.6 (83); Kathryn Gussett, UI, 3.3 (69); Moore, Whitworth, 3.1 (62).

Steals Hyett, WSU, 4.6 (91); Tissue, Whitworth, 2.7 (49); Moore, Whitworth, 2.2 (49); Ari Skorpik, UI, 1.9 (39); Gussett, UI, 1.9 (39).

Schedule Thursday: Gonzaga at San Francisco, 7 p.m.; Eastern at Cal State Northridge, 7 p.m. Friday:Whitworth at Pacific, 6 p.m. Saturday:Whitworth at Lewis & Clark, 6 p.m.; Eastern at Northern Arizona, 6 p.m.; Washington at WSU, 7 p.m; Gonzaga at San Diego, 7 p.m. Sunday: Nevada at Idaho, 2 p.m.

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