The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The Lady Outlaws squeaked out a 48-46 win on the road at Elmira on Tuesday, January 30, and at home three days later defeated Siuslaw 53-25. On Saturday the Lady Outlaws fell 35-40 in a hard-fought battle at Creswell, in a game that was rescheduled from earlier in the season due to the stormy weather.

In Tuesday's action at Elmira the Outlaws played one of their best opening quarters of the year. They moved the ball quickly to attack the hoop. Jenna Lake hit a three-pointer and sank two free-throws and Maggie Lutz and Audrey Corcoran each contributed four points. At the end of the first quarter the Outlaws held an eight-point advantage at 15-7.

Elmira came out hot in the second quarter, held the Outlaws scoreless for four-and-a-half minutes, and in the meantime went on a 0-10 run, and went up by two. Maggie Lutz followed with back-to-back layups that put the Outlaws back on top 19-17. From there the Outlaws outscored the Falcons, with their last three points coming from Lake, who hit a deep long ball from six feet behind the top of the arc at the buzzer. At the half Sisters held a 28-21 lead.

Sisters continued to extend their lead in the third quarter, with points from Corcoran, Ila Reid, Lake, and Shae Wyland. At the end of three the Outlaws were up by nine at 42-33.

In the final period Lake connected on another deep long ball to push the Outlaws lead back to 10. Sadly, Lutz collided with an Elmira player head-to-head in a scrum for a loose ball, went down hard, and had to be removed from the game and sat out for the remainder of the contest.

Patton said, "We were already without Maggie's backup, Paityn Cotner, who wasn't feeling well, so Norah Thorsett was forced into more action and tasked with guarding their best player."

Elmira took advantage of the situation and went on a 10 point run and went up by one, 45-46, with just under three minutes left in the game. Reid was fouled and hit both her shots from the charity stripe to give the Outlaws a one-point edge, but then was called for her fifth foul and had to head to the bench. At that point Sisters was down three of their main players.

In a frenetic last couple of minutes the Outlaws held the Falcons scoreless and Corcoran hit a free throw to put Sisters up 48-46. Elmira's last second driving shot rolled out and Lake grabbed the rebound to secure the Outlaws victory.

Lake led the Outlaws with 16 points, and Corcoran followed with 11. Lutz put up eight, Reid scored seven, and Wyland pitched in with six. Wyland led in the rebound effort with 10, and Reid added six.

Patton said, "I was really pleased with how well we played for the first three quarters when we were close to full strength. We faced multiple challenges in the fourth quarter and did just enough to hang on for the win."

Three days later the Outlaws crushed the visiting Vikings. Sisters was focused on defense from the start, and at the close of the first period held a 10-2 lead. Sisters continued to extend their lead and in the final quarter stretched their lead to 30. Bench players got time on the court and played well.

Reid had her best offensive game of the season with 19 points, followed by Lake who continued her steady three-point shooting with a long ball in each quarter for 12 points.

Corcoran added nine points, and Wyland contributed seven. Wyland and Reid both had 11 rebounds in the contest.

Patton said, "Siuslaw is the last place team in our league, and the last time we played them we came out flat and let them keep the game closer than it should have been. So, I was glad to see us start strong and stay focused for the whole game. The win pretty much locked up third place in league for us."

Saturday's road game against Creswell was a battle from start to finish. The Outlaws were still without Lutz, and Lake got in foul trouble early and spent a lot of time on the bench.

The game started with both teams playing tough man-to-man defense, and Sisters did a fairly good job of handling the Bulldogs full court press. Reid scored five of the Outlaws seven first quarter points, and the team held Creswell to six.

Sisters committed a few errant passes in the second quarter, which allowed the Bulldogs more scoring opportunities, which they took advantage of. Creswell extended their half-court defense out, pressured the ball, and denied passes. The Outlaws had a hard time finding their shots and were outscored 8-12 in the period. At the half Sisters trailed 15-20.

The Outlaws had a hard time finding their offensive rhythm in the third, and at the close of the period were down by eight. In the final quarter, Corcoran scored six points, four from the charity stripe after drawing fouls. Wyland also had a strong final quarter and tallied six of her team high 12 points. Creswell was able to keep pace on their end with 11 points of their own and held on for the five-point win.

Photo by Olivia Kennedy

Jenna Lake goes for three.

Wyland had her best game of the season, finishing with a double-double, 12 points and 14 rebounds, and in addition tallied six blocked shots and three steals. Corcoran scored 10 points, and also had three steals in the contest. Reid contributed eight points and grabbed eight rebounds, Cotner added three points, and Lake pitched in with two.

Patton said, "We competed well against a good Creswell team that currently sits in second place in our league and is ranked No. 10 in the state. Our top six players played almost the entire game with just a couple minutes of rest due to missing or injured teammates. If we can get our roster back up to full strength and make some adjustments to attack their pressure defense a little bit better, I like our chances on Tuesday."

The Outlaws were to play at home against Creswell on Tuesday, February 6. They will wrap up league play on the road at Harrisburg on Friday.