Northwest Notes Oct. 28, 2020
Gonzaga women picked to win WCC for eighth straight season
SAN BRUNO, Calif. — For the eighth straight season, the Gonzaga women’s basketball team was picked to win the West Coast Conference by the league's coaches.
For the second straight season, seniors Jill Townsend and Jenn Wirth were named to the preseason All-WCC team.
The Zags, which have won 15 of the last 16 regular-season WCC titles, received seven of 10 first-place votes for 79 points. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team. BYU received two first-place votes and was selected to finish second with 73 points, while Portland earned one first-place vote for 64 points was selected to finish third.
Gonzaga has now been selected to win the conference 13 of the last 17 seasons. San Diego was selected to finish fourth, finishing with 53 points in the poll, and Saint Mary’s was selected fifth with 44 points to round out the top half of the poll.
Pacific (42 points) was picked to finish sixth, followed by Pepperdine (28), Loyola Marymount (25), Santa Clara (22) and San Francisco (20).
Townsend, the reigning WCC Player of the Year, started all 31 games for the Zags and led the Bulldogs in scoring at 12.2 points per game. Last season she ranked second on the squad and fifth in the WCC in field goal percentage, hitting 49.1 percent of her shots. Townsend ranked second in rebounding for the Zags, grabbing 5.6 per game. She added 19 double-figure scoring outings, and finished the year with three double-doubles.
Wirth also started all 31 games for the Zags and led the squad in rebounding at 6.9 per game while ranking third in scoring at 10.8 points per contest. Wirth earned First Team All-WCC honors as a junior.
Last season, the Bulldogs recorded their best season win percentage (90.3) and regular-season record (28-2), marking their fourth straight 25-win season and 12th in the last 13 seasons. Before the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament due to COVID-19, GU was projected as high as a No. 3 seed — their highest seed ever — and they were poised to host the first and second rounds for the first time since the NCAA announced in 2014-15 that only the top 16 seeds are eligible to host.
Gonzaga has amassed a conference record of 226-30 (.883) during the last 16 seasons, which includes 15 West Coast Conference regular-season titles and seven WCC Tournament championships.
Fans will have an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the 2020-21 squad on Tuesday, Nov. 10 with the virtual Numerica Fan Fest at 6 p.m. on SWX.
2020-21 ALL-WCC PRESEASON WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM
Haylee Andrews, jr., G, Portland; Alex Fowler, so. F, Portland; Shaylee Gonzalez, so., G, BYU; Sara Hamson, sr., C, BYU; Valerie Higgins, sr., G, Pacific; Paisley Johnson Harding, sr., G, BYU; Brooklyn McDavid, sr., F, Pacific; Myah Pace, sr., G, San Diego; Sam Simons, jr., G, Saint Mary's; Jill Townsend, sr. G, Gonzaga; Jenn Wirth, sr., F, Gonzaga.
NOTE: There was a tie for the final spot on the preseason team, which is why team has 11 members
Hatley repeats as Washington Men's Mid-Amateur Player of the Year
Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake was named Men’s Mid-Amateur (age 25 and older) Player of the Year by Washington Golf for the sixth year in a row.
This summer Hatley tied for fifth in the Washington Open Invitational, tied for sixth in the Oregon Open Invitational, and tied for 19th in the Northwest Open Invitational. Hatley tied for eighth in the Washington Men’s Champion of Champions.
Hatley, Bomar compete in Hudson Cup matches
RICHLAND, Wash. — Amateurs Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake and Bjorn Bjorke defeated professionals Darren Black and Community Colleges of Spokane golf coach Corey Prugh 2 and 1 in four-ball competition last Thursday at the 72th Hudson Cup matches at Meadow Springs Country Club.
Later Thursday, Hatley and Andrew Von Lossow lost 7 and 5 in foursomes to professionals Austin Hurt and Matt Epstein.
On Friday, Hatley lost 1-up to Hurt in singles.
The professional team won the competition, 13 1/2 points to 6 1/2.
The Hudson Cup is patterned after the Ryder Cup with the top 10 Northwest professionals competing against the 10 top Northwest amateurs.
Professional Billy Bomar, co-owner of The Links Golf Club in Post Falls, played in the 29th Senior Hudson Cup (age 50 and older) matches at Meadow Springs.
In four-ball, Bomar teamed with Steve Prugh for a 3 and 2 victory over amateurs Pat O'Donnell and Randy Mahar on Thursday.
Later that day, Bomar and Mark Keating lost 2 and 1 in foursomes to Tom Brandes and former Seattle Mariners pitcher Erik Hanson.
On Friday, Bomar defeated amateur Tom Lewis 2 and 1 in singles.
The professional team won the competition, 11 points to 9.