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COLLEGEBASEBALL South Carolina at Vanderbilt: 5p.m.,ESPNU. MLB SPRING TRAINING BASEBALL St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Yankees: 10a.m., MLB. Chicago Cubs vs. New York Mets: 7p.m., MLB. COLLEGE BASKETBALL NIT Tournament Champion- ship, George Washington vs. Valparaiso: 4p.m., ESPN. Slam Dunk & 3Point Champi- onship: 6p.m., ESPN. HIGH SCHOOL BOY'S BASKETBALL Nationals Quarterfinal LA Lumiere vs. St. Benedict's: 9 a.m., ESPNU. Nationals Quarterfinal Wasatch vs. Oak Hill Acad- emy: 11a.m., ESPNU. Nationals Quarterfinal Provi- dence Day vs. Montverde: 1 p.m., ESPNU. Nationals Quarterfinal Miller Grove vs. Findlay Prep: 3p.m., ESPNU. NBA BASKETBALL Chicago Bulls at Houston Rockets: 4p.m., TNT. Los Angeles Clippers at Oklahoma City Thunder: 6:30 p.m., TNT. LGPA GOLF ANA Inspiration Round 1: 9 a.m., GOLF. PGA GOLF Houston Open Round 1: 1p.m., GOLF. NHL HOCKEY Nashville Predators at Pitts- burgh Penguins: 4p.m., NHL. Vancouver Canucks at San Jose Sharks: 7:30p.m., CSN. SKATING ISU Figure Skating World Championship Women's Short Program: 1p.m., NBCSN. TENNIS Miami Open Men's Quarterfi- nal and Women's Semifinal: 10a.m., ESPN2. Miami Open Men's Quarterfi- nal and Women's Semifinal: 4 p.m., ESPN2. Ontheair itmightbetimetoheadto the NBA. After listening to evaluators, he stayed. "I know I needed to im- prove, but I wanted to go so badly," he said. "I was just caught up in the mo- ment, and I saw friends go- ing, and I thought, 'OK, it's your turn, too.' But I had to be patient." He improved his dribble in traffic, became a stron- ger finisher at the rim, im- proved his movement away from the ball and learned to create more space when closely covered. "A lot of times, young people go in the gym and do the things they're most comfortable doing," Kru- ger said. "Players that keep getting better are going to the gym and working on things that they're less comfortable doing." Hield also improved his shot. He was named con- ference player of the year again and has continued to elevate his game as de- fenses tried to find new ways to slow him down. Kruger said his game has even changed in the last month,sayingHieldissepa- rating more from defenders without the ball by chang- ing pace and direction. "He's got a good feel for what he needs to do to get open," Kruger said. Hield FROM PAGE 1 prove to .517. Castillo has 12 RBIs in his last seven games. StartingTime Diamondbacks: Miller allowed as many runs (7) as he did in his first four outings, but no one was making a big issue of it. "The biggest thing is to get out healthy and keep your pitch count up," Dia- mondbacks reliever Brad Ziegler said after pitching a scoreless inning. "You can see the talent and you know he'll be ready April 4." Ziegler said the re- vamped starting rotation will help ease the burden on the bullpen and give them a chance every time. "We have an offense that's great at creating runs," he said. "The bottom line is we still have to go out and execute and once we get the lead, it will be up to us to put up zeroes." Athletics: Hill got a big boost from a solid outing, his last before starting April 5 in Oakland against the Chicago White Sox. "It was just being ultra- aggressive," Hill said. "That was the biggest thing. I got on a roll to start and as the game went on, we were picking up the pace." Hill gave up 13 runs in three previous starts be- fore making two starts in minor league camp. "It was like night and day," he said of control is- sues. "I got into an attack mode in the bullpen and carried that into the game. Everything came out crisp and clean." Trainer's Room Diamondbacks: OF A.J. Pollock (right elbow sore- ness) went 3-for-4 in an in- trasquad game Tuesday as he attempts to get ready for opening day. Athletics: OF Coco Crisp (hamstring) took some swings but is unlikely to play until the A's return to the Bay Area. ... RHP R.J. Alvarez underwent suc- cessful arthroscopic sur- gery on his right elbow. ... RHP Henderson Alvarez will have a light throwing day on Saturday and throw to hitters next Wednesday. Up Next Diamondbacks: RHP Braden Shipley starts for Arizona against the Colo- rado Rockies on Thursday in Scottsdale. Athletics: RHP Chris Bassitt will start Thurs- day night's game in San Francisco against the Gi- ants and RHP Jeff Sa- mardzija. A's FROM PAGE 1 Scoreboard Baseball SPRINGTRAINING AM ER IC AN L EA GUE W L Pct Toronto 17 6 .739 Los Angeles 15 8 .652 Minnesota 18 10 .643 Houston 17 10 .630 Detroit 16 11 .593 Texas 17 13 .567 Cleveland 15 12 .556 Chicago 15 13 .536 Tampa Bay 12 11 .522 Seattle 15 14 .517 New York 13 13 .500 Kansas City 14 19 .424 A's 11 15 .423 Boston 12 17 .414 Baltimore 10 15 .400 NATIONAL LEAGUE W L Pct Washington 18 4 .818 Arizona 22 7 .759 Philadelphia 15 10 .600 Colorado 14 12 .538 Cincinnati 15 15 .500 Milwaukee 13 13 .500 Los Angeles 13 14 .481 Miami 10 13 .435 St. Louis 10 13 .435 Chicago 10 17 .370 Giants 11 19 .367 San Diego 10 19 .345 New York 7 16 .304 Pittsburgh 7 20 .259 Atlanta 6 19 .240 NOTE: Split-squad games count in the standings; games against non-major league teams do not. Wednesday's games Washington 12, N.Y. Mets 1 Minnesota 4, Toronto 3 Tampa Bay 4, Boston (ss) 3 St. Louis 3, Miami 0 Pittsburgh 4, Boston (ss) 4, tie Philadelphia 8, Houston 4 N.Y. Yankees 2, Atlanta 0 Texas 5, Kansas City 1 Arizona 12, A's 9 San Diego 7, Seattle 5 Cleveland 4, L.A. Dodgers 3 Cincinnati 6, Chicago White Sox 3 Chicago Cubs 10, Colorado (ss) 0 Milwaukee 5, Colorado (ss) 4 Detroit 2, Baltimore 1 Thursday's games Boston vs. Minnesota at Fort Myers, Fla., 10:05 a.m. N.Y. Yankees (ss) vs. Detroit at Lakeland, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Pittsburgh vs. Tampa Bay at Port Char- lotte, Fla., 10:05 a.m. St. Louis vs. N.Y. Yankees (ss) at Tampa, Fla., 10:05 a.m. Cincinnati vs. Cleveland at Goodyear, Ariz., 12:05 p.m. Atlanta vs. Baltimore at Sarasota, Fla., 12:05 p.m. Arizona vs. Colorado at Scottsdale, Ariz., 12:10 p.m. N.Y. Mets vs. Chicago Cubs at Las Vegas, 5:05 p.m. Milwaukee at Houston, 5:10 p.m. L.A. Angels at L.A. Dodgers, 7:10 p.m. A's at Giants, 7:15 p.m. Diamondbacks 12, Athletics 9 Arizona Oakland AB R H B AB R H B Segura 2b 3 1 1 0 Burns cf 1 0 0 0 O'Brien 1b 1 0 0 0 Cnha ph-cf 3 0 0 0 Owings ss 3 1 1 0 Vrtigan cf 1 0 1 0 R.Weeks lf 2 2 2 0 Lowrie 2b 1 0 1 0 Gosselin 1b 4 1 3 5 Pndr ph-ss 5 1 1 2 M.Frmn 2b 1 0 0 0 Reddick rf 1 0 0 0 Castilo dh 4 1 1 2 Brwn ph-rf 2 1 0 0 Trhn ph-dh 1 0 1 1 Vlencia 3b 1 0 0 0 Drury rf 3 1 1 0 Chpmn 3b 4 1 2 4 Brgs rf-cf 2 0 0 0 Vogt c 0 1 0 0 Tomas lf 3 0 1 1 Phgly ph-c 2 0 0 0 Jmieson ss 1 1 0 0 Mxwll ph-c1 0 0 0 Ja.Lamb 3b 3 1 1 0 K.Davis lf 1 1 1 0 Obrcker rf 1 1 1 2 J.Harris lf 3 0 0 0 Goswisch c 4 1 1 1 Cghlan dh 1 1 1 2 D.Rhlfng c 0 0 0 0 Btlr ph-dh 1 0 0 0 Brito cf 4 1 1 0 Lmb ph-dh 2 0 0 0 Noriga 3b 1 0 0 0 Oh ph-dh 1 0 1 0 Alonso 1b 1 1 1 1 McBrde 1b 2 1 1 0 Semien ss 1 0 0 0 Kirklnd 2b 3 1 1 0 Totals 4112 1512 38 9 11 9 Arizona 000 062 112 — 12 Oakland 050 202 000 — 9 LOB: Arizona 6, Oakland 11; 2B: R.Weeks (6), Gosselin (3), Trahan (1), Drury (10), Gosewisch (4), Coghlan (2), Alonso (1), W.Kirkland (1); 3B: Gosselin (3); HR: W.Castillo (4), C.Oberacker (1), Pinder (2), M.Chapman (5); SB: S.Brown (1), J.Harris (2). IP H R ER BB SO Arizona S.Miller 4 7 7 7 3 4 Ziegler 1 1 0 0 1 1 Burgos 1 1 2 2 2 2 Brch W,2-0 12/3 1 0 0 0 3 Loewen 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 Srnides S,1-1 1 1 0 0 2 3 Oakland R.Hill 41/3 2 2 2 3 2 Dull 2/3 5 4 4 0 2 Doolittle 1 3 2 2 0 3 T.Healy 1 2 1 1 0 2 Cchrn-Gll L,0-11 2 1 1 0 0 A.Avila 1 1 2 2 0 0 HBP: by S.Miller (W.Kirkland), by A.Avila (S.Jamieson); WP: N.Sarianides. T: 3:24; A: 5,335 (10,000). Basketball NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE PACIFIC DIVISION W L Pct GB y-Golden State 68 7 .907 — x-Clippers 47 27 .635 201/2 Sacramento 29 45 .392 381/2 Phoenix 20 55 .267 48 Lakers 15 59 .203 521/2 SOUTHWEST DIVISION W L Pct GB y-San Antonio 63 12 .840 — Memphis 41 34 .547 22 Houston 37 38 .493 26 Dallas 37 38 .493 26 New Orleans 27 47 .365 351/2 NORTHWEST DIVISION W L Pct GB y-Oklahoma City 52 23 .693 — Portland 39 36 .520 13 Utah 37 38 .493 15 Denver 32 44 .421 201/2 Minnesota 25 50 .333 27 EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION W L Pct GB x-Toronto 50 24 .676 — Boston 43 31 .581 7 New York 30 46 .395 21 Brooklyn 21 53 .284 29 Philadelphia 9 66 .120 411/2 SOUTHEAST DIVISION W L Pct GB x-Atlanta 45 31 .592 — Miami 43 30 .589 1/2 Charlotte 43 31 .581 1 Washington 36 38 .486 8 Orlando 31 43 .419 13 CENTRAL DIVISION W L Pct GB y-Cleveland 52 22 .703 — Detroit 40 35 .533 121/2 Indiana 39 35 .527 13 Chicago 37 37 .500 15 Milwaukee 31 44 .413 211/2 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division Tuesday's games Chicago 98, Indiana 96 Charlotte 100, Philadelphia 85 Orlando 139, Brooklyn 105 Detroit 88, Oklahoma City 82 Houston 106, Cleveland 100 Golden State 102, Washington 94 Wednesday's games Toronto 105, Atlanta 97 Clippers 99, Minnesota 79 Milwaukee 105, Phoenix 94 Denver 109, Memphis 105 San Antonio 100, New Orleans 92 Dallas 91, New York 89 Golden State 103, Utah 96, OT Washington at Sacramento, (n.) Miami at Lakers, (n.) Thursday's games Chicago at Houston, 4 p.m. Brooklyn at Cleveland, 4 p.m. Orlando at Indiana, 4 p.m. Denver at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Clippers at Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m. Boston at Portland, 7 p.m. NCAA MEN'S TOURNAMENT FINAL FOUR At NRG Stadium Houston NATIONAL SEMIFINALS Saturday, April 2 Villanova (33-5) vs. Oklahoma (29-7), 3:09 p.m. North Carolina (32-6) vs. Syracuse (23- 13), 5:49 p.m. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Monday, April 4 Semifinal winners NCAA WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT FINAL FOUR At Indianapolis NATIONAL SEMIFINALS Sunday, April 3 UConn (36-0) vs. Oregon State (32-4), 3 p.m. Washington (26-10) vs. Syracuse (29-7), 5:30 p.m. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Tuesday, April 5 Semifinals winners, 5:30 p.m. MEN'S NIT CHAMPIONSHIP At Madison Square Garden New York Thursday, March 31 Valparaiso (30-6) vs. George Washing- ton (27-10), 4 p.m. WOMEN'S NIT SEMIFINALS Wednesday, March 30 South Dakota 88, Oregon 54 Thursday, March 31 Michigan at Florida Gulf Coast, 5 p.m. NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE PACIFIC DIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA x-Los Angeles 76 45 26 5 95 208 180 x-Anaheim 75 42 23 10 94 196 178 x-San Jose 77 43 28 6 92 228 199 Arizona 76 34 35 7 75 199 226 Calgary 76 32 38 6 70 210 240 Vancouver 76 27 36 13 67 172 221 Edmonton 79 30 42 7 67 194 234 CENTRAL DIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA x-Dallas 77 46 22 9 101 252 220 x-St. Louis 77 46 22 9 101 206 186 x-Chicago 77 44 26 7 95 213 192 Nashville 77 39 25 13 91 215 199 Minnesota 77 38 28 11 87 210 190 Colorado 77 39 34 4 82 205 218 Winnipeg 77 31 39 7 69 195 225 EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC DIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA Tampa Bay 76 44 27 5 93 214 182 Florida 76 42 25 9 93 218 189 Boston 77 40 29 8 88 223 209 Detroit 77 38 28 11 87 198 212 Ottawa 77 35 33 9 79 219 235 Montreal 77 35 36 6 76 205 224 Buffalo 77 31 35 11 73 185 210 Toronto 76 28 37 11 67 186 222 METROPOLITAN DIVISION GP W L OT Pts GF GA z-Washington 76 54 16 6 114 237 177 N.Y. Rangers 76 43 24 9 95 219 199 Pittsburgh 76 43 25 8 94 219 190 N.Y. Islanders 75 41 25 9 91 210 193 Philadelphia 76 38 25 13 89 198 200 New Jersey 77 37 32 8 82 173 194 Carolina 77 33 28 16 82 187 208 Columbus 76 30 38 8 68 195 237 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. x-clinched playoff spot z-clinched conference Tuesday's games N.Y. Islanders 2, Carolina 1, SO Pittsburgh 5, Buffalo 4, SO New Jersey 2, Boston 1 Montreal 4, Detroit 3 Toronto 5, Florida 2 Minnesota 4, Chicago 1 St. Louis 3, Colorado 1 Dallas 5, Nashville 2 San Jose 4, Vancouver 1 Wednesday's games Philadelphia 2, Washington 1, SO Ottawa 2, Winnipeg 1 Calgary at Anaheim, (n.) Thursday's games Toronto at Buffalo, 4 p.m. Columbus at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. Nashville at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at Carolina, 4 p.m. Montreal at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m. New Jersey at Florida, 4:30 p.m. Ottawa at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Arizona at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Calgary at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Vancouver at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Tennis MIAMI OPEN RESULTS Wednesday At The Tennis Center at Crandon Park Key Biscayne, Fla. Purse: Men, $6.13 million (Masters 1000); Women, $6.13 million (Premier) Surface: Hard-Outdoor Singles MEN Quarterfinals David Goffin (15), Belgium, def. Gilles Simon (18), France, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. WOMEN Quarterfinals Victoria Azarenka (13), Belarus, def. Johanna Konta (24), Britain, 6-4, 6-2. Motorsports NASCAR SPRINT CUP MILES LED LEADERS Through March 20 1. Kevin Harvick, 626.24 2. Jimmie Johnson, 289.08 3. Denny Hamlin, 256.50 4. Matt Kenseth, 191.38 5. Kyle Busch, 182.58 6. Kurt Busch, 141.98 7. Joey Logano, 117.00 8. Martin Truex Jr., 99.36 9. Carl Edwards, 84.54 10. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 71.50 11. Brad Keselowski, 38.50 12. Chase Elliott, 9.50 13. Austin Dillon, 5.50 14. Michael Annett, 2.50 14. Bobby Labonte, 2.50 14. Ryan Newman, 2.50 14. David Ragan, 2.50 14. Brian Scott, 2.50 14. Michael Waltrip, 2.50 20. Cole Whitt, 1.54 21. Regan Smith, 1.50 Golf WORLD GOLF RANKING 1. Jason Day AUS 12.53 2. Jordan Spieth USA 11.06 3. Rory McIlroy NIR 9.36 4. Bubba Watson USA 8.68 5. Rickie Fowler USA 7.86 6. Adam Scott AUS 7.26 7. Henrik Stenson SWE 7.18 8. Justin Rose ENG 6.07 9. Dustin Johnson USA 5.94 10. Patrick Reed USA 5.00 11. Louis Oosthuizen SAF 4.83 12. Danny Willett ENG 4.65 13. Branden Grace SAF 4.65 14. Hideki Matsuyama JPN 4.59 15. Sergio Garcia ESP 4.40 16. Zach Johnson USA 4.23 17. Brandt Snedeker USA 4.18 18. Brooks Koepka USA 4.09 19. Jim Furyk USA 4.01 20. Phil Mickelson USA 3.97 21. Charl Schwartzel SAF 3.88 22. Kevin Kisner USA 3.79 23. J.B. Holmes USA 3.44 24. Jimmy Walker USA 3.33 25. Paul Casey ENG 3.30 26. Byeong-Hun An KOR 3.27 27. Kevin Na USA 3.23 28. Matt Kuchar USA 3.21 29. Bill Haas USA 3.18 30. Andy Sullivan ENG 3.15 31. Marc Leishman AUS 3.13 32. Shane Lowry IRL 3.13 33. Justin Thomas USA 2.94 34. Russell Knox SCO 2.81 35. Emiliano Grillo ARG 2.77 36. Rafa Cabrera-Bello ESP 2.75 37. Kiradech Aphibarnrat THA 2.70 38. Danny Lee NZL 2.69 39. Ryan Moore USA 2.67 40. Bernd Wiesberger AUT 2.65 Odds PREGAME.COM LINE NBA Thursday Favorite Line (O/U) Underdog at Indiana OFF (OFF) Orlando at Cleveland 14 (2111/2) Brooklyn at Houston OFF (OFF) Chicago Denver 61/2 (210) at New Orleans at Thunder 81/2 (214) Clippers at Portland 31/2 (2141/2) Boston College Basketball Thursday Favorite Line (O/U) Underdog Valparaiso 2 George Washington Saturday Villanova 2 Oklahoma North Carolina 91/2 Syracuse NHL Thursday Favorite Line Underdog at NY Islanders -190/+175 Columbus at Pittsburgh -135/+125 Nashville at Buffalo -125/+115 Toronto NY Rangers -135/+125 at Carolina at Florida OFF New Jersey at Tampa Bay OFF Montreal at Minnesota -190/+175 Ottawa at Dallas -210/+190 Arizona at Los Angeles -250/+220 Calgary at San Jose -250/+220 Vancouver Transactions BASEBALL American League Baltimore Orioles: Released RHP Miguel Gonzalez. Reassigned C Audry Perez to their minor league camp. Boston Red Sox: Optioned LHP Roenis Elias to Pawtucket (IL). Chicago White Sox: Selected the con- tract of INF Jimmy Rollins from Charlotte (IL). Optioned RHP Scott Carroll to Charlotte. Assigned RHP Jacob Turner outright to Charlotte. Detroit Tigers: Optioned LHP Matt Boyd to Toledo (IL). Agreed to terms with RHP Bobby Parnell on a minor league contract. New York Yankees: Optioned RHPs Nick Goody and Branden Pinder and LHP Ty- ler Olson to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (IL). Seattle Mariners: Acquired RHP Nick Vincent from San Diego for a player to be named. Optioned RHP Mayckol Guaipe to Tacoma (PCL). Tampa Bay Rays: Optioned RHP Matt An- driese and 3B Richie Shaffer to Durham (IL). Released C Rene Rivera. Toronto Blue Jays: Optioned Rh/Lhp Pat Venditte and OF Darrell Ceciliani to Buffalo (IL). National League Atlanta Braves: Optioned RHP Mike Foltynewicz to Gwinnett (IL). Reas- signed Cs Ryan Lavarnway and Blake Lalli to minor their league camp. Chicago Cubs: Agreed to terms with 2B Munenori Kawasaki, OF Shane Victorino and LHP Manny Parra on minor league contracts. Cincinnati Reds: Optioned OF Tyler Holt to Louisville (IL). Reassigned RHP Drew Hayes, RHP Ryan Mattheus, RHP JC Ramirez and RHP Pedro Villarreal to their minor league camp. Announced Rule 5 LHP Chris O'grady cleared waiv- ers and was offered back to the Los Angeles Angels. Milwaukee Brewers: Placed RHP Zack Jones, LHP Sean Nolin and OF Rymer Liriano on the 15-day DL. Philadelphia Phillies: Re-signed RHP Ed- ward Mujica to a minor league contract. Washington Nationals: Agreed to terms with RHPs Bronson Arroyo and Burke Badenhop on minor league contracts. BASKETBALL National Basketball Association Sacramento Kings: Signed general man- ager and vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac to a multiyear contract. FOOTBALL National Football League Buffalo Bills: Signed OT Jordan Mills. Cincinnati Bengals: Signed LB Karlos Dansby. Dallas Cowboys: Signed C Joe Looney to a two-year contract. Detroit Lions: Signed OL Geoff Schwartz. Indianapolis Colts: Signed TE Mike Mc- Farland. Waived OT Pierce Burton. New England Patriots: Signed DB E.J. Biggers. HOCKEY National Hockey League NHL: Suspended Vancouver F Jake Virtanen two games for interference against San Jose D Roman Polak during a March 29 game. Arizona Coyotes: Signed D Kyle Wood to a three-year entry-level contract. Recalled F Eric Selleck from Springfield (AHL). Calgary Flames: Signed C Mark Jankowski to an entry-level contract. Carolina Hurricanes: Reassigned F Brody Sutter to Charlotte (AHL). Recalled F Sergey Tolchinsky from Charlotte. Nashville Predators: Recalled D Stefan Elliott from Milwaukee (AHL). New Jersey Devils: Assigned G Scott Wedgewood to Albany (AHL). Activated G Cory Schneider off injured reserve. SOCCER United Soccer League Usl: Suspended LA Galaxy II D Oscar Sorto one game and fined him an undisclosed amount following his red card ejection during a March 26 against Arizona United SC. Hayward led Utah with 21 points while Rudy Gob- ert added 11 points and 18 rebounds. Curry finished with five 3-pointers and stood at midcourt exulting in the win as the final seconds ticked away. Before the game, he was the center of attention as usual during his pregame warm-up and then as he came over to greet fans to- ward the tunnel, a railing dislodged. Four fans fell out of the stands, but did not appear to be seriously injured. Warriors FROM PAGE 1 amid reports of player mis- treatment, including verbal abuse, by the former coach. Oregon State had lost 17 straight at one point dur- ing the previous season. Rueck had spent 14 sea- sons at George Fox, a Di- vision III Christian college in Newberg, Oregon, lead- ing the Bruins to six over- all D-III tournaments and the national championship in 2009. Coaching at his alma mater Oregon State was a dream. Rueck was able to con- vince the three recruits to stick with Oregon State de- spite the uncertainty. But then he was left to build a Division I roster nearly from scratch. Taking a bold step in holding an open prospect camp for play- ers, he could only prom- ise walk-on status with a chance at earning a schol- arship somewhere down the road. Fifty-five young women showed up. At a rally on campus Tuesday, Oregon State ath- letic director Todd Stans- bury marveled at how far the team has come. "You're usually rebuild- ing something that's there, but this was the total cre- ation of a new program, from the ground up," Stans- bury said. "I remember having some conversations early on, when Scott first came here, about whether we were going to have to petition the NCAA to take a season off, because we didn't have a team. "So this is incredibly mi- raculous." The Beavers' climb was steady and in 2014 the team reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 18 years. The ninth seed after finishing a then- school record 13-5 in Pac-12 play, the Beavers were run- ners-up in the conference tournament and advanced to the second round in the Big Dance. Rueck won league Coach of the Year honors and Sydney Wiese hit a Pac-12 freshman re- cord 104 3-pointers. The next season, Ore- gon State popped into the AP Top 25 for the first time since 1996, won the Pac-12 regular-season title to end Stanford's string of 14 sea- sons with at least a share of it, and again advanced to the second round in the NCAAs. So far this season, the Beavers have collected a first-ever conference tour- nament championship, and, of course, that first Final Four. Oregon State climbed to No. 6 in the poll for its highest rank- ing ever. Rueck said Wednesday that there are two mem- ories that stick out in his six-year journey. The first was from his opening sea- son, when the underdog Beavers came back from a 20-point deficit at the half to beat the rival Oregon Ducks at home at Gill Col- iseum. The box score from that game still hangs on his office wall. The second was last season, when the Beavers clinched the Pac-12 season title with a win over Cal. It was the final game at Gill for senior Ali Gibson, one of Rueck's first recruits. "That was the culmina- tion, after all the struggle, that it had actually hap- pened here. A lot of peo- ple did tell me, and would tell you, that, 'You probably can't win at Oregon State.' And that was the day we won at Oregon State — we're gonna raise a Pac-12 banner in this place. "It was one of those sur- real moments, when Ali Gibson gets carried off the floor on the shoulders of her teammates and there's confetti falling on us, and you look up and you're like, 'I can't believe we did it. We got here.'" A 60-57 victory over top- seeded Baylor on Monday got them here. UConn coach Geno Au- riemma is very familiar with Rueck, who was an assistant U.S. team coach for the Pan-Am games last summer. Auriemma is the head coach of the women's national team. He joins VanDerveer in admiration of what Rueck has been able to accom- plish. "That coaching staff has done an incredible job with the perfect mesh of players that play his style. And the fan base has rallied around them." Beavers FROM PAGE 1 L.M. OTERO — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Oregon State head coach Scott Rueck waves the net a er cutting it off the rim a er winning the regional final of the women's NCAA Tournament against Baylor on Monday in Dallas. Oregon State won 60-57. | SPORTS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2016 2 B