Girls team hosts Holiday Tournament

The girls basketball team hosted their annual Holiday Tournament on Monday and Tuesday, December 29 and 30. Gladstone took top honors and finished first. Madras was runner-up, Burns took third and Sisters finished in fourth place.

The Lady Outlaws put up a great fight against 5A Madras in Monday's matchup. Sisters jumped out to an early 8-0 lead but the White Buffaloes battled back, took the lead and held an 18-10 point advantage over the Outlaws at the end of the first quarter. Sisters put up 18 points in the second period, compared to Madras' four, and regained the lead. The Outlaws entered the half with a 28-24 advantage.

Both teams only put up three points in the third quarter. In the final period Madras tied it up 35-35 at the end of regulation play and the game went into overtime. The White Buffs put up five more points on the scoreboard in overtime and Sisters only managed to score two, which unfortunately resulted in a tough loss for the Outlaws.

The loss was largely due to Sisters performance at the free throw line.

"We were only 30 percent from the line (8/24)" said Coach Kevin Cotner. "That really killed us. We were very poor from the line."

Cotner told The Nugget that the Outlaws did not execute offensively in the second half and were not able to get into even one of their set plays.

Susan Ruettgers scored 10 points for the Outlaws and Danelle Allen scored eight. Marin Allen contributed seven points and had five steals in the game. Chelsie McConville chipped in six points and had seven rebounds on the night. Nicole Meadors led the team with eight rebounds.

On Tuesday, the Outlaws matched up against Burns and lost the contest 45-38.

Sisters was even with Burns at the close of the first quarter at 7-7. At the half, Burns held a four-point lead at 18-14. Sisters was outscored by three in the third and in the fourth played even with Burns, with both teams scoring 15 points. Sisters lost the contest by seven.

Marin Allen led the Outlaws with 11 points. Kiana Jiminez had eight points, Susan Ruettgers contributed five and Chelsie McConville and Danelle Allen each pitched in for four.

Cotner told The Nugget that three weeks ago his team lost to Burns by 40 points, but tonight played right with them.

"The girls played hard and did a great job taking care of the ball tonight," said Cotner. "But we need to do a better job offensively. We are getting better every game, but sometimes it is hard for people to see successes when the 'W' is not attached. We will continue to work. I believe in these girls and our goals will stay the same."

The Outlaws were to host Marist on Tuesday, January 6.