The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The Lady Outlaws basketball squad fell 47-39 to the Lady Lions at Jefferson High School on Tuesday, December 6. At home two days later they snapped their three-game losing streak with a dominant 46-10 win against Culver.

Friday’s game against the Lady Bulldogs started off slow with neither team scoring in the first three-and-a-half minutes of play. The Outlaws had several opportunities to score but just couldn’t get the ball to drop. With a little over three minutes left on the clock Haleigh Froehlich was fouled while going to the hoop and made both of her free-throws to get the Outlaws on the scoreboard. Sisters scored four more quick points and with seconds left Ellie Mayes made a nice pass inside to Hadley Schar, who made the shot and put the Outlaws on top 8-4 to close out the quarter.

The Outlaws continued to put points on the scoreboard in the second quarter, with buckets from Josie Patton, Ashlynn Moffat, and Sage Wyland, and triples from Jenna Lake and Ellie Mayes. Delaney McAfee also hit a shot from the charity stripe, and at the half the Outlaws had extended their lead to 21-9.

Sisters shut down the Lady Bulldogs in the final half, outscoring them 25-1. Points were spread out between Moffat, Patton, Lake, Schar, Mayes, and Shae Wyland. With less than two minutes left on the clock, Mayes scored seven straight points to close out Sisters’ scoring spree: a layup, a three-pointer, and then a steal, which resulted in a layup.

Scoring was evenly balanced with nine players contributing in the shooting endeavor. Ellie Mayes led the Outlaws with nine points, followed by Jenna Lake who scored nine. Schar and Shae Wyland scored six points each, Patton and Moffat scored four, McAfee tallied three, and Froehlich and Sage Wyland added two points each.

Froehlich pulled down five boards, as did Shae Wyland, who also had five blocked shots.

Coach Paul Patton told The Nugget that one major factor in their win over Culver was that the Lady Outlaws took better care of the basketball, and cut down their turnovers.

Patton said, “We actually had more steals than turnovers for the first time this season! Our ability to execute was in part due to the fact that Culver was a little shorthanded, with two of their starters out of action and the remaining girls younger and more inexperienced.”

Patton stated that once again McAfee was tenacious on ball defense, and that Shae Wyland did a great job blocking shots and rebounding. He added that Schar had her best all-around game of the season, and Josie Patton was a solid leader and kept the team organized on both ends of the court.

“I was pleased with the balanced scoring and with the positive energy we displayed in celebrating each other’s success,” added Patton.

In Tuesday’s matchup two days earlier, Sisters stayed close to the Lions, with two buckets from Haleigh Froehlich and a rebound and put-back from Ashlynn Moffat early in the first quarter. From there the tide turned, and several turnovers and an inability to hit three-pointers stalled the Outlaws’ offense. The Lions hit their shots and at the close of the period the Outlaws trailed 7-18.

Coach Paul Patton told The Nugget that Delaney McAfee played well, with her determined defense, and all-around hustle. He also said it was nice to have Froehlich back on the court after missing the last game due to illness. Froehlich gave the Outlaws some points inside, and also pulled down a few rebounds.

Patton said, “There were some signs of improvement from our previous games, with better ball movement that resulted in our highest point total in three games. We just have to keep chipping away at small improvements in all aspects of the game and enjoy the process with our teammates.”

Sisters will play at Yamhill-Carlton on Friday.