The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The Lady Outlaws struggled on the hardwood in their first two of three games this past week, a 59-45 loss at La Pine on Monday, January 23, and a 30-20 home loss to Elmira on Wednesday.

Two days later, however, the Outlaws snapped their five-game losing streak with a 34-19 win on the road at Siuslaw.

On Monday against the Hawks, the Outlaws again found themselves short-handed, with Josie Patton and Jenna Lake both out with concussions, and Shae Wyland unable to play due to illness. Patton, Lake, and Wyland are three of the Outlaws’ biggest contributors on the court, and all play a similar role on the team, which was hard to replace with other girls who haven’t practiced at that position.

Sisters struggled to find their rhythm on offense and to work as a cohesive unit on defense.

La Pine boasts two great players, Kaydance Gunther and Bailee Spencer, who each scored 26 points in the game.

Ashlynn Moffat stood out for the Outlaws as their leading scorer with 17 points. Coach Paul Patton noted that Moffat put forth a tireless effort all over the court and was positive and encouraging to her teammates throughout the contest.

Haleigh Froehlich also gave a valiant effort and filled a role on the court she doesn’t normally play, finishing the night with 13 points. Delaney McAfee recorded seven points and Hadley Schar added four.

Patton said, “I look forward to a rematch with La?Pine in our final game of the season with hopefully our full roster. I think it’s a game we can win.”

Two days later the Outlaws fell at home to Elmira. Sisters did have a couple players back, including Lake and Shae Wyland, who’d missed the previous game, but Patton (concussion) and Mayes (sprained ankle), both starters, were still unable to play.

The Outlaws played better defense this time around against the Falcons, but they struggled on offense. Sisters held the Falcons’ leading scorer, Layla Burgess, to just five points, compared to the previous game where she scored 22.

Patton said, “The main reason for our low score was simply a slow shooting percentage, making just 24 percent on two-pointers, and 18 percent from three-point range. We also got to the free-throw line just six times, and made only two. To our credit we did hustle and win most of the 50/50 loose balls and we rebounded the ball well on both ends of the court.”

On Friday the Outlaws took the long bus ride to Florence and took on the Siuslaw Vikings. The Lady Outlaws were still not to full strength, as they were missing Patton, who was still out with a concussion, and Mayes with her sprained ankle.

Lake carried the Outlaws in the first quarter of play with three baskets from behind the arc, and at the end of the first quarter Sisters held a 12-2 lead.

Siuslaw played a zone with their tall player, Gillian Norton, protecting the rim, which made it difficult for the Outlaws to get good looks on their inside shots. Moffat hit a couple of three-pointers in the second quarter that allowed Sisters to build their lead to 20-13 at the half.

The Outlaws got balanced scoring in the third period; four points from Froehlich, and two points each from McAfee and Wyland. In the final quarter, Froehlich got two more buckets and Dax Martinez scored her first varsity basket.

Sisters was able to play some of their reserves for the last four minutes of the contest, including Norah Thorsett, Holly Madron, Savi Davisson, Dax Martinez, and Emma Sahlberg, who closed out the night with the win.

These same five girls also got more playing time, as the Outlaws were able to play two quarters of JV action. With just 14 girls on the roster the Outlaws have not been able to play any JV games this season, so they were very happy to get in some extra competitive minutes.

The Lady Outlaws will host Harrisburg on Thursday, February 2.