Girls basketball team has hard week

The girls basketball team put up a valiant effort but lost 37-25 at home in their battle against No. 3-ranked Stayton on Tuesday, December 2.

Sisters only put two points on the scoreboard in the first quarter and at the end of the first period trailed the Lady Eagles 8-2. Chelsie McConville hit a three pointer in the second quarter for Sisters only bucket in the period and at the half Stayton held a 22-5 lead.

"The first half was a little rocky as we worked the anxiety and emotion out, but we settled in and made a nice push down the stretch," said Coach Kevin Cotner.

Sisters buckled down and did a much better job in the second half. The Outlaws were only outscored by four in the third quarter. In the final period the Outlaws outscored Stayton 13-4 but lost the contest by 12 points in a final score of 27-25.

On defense, the Outlaws managed to keep the ball out of the paint, but Cotner told The Nugget they need to do a better job of preventing second, third and fourth attempts, which was the difference in the game.

Marin Allen was a strong player for the Outlaws all night long and penetrated deep into the defense on several occasions. Allen finished the night with nine points.

Cotner praised both Meadors and McConville for their strong play down the stretch.

Nicole Meadors scored all of her eight points in the second half. McConville contributed four points on the night.

"Our challenge as a team is to be a little more patient and work the ball around and make the defense play sideline to sideline. We also need to battle for boards every time the ball is shot. If we can do that and take care of the ball offensively we will be competitive night in and night out," said Cotner.

"This year we made a number of philosophical changes to both our offense and defense and there is a definite learning curve that will take place. I think that tonight the team took a step forward in understanding what is expected of them but more importantly, what they're capable of," added Cotner.

Three days later the Lady Outlaws lost 45-19 to Burns at the La Pine Tournament. On Saturday the team suffered a 41-33 loss to Lakeview. In Friday's game Bert Meadors and Brittany Birkland each had four points.

In the game against Lakeview Susan Reuttgers led the Outlaws with 13 points. Marin Allen scored six of her seven points in the fourth quarter and Meadors scored all of her six points in the final period.