by Tarryn Hart and the Yakima Valley College women’s basketball team had quite a weekend. With Hart scoring 22 points the Yaks claimed an 83-69 victory on Friday at Shorline, after which the sophomore from Wapato scored three unanswered points in the final 14 seconds Saturday to lift YVC to a 76-73 triumph at Bellevue.
The NWAC nonconference wins pushed the Yaks’ record to 5-2 with a four-game winning streak. Yakima Valley will host an NWAC Crossover Tournament this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Sherar Gym. The Yaks will meet Green River at 8 p.m. in the opener, will take on Edmonds at 2 p.m. Saturday and then oppose Clark at 2 p.m. in their weekend finale. YVC opens East Region play at home on Jan. 2 with a matchup against Treasure Valley.
Against Shoreline, coach Adam Strom’s Yaks bolted to a 24-5 first-quarter lead and never looked back. Hart connected on 10 of 18 shots while adding seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Kalli Willett compiled 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds and Chehalis Aleck posted a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards. Nicole Rasmussen had 11 points and seven rebounds for Yakima Valley, which shot .522 from the field and outrebounded the Dolphins 40-34. Ten of Yakima Valley’s 11 players scored.
At Bellevue, YVC trailed 54-46 starting the fourth quarter, but gradually reduced their deficit. Hart’s jumper with 14 seconds left gave the Yaks a 74-73 lead, after which Josephine Sinclair rebounded a Bulldog miss and got the ball to Hart, who was fouled and closed the scoring with two free throws. Hart, hitting 12 of 14 foul shots, finished with 18 points while Lexie Skyles came off the bench for a team-best 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
