Sports

EUGENE, Ore. – The Bushnell Beacons came searching for their first win in their four-game home stretch on Friday night. In their toughest matchup of the season, they fell short to 14th-ranked Eastern Oregon, losing their third straight home game, 64-54.

Despite the loss, the women fought hard from start to finish. They held Eastern Oregon to just 14 percent shooting from the field in the first quarter, including 10 percent from the three. Bushnell attacked the paint heavily in the first half, as it scored 18 out of its first 26 points in the paint. 

It still wasn’t enough to stop Eastern Oregon. The Mountaineers held onto the 30-26 lead from the first half and never let go. They forced seven turnovers in the second half against the Beacons, made 11 trips to the line putting Bushnell in foul trouble, and improved their shooting from beyond the arc to 23 percent by the end of the game.

Kali Kast led in scoring for Eastern Oregon with 15 points. Her teammate,…

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. — It was an overcast Friday the 13th at Thurston High School, where the 8-12 Colts took on the 17-4 and defending 5A state champion, Crater Comets.

Thurston came into this game on a three-game losing streak that stretched all the way to Jan. 30th, in its win over Ashland. Meanwhile, Crater had been hot as of late, winning its last three games, all in dominant fashion. The two teams’ previous meeting earlier this year resulted in a 61-19 Crater victory on Jan. 16th. 

Crater was ranked as the third best team in 5A going into this one according to OSAA, hoping to add another victory to its already promising season, and continue its quest of winning back-to-back state championships. Thurston was rated as the 18th best team coming into the game, on the outside looking in, when talking about playoff implications.

Early full-court pressure from Crater was a lot to handle for Thurston early on, resulting in a 25-0 Comet run to start the game, led by…

EUGENE, Ore. – It was the fifth inning of Oregon’s 2026 season opener against George Mason, and junior center fielder Jack Brooks laid down a perfect bunt. Brooks got in safely to first, and a bad throw from the Patriots’ third baseman allowed freshman right fielder Angel Laya to score all the way from second. That play gave the Ducks their sixth run of the game, and their last one, as they beat George Mason by a final score of 6-2.

“I thought Jack Brooks played real well,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said. “He had the game under control all night.”

The Ducks entered this season after an unfortunate end to last year, when they lost three in a row while hosting a super regional. But Oregon’s lineup looks much different from just a year ago, as 22 new players joined the team, a mix of freshmen and transfers. Leading the way for the newcomers was Angel Laya, who picked up three hits in his first three collegiate at-bats. 

“Mentally, he’s good,” senior…

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…