Girls basketball off to a rough start

The Lady Outlaws basketball team suffered losses on the road in their first two pre-season games of the year. Sisters lost 74-61 to Summit on Tuesday, December 6, and two days later fell 82-41 to Cascade.

The girls put forth a tremendous defensive effort in the first quarter of Tuesday's game against Summit and trailed by only three points, 20-17, at the close of the period.

Early in the second quarter Sisters had only three fouls and Summit was already in double bonus.

The Outlaws made a few errors at the end of the half and allowed two uncontested shots that put Summit up by six with a score of 36-30.

Sisters came out a bit slow in the third quarter while Summit came out strong and hit their shots. The Storm jumped out and took a large lead to close out the third quarter at 54-36.

The Outlaws regained momentum and fought back to cut the Storm lead to eight. Sisters scored 26 points in the final period, but just ran out of time. The game ended and Summit won the contest by 13.

Taylor Nieri led the Outlaws with 16 points, followed by Elise Herron, who scored 12 points. Carissa Kernutt had 10 points, Claire Hensen scored eight and Samantha Kaiser and Savannah Spear each contributed five.

Coach Julianne Horner said, "Taylor (Nieri) did a good job getting to the line, and Claire (Hensen) made a huge impact in the fourth quarter with two consecutive baskets and great defense."

Horner added, "I am very happy with many aspects of this game and believe we made great adjustments following the Crook County game. As a team, I believe when these girls play together they will be able to compete with anyone on our schedule."

Two days later the Outlaws were crushed 82-41 by Cascade, the defending state champions.

The Cougars held the Outlaws to just five points in the first quarter. Sisters started the second period with three quick baskets, but the Cougars answered with three fast transition buckets of their own, which set Sisters back on their heels. Cascade held a 46-16 advantage at the half.

Senior Elise Herron stepped it up in the fourth quarter and scored 10 points, but it just wasn't enough to get back in the game.

Herron led the team with 14 points on the night, followed by Savannah Spear with 10 points. Lauryn Chauncey contributed five points and Carissa Kernutt and Samantha Kaiser each pitched in for four.

Horner said, "The girls could not get settled in to the pressure that Cascade applied. It was a very difficult game and the most pressure Sisters has experienced. I believe we will use this game as a learning tool and be a better team moving forward. This is a type of game that produces character and learning, and I believe will ultimately benefit this team later in the season. It showed us that we will need to up our game to compete with the top teams."

The Lady Outlaws will travel to the Phoenix Tournament Thursday through Saturday, December 15-17. Sisters will host their annual Holiday Tournament Tuesday through Thursday, December 27-29.