Basketball athletes make all-league

The Outlaws had four players named to all-league teams this year; senior Ty Horner, and juniors Jack Berg, Noah Richards, and Zach Anderson.

Horner was the lone Outlaw to earn first-team all-league honors. Ty was one of the squad's captains, and worked hard to fill a leadership role on the team. Horner got top recognition despite the fact he only played in five league games due to his injured hand. Ty averaged 12 points per game, shot 46 percent from the field, and 74 percent from the free-throw line. He also averaged six rebounds, 1.5 assists, and one blocked shot per game.

Coach David Godfrey said, "Earning first-team is quite a testament to his skills and physical presence. He impacted games with his scoring and rebounding. Also, the other teams had to pay extra attention defending him, so that helped open up our other players for shots and rebounds. He was important to our team's offense with not only his scoring, but his passing and rebounding."

Juniors Berg and Richards were second-team selections.

Jack averaged 9.3 points per game and shot 45 percent from the field and 76 percent from the line. He also averaged 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. Berg played solid for the Outlaws throughout league, and contributed in all areas of the game. Jack was the Outlaws' best three-point shooter, shooting 30 percent from behind the arc.

"The league coaches knew that they had to guard Jack tough, because he can score," said Godfrey. "He is an unselfish player who makes the extra pass to his teammates. Along with being one of our team captains, he was consistently a good defender, and a consistent performer all year long. He hit big shots and got big rebounds time and again."

Richards averaged 11.3 points per game and shot 48 percent from the field and 66 percent from the stripe. He also averaged 2.9 rebounds and three assists per game.

"Noah is a key player for us," said Godfrey. "He had some big scoring games, like getting 31 against Elmira in the second round. He also made key plays for us, like scoring the winning basket in our first game of league at Cottage Grove. Offensively, he attacked the basket well, and improved his outside shooting as well. In addition, he was one of our assist leaders. He sees the floor well, and tries to get an open teammate the ball. He developed into one of our better defenders as the year went on."

Anderson rounded out the all-league selections as honorable mention. Zach averaged 9.3 points per game, shot 61 percent from the field, and 75 percent from the line. He averaged 6.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.3 blocked shots per game.

Godfrey said, "Zach plays with a big engine.

He plays hard, makes a lot of hustle plays, like blocking shots, diving on the floor for loose balls, and getting tough rebounds.

He uses his quickness to get to the basket, where he usually finishes well.

He was a factor inside and on the boards.

He was a consistent player, and scored in double figures in seven of our 10 league games.

He took on the role of being our defensive stopper.

Whether it was a forward or a guard, Zach used his length and quickness to often shut down the other team's scorer.

This was true in our last game against Sutherlin for the league title.

In the second half, he guarded their quick point guard and held him to two points in the half.

He was a big contributor to our team's success this year."

Senoir Rylee Weber was the lone Lady Outlaw who earned all-league recognition (honorable mention). Rylee averaged 5.3 points, and 6.6 rebounds per game. She was also the leading rebounder on the team on a per-game basis.

Coach Alan Von Stein said, "It's been a challenge for Rylee over the last four years. She has stuck with basketball as the lone person in her class the last three years. There have been three different coaches during her four-year stay. Despite these adversities, Rylee stuck with basketball and functioned as an excellent team member."