Lady Outlaws struggle against top-ranked teams

The Lady Outlaws had a hard time on the hardwood last week, playing both their games against top-ranked teams in the state. They were beaten 52-25 at Philomath on Tuesday, February 15, and at home three days later they lost 43-27 to Cascade.

Tuesday’s contest against Philomath proved to be just as hard as when the Outlaws faced them in the first round of league play. The Lady Warriors are still ranked No.1 and they boast last year’s player of the year, Sage Kramer, who is a force to be reckoned with. Kramer finished with 28 points — half of the Warriors’ total points.

Sisters had a rough first half and was only able to put five points on the scoreboard, while Philomath racked up the points and went up by 26 at the half, 5-31.

The Outlaws rallied to play better in the second half. Sisters scored 11 points in the third period, all from Haleigh Froehlich. The Warriors were just more than the Outlaws could handle and they went on to easily record the win.

Froehlich finished the night with a double-double; 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Outlaws.

Coach Paul Patton said, “The girls played hard and did settle down and play better after the nervousness over playing the number-one team subsided.

“For this game and games we’ve played before this, I really want to heap some praise on a group of players on our team who are primarily JV players, but swing up to the varsity games and provide valuable minutes as subs. Sage Wyland, Shae Wyland, Hadley Schar, Tatum Cramer, Juhree Kizziar, and Delaney McAfee all have such great attitudes and a willingness to selflessly do whatever the team needs. These girls have a bright future ahead as full time varsity players in seasons to come.”

On Friday, it didn’t get any easier as the Outlaws took on No. 2-ranked Cascade, who entered the game with a 17-3 record.

After six consecutive games on the road it was nice for the Lady Outlaws to play on their own court in front of a home crowd.

In the first round of league play against Cascade, the Outlaws were beaten 55-34, and at one point in the game the Cougars led by 30 and played their subs for most of the fourth quarter. This time around, the Outlaws were able to keep the game a lot closer, and forced them to play their starters to the final buzzer.

It was a low-scoring first quarter for both teams, and at the end of the period Cascade edged out the Outlaws by two, 7-5. The Cougars slowly increased their lead quarter-by-quarter and recorded the win.

Sisters played a good defensive game, and made the Cougars work for every point. The Outlaws also did a good job on the boards. Haleigh Froehlich and Ila Reid led that effort with 10 rebounds each, and the duo were also the Outlaws’ leading scorers. Froehlich finished the night with 11 points, and Reid scored nine.

The Cougars play an aggressive pressure-style defense which forced a lot of turnovers and made it difficult for the Outlaws to score. Sisters usually gets approximately 20 shot attempts from behind the three-point arc, but in this contest they only took six, and didn’t drop a single one.

Emma Lutz played a solid game at point guard for the Outlaws. Lutz led the team and helped them keep their composure under pressure.

The Outlaws played without several players, including Ellie Mayes, who was out due to a bad back. Nevaeh McAfee and Maggie Lutz also didn’t play, as they were both recovering from concussions.

Other players stepped up and filled those roles. Juhree Kizziar played as backup point guard, and Hadley Schar stepped into a starting spot at the wing position. Reese Harwell also played significant minutes as a post player and was a big help with her strong defensive play and hustle.

The Lady Outlaws were to wrap up league with a home game against Woodburn on Tuesday, February 22.