Girls basketball team earns big win over Elmira

The Lady Outlaws basketball team brought down the Elmira Falcons 49-32 at home on Tuesday, February 3.

Three days later they lost to top-ranked La Pine 61-40.

Marin Allen's three-point shot at the start of the first quarter helped set the tone for the Outlaws enroute to their victory over Elmira on Tuesday. Shots kept falling for Sisters and very quickly the Outlaws pushed to a 14-6 lead.

With 40 seconds left in the quarter Allen stole the ball, drove to the basket and made the lay-in to put Sisters up 18-9. Elmira earned one more point in the quarter at the free throw line and at the close of the first period Sisters held an 18-10 lead.

Both teams only scored four points in the second quarter and at the half Sisters led 22-14.

Jenny Kaiser scored eight of Sisters' 12 third-quarter points. The Outlaws continued their impressive play in the final quarter and maintained their intensity to the end. Toward the end of the final period the bench kept the momentum going. Freshman McKenzie Cooper hit nothing but net for two points and, with 30 seconds left on the clock, Hannah Boles made good on her three-point shot. The Outlaws walked off the court with a big 49-32 win.

"The girls put together a pretty complete game tonight," said Coach Kevin Cotner. "I was pleased with our offensive execution and our defensive intensity. We had some defensive schemes that we were working on, to try and eliminate scoring opportunities for Elmira, and the girls bought it and did a marvelous job."

Jenny Kaiser said, "We knew we couldn't underestimate Elmira. They'd just beat Pleasant Hill, who we'd lost to, so we knew they'd improved. We focused on keeping our intensity up the entire game, especially on defense and we kept our composure on offense, which is something we've been struggling with."

Susan Ruettgers led Sisters' scorers with 12 points and also pulled down five boards on the night. Marin Allen scored 11 points, had four steals, four assists and two rebounds in the game. Kaiser contributed eight points and Kiana Jiminez added six points and three rebounds.

Nicole Meadors had six rebounds and dished out three assists.

"Jenny Kaiser has been a welcomed addition as she returns from her low leg injury. She's been one of our most consistent players and adds tremendous depth to our post position along with Susan Ruettgers and Kiana Jiminez," said Cotner.

Kaiser said, "As long as we keep up with what we've been doing, we'll be able to earn a fourth-place finish in league and then we'll have a playoff with Marist. We're looking forward to that because we know we can beat them."

Three days later the Outlaws lost 61-40 in a brutal match-up against La Pine.

Susan Ruettgers scored a bucket with 1:24 left on the clock in the first quarter of play to tie the game at 6-6. Reuttgers came right back with another shot to give the Outlaws an 8-6 advantage. La Pine scored one of two from the free throw line at the close of the period to regain the lead at 9-8.

The Outlaws lost their composure and completely unraveled in the second quarter. La Pine went on an 11-0 run and pushed to 20-8 advantage. Marin Allen closed out the quarter with back-to-back shots and at the half the Outlaws trailed the Hawks 35-15.

Sisters continued to struggle in the second half and lost the league contest by 19.

Marin Allen led the team with 18 points, with 13 in the fourth quarter. Susan Ruettgers had 10 points for the night.

Cotner said, "We got out-rebounded 42-12 which really was the story of the game. It's hard to beat a good team when you give those four extra shots each possession. We also had 20 turnovers for 30 transition points.

The Lady Outlaws will travel to Pleasant Hill on Tuesday, February 10, and then host Junction City on Friday, February 13.