Area roundup: Whitworth’s KC McConnell named All-American

Whitworth Pirates senior KC McConnell was named to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-America first team it was announced on Friday.

McConnell is the third Whitworth woman to be named a first-team All-American, joining Tara Flugel (NAIA) in 1992 and Kayla Johnson (WBCA) in 2014.

McConnell, who graduated from Clarkston High School, concluded her playing career with 1,605 points – third on the Pirates’ all-time list. She was named player of the week in the Northwest Conference four times this season, including three in a row. She averaged 19.8 points per game, which was second in the conference and scored a career-high 35 against Cal Lutheran in December.

Baseball

UCLA jumped out to an early lead off Washington State starter Ian Hamilton and the Bruins (9-7, 1-0) held on for a 5-2 win over the Cougars (7-10, 0-1) in a Pac-12 Conference opener in Los Angeles.

Hamilton allowed four earned runs in six innings with two strikeouts.

Weston Hatten had a leadoff solo home run in the seventh for WSU.

Joey Morgan belted a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to propel the Washington Huskies (9-5, 1-0) to a 6-3 victory over the Arizona Wildcats (12-5, 0-1) in a Pac-12 opener in Seattle.

Morgan’s home run made a winner of Huskies starter Noah Bremer (3-0). Bremer went seven innings and allowed seven hits and two earned runs.

Swimming

Whitworth’s Jason Smith placed 15th in the men’s 100-yard backstroke at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Smith’s effort gives Whitworth 22 points, leaving the Pirates in 29th place heading into the final day of the four-day event.

Jackie Beal broke her own school record in a preliminary heat of the women’s 100-yard backstroke. She clocked in with a 56.77-second run, topping her old record of 57.07. She did not qualify for the finals, however.

Softball

Myranda Ramirez went 8 for 8 at the plate for the day and the Whitworth Pirates (11-3) breezed to an 8-0 six-inning victory over Lawrence University and a 12-1 five-inning win over North Central College.

In the opener, Allie Rude tripled and homered and Ramirez went 4 for 4 with three runs scored in the shutout victory.

In the nightcap, Ramirez had four more hits in four trips to the plate and drove in four runs as the Whits won by 11 runs. Alyssa Hall had three hits and scored three times.

Whitworth plays three-time defending champion Tufts University and Wisconsin-Whitewater on Saturday.

Track and field

WSU assistant coach Angela Whyte finished fifth in the women’s 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.99 seconds at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland.