Lady Outlaws come from behind to win

The Outlaws entertained Cottage Grove (CG) at home on Friday, February 6, in their second head-to-head match-up in league play. Sisters came from behind and recorded a 44-43 win over the Lions in an exciting last-minute finish.

Sisters started out slow, and the Outlaws were only able to put up five points in the first period. Cottage Grove's all-state post Connor Borigo scored four of the Lions' 11 first-quarter points.

Although down by several points, the Lady Outlaws were confident.

"The tempo of the game was where we wanted it, and the score really only showed some nerves," said Coach Julianne Horner. "We had a couple of unnecessary turnovers in the first period, but we knew we could clean those up and stay close."

In the second, Borigo was a big challenge in the post. Hailey Hudson and Cierra Mann made her work for all seven of her second-quarter points. Hudson scored two timely buckets and added two more from the free-throw line to keep the game within reach at the half. The Outlaws went to the locker down 24-15.

Horner told The Nugget that it was critical the team regroup at halftime.

"We knew we played well in the first half, and the score only reflected a few of our mistakes and turnovers - things we knew if we cleaned up in the second half would put us right back in the game. We set goals of turning up the defensive pressure, because we knew Borigo would get tired, and opportunities for us would open up. We also knew we needed to take the game back a little bit at a time."

The Outlaws post players did exactly what they'd hoped to do in the third quarter, and attacked the Lions in the paint. Mann continued her strong play, and Olivia Stewart showed her grit. Stewart scored eight of her 10 points in the period.

"Olivia's tenacity in driving to the hoop and rebounding every ball that came near her gave us the spark we were looking for," said Horner. "The whole team stepped it up when they saw that effort. Gwen Knoop turned up the pressure on their guards at both ends of the court, and really helped us toward our goal of taking CG out of their game-plan."

The Outlaws outscored the Lions 13-8 in the third, which pulled the game close with a score of 32-28.

Sisters held onto the momentum in the fourth. Boston Moore and Nina Horner harassed the Lions' guards into several turnovers, and set the stage for an incredible finish. Fifteen of the Outlaws' 16 points in the quarter came from their post players.

Borigo fouled out of the game in the final minute of play.

"She's (Borigo) such a strong player, and we knew our chances would be better with her off the floor," said Horner.

The Outlaws continued to chip away at the Lions' lead, and with one minute left in the game, Stewart hit both of her free-throws to tie the game. With 22 seconds left on the clock, Mann hit one of two from the stripe to give the Lady Outlaws their first lead of the night. CG responded with a basket and regained the lead with 11 seconds remaining.

Horner called her final time-out of the night and told her girls they needed to get the ball inside to give them their best chance to win. She added they needed to stay composed when they took the ball down the floor to set up the play.

Knoop brought the ball down, kicked it out to Moore on the wing, and Mann got perfect position on the low-block to receive the pass from Moore. Mann pivoted to the baseline and put in a lay-up with 1.8 seconds left. The game was over.

"That was a play that required the whole team to play their role perfectly, and they did exactly that," said Horner. "Nina (Horner) was able to break down their defense in the second-half with strong ball-handling, Dallas (Knoop) played through a very painful injury in the first half to give us a solid defensive presence in the post, and Haylie (Hudson) had her best all-around game of the season. It really came together for us tonight, and I'm so proud of these girls for the teamwork and fight they showed out there on the floor."

Three players finished the night with double-doubles. Hudson scored 14 points and pulled down 16 boards, Mann scored 11 and recorded 12 rebounds, and Stewart finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Dallas Knoop added seven rebounds.

Moore recorded six steals on the night, Horner tallied five, and Gwen Knoop grabbed three.

Sisters was to play at Sweet Home on Tuesday, February 10. The Outlaws will be on the road at Junction City on Friday, February 13.