In basketball, the Lady Outlaws were beaten 55-34 at Cascade on Tuesday, January 25, and three days later fell 52-29 at Woodburn.

Cascade entered Tuesday’s contest with a 10-2 record and a No. 2 ranking in the state. The Cougars are an experienced team and have 10 seniors on their roster. Sisters was as healthy as they’ve been this season and had 18 of their 20 players able to play, but it still wasn’t enough to keep them in the game.

The Lady Outlaws got off to a good start in the first quarter, which is something they’ve struggled with against better teams. Payden Petterson hit a three-pointer, and Ila Reid, Ashlynn Moffat, and Josie Patton all contributed baskets in the period to keep it close, trailing by just one, 12-11, at the close of the quarter.

Four Outlaws contributed points in the second period for nine points, but the Cougars put up 16, and at the half Sisters was down 28-20.

In the third quarter the Outlaws were outscored 23-3. Sisters’ lone bucket came from Reid, and Haleigh Froehlich hit one of her free-throw attempts.

Sisters outscored Cascade 11-4 in the final quarter, with five different players contributing points, but the deficit was too much for the Outlaws to overcome.

The Outlaws had a tough time containing Ariel Tobiason, the Cougars’ best player, who scored 30 points in the game, 13 of those in the pivotal third quarter.

Coach Paul Patton said, “The main issues that allowed them to pull away from us were missed shots and turnovers. Despite those struggles, we competed hard for the whole game and played well enough at times to believe that we could beat a team like this if we could just be a little more consistent.

“In the other three quarters we played them pretty close and we finished well in the fourth quarter,” added Patton. “We had balanced scoring, with 10 girls getting points for us out of the 15 who saw action. We continue to improve through competition against quality opponents and through focused practices.”

Haleigh Froehlich led the team in scoring with eight points. Petterson scored five points and had four rebounds, and Moffat and Reid contributed four points each and three and five rebounds respectively. Emma Lutz scored three points, and had three assists and four steals. Josie Patton, Ellie Mayes, Juhree Kizziar, and Shae Wyland added two points each. Patton also pulled down five

rebounds.

At Woodburn on Friday, the Outlaws recorded another loss.

They got off to a good start, just like in their previous game at Cascade, and at the close of the quarter trailed by just two points, 11-9. From that point on, the Cougars just kept extending their lead and recorded the win.

Froehlich and Josie Patton were effective inside for the Outlaws when their team was able to get them the ball in the post. They each scored six points and pulled down nine and six rebounds, respectively.

Mayes also put up six points for the Outlaws and pulled down three boards. Petterson and Reid added three points each.

Patton said, “The difference in the game was that they just shot the ball better than us, and handled our press better than we handled theirs.”

The Lady Outlaws were scheduled to play at Stayton on Tuesday, February 3. They will play at Sweet Home on Friday, February 8.