Mikayla Pivec has gradually climbed up the ladder during her three seasons in collegiate basketball, and this year she arrived at the pinnacle of a Power Five conference.
Pivec, a Lynnwood High School graduate, was named a first-team all-conference performer as she was one of 15 players selected to the All-Pac-12 Team for women’s basketball when it was announced last Tuesday.
Pivec, now a junior guard at Oregon State University, does a little bit of everything for the Beavers. This season she’s averaging 14.9 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists, shooting 54.4 percent from the floor and 45.3 percent from 3-point range. She has moved into 18th place on Oregon State’s career scoring list with 1,111 points and 10th on the Beavers’ career rebounding list with 702.
Pivec is arguably the best player on an Oregon State team that is 24-7, ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press poll, and projected to be a top-four seed in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, which begins March 22.
“Mik has been whatever this team needed all year long from the beginning and has been a stable presence for us in practice, off the court, on the court, and made huge plays for us in games,” Oregon State coach Scott Rueck told the Corvallis Gazette-Times.
Pivec was an honorable mention selection last season when she averaged 11.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists per contest.
Pivec was one of four players from Snohomish County High Schools who earned NCAA Division I basketball all-conference honors.
Everett High School graduate Sidney Rielly, now a senior on the Portland State University women’s team, was named to the five-player All-Big Sky first team. Rielly is leading the Vikings in scoring with 14.6 points per game, adding 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 3-pointers per contest for a Portland State team that is 22-7 heading into Big Sky tournament, which began Monday in Boise, Idaho. Portland State is the No. 4 seed and faces No. 5 Montana State on Tuesday.
“Sidney has developed into a complete basketball player,” Portland State coach Lynn Kennedy told the Vikings’ website. “She focused on her attacks to the basket and her defense this past offseason and it paid off. She is now a multi-dimensional player.
“We ask her to do a lot for us offensively and on the defensive end,” Kennedy added. “She is so active and athletic, which gives us an edge in our defensive schemes. She has left her mark among the PSU all-time records.”
Rielly was a third-team selection each of the past two seasons. She is now fourth on the Vikings career scoring list with 1,460 points.
Glacier Peak High School graduate Paisley Johnson, now a sophomore guard on the BYU women’s team, was named to the All-West Coast Conference second team — 10 players were named to the first team, five to the second team. Johnson is averaging 14.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists for the 23-6 Cougars, who are projected to be a No. 9 seed in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
Mountlake Terrace High School graduate Samantha Romanowski, now a senior on the Denver University women’s team, was recognized as an honorable mention All-Summit League selection — there were six first-team selections, five second-team selections and five honorable mentions. Romanowski averaged 11.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and a league-leading 5.9 assists per game this season. Romanowski twice had 13-assist efforts, which is one short of the school’s single-game record.
Two players from local high schools were honored in the NCAA Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
Glacier Peak High School graduate Sadie Mensing, now a senior guard on the Central Washington University women’s team, received honorable mention recognition. Mensing averaged 11.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
Lynnwood High School graduate Kelsey Rogers, now a sophomore forward on Western Washington University women’s team, also was named honorable mention. Rogers averaged 12.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
If you have an idea for a community sports story, email Nick Patterson at npatterson@heraldnet.com.
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