Lady Outlaws win two on home court

The Outlaws narrowly edged out the Culver Bulldogs 41-39 at home on Tuesday, December 17, and two days later destroyed the visiting South Umpqua Lancers in a final score of 69-20.

On Tuesday against the Bulldogs, the Lady Outlaws were down 15 points at the half. They rallied and came from behind to notch the victory in the final minutes of play.

Coach Paul Patton said, “We started the game with our second-string line up. Culver is a 2A school that’s been struggling to get wins and I thought it’d be a good chance for our backups to test themselves early in the game, rather than later when the outcome had already been determined.”

Players did a fairly good job defensively, holding Culver to seven points in the first quarter, but struggled to score against the Bulldogs’ zone defense. Maddie Durham scored Sisters lone bucket in the quarter.

It was much of the same in the second period and the Outlaws were down 5-20 at the half.

Patton said, “Before the game we talked about turning the ball over to our starters in the second half it we needed to, and we did.”

The Lady Outlaws came out determined to dig out of the hole and cut the lead to three to close out the third quarter. Audrey Corcoran scored seven, Shae Wyland six, and Durham hit two long balls. Culver managed to hold onto a slim 27-30 lead as their best player, Dania Correa, hit five of her eight attempts at the foul line, a field goal, and a three-pointer.

Both Corcoran and Durham got into foul trouble in the second half, which stalled the Outlaws’ momentum a bit. The game stayed tight through the final period. With two minutes left on the clock the Outlaws were down by three. The clock clicked down to just over a minute and Corcoran tipped away a steal and threw the ball ahead to Paityn Cotner, who converted a lay-in and got fouled. Cotner stepped to the foul line and sank the free-throw to tie the game 39-39.

On the next possession, Verbena Brent jumped into the passing lane, stole the ball at mid-court, and broke away for a lay-in to give the Outlaws the two-point lead. Neither team scored again and the Outlaws recorded a hard fought come-from-behind victory.

Corcoran scored nine, Wyland and Durham eight each, Brent six, Jorja Christianson four, and Cotner three.

Two days later the Outlaws jumped out to an 8-0 lead against the Lancers and closed out the quarter on top 17-2. Corcoran scored nine, and Christianson hit a nice long ball to help boost the Outlaws to the big advantage.

The Outlaws started the second period with six straight points; Cotner on a lay-up, Durham with a long jumper, and Cotner with a “euro-step” direction change to give the Outlaws a 23-2 lead. The scoring spree continued, highlighted by two threes from Durham, who had 10 in the quarter, eight points from Brent, and a long ball from Christianson. Sisters stymied the Lancers offense, and at the half held a commanding 45-8 lead.

Sisters continued to increase their lead, went ahead by 30 in the fourth, and the running clock started. The second string and some of the JV finished out the remainder of the game, and the Outlaws recorded the 49-point win.

The Outlaws scored at will throughout the contest. They made good passes inside for easy buckets, scored numerous points off steals and transition plays, and also scored numerous times on the give-and-go.

Corcoran finished with 24 points, Durham scored 15, Brent 10, and Cotner, Christianson, and Wyland tallied six each.

The Outlaws host their annual tournament January 2-4.