Girls basketball team splits games against tough opponents

In hoops, the Lady Outlaws kicked off their week with a 40-32 win at home over Newport on Tuesday, January 18, and three days later lost 50-25 at home to top-ranked Philomath.

Sisters got off to a good start in Tuesday’s action and outscored the Cubs 12-5 in the first quarter. Ashlynn Moffat and Nevaeh McAfee each hit a long ball to highlight the period. The Outlaws offense cooled in the second quarter, but their defense stayed strong. Reese Harwell was especially tough. Sisters was able to win the quarter 6-4 and go up 18-9 as teams entered the half.

The Outlaws kept at it in the third period, and five different players scored points to stretch the lead to 29-18 at the close of the quarter. The final period was a good test for the Outlaws, as they’d let leads slip away a couple times this season. This night, they played hard and held on to the end.

The Cubs did rally and score 14 points in the period, six of them from the charity stripe, but the Outlaws were able to put up 11 points of their own. Payden Petterson hit two huge three-point shots and finished with seven points in the quarter to help secure the eight-point victory.

Scoring and stats were spread out between several players.

Petterson led the team in scoring with 11 points. She also tallied five rebounds and three steals. Ila Reid scored seven points and had seven rebounds in the contest. Both Emma Lutz and Ellie Mayes scored six points, and Lutz also had three assists and three steals. Moffat added five points in the scoring effort.

Friday’s match-up was tough for the Lady Outlaws as they faced Philomath, ranked No. 1 in the state for 4A girls basketball. The Warriors boast last year’s Player of the Year, Sage Kramer, who put up 32 points in the contest.

Sisters played without Emma Lutz, their starting point guard, and her younger sister, Maggie, had to step into that role. Junior varsity point guard Juhree Kizziar also had to step up and play more minutes in the varsity contest.

Coach Paul Patton said, “Both Maggie and Juhree performed admirably against a very good opponent.”

The Outlaws finished strong and actually outscored Philomath (11-8) in the final quarter.

Haleigh Froehlich had a strong all-around game with nine points and five boards. Reid scored six points and had five rebounds, and Petterson led the team with seven rebounds. Mayes added four points, and Josie Patton brought energy to the defensive end of the court.

Coach Patton said, “We stuck to our tactics of playing as many girls as we could, with 15 girls seeing action in the game. It doesn’t get much easier for us in our next game as we travel to Turner to take on No. 2 ranked Cascade on Tuesday.”

Following Tuesday’s contest at Cascade the Outlaws will play on the road at Woodburn on Friday, January 28. Like the boys, they will be on the road for three weeks, and six consecutive road games.