Area roundup: CC Spokane women advance in NWAC tourney to Elite 8
Bri King scored 26 points and East Region top seed CC Spokane (24-4) handled South No. 4 Linn-Benton (16-13) 70-57 in a first round matchup at the Northwest Athletic Conference women’s tournament on Saturday at Everett Community College.
CCS faces North No. 3 Bellvue (19-9) – which topped Centralia 52-48 earlier on Saturday – in the Elite 8 on Sunday at 4 p.m.
The Sasquatch trailed 33-32 at halftime. They took the lead with a 14-9 third quarter run, then pulled away, outscoring the Roadrunners 24-15 in the fourth. Spokane shot 44 percent overall, hit 4 of 16 beyond the arc and made 16 of 20 free throw attempts.
King went 8 of 20 overall but struggled from distance, hitting just 2 of 8. She made up for it at the line, hitting all eight attempts.
Katlyn Ward went 5 of 9 from the field for 12 points and Janessa Heine added 10 points with seven boards to lead the Sasquatch.
Linn-Benton was led by Kasey Anderson with 15 points, Courteney Landis had 11 and Molly Aranda added 10.
Softball
Whitworth 6-6, Willamette 2-2: Michelle Silva hit a grand slam and the Pirates beat the Bearcats in the first game of a Northwest Conference doubleheader in Hermiston, Oregon.
Silva went 3 for 5 with five RBIs. Madi Perez picked up the win (7-0), and allowed two runs on four hits and four walks, striking out six.
In the second game, Shannon Wessel went 3 for 3 with two RBIs the Pirates (11-3, 2-0) scored twice in the fifth and sixth innings to rally for the sweep.
Tied at two after 4 1/2 innings, Myranda Ramirez singled with one out and went to third on Logan Miller’s double. Wessel plated both with a single to right.
In the next frame, Tessa Matthews led off with a single and scored two outs later on Natalie Edlin’s homer to right center.
Perez went 2 for 2 with a second inning solo homer and picked up a save with no-hit inning. Ashley Trueblood (W, 2-1) struck out seven for the win.
Whitworth faces Willamette on the road in another doubleheader on Sunday.