The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The girls basketball squad had another rough week on the hardwood, taking two more losses: a 54-29 defeat at Riverdale on Tuesday, December 18, and two days later a 55-27 loss at Culver.

In Tuesday's action, the Lady Outlaws were down 10-7 at the close of the first quarter. In the second period, they were only able to get two points on the scoreboard and at the half Riverdale held a 23-9 advantage. Sisters was outscored 31-20 in the second half.

Isabelle Spitler led the Outlaws with eight points, and Gracen Sundstrom followed with five points. Payden Petterson tallied four points, and Olivia Hougham and Kaylee Huber added three points each.

It was a very similar situation a day later at Culver, with the Outlaws down 29-10 at the half. Sisters only scored five points in the third period and trailed 49-15 to close out the quarter. Culver continued to score and beat the Outlaws by 28.

Huber led the Outlaws with seven points, and RylieReece Morgan tallied six. Alexa Stewart and Hallie Schwartz added four points each.

Coach Brittaney Niebergall said, "As a team, the girls are continuously improving, and we are continuing to promote effort and energy as coaches in practice and games. We are excited to get a chance to play at home in our Sisters Holiday Tournament. We look forward to getting back to work and continuing to progress."

Senior Lexie Stewart, in her fourth year as a varsity player, shared her thoughts on why she feels it's been hard for the Lady Outlaws to put wins in the scorebook:

"I think it's really hard for us to get wins because most of the girls on the team are two- or three-sport athletes, and we don't play year-round," said Stewart. "Many of the teams we play do play year-round, and I think that makes a big difference."

The Outlaws will host their annual Holiday Tournament Thursday through Saturday, December 27-29.