Girls basketball beats Phoenix, loses to Burns

The Lady Outlaws defeated Phoenix 44-34 at home in a non-league game on Monday, December 21. A day later, they lost 43-34 to the Burns Highlanders, the reigning 3A state champions.

Sisters played a great game against Phoenix on Monday, jumping out to a quick 5-1 lead at the start of the first quarter. At the close of the quarter the Lady Pirates had cut Sisters' lead down to one at 6-5.

The Outlaws scored nine consecutive points in the second quarter to push to a 15-5 lead and at the half led by eight, with a score of 23-15.

Sisters got handled by Phoenix in the third quarter and were outscored 14-3. At the close of the third period Phoenix had closed the gap, and Sisters led by only three points, 29-26.

The Outlaws responded in the final period, outscored the Pirates 15-8 and put the game away. Susan Ruettgers had two huge offensive rebounds for put backs, both at crucial times in the quarter.

Coach Kevin Cotner said, "We have got to find a way to eliminate the lapses that we go through. Basketball is a momentum game, and we have to limit the amount of time/possessions when momentum is not on our side. I was proud of the way the girls fought through tonight. These are the games that we need to win."

Marin Allen led the Outlaws with 13 points, including three threes. Susan Ruettgers scored 10, and Chelsie McConville and Taylor Nieri each scored seven. Nicole Meadors chipped in for five points.

A day later the Outlaws put up a fight in their battle against Burns, but lost 43-34. Burns is the top-ranked 3A team in the state and one of the powerhouse teams under the 4A level. The Highlanders recently beat second-ranked La Pine by 16 points.

Burns forces a lot of turnovers for transition buckets, and they have the fundamentals to execute offensively. Cotner told The Nugget that he knew the Outlaws would have to play a solid game to stay with them.

Sisters did stay with them and even had opportunities to win the contest. With 1:29 left to play the Outlaws had cut the Hilanders' lead to three and were on the line. The free throws didn't fall, and Burns hit some key shots down the stretch to win by nine.

"We did a great job handling their press, and I thought we did a great job executing on the offensive end and limiting turnovers," said Cotner. "We just need to be more consistent to win these big games. We lost the second quarter 13-2 and then won the other three quarters. I am proud of the progress that I am seeing with this team on the court and during our practices. These girls understand that we are slowly getting better. We are right where we need to be. We have three more pre-season games to work on some things, and then we need to be ready to play third-ranked Marist in the season opener."

Susan Ruettgers came up big for the Outlaws and led the team with 16 points. Taylor Nieri scored five, and Danelle Allen and Nicole Meadors each contributed four.