Lady Outlaws win in nail-biter

Sisters girls basketball team squeaked past Elirma on Monday, January 8, in an exciting match-up that ended in a dramatic 43-40 finish.

The Outlaws got off to a slow start, but midway through the first quarter Jenna Lake banked in a three-pointer that gave the Outlaws a 8-6 lead. That ended Sisters scoring for the quarter. Elmira scored nine straight points and at the end of the first period the Outlaws trailed 8-15.

Sisters was held to just five points in the second period, and were outscored 5-12. The Falcons racked up their points off of well executed pick-and-rolls and fast transitions on turnovers. At the half the Outlaws found themselves down 13-27.

Coach Paul Patton said, “At halftime we talked about simply playing our game a little bit better, taking care of the basketball and turning up the defensive intensity.”

The Outlaws executed their plan, powered back in the third, and held the Falcons scoreless for the first six minutes of the quarter, and limited them to three points in the period. Ila Reid went five-for-six from the charity stripe, and Jenna Lake hit two long three-pointers in the final two minutes. At the end of the third the Outlaws had trimmed their 14 point deficit to three, 27-30.

Sisters kept the momentum and the fourth quarter started with a steal from Maggie Lutz, who went almost the full length of the court and scored to make it 29-30. Midway through the period Audrey Corcoran hit a long ball from the corner to tie it up 35-35. Reid was fouled and went two-for-two from the line, and then followed with a driving right-handed layup to put the Outlaws on top 39-35 with just under three minutes left in the contest.

Elmira came back and tied it up 40-40 with 45 seconds left on the clock. The Outlaws took possession but a turnover resulted in the Falcons getting the ball out of bounds under their own basket. Their best player, Layla Burgess, missed the three-point attempt that bounced over the backboard, and the Outlaws got the ball back with 15 seconds left in the game.

Patton called a timeout, and assistant coach Ashley Reimer drew up a play. The girls executed perfectly, and got the ball to freshman Corcoran who, with poise and confidence, drained the three-pointer, and gave the Outlaws a 43-40 lead with 10 seconds left.

Elmira called a timeout, and then ran a play to Burgess, but her three-point attempt bounced off the front of the iron and the Outlaws celebrated a huge come-from- behind victory.

Corcoran led the Outlaws with 18 points, Reid scored 11, and Lake added nine.

Patton said, “I’m obviously thrilled for the girls to get the hard-fought win and I’m so proud of them for not giving up when things weren’t going our way early on. We shortened up our rotations off the bench a little bit with this being a league game against what we saw as an equal adversary and the eight girls who played all helped in the win one way or another. I’m also encouraged by the fact that we won when not playing as well as I think we can, so if we can clean things up a little bit maybe the next win will be a little less dramatic.”

Reid said, “I’m really proud of how we came back. It will help us in the future, and we can have confidence knowing that we can come back from behind. Everyone bought into their role and we played as a team. This win will fuel us as we continue league play.”

Corcoran added, “Even though we were down, we rose to the challenge, and worked really hard together.”

The Outlaws game against Siuslaw on Friday was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Sisters will play on the road at Creswell on Wednesday, January 17, and then at home on Friday against Harrisburg.