A Grip on Sports: It may be hard to get out of your driveway, so settle in and contemplate the number of firsts this week hold for local college hoops

A GRIP ON SPORTS • There once was a time in the Inland Northwest when a snowstorm in early February would have been just another slog in a winter of them. But recently, the first big one of the season usually hits later, as it did overnight. And causes everyone to look around and marvel. Where has it been?

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• White Christmas? Hah. More like White Valentine’s Day. And White March Madness. The true part of winter, snow-covered landscapes and slick roads, seems to wait longer and longer to show up in our area anymore. Not that I’m complaining. Just stating an observation.

Want more? Observations I mean, not snow, though the latter is sure to come. The former is a lot easier to ignore, isn’t it? But we have some. Some we’ve shoveled from place to place recently. Others brand new, like the 3-or-4 inches of snow in your driveway.

• It’s been more than 20 years since my wife Kim decided she wanted to purchase season tickets to Gonzaga games. The women’s games. Not just because they were $5 apiece back in the old Kennel, but also because, as a player back when there was only one-size of basketball and women were told to “get off the court and back into the kitchen,” – I actually heard a Division I coach say that on the sidelines as an early women’s game went into overtime – she loved to watch a sport that had grown and would continue to grow.

Since the late 1990s, she (and her husband, when he could get away from his own basketball responsibilities) have watched every great player the Zags have put on the court from seats five rows from the floor.

The pantheon of Gonzaga greatness is easy for her to list. Courtney Vandersloot. Heather Bowman. Kayla Standish. Jill Barta. The Wirth and Truong twins. More.

But all of the admiration for those folks’ accomplishments never reached the level she has for Yvonne Ejim. For many reasons.

As Greg Lee relates in the S-R today, Ejim is set to eclipse Bowman’s school scoring record. More than likely Thursday night at Saint Mary’s. The 6-foot-1 Canadian already set the school record for rebounds – defensive ones and offensive ones. She’s already earned one West Coast Conference’s player of the year award. The conference’s defensive player of the year too. Will probably earn both honors again. All the while being undersized for a modern-day post.

That’s why Kim appreciates Ejim’s accomplishments more than most. She was the same type of player, albeit in a much-different point in the game’s evolution.

At 5-10, she wasn’t the tallest player on the UC Irvine roster. But her senior year she grabbed more than 10 rebounds a game, fighting bigger, stronger players for each and every one. And, with the bigger ball and no 3-point line, she was expected to score inside against much-taller folks.

It’s why, I’m sure, she latched onto Ejim as her favorite the season COVID-19 faded enough to allow her back in the building, 2021-22. And hasn’t stopped.

Ejim does the same every time she steps on the court. Inside, outside, both ends. Whatever’s needed for her team’s success. That’s going to be her legacy among those who have watched her play for five years. Not the numbers in the record books. Those are what they are. But the 2,000-whatever points, the 1,000-whatever rebounds she will finish with were all built by that attitude. That effort. A role model for those who follow.

And will lead Ejim to a successful life. How do I know? I’ve seen it before in a similar fashion. Fifty years ago. And every day since.

• There are a few snowflakes in Corvallis this morning. A lot fewer than what’s on the ground in Pullman. Now if the Washington State men can reflect that weather report and snow under the Beavers (17-6 overall, 7-3 in WCC play), all would be right in David Riley’s world.

The WCC schedule has turned into a slog for Riley’s team after a successful nonconference raised expectations in his first WSU season. Maybe playing a throwback Pac-12 game (8 p.m., ESPN2 on Thursday) will help.

Gill Coliseum has been around since the Pac-12 was the Pacific Coast Conference. The Cougars (15-9, 5-6) have played there at least 75 times. It’s part of a series that dates back to 1907, includes 306 games and is the sixth-longest in the nation.

But this is the first time the two will meet in a game that counts in the WCC standings. And both need a win as much as any time in the 147 Corvallis matchups. The unique way the WCC tournament is setup means every two places in the standings results in a bye. One less win needed for the automatic NCAA bid. OSU is fighting for a top four spot. WSU? The Cougars are fighting for respectability. And momentum.

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WSU: Of course Greg Woods has a preview of Thursday’s (fixed from earlier) game in Corvallis. And of course we pass it along. … We found the Associated Press preview as well, though it feels as if it was written by AI. … And we can pass along a story from Corvallis, where the Beavers are doing well financially. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, we linked Matt Calkins’ column about Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. yesterday. We do it again this morning as it is on the S-R website. … Jon Wilner takes a look at the Big 12’s 2025 football schedule, revealed yesterday, and how it impacts the former Pac-12 schools. Colorado, Arizona State, Utah and Arizona found out their schedule yesterday. … There are a bunch of fun items in this Stewart Mandel mailbag in The Athletic. … Back to Washington, who has hired a new defensive coordinator and a new school president. Christian Caple has some thoughts on the latter today. … The newest Oregon tight end is a different level of athlete. … USC is trying to hire the best front office in college football. There is no way I ever thought I would write a sentence like that in my career but here we are. … In basketball news, Mick Cronin complained about Big Ten travel. He never mentioned it’s not easy for the conference teams that visit the coast, either. Case in point, once-seventh-ranked Michigan State. Two losses in L.A. … No. 20 Arizona is on a role and rolled over BYU 85-74 in Provo last night. … Bobby Hurley is on a fire-hot seat these days, mainly because Arizona State is not winning. … Oregon is sliding too. … Spokane’s Tyson Degenhart would have loved to have been Gonzaga’s next Adam Morrison. That didn’t happen, so he’s emulating the former Mead star for Boise State. The Broncos won at UNLV on Tuesday. … Visiting Utah State had to work hard but found a way to defeat Wyoming 71-67. … Fresno State is struggling and lost again Tuesday at San Jose State. … San Diego State may not earn an NCAA bid. … If visiting Colorado State can top New Mexico tonight, that would help the Rams’ case. … The Oregon women have a shot at a decent NCAA seed. … The question in the Bay Area is different. Will Stanford’s long NCAA streak end this season?

Gonzaga: We can’t recommended more highly Greg’s story on Ejim. He’s been working on this for a while, prepping it for a day or two before Ejim breaks the scoring record. Like Ejim, Greg was hoping that would happen in the Kennel, but Ejim only needing 15 points to be all alone atop the list, it probably will happen in Moraga. If the Zags want to keep their nine-game winning streak going. … Is it just me or has Mark Few spoke out more often this season on issues that could be more aptly be described as off-court. Jim Meehan shares another example today, as Few and Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett both don’t like the current WCC schedule models. Not sure the conference cares much, as Few’s school is leaving soon for the Pac-12. It also wouldn’t surprise me if Saint Mary’s also comes along at some point. … Wilner’s thoughts on Gonzaga’s unexpected bubble status ran in the S-R today too.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Portland State football has enticed a local player to stay home. … A Montana State women’s player is finally healthy and helping more. … Northern Colorado’s men have a couple stars.

Preps: Central Valley and Mead have been among the two or three best GSL girls’ basketball programs dating back to, well, the beginning. So it probably doesn’t come as much surprise their league game last night held importance toward the league’s 4A/3A title. The 3A team – this year – won. That would be CV, which held off the host Panthers 72-60. Dave Nichols was there and has this coverage. … There is another team in the running. For the first time. Ridgeline, which has been around for fewer than five years, is undefeated in league play. The Falcons’ latest win is part of Dave’s GSL roundup. … There is also a smaller-school roundup as well.

Seahawks: Just who may the Hawks take with their first pick? … Present-ism drives me nuts. … The NFL’s officials are insulted folks think the Chiefs get special treatment. Just as they probably were back when the narrative covered the Patriots. And the Steelers. And the 49ers. And the Packers. It’s always been that way. True or not, fans feel the better teams get preferential calls. In every sport.

Kraken: Coaches’ challenges aren’t always the coaches’ favorites. But as Dan Bylsma says in this Times’ story that ran in the S-R this morning, they are better than nothing. … Seattle lost to Detroit 5-4 yesterday.

Mariners: We linked this Luis Castillo story yesterday in the Times. It is in the S-R. … The M’s have the best farm system in baseball, as ranked by The Athletic’s Keith Law. His reasoning? The number of high-end prospects, none of which he expects to contribute in a big way this season. … Many Mariner fans are dismayed. For good reasons.

Sounders: Seattle will begin the season with midfielder Reed Baker-Whiting on the injured list. Again.

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• Not sure how much snow you received. And with the reach of the Web, if you even have to worry about such things. But there is enough in our driveway to make me contemplating staying home all day. And hope someone on the cul-de-sac will clear it for me. Until later …