Sports

COOS BAY, Ore. — Freshman guard Max Ainsworth went off for 40 and the Marshfield Pirates (13–7, 6–2 4A) cruised to a 74–40 victory over the Cottage Grove Lions (5–16, 3–6 4A) at Hoffine Court on Friday night.

Twenty-six of Ainsworth’s points came in the first half of action, and the Pirates held a 47–19 stranglehold over the Lions halfway through the contest. They never looked back.

“I think that the team galvanises around it, and one of our mantras is that everybody’s success is everybody’s success,” Marshfield head coach Jesse Ainsworth said. “So if I score, I score. You get a stop, I get a stop. If you get a steal, I get a steal. We talk about five becoming one, and Max [Ainsworth] just had it going early, and he got a hot hand. You know, as a freshman, he’s pretty talented.”

Junior guard/forward Keller Vilyard scored 13 points. Sophomore guard Brett Butler Jr. added eight more. Marshfield has now strung together six consecutive wins.

Sophomore forward…

Week 3 of the NAIA Baseball season kicked off on a cloudy Friday in Springfield, as the Bushnell Beacons took on the Saint Martin’s Saints in a doubleheader. The Beacons came into the weekend with a 5-3 record after splitting the four-game series last weekend against The Masters University Mustangs. 

The Beacons looked to stay more consistent on offense as they were shut out in both losses to the Mustangs. One of the struggles so far this season for Bushnell has been leaving runners on base. Coming into this series, they had left 65 runners stranded, so they needed to take a leap with their offense. 

Saint Martin’s entered the weekend 2-5 with a two-game losing streak that they hoped to bring to an end. The Saints needed the bats to get hot to get back to .500, as they are yet to hit a home run on the season and only have seven extra-base hits. 

Game 1: Bushnell 9, Saint Martin’s 1

Austin Wolfe started this Friday the…

COOS BAY, Ore. — Senior forward Makya Alsup finished with a team-leading 22 points in only three quarters of action, and the Cottage Grove Lions (12–9, 4–5 4A) snapped their three-game losing streak with a 56–23 victory over the Marshfield Pirates (3–18, 0–9 4A) at Hoffine Court on Friday evening.

Nine of Alsup’s points came in the second quarter, and it helped the Lions pull away in a game where they only led by three after the first.

“Well, because nobody on their team could stop her,” Cottage Grove head coach Kim Beer said. “[Alsup] is a great team player, she’s not used to taking shots all the time, but when she does, she can hurt them.”

Lions’ Senior guard Mariah Bailey added 13 more to the total against the same Pirates team that she scored her 1,000th career point against back in January. Cottage Grove won that game 57–32, and it was their last win until tonight.

Junior forward Alicia Perez led Marshfield in scoring with eight points, but the effort…

EUGENE, Ore. — A strong first-half performance by the Marist Catholic Spartans (14–5, 6–2 4A) propelled them to a dominant 58–23 win over the Cottage Grove Lions (5–15, 3–5 4A) at the Holy Dome on Tuesday night.

The Spartans did it while being without a pair of impact players. Both junior Bodey Drennan and sophomore Gabe Dietmeyer, a pair of guards, missed Tuesday night’s matchup with injuries. Marist junior forward Colton Boresek answered the call, headlining the outstanding team showing with 12 points.

“Early in the game, we were able to make a couple of 3s that opened things up,” Marist Catholic head coach Bart Pollard said. “We attacked the rim and were pretty effective in the first quarter, taking care of it, hitting shots, and finishing possessions.”

Sophomore guard Ryan Deloach led Cottage Grove in scoring with 11 points, following up his team-leading effort of 18 points from a week prior. But the big deficit in the first half was ultimately too tough a…

EUGENE, Ore. — Katelyn Shoemaker had 12 points as the Marist Catholic Spartans (14–4, 8–0 4A-4) secured a 54–35 home win against the Cottage Grove Lions (11–9, 3–5 4A-4) at the Holy Dome on Tuesday evening.

A combination of both offense and defense helped the Spartans extend their win streak to four games and remain undefeated in league play. The team is one win away from completing a three-game sweep of the Lions, having beaten them twice already this season.

“Defense and pressure, never let up,” Marist head coach Dwayne Tyner said. “Our intensity was awesome.”

Spartans’ senior Rowan De Lee hit a bank shot at the end of the first quarter as time expired. She finished the night with nine points.

Marist has caught fire at the perfect time, as they embark on a three-game road trip starting this Friday at Seaside (14–4).

“If the girls feel confident, then we’re going to have a chance to beat anybody,” Tyner said.

Mariah Bailey led the Lions in…

EUGENE, Ore. — In Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday, the Oregon Ducks took on the No. 9 Ohio State Buckeyes, going into this game with a drive after a win against Illinois. They were unable to keep their four-game win streak going with a devastating loss to the Buckeyes, 80-64. 

It was an explosive first quarter for the Oregon Ducks, who were down by nine halfway through the quarter but made a comeback with a 3-pointer from Ari Long, breaking a stretch of back-to-back scoring for the Buckeyes. Keeping that driving energy for the rest of the quarter with their offense, Oregon makes 10 points, ending the score of the quarter 22-18, Ohio State leading. 

Ohio State did not make it easy for the Ducks in the second quarter of the game. The Buckeyes went on a six-point run, as the Ducks struggled to keep up with their defense. It seemed like every time the Ducks got the ball, Ohio took it back and scored. Oregon tried to get some points back when Avary Cain stole the…

EUGENE, ORE. — The Oregon Ducks women's basketball team squared off against the ‌No. 9 Ohio State Buckeyes in their seventh game against a top-25 opponent. The Ducks fell 80-64 to Ohio State, with their defense and 3-point shooting not enough to overcome the Buckeyes.

The Ducks now hold a record of 2-5 against ranked foes. They came into the matchup on a four-game winning streak. 

“We had a good week of practice,” head coach Kelly Graves said. “I think our kids really believe we’ve been playing well, having won four in a row, but yeah, we didn't have it tonight.” 

During the winning streak, Oregon has relied on paint scoring and defense from the sophomore forward from Luxembourg, Ehis Etute. She came into the game scoring 20-plus points in the team's last two outings. Etute has also collected nine or more rebounds in her last six games. 

Both teams…

The No. 5 Oregon Ducks softball team faced off against a tough No. 4 Tennessee Lady Volunteers team. Tennessee pulled out a 2-0 victory, aided by opportunistic hitting and masterful pitching. The game was broadcast on a tape delay on MLB Network, which speaks to how highly touted this top-five matchup was. Highlighted in the game was excellent pitching from both sides.

The Ducks started star right-handed pitcher Lyndsey Grein, who began her season the day before with a complete-game no-hitter. Tennessee started its own ace, Karlyn Pickens, who is one of the best pitchers in college softball. The matchup was truly best on best for both teams.

Tennessee jumped on Grein fast, loading the bases with two outs in the first inning before Vols first baseman…

EUGENE, OR — Bushnell Beacons women’s basketball returned to Dave Lipp Court after a loss to Southern Oregon University on Friday night to face the Oregon Tech Owls. Both teams came into Saturday afternoon fresh off a loss, with Oregon Tech falling to Corban University 70-60 the day prior. 

To start the first quarter, Beacons won the tip-off but quickly lost the ball to the Owls. Both teams started off with strong defense until senior Ayden Krupke made a layup, putting Bushnell on the board first. Oregon Tech followed with freshman Ayla Marston making a layup of her own. Throughout the rest of the period, the Beacons trailed the Owls by as many as five, ending the quarter 14-11. 

In the second quarter, the Owls scored first after Olivia Sprague was fouled by Ciena Tumoine, sending her to the line, where she made both free throws. Kenzi Pedersen of the Beacons followed with a layup, but they went scoreless for the next three minutes, down by seven until Dayvis…

The Oregon Ducks women's softball team took on the Liberty University Lady Flames on Saturday. The Ducks were able to overpower Liberty 10-2 behind two big home runs. This was the Ducks' third game of the NFCA Leadoff Classic, winning their first against Missouri and dropping their second against 13th-ranked Clemson.

Right-hander Taylour Spencer started the game for the Ducks. She saw her first action of the season in relief against Clemson, throwing two innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts to boot. Gabby Mike started for Liberty; she took the loss when they were defeated 9-4 by Clemson, where she pitched three innings of one-run ball.

The first three innings of the game only saw one hit by each team, as both pitchers were commanding the ball well. The Ducks threatened in the top of the…