Lady Outlaws finish third in league

The Lady Outlaws basketball squad suffered a heart-wrenching 40-42 loss to the visiting Creswell Bulldogs in the final minute of the game on Tuesday, February 6. A win would have given them a second-place tie with Creswell, but with the loss they finished third, regardless of the outcome of their final league game on the road against Harrisburg on Friday.

The Outlaws crushed the Eagles at Harrisburg 58-39 to wrap up league play. They will travel to Creswell on Thursday, February 15, for the third-place vs. second-place league playoff game.

In Tuesday's action against Creswell, the Outlaws had trouble adjusting to the Bulldogs style of play, which was aggressive on defense -a full court press, and tight pressure on the ball handler. Sisters lone bucket in the quarter came from Ila Reid who scored on a driving layup. Audrey Corcoran went four-for-four from the charity stripe for Sisters other points. The Bulldogs moved the ball from side-to-side, cut to the basket, and put up 12 points in the quarter. 

Sisters did a better job in the second period, and held the Bulldogs to eight points. Corcoran drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to bring the score to 13-20 at the half.

Coach Paul Patton said, "At halftime we reminded ourselves of the game plan of attacking their pressure more with dribble drives and off-ball cuts. We also talked about doing a better job of denying the passes to their cutters."

They executed their plan and scored 13 points in the quarter, led by Corcoran who scored seven. Corcoran closed the gap to one at 24-25, when she hit both her shots from the charity stripe, which brought fans to their feet. Unfortunately, Creswell stormed back in the final three minutes of the period, hit a three at the buzzer, and the Outlaws found themselves down by eight, 26-34, at the close of the quarter.

Jenna Lake started the final period with a deep three, followed by another long ball from Maggie Lutz at the top of the key which quickly closed the gap to 32-34. Corcoran picked up her fifth foul with just over five minutes left in the contest and had to head to the bench, but the Outlaws were able to adjust and the game went back-and-forth with several scoreless possessions. With 47 seconds left on the clock, Reid made a layup and was fouled on the shot. She downed the free-throw and the Outlaws went up 40-39, but unfortunately Creswell answered right back with a three and recaptured the lead. Sisters had a couple of looks in the final seconds, but shots didn't fall, and the Outlaws took the tough loss.

Corcoran led the team with 14 points, Reid scored 12, and Lake added seven.

Patton said, "I was really impressed with how well the girls battled back throughout the game, and gave us a chance to win in the closing minutes of the game. I was especially proud of the efforts of our three seniors, Ila Reid, Jenna Lake, and Maggie Lutz, who are the heart of our team."

On Friday, February 9, the Outlaws played with heart and determination in their final league game of the season against the Eagles. They had great ball movement throughout the contest, and made good passes that hit the open player. They walked off the court with the win.

Sisters had their best first quarter of the season with five girls scoring 21 total points, with both Reid and Lake contributing five points each. Sisters' defense was tough and made the Eagles work for every point, and at the close of the period the Outlaws were on top 21-12.

Sisters stayed hot in the second quarter and tallied 19 additional points, while holding the Eagles to 11. Reid put up seven more points in the quarter and Lutz had five. At the half Sisters held a 40-23 advantage.

Patton said, "At halftime we talked about keeping the pace up on offense with good ball movement and more cutting. We also stuck with our plan to change up our defense and throw a 1-3-1 zone at them."

In the third, the Outlaws tallied 14 additional points. Sisters defense totally disrupted the Eagles as they only scored four points in the quarter. Lake and Cotner's long balls highlighted the period and at the end of three the Outlaws had doubled up on the Eagles with a score of 54-27.

The Outlaws let up a bit in the final period, and went back to their man-to-man defense. The Eagles top scorers, Ali Holland and Marcie Dame, hit some good shots that trimmed the score to the final 19 point victory.

Scoring came from seven different players, with Reid leading the team with 17 points.

Reid said, "Tonight our chemistry was just great! We pushed the ball really well and saw the open passes. Everyone worked really hard on both offense and defense and we all put everything out there. We are all excited to play Creswell again. I feel like we're peaking at the right time and we're going to keep working together as a team and play as hard as we can for whatever games we have left."

Sisters will face Creswell again on the road on Thursday, February 15. If they can notch a win they will have a shot at No. 1 Pleasant Hill on Saturday.

If they lose they will play the winner of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 game for the No. 3 seed in league.