10
Wednesday, February 4, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Lady Outlaws clip the Falcons’ wings
By Rongi yost
Correspondent
The girls basketball team
notched a 52-47 road win at
Elmira on Tuesday, January
27, and three days later fell
57-30 at home to the No.
1-ranked Sutherlin Bulldogs.
In Tuesday’s action, the
Outlaws played excellent
defense in the first quar-
ter, but had trouble keeping
Elmira off the free-throw line.
The Falcons made 11 of their
13 attempts at the line, and
added a bucket to take a 13-9
lead to close out the quarter.
The Falcons didn’t make
a single bucket in the second
quarter, but went 12-for-15
from the line. Sisters scored
14 points, including a three-
pointer from Nina Horner,
and at the half the Falcons
still held the lead with a score
of 25-23.
“We were playing strong,
even when we could not find
a rhythm to our game, as so
many foul shots were being
taken from the line,” said
Coach Julianne Horner. “We
talked about how to adjust
our play at the half, and the
girls were able to make a few
adjustments that allowed us
to not get the fouls called and
keep the pace our style.”
Gwen Knoop energized
the team in the third with
six points and five rebounds,
which helped the Outlaws
take a 34-33 lead at the end of
the third.
“Gwen came in and made
the change for us,” said
Horner. “She ran the floor,
played good defense, and
made good shots. She showed
great leadership and poise in a
close game.”
Haylie Hudson did a
solid job in the fourth. She
tacked on eight points for the
Outlaws, rebounded and did a
good job on the Falcons’ big
players underneath. Hudson,
along with Cierra Mann,
made Elmira’s big player
work for every shot, and com-
pletely shut her down in the
final quarter, which allowed
the Outlaws to take a solid
lead.
Two big threes kept the
Falcons within striking dis-
tance, but the Outlaws never
gave up the lead and finished
strong.
“I was very proud of
the full team’s effort,” said
Horner. “We had three players
score double digits, as well as
have seven of our 10 players
score. That is how we will
continue to win games; with
everyone playing and every-
one able to score.”
Boston Moore, Hudson,
and Mann all scored 11 points
in the game. Hudson also
pulled down 11 rebounds
and Mann tallied 10. Gwen
Knoop scored eight points in
the contest and Horner added
six.
Three days later, the
Outlaws welcomed Sutherlin,
the newest member of the
Sky-Em League, to Sisters
High School.
“We knew this was a great
team and probably the best in
the state in 4A,” said Horner.
“We were looking forward
to this match-up as a gauge
of where we want to go as a
program.”
At 18-0 this season, and
looking forward to their
46th consecutive win in a
row, Sutherlin came out of
the gates fast. The Bulldogs
started the game with a hard-
nosed defense, and crisp,
fast-moving passes to the
open player. They quickly
went on an 11-0 run, and at
the close of the period the
Bulldogs held a 17-4 advan-
tage. Twelve of Sutherlin’s 17
points came from senior-wing
Olivia Gulliford. The Outlaws
had a hard time trying to find
their footing in their first
encounter with the Bulldogs.
“Their full-court press is
extremely good, and even
having watched their game
tape to prepare, I think their
speed and aggressiveness
caught us by surprise a little,”
said Horner.
The Outlaws had a much
better performance in the last
four minutes of the second
quarter. Mann and Horner
battled against the Bulldogs’
physical play and the Outlaws
put 11 points up on the
scoreboard before the teams
headed into the half.
“Cierra took advantage of
her size and strength in the
low block, got a lot of solid
rebounds and put them back
in the bucket for us,” said
Horner. “Nina got into the
rebounding battles too, and
her free-throw shooting was
an important part of the rally
we had.”
The Outlaws felt good
about their second-quarter
effort.
Nina Horner stated, “We
just felt like we needed to go
out and match them physi-
cally in the second quarter
and show them we weren’t
going to back down easily.”
In the third, Sutherlin
began to show why they
are No. 1 in the state. The
Bulldogs’ senior point guard
Miranda Mendenhall, who
was limited by foul trouble
in the first half, scored all 11
of her points including three
three-point buckets, in the
second frame. Gulliford con-
tinued her strong play as well,
and added 10 more points
to give her a game-high 28
points after three quarters.
“Senior leadership is so
important to a team, and those
photo by Jerry baldoCk
dallas Knoop sets to shoot under pressure vs. Sutherland.
two seniors really showed
their skills against us in the
third,” said Horner. “That
kind of strength and ability to
put a team on your back really
shows why they deserve their
ranking.”
The Outlaws struggled
with their ball-handling and
had a hard time getting the
ball in the basket. A timely
three-pointer from Cassandra
Arruda and inspired play by
junior Olivia Stewart showed
the Outlaws weren’t going to
give up, despite the fact they
were outscored 21-6 in the
period.
“Liv (Stewart) really
showed up in the third and
fourth quarters, and epito-
mized our ‘don’t-quit’ spirit
we teach every day in prac-
tice,” noted Horner.
That willingness to fight
until the last second showed
up in the fourth quarter.
Stewart and Mann continued
to battle down low, along with
Dallas Knoop, where a strong
rebounding and defensive
effort led to multiple put-back
baskets and opportunity at the
free-throw line. The result
was a 9-6 advantage for the
Outlaws, which led to a final
score of 57-30.
“One of our goals for
this game was pressure
defense, and when Bethany
(Bachmeier), Boston (Moore),
Olivia (Stewart), Gwen
(Knoop) and Cierra (Mann)
got a 10-second backcourt
violation against Sutherlin in
the fourth, it showed us that
this team had no quit in it.
Even against the No. 1 team
in 4A in the state, that kind of
effort and grit is what gives
me confidence in this team,”
Horner emphasized.
The Lady Outlaws will
head into the second half of
the season at No. 4, with a
bye on Tuesday, February
3. Sisters will host Cottage
Grove at home on Friday,
February 6, with a game time
of 5:45 p.m.