Umpqua, Walla Walla women lead tournament preview

NWAC Women's Basketball

Standings | Statistics | Results | Schedule | Polls | Previous Rankings
Championship Edition: Broadcasts | Womens Bracket | Tournament stats

Here's a shocker: Clackamas won be in the tournament this year, in favor of Portland. The resumes couldn't be any different, as Portland makes their first-ever trip to the NWAC championships and Clackamas breaks the league's longest streak of consecutive visits at either 15 or 16 seasons. At the moment, No. 1 Umpqua and No. 2 Walla Walla look primed to meet in the finals, with Umpqua making a return to the championship game after last season's loss to Columba Basin. Walla Walla would be back for the first time since their title run in 2010.

Centralia and Columbia Basin are the only two ranked teams to meet in the first round, pitting a sixth-ranked team against and eight-ranked and somewhat untested Centralia squad. After the first round, things get a little nasty. We could see No. 5 Lane and No. 4 Lower Columbia go at it in the quarterfinals, or a possible finals rematch between Umpqua and Columbia Basin.

I, Joward, will be in attendance covering things for the NWAC for the fourth consecutive season. I won't bog down my personal twitter account with game updates, but you can follow @NWACSports for news and notes throughout the tournament.

Updated coaches rankings, released on March 3, have been posted under each team's previous ratings. You can see the full coaches poll here.

                                                                                                                        

1. Umpqua (24-4, 11-1 South)
Previous ranking: No. 1, No. 1 Coaches
Coaches: No. 1

For those who might poke holes in the Southern Region's top-to-bottom strength, consider this: The only in-region loss for the mighty Umpqua Riverhawks came in a 73-71 loss [box] to Clackamas on Feb. 21 — a Clackamas team who missed the tournament for the first time in recent memory. The Riverhawks have beaten Columbia Basin in a close game. They've beaten Lower Columbia in a close game. They've beaten Lane in TWO close games. And while the Riverhawks don't have the best defensive numbers in terms of points allowed, they've managed to find ways to pull out games in just about every situation and remain one of the most efficient offenses in the league. Should they break through the first round unscathed, two names loom in the quarterfinals: either the 25-4 Centralia Trailblazers or the hometown Columbia Basin Hawks.

No. 1 Umpqua will take on unranked Whatcom in the first round at 6 p.m. on Saturday evening.

                                                                                                                         

2. Walla Walla (21-5, 12-2 East)
Previous ranking: No. 3, No. 3 Coaches
Coaches: No. 2

Winning the Eastern Region is a feat in and of itself, given the difficulties Eastern teams face on a weekly basis. Walla Walla's title, the second in the last three seasons, makes them an instant contender after having gone 12-2 and swept teams like Columbia Basin and Blue Mountain. The Warriors have tripped up twice since league play began, but the two losses couldn't be more different. The loss to No. 5 Wenatchee Valley on Valentine's Day, for instance, was an example of what happens when a slow, efficient, defensively-strong team heats up from distance. The Knights hit 52% of their three-pointers and pulled away in the second half for a 74-63 win [box]. The loss to Big Bend, though, wasn't pretty. Walla Walla shot under 16% from three-point range and got blown out 73-58 [box] by a team who finished under .500 in region play and missed the postseason. Which team will show up this weekend? My money would be on the Warriors' body of work, experience and league-best efficiency leading DubDub (and the Superfan himself) to a finals match up with Umpqua.

No. 2 Walla Walla will face unranked Clark at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning.

                                                                                                                         

3. Lower Columbia (22-8, 15-1 West)
Previous ranking: No. 5, No. 4 Coaches
Coaches: No. 3

For all the talk about the Western Region not being very tough relative to the East and South, Lower Columbia seems to have a chance to make some serious noise in the postseason. Their only loss [73-67 box]in Western Region play came to Centralia in a game where neither team took particularly good care of the ball. Centralia won the points-off-turnovers battle by a big margin and still barely managed a victory, snapping the Red Devils' 14-game winning streak. Still, when Lower Columbia does take care of the rock, they're among the best in the league on offense. They've actually tied No. 1 Umpqua in points-per-possession, and are third in scoring behind the high-flying Riverhawks and Columbia Basin while having FAR better defensive numbers. Is this a long-awaited resurgence for Lower Columbia? Maybe. The Red Devils haven't made it past the quarterfinals since 1995, from my research, back when the tournament only had eight teams and was hosted at Chemeketa Community College.

No. 3 Lower Columbia will play Blue Mountain on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.

                                                                                                                         


4. Wenatchee Valley (19-8, 10-4 East)
Previous ranking: Unranked, No. 5 Coaches
Coaches: No. 7

The main thing bumping the Knights up is the aforementioned (you're supposed to read from top to bottom) win over Walla Walla in which Wenatchee Valley proved they can not only keep up with the top of the Eastern Region, they have the offensive tools to beat the Warriors if the three-point shot is falling. And while Wenatchee Valley doesn't have a gaudy winning streak like Peninsula, consider that the Knights have won 15 of their last 18 games since late December, and their three losses have come by a combined seven points. Defense and efficiency win championships, and Wenatchee Valley has both at their disposal with a clear view of the semifinals in sight: Peninsula, Portland and Highline, who make up the rest of the Knights' bracket foursome, have won a combined three games at the tournament dating back to 2007, and all three came from Highline during the 2007 run to fifth place.

Wenatchee Valley will close the first day of the tournament against Highline at 10 p.m. on Saturday.

                                                                                                                         

5. Lane (22-7, 8-4 South)
Previous ranking: No. 2, No. 7 Coaches
Coaches: No. 6

There are few arguments better for a rich-poor divide in the Southern Region than Lane's resume over the last few weeks. The Titans lost a close game to No. 1 Umpqua on Feb. 11 and seem to be on par with the Riverhawks down the stretch, and managed to get past unranked SW Oregon 56-50 [box] in a close SR showdown. The final southern team in the postseason, Portland, didn't pose much of a threat whatsoever to Lane and got blown out by 32 points [box]. It appears Lane and Umpqua are on another level, with SW Oregon close behind, but it will be interesting to see how the southern region teams behind Umpqua fare in the tournament. Lane has the Northern Region's third seed in the first round, and with a win will either get a rolling Lower Columbia team or a well-tested Blue Mountain team in the quarterfinals.

Lane will face unranked Skagit Valley in the first round at noon on Saturday.

                                                                                                                         

6. Columbia Basin (18-10, 10-4 East)

Previous ranking: No. 7, No. 6 Coaches
Coaches: Unranked

The Hawks are the league's highest-scoring team at just over 80 points per contest, a bit of a shake-up after Clackamas and Lane had led the NWAC for the last several seasons. A rough patch in early February kept Columbia Basin out of the second seed and knocked the Hawks from the Eastern Region title, but their losses aren't exactly anything to smart at: a close loss to No. 2 Walla Walla on Feb. 28 [box] being the best-looking 'L' on the league schedule. Something interesting to point out in connection to their scoring average: Columbia Basin is the only team in the top-eight scoring sides to NOT have a player in the top-11 as far as individual scoring is concerned. The Hawks have three players who are good for 14-15 points per game, making Columbia Basin a particularly nasty three-headed monster.

Columbia Basin will play Centralia at 4 p.m. in the first round on Saturday afternoon.

                                                                                                                         

7. Peninsula (19-5, 13-1 North)
Previous ranking: No. 8, No. 8 Coaches
Coaches: No. 4

For a team who came in to region play with a 6-4 record, the Pirates' Northern Region title might seem a little underwhelming. But consider this: Bellevue has been considered the lone contender from the Northern Region over the last few seasons, and Peninsula thumped the 'Dogs 70-54 [box] to split the season series and extend their winning streak — which at nine games is the longest active streak in the league. And as the NWAC championship tournament is four games squished into four days, momentum can — and does — play a major role. The Pirates ARRR (geddit? I'll only do it once) tied with Umpqua and Lower Columbia at 1.13 points per possession and play at a strikingly similar pace in comparison to their Western Region counterparts. The defense is on pace as well, and while I wouldn't necessarily place Peninsula in the title conversation, they might pick up their second-ever tournament victory and move on to the second round. Correct me if I've missed one, but the NWAC tournament records have Peninsula with a 1-13 record and their lone victory coming in 2009 vs. S. Puget Sound. It's somewhat poetic that Peninsula's first-round opponent will be playing in the tournament for the first time in program history.

Peninsula will tangle with Portland at 8 p.m. on Saturday evening.

                                                                                                                         

8. Centralia (25-4, 14-2 West)
Previous ranking: No. 7, No. 6 Coaches
Coaches: No. 5

It wasn't long ago that Centralia looked all but unbeatable with the promise that they'd get a high ranking if they breezed through the Western Region unchallenged. But that was before Lower Columbia reared its head, splitting the season series with Centralia and losing by 12 to Highline on Valentines day [box]. The loss of the No. 1 seed from the West knocks Centralia into a brutal foursome in the bracket with a first-round matchup against Columbia Basin and a possible quarterfinal game against No. 1 Umpqua. It's probably the most difficult road for probably the most underrated team here in this final set of rankings, but such was the plight for teams at the top of the west: the further down in the standings, the more difficult the Eastern Region opponent.

Centralia will face No. 6 Columbia Basin at 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

                                                                                                                        

Efficient Umpqua women lead NWAC once again

NWAC Women's Basketball

Standings | Statistics | Results | Schedule | Polls | Previous Rankings

Welcome back to issue two of the JOWARD NWAC Power Rankings, where we'll take a look at how things have shaken out in the aftermath of crossover tournament [league recaps] action. It's one of the best chances to see the top squads from around the NWAC get out of their regions and match up against some unfamiliar faces, and it gives us an opportunity to see how the individual regions compete against one another. So far — and no surprise here — the south is really good, as is the East. 

The mens' rankings, which were released earlier this week, debuted a fresh stat dealing with offensive efficiency. The beta numbers added together shots, turnovers and adjusted free-throw attempts with a shot at determining a team's pace, or the number of possessions they play in a given game. The league has (graciously, thank you Tracy Swisher) stepped up and provided points-per-possession stats, and we now have a better view of what pace actually looks like.

Here are a few explanations of how this system [You can see the top-16 teams here] works:

Pace is determined by taking a team's total points and dividing it by their average points-per-possession to get the number of possessions they've played. Total possessions divided by games is what the "pace" number is.

Offensive efficiency is what a team would score if they played at the average pace of the top-16 teams, which is 66 possessions per game. Current average points are in parenthesis next to each ranked team's efficiency numbers.

The first set of coaches rankings were published on Dec. 11. They can be found here. The second set of coaches rankings should be out at some point next week.

We'll be back with the next set of rankings soon, which is likely to be Dec. 4 once the Holiday Tournaments are finished and before league play has begun. 

                                                                                                                        

1. Umpqua (10-1, 0-0 South)
Previous ranking: No. 1, No. 1 Coaches
Pace: 66 | Offensive Efficiency: 81.84 (82)

If you forced me to pick an early candidate to win a championship here in December, I'd bet all my clams on Umpqua's pony show after having seen the Riverhawks win their last nine games. The league released points per possession numbers, and Umpqua is blowing away the rest of the league at 1.24 points every time they go down the floor. And while Umpqua is shooting a few more three pointers than usual, the philosophy is the same as we've seen from the Riverhawks in recent years as they've built to this point: Rebound, and force the ball inside the paint for high-percentage shots. We saw it from their towering Hawaiian a few seasons ago, and it's working again behind their considerable height-advantage. Nine Riverhawks stand at at least 5-foot-10. They shoot a league-best 49% from the field, and are in the top third in three-point percentage. Meaning? You can't stop them inside, and if you collapse the defense on their bigs they'll kill you from long range. Oh, and they manage over 83 points per game while playing at league-average pace, so once they get a lead they're almost impossible to come back on.

                                                                                                                         

2. Centralia (9-1, 0-0 West)
Previous ranking: No. 7, No. 4 Coaches
Pace: 60 | Offensive Efficiency: 73.92 (67)

It feels a little uncomfortable to rank Centralia this high, what with the upcoming romp through the Western Region schedule I expect Centralia to have. As I've mentioned before, their relatively weak schedule normally knocks them down a rung or two, but ten games in they still have yet to drop an NWAC game. They got a big first half to beat No. 6 Spokane 63-53 [box] in early December and came from behind to beat previously-second-ranked Olympic 64-61 [box] on Dec. 20. The pair of impressive wins are all part of a six-game winning streak, which is tied for the second-longest current stretch in the league. The Trailblazers play at a little slower pace than the league average, which contributes to their excellent defensive stat of allowing just 58.2 points per game, which is sixth-best in the NWAC. Coming up in a hurry, they'll have a chance to prove whether or not they belong in the top-two: Centralia gets unranked Blue Mountain in the first round of the Lower Columbia invitational [bracket], but they have a likely second-round match up with North Idaho, the only team to beat Centralia this year. No. 1 Umpqua is across the bracket, which could be a finals match up.

                                                                                                                         

3. Clackamas (9-3, 0-0 South)
Previous ranking: No. 3, No. 3 Coaches
Pace: 72 | Offensive Efficiency: 76.56 (83)

Two losses in the last five games put Clackamas on the edge of dropping in this set of rankings, only pulled out by a three-game streak including a solid 68-63 [box] win over No. 6 Spokane. They're one of the fastest-paced teams in the league -- which is by design, as it has been for quite some time -- and they're among the best teams in terms of offensive production per-possession. That's the good, time for the bad & the ugly. While Clackamas is scoring plenty of points, their shooting percentage isn't what it once was. The Cougars play with the philosophy that the best shots in women's basketball are three-pointers and layups, and true to form, Clackamas is first in three-pointers attempted by a wide margin and is top-five in free-throws made and attempted. If you look at their percentage inside the arc, they're a full eight-percent worse than No. 1 Umpqua: 56% to 48%. Both marks are good, but when taken into account that Clackamas takes many of their non-three pointers at the rim and they like to run opposing teams out of the building? You're gotta make a few more of those layups. 

                                                                                                                         

4. Treasure Valley (8-4, 0-0 East)
Previous ranking: Unranked, Unranked Coaches
Pace: 64 | Offensive Efficiency: 75.9 (74)

Welcome Treasure Valley to the womens' rankings for -- I believe -- the first time. And while we're on the topic of teams who like to pound the ball inside, Treasure Valley is the only team in the top-eight to have taken less than twelve three pointers per GAME. They also lead the league in free-throws made and attempted. They don't play particularly fast, but their attempts at the free-throw line allow Treasure Valley to score with the clock dead and bump up those efficiency numbers to fifth in the league. Enough about stats, though. The most impressive part of Treasure Valley's resume is their current six-game winning streak, and their 7-1 mark against NWAC teams. The only loss to league-competition was a 64-51 loss [box] to No. 2 Centralia in the opener. Since then, they've been red hot. Highlights include a 62-point victory over Edmonds [box] and a statement 70-62 win over No. 5 Lane [box] on Dec. 20. It'll have to stand the test of time, but we might be seeing the glimmer of a new power in the Eastern Region. They'll have the fastest-paced team in the league (Columbia Basin) in the region opener, followed by a match up with No. 6 Spokane. Welcome to the big leagues.

                                                                                                                         



5. Lane (11-2, 0-0 South)
Previous ranking: No. 4, No. 2 Coaches
Pace: 71 | Offensive Efficiency: 69.96 (75)

I'm as likely to eat my own shoes with this ranking as any, but I'm not as impressed with Lane's league-leading 11 wins as I could be. They definitely have the offensive and defensive tools to win, but being careless with the ball isn't a winning formula in the long term, regardless of who the opponent is. The Titans play at the fifth-fastest pace in the league, and yet manage only 75 points per game. Their defense is top-notch given the number of possessions they have to defend, but their turnovers are dragging the Titans into some dangerous waters. Lane throws the ball away on 30% of their possessions. That's thirty per-cent, for a little extra clarity. Shoreline, the 0-7 Dolphins who are dead last in the league in scoring possessions, are only at 28%. And while some of that can be contributed to the Titans' fast pace -- Clackamas is at 26% as another fast team -- the numbers have to come down or the pace has to slow down if Lane hopes to continue avoiding losses. The 70-62 [box] loss to No. 4 Treasure Valley was particularly telling: 27 miscues to go along with an 0-7 night from beyond the arc.

                                                                                                                         

6. Spokane (8-4, 0-0 East)
Previous ranking: Unranked, Unranked coaches
Pace: 65 | Offensive Efficiency: 73.26 (72)

Normally teams who have ridiculous defensive numbers also tend to play slower, eat up the clock and get into grind-it-out games. Spokane, however, is a major exception. They play barely below the league average in pace, but hold opposing teams to just under 51 points per game. It's the best mark in the league, and has led to some impressive stats. They've held six teams under 50 points and three teams under 40 points, and at just 14 turnovers per game simply don't allow much of a chance at fast-break points. Their only two losses to fellow-NWAC teams have been a 63-53 [box] loss to No. 2 Centralia and a 68-63 loss [box] loss to No. 3 Clackamas, a game in which the Sasquatch actually led at halftime. Their defensive numbers are likely to change with the start of league play, but that five-game winning streak in December should be enough to turn some heads and gain real respect in the East.

                                                                                                                         

7. Walla Walla (8-3, 0-0 East)
Previous ranking: Unranked, Unranked coaches
Pace: 60 | Offensive Efficiency: 76.56 (70)

Had unranked Bellevue been kind enough to give up the ball a few more times than eight (the Bulldogs' average of 15) in their game against Walla Walla on Dec. 20, the Warriors might have walked into the Holiday break on a five-game winning streak. Instead, Walla Walla finished with one fewer shot, one fewer free throw attempt and exactly as many three-pointers and dropped the game 77-74 [box]. They turned around and blew the doors off of previously second-ranked Olympic the next day, and have now won five of their last six. The Warriors are second in the league in scoring efficiency at 1.16 points per possession, which is just above Clackamas though Walla Walla plays at a far slower clip -- 12 possessions fewer per game, to be exact.  Sadly we won't get to see how the Warriors stack up in any of the Holiday Tournaments, as they'll skip the festivities and take on Whitman JV before starting Eastern Region play in January.


                                                                                                                         

8. Skagit Valley (7-5, 0-0 North)
Previous ranking: No. 2, No. 2 Coaches
Pace: 57 | Offensive Efficiency: 71.94 (62)

It's difficult to call Olympic's 2-3 stretch a "fall from grace," but it was a few slip-ups from the Rangers and a strong run of play from Skagit Valley that warranted the switch. The Cardinals are just a half-game back in the Northern Region standings and proved their worth against a handful of the league's less-fortunate as part of a four-game winning streak. Skagit Valley are easily the slowest team in the top-16 at just 57 possessions per contest and are still averaging 62.6 points per game. For a little perspective, their efficiency numbers would have them scoring just under 72 points per contest if they played at a league-average pace, which puts them darned close to the scoring average of the top half of the NWAC. They seem to be a solid challenger in the North, but it remains to be seen wether the Northern Region will present a challenger at the NWAC tournament in March. The gap between the highest-ranked team in the South and the highest-ranked team in the North is wide: No. 1 Umpqua beat Skagit Valley 92-57 [box] on Dec. 20.

                                                                                                                        

Umpqua leads initial womens' rankings

NWAC Women's Basketball

Standings | Statistics | Results | Schedule | Polls | Previous Rankings

There's been a bit of a shakeup in NWAC womens' basketball for this season, and the most fascinating thing will be to watch how it affects the balance of power — especially for the Eastern Region. Cheryl Holden, head coach of the dominant and defending-champion Columbia Basin Hawks, announced her retirement in June due to health reasons. Former Blue Mountain head coach Christy Martin, who had turned the Timberwolves into an Eastern Region contender, was hired at Tacoma CC in October. There are still several perennial powerhouses in the east, but it definitely opens a door for a few new faces to join the discussion.

In other housekeeping news, the NWAACC has rebranded to become the Northwest Athletic Conference, or NWAC. They have a fancy new logo to go along with the new acronym, both of which I like. It's slick, it's shiny and it looks like a preview of the future for the league. Two questions for you higher-uppers: When will the championships move into a smaller, more-appropriate and less expensive venue, and when will the championships move to a larger metro area like Portland or Seattle?

The first set of coaches rankings were published on Dec. 11. They can be found here.

And with that, chomp away. The NWAC season is in full swing. The next set of rankings will publish on Dec. 21 as a preview for the holiday tournaments.

                                                                                                                        

1. Umpqua (5-1, 0-0 South)
No. 1 Coaches
2014 finish: Lost Championship 86-74 to Columbia Basin

When you write for a newspaper and have a sick appreciation for puns, you're constantly on the lookout for opportunities. And when Ashli Payne went off for 35 points to beat previously undefeated Lane 69-63 (box) in the final of the Bellevue Classic, a buzzer or two went off in the headline department. Titans dealt Payne-ful loss. Lane feels the Payne in defeat. Whichever way this one goes (and there will be plenty of other options if performances like that continue) Ashli Payne's performance is the highlight of the young season. The 5-foot-11 guard went three-of-nine from beyond the arc and shot 61% overall, also collecting 10 boards, four assists, a steal and a block. That said, they can't rely on Payne for numbers on that level night in and night out. Get some solid backup, continue the Riverhawks' tradition of excellent rebounding and scoring teams and the Umpqua ladies will be a tough match up.

                                                                                                                         

2. Olympic (4-1, 0-0 North)
No. 6 Coaches
2014 finish: No tournament berth

Number of times Olympic has made the power rankings since 2011: None. Number of times Olympic has made the title game in league history: None. And while it's difficult to say that a program hasn't amounted to much — people tend to get angry when you say that — Olympic doesn't really have any hardware to show for it. The last time they made the tournament was 2006, and their best finish in program history was sixth place back in 1996. With that prefaced, Olympic may be off to one of their better starts in the last 20 years. It all started with a come-from-behind 79-78 defeat of No. 3 Clackamas on Nov. 22 in what heck of an opening contest. They shot so poorly (as in, 22% from the field kind of poorly) that I'm tempted to dismiss their 66-41 loss (box) to admittedly one of the best numbers-wise defensive teams in the league No. 4 SW Oregon, as they've averaged things out back at 44% and are on a three-game winning streak. One suggestion: Shoot some extra free throws at practice. They're dead last in the league for teams who have shot at least 40 freebees at — wait for it — 55%.

                                                                                                                         

3. Clackamas (4-1, 0-0 South)
No. 3 Coaches
2014 finish: 7th Place

This is more an end-of-the season trend, but I'm used to the age-old tradition of getting flack for giving Clackamas a high ranking. However, as their up to their usual tricks of up-tempo basketball, three pointers and winning, they can't escape this one. Their only loss, as detailed in the above ranking, was to No. 2 Olympic, and came on a night where they shot just 19% from distance and still only lost by one point. As usual, Clackamas is hit-and-miss depending on how well they shoot from outside. The Cougars lead the league in three pointers made and attempted (and missed) and shot nearly 50 treys in their win over No. 4 SW Oregon. At that point, you can actually afford to shoot 33 percent from the floor. They're second in the NWAC in offense behind Lower Columbia's absurd numbers, and are one of the best in steals and on the offensive glass.

                                                                                                                         

4. Lane (5-1, 0-0 South)
No. 2 Coaches
2014 finish: 4th place

In the NWAC womens basketball discussion, there are two names who should routinely come up as coach of the decade candidates, and there's a solid reason: former Columbia Basin coach Cheryl Holden and current Lane skipper Greg Sheley have combined for seven of the last nine women's titles. It's been a formula for Lane over ever since the Titans went to three consecutive title games from 2005-07, a formula in which they bring in a host of youthful talent, finish middle of the pack and then come out and blow the doors of the rest of the league in the next year. It worked in 2013, and until they faltered to No. 1 Umpqua (box) on Dec. 7 they had waltzed past opponents by an average of 32.4 points. That's when they ran into Umpqua's Ashli Payne, who managed to blister the Titans for 35 points. This was still a close one, and you can expect Lane to make the adjustments for the next time they see Umpqua in region play.

                                                                                                                         


5. SW Oregon (5-3, 0-0 South)
No. 9 Coaches
2014 finish: No tournament berth

The Lakers are part of a three-ring circus in the tough Southern Region between themselves, Umpqua and Clackamas. People who live north or east of the Willamette valley might be miffed at the amount of attention the top half of the South is getting at the moment, but the top four teams have a combined win streak of 14 games. SW Oregon's saving grace is that literally anything can happen in the first game of the season when things — teammates, offense, gyms — are fresh and unfamiliar. We'll give the Lakers a mulligan for their first two games, a blowout by Highline and a close loss to Green River, and focus on the stretch of play they've had since then. In the last six games, SW Oregon has held opponents to an average of 31.4% from the field. That's not limiting possessions, that's not slowing the game down or getting steals. That's defense, ladies and gentlemen. Maybe the 22% opponent FG percentage in the win over Olympic wasn't a fluke after all. *Mutters something about how defense wins championships*

                                                                                                                         

6. Peninsula (3-1, 0-0 North)
No. 5 Coaches
2014 finish: Did not place

Normally splitting a pair of games against Wenatchee Valley wouldn't be enough to get you a spot in the top-eight, but considering that the No. 8 Knights have allowed just 48 points per game this season and the only loss was a one-point trip-up in the first game of the season, they'll get a pass. Adding a win over Walla Walla IN Walla Walla gives Peninsula a huge bump here. In that game, the Pirates trailed at halftime but put together an excellent final period and hit 19 of 20 free throws to win 72-63 (box). Oh yeah, and they opened the tournament in Walla Walla by rolling over Columbia Basin 96-82 (box) and while the Hawks are under new leadership, it's a shock to see the proud CBC program nearly surrender the century mark. CBC nearly made the rankings as their 2-3 record is a little deceiving: two losses to nearly unbeatable North Idaho and a loss to No. 5 Peninsula. Props, Pirates.

                                                                                                                         

7. Centralia (4-1, 0-0 West)
No. 4 Coaches
2014 finish: Did not place

Every year Centralia has a good team, their fans always complain that they aren't ranked in accordance with their record. The usually-week Western Region has plenty to do with that, as normally the West can suck the luster out of a dominant program by fluffing up their final record. That said, the preseason is when Centralia needs to make hay. So far, they're undefeated against NWAC opponents with their only loss being to North Idaho (box). They've beaten Walla Walla and Treasure Valley and Spokane, all from the East, and were perfect down the stretch to beat Clark (box). The Trailblazers have four more non-Western Region opponents left before region play begins, and if they can run the table against the three eastern-region teams they have on their schedule they can solidify a spot in the rankings for the time being.


                                                                                                                         

8. Wenatchee Valley (2-1, 0-0 East)
No. 10 Coaches
2014 finish: No tournament berth

Wenatchee Valley is one of those teams you have to guess on early in the season, as it's difficult to sort out the winners and, well, not-winners without much to go on. That said, the Knights have an interesting stat they've ridden for the first three games of the year: they might just be the slowest-paced team in the league. Most would scoff at their measly stat of just 63 points a game, but consider this: they average only 62 SHOTS per game. High scoring teams like No. 3 Clackamas (88.2 ppg) average around 73 or 74 attempts a night, and while the Knights aren't particularly good at taking care of the ball, that may fade in time as they become more comfortable with the new faces in the program. The slow pace greatly contributes to their excellent defensive stat: they've allowed just 51.3 points per game this season, including a 31-point effort against winless Shoreline.