Girls basketball opens league with overtime losses

The Lady Outlaws opened league with a heartbreaking 53-56 loss in overtime at Harrisburg. On Friday they suffered another overtime loss, this time by three at 62-65.

In Tuesday’s action, Audrey Corcoran got the Outlaws on the scoreboard first with a baseline three-pointer off a Shae Wyland assist. Toward the end of the period the Eagles went on an 8-0 run to close out the quarter up by eight at 7-15.

Sisters only put up five points in the second quarter and at the half trailed 12-29. Corcoran had three quick fouls in the first quarter and was forced to sit the entire second period.

Coach Paul Patton said, “We had issues both in getting our own points, mainly due to turnovers, and in stopping them from scoring, especially their best player, Maycie Dame, who had 14 first half points.

“At halftime we talked about how we weren’t executing our offense correctly and we weren’t making the right read versus their defense,” added Patton. “We also talked about making defensive adjustments to try and slow down Dame.”

In the third period the Outlaws scored 17 points equally spread out between Maddie Durham, Corcoran, Verbena Brent, and Wyland. Sisters held the Eagles to 13 points, and cut their deficit down by four.

The big deficit loomed as the Outlaws entered the final quarter. They persevered, and clawed their way back into the game. Corcoran picked up her fifth foul with under two minutes left on the clock and had to take a seat on the bench. The clock ticked down and with the Outlaws down 46-51, Wyland made a layup and was fouled with five seconds left in the game.

Sisters called a timeout to make a plan. Wyland missed the free-throw, but Durham tipped the rebound out to the perimeter to Jorja Christianson, who buried the three-pointer as the buzzer sounded. The long ball evened the score at 51-51 and sent the game into overtime.

Sadly, the Outlaws were only able to muster one bucket, a layup from Wyland, and they took the heartbreaking loss.

Durham led the team with 15 points, Wyland and Corcoran scored 12 each, and Brent added nine.

Patton said, “ I was really impressed with the team’s tenacity in the face of so many challenges. After a disappointing game against Burns we were hoping for a bounce-back performance and we kind of got it in the second half.

“It was a tough way to open league play, but encouraging in the fact that we battled back so hard,” added Patton. “So all we can do now is stay positive and believe that these setbacks are preparing us to prevail in similar situations later in the season.”

The same situation marked Friday’s game against Creswell, and the Outlaws had to record their second loss of league play.

With just under three minutes left in the first period the Outlaws found themselves down 2-8. From there they went on a five-point run, with three made free-throws from Brent, followed by a bucket from Paityn Cotner which closed the gap to 7-8. With 15 seconds left the Bulldogs hit a three, but Durham drained a long ball at the buzzer to even the score at 10-10 to close out the period.

It was a tougher second quarter for the Outlaws, but Brent, Cotner, and Wyland all scored points to keep the game within reach with a 20-28 score at the half. Corcoran, the Lady Outlaws leading scorer was held scoreless the entire first half. Creswell’s top player, Mila Nguyen scored 10 of the Bulldogs’ second quarter points.

Sisters had multiple turnovers in the first half, and at the break talked about taking better care of the ball.

The Outlaws had their best quarter of the game in the third and outscored the Bulldogs 21-13, which tied the game at 41-41 at the close of the period. Cotner started the quarter with a three-pointer, Corcoran hit two free-throws and Cotner followed with a jumper to close the gap to 27-28. The score stayed close, within two or three points, and with five seconds left Brent scored to tie it up at 41-41.

Durham scored the first points of the final period, with back-to-back threes to give the Outlaws a 47-41 advantage. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs went on a six- point run to even the score at 47-47. Wyland, the Outlaws top post player, fouled out with over six minutes left in the quarter.

Midway through the quarter the Bulldogs went on a mini-run and the Outlaws found themselves down 49-51. Brent made a layup and then Corcoran was fouled on a three-point attempt, and made all three shots to tie it back up at 54-54. At that point, Corcoran fouled out of the game. Each team made one free-throw and regulation ended in a 55-55 tie.

Brent and Durham each hit a jump shot to start the overtime period and the Outlaws went up 59-55. Creswell answered with a made free-throw followed by a long ball to tie it back up at 59-59.

Durham gave the Outlaws back the lead with a baseline pull-up jumper to make it 61-59. Soon, the score was even again at 62-62. The Bulldogs capitalized on an Outlaw turnover and took a two-point lead with just under one minute left on the clock.

After a couple of scoreless possessions the Outlaws were forced to foul, and Durham left the game with her fifth foul. The Bulldogs’ Nguyen made one of her free throws and a timeout was called. With 9.7 left on the clock the Outlaws were able to get the ball up the court and got it to Christianson for a three-point shot, that unfortunately missed the mark. Sadly, the Outlaws had to record their second consecutive overtime loss.

Sisters two freshmen led the team in scoring, Brent with 19 and Durham with 15. Corcoran scored 10, Cotner nine, and Wyland added seven.

“With players having to sit out due to foul trouble, and the fact we were able to stay competitive is a testament to our team’s scrappiness,” said Patton. “After our second tough overtime loss of the week, I told the team that we can’t get discouraged. These close games will eventually break our way as we continue to learn from them and improve our play.”

The Outlaws were scheduled to play at home against Elmira on Tuesday, January 21. They will travel to Pleasant Hill, the No. 1 team in the league, on Friday.