By Oly Archibald

EUGENE, OR — The Oregon Ducks football team isn’t the only No. 1-ranked team in Eugene these days—they now share the spotlight with the Lane College Titans women’s basketball team, also ranked No. 1.

Over the past decade, the Titans have dominated NWAC women’s basketball, winning nine titles, including five in the last nine years. They are the back-to-back defending champions and are off to a 4-0 start this season, averaging 95 points per game and winning by an average margin of 60 points.

The Peninsula Pirates, known as one of the toughest defensive teams in the NWAC, will have their hands full tonight against the Titans, who bring speed, size, and exceptional perimeter shooting. The Titans are led by 5-foot-4 sophomore guard Emma McDonald from Milwaukie, Oregon, who is averaging 21 points per game while shooting 59% from the field and 48% from three-point range.

The Pirates will try to slow down Lane Titan shooting guard Emma McDonald, who is averaging 21 points per game

The Pirates enter the game following a split in Pasco, where they defeated sixth-ranked Columbia Basin but lost a nail-biter to fourth-ranked Walla Walla, 57-55. A standout for the Pirates has been freshman guard Carliese O’Brien, a 5-foot-6 player from Bethel, Alaska, who played high school basketball at Mt. Edgecumbe, a boarding school of 400 students in Sitka, Alaska. During her junior and senior years, O’Brien led Mt. Edgecumbe to a 45-11 overall record and a 20-1 league record, including a trip to the state championship game. In a semifinal game, she scored 29 points against Homer. This season, O’Brien is averaging 11 points, 4 rebounds, and shooting 57% from the field.

Pirate freshman Carliese O’Brien, from Bethel, Alaska, has had a great start to the season for the Pirates.

Other key contributors for the Pirates include:

• Jelissa Julmist: A former Sequim Wolf, averaging 15 points and 8 rebounds per game.
• Shania Moanunu: A sophomore point guard and All-NWAC first-team selection, averaging 10 points and 7 rebounds per game.
• Lexie Mackey: A 5-foot-10 sophomore from Melbourne, Australia, averaging 10 points and 4 rebounds per game.
• Mekena Patrick: A freshman from Anaconda, Montana, averaging 8 points and 4 rebounds per game.
• Ryana Moss: A freshman from Neah Bay, averaging 7 points per game.

Former Sequim Wolf Jellissa Julmist is averaging 15 points per game and 8 rebounds per game for the third-ranked Pirates

Tip-off tonight is at 6:00 p.m. After the game, the Pirates will travel to Longview to face seventh-ranked Lower Columbia College on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. That game will be broadcast live on KONP Newsradio and streamed at myclallamcounty.com.

In bowling, the Roughrider team came up short against Olympic, losing 7-0. Despite the loss, Zoey Van Gordon had an outstanding performance, throwing five strikes in the first match for a personal-best score of 188 and finishing with a two-game total of 428.

Other notable performances include:

• Zoey Penn: A personal-best score of 156 and a two-game total of 258.
• Lucy Townsend: A two-game score of 211.
• Lizzy Clark: A personal-best score of 143.
• Ivy Powless: A personal-best score of 119.

The Roughriders will face the Sequim Wolves on Monday.