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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 2019)
SPORTS MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2019 THE OBSERVER — 7A Joseph takes two more, now 5-0 Badgers’ offense takes off By Ronald Bond By Ronald Bond The Observer The Observer NORTH POWDER — Sabrina Albee scored 27 points and added 14 rebounds Friday to con- tinue her sizzling start to the 2019-20 season, and the Joseph Eagles held off a second-half rally by the Union Bobcats to earn a 54-47 win in a matchup of unbeaten teams at the Badger Tournament in North Powder. “It was a good game for us to fi ght through,” Joseph head coach Lance Homan said. “Union’s good. They’re well coached. Their guards are their strengths, which is what ours is. To be in a game where it goes on runs like that and come out on top is a huge learning experience for us.” Eighteen of Albee’s points came in the fi rst half, and the junior guard secured a double-double by halftime as the Eagles raced out to as much as a 17-point lead. Joseph’s margin at the break was 33-22. Union used the 3-point shot to stay around then caught fi re from deep in the second half to get close. Brianna Kohr, who scored 20 points to lead the Bob- cats, hit three of her fi ve treys in the fourth quarter to help Union get as close as 42-36, but the Eagles fi nished off the win at the free-throw line. Albee had nine points in the fourth and was 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. Madelyn Nelson added 14 points and three steals for the Eagles. Union’s Callie Glenn, who had scored at least 20 points in each of Union’s fi rst three games, fi nished with 14 points, 10 of which came in the second half. NORTH POWDER — The Powder Valley Badgers’ high-octane offense was on full display Friday night. Three players scored at least 20 points, and the Badgers for a while looked as if they might reach the century mark before settling for an 88-58 thrashing of the St. Paul Buckaroos at the Badger Tournament in North Powder. Powder Valley on multiple occasions used a quick offen- sive flurry to score in bunches and distance itself, frustrating the Buckaroos with relentless drives to the basket and easy la- yups or rebounds and putbacks off misses. The Badgers finished the first quarter on a 16-5 run to turn a two-point lead into a 29-16 margin and dropped 26 more points in the second half to break the game wide open, 55-34. The lead grew to as much as 37 in the second half. Roper Bingham led the Badgers with 24 points, and both Reece Dixon and Ethan Stephens added 20 points as 10 players scored. Also Friday TRI-VALLEY CLIPS POW- DER VALLEY The Powder Valley Bad- gers suffered their second loss in a back-and-forth battle against the Tri-Val- ley Titans, running out of gas late in a 45-40 setback at the Badger Tournament. The teams traded the lead throughout the eve- ning, but the Titans took the lead for good late in the third and had a 37-35 lead entering the fourth. Emma Hollan, who had 18 points for Tri-Valley, hit an early 3-pointer to push the mar- gin to fi ve, and the Badgers couldn’t come back. Keanna Bingham led the Badgers with 10 points, while Josi Krieger added nine. IMBLER FALLS JUST SHORT AGAINST ADRIAN The Imbler Panthers put up their best effort of the young season but missed out on their fi rst win in a 36-29 loss to the Adrian Antelopes at the Badger Tournament. Kenna Whitmore led the Panthers with 13 points, and Anika McDonald added fi ve. Imbler was down seven at halftime then trimmed the margin to 26-21 after three quarters. Adrian, though, held the Panthers off. ELGIN WALLOPS PILOT ROCK ON THE ROAD Tymra Anderson scored a game-high 20 points, and the Elgin Huskies posted their most dominant win Staff photo by Ronald Bond Sabrina Albee scored 27 points Friday and 33 Satur- day to power Joseph to two more victories. PREP GIRLS HOOPS ROUNDUP of the season, routing Pilot Rock 58-22 to move to 4-0. Jayden Palmer added 16 points, including 14 in the fi rst half as the Huskies raced out to a 30-12 lead and were never threatened. The senior had 13 points and hit three 3-pointers in the fi rst quarter alone. Anderson, meanwhile, had 11 of her points after halftime. “We came out strong to- day as a team,” head coach Brian Evans said. “I feel our defense was the best it’s been so far this year.” Eight players scored for Elgin in the win, which won by at least 30 points for the fi rst time since the 2016-17 season. The Huskies (4-0 overall) host Enterprise Monday night. ENTERPRISE PULLS AWAY FROM WALLOWA Carsyn Miller scored 10 points, Claire Farwell added nine, and the En- terprise Outlaws turned on the offense from the second quarter on for a 54-27 home win over the Wallowa Cougars. The Outlaws led by just two after one quarter but outscored Wallowa 31-10 in the middle periods to break the game open and build a 39-16 lead after three quarters. Ella Moeller and Jamie Johnston each had eight points for the Cougars (1-4 overall), who host the La Grande junior varsity Monday night. Saturday EAGLES FINISH UN- DEFEATED IN NORTH POWDER Joseph fi nished a 3-0 run at the Badger Tournament with a 51-34 win over Jor- dan Valley in a game that saw Sabrina Albee score 33 points. The Eagles labored through the fi rst three quarters, leading just 19-15 at the break and 30-28 after three quarters before exploding on offense in the fourth. Albee, who had 23 of her points after halftime, scored 13 in the fourth and hit three 3-pointers to help the Eagles pull away. She connected seven times from deep in the game. Madelyn Nelson added eight of her 13 points in the fourth quarter, as the duo accounted for all but fi ve of Joseph’s points. The Eagles (5-0 overall) travel to Ione/Arlington Friday. COVE DRUBS PILOT ROCK Both Austin Kendall and Kierra Moore individually outscored Pilot Rock as the Cove Leopards blasted the Rockets at home, 67-14. Kendall scored a game- high 23 points for the Leop- ards, who shot 44% from the fl oor. Moore had 15 points, and Raegan Duby reached double fi gures, adding 11 points. Cove’s lead was already 28-6 at the break, then the Leopards scored 39 more points in the second half. Elli Hines-Dunlap added eight steals, and Breanna Harvey had eight rebounds for Cove (3-2 overall), which faces Crane at the Union Christmas Classic Thursday in a game to be played in North Powder. ENTERPRISE TAKES DOWN SPARTANS Carsyn Miller scored 16 points to lead the Enter- prise Outlaws in scoring for the second night in a row in a 45-26 home win over the Pine Eagle Spartans. Zari Bathke and Rilyn Kirkland each added eight points, and Ashlyn Gray collected 16 rebounds for the Outlaws. Enterprise held a 14-12 lead at the half before pulling away, fi nishing with a 21-8 run in the fourth quarter. Enterprise (4-1 overall) visits Elgin on Monday night. UNION SHAKES OFF FIRST LOSS, DOWNS POWDER VALLEY The Union Bobcats rebounded from their fi rst loss of the season to take down the Powder Valley Badgers at their home tournament, 45-28. Stats were not available. Both teams are back in action Saturday at the Union Christmas Classic. Union (4-1 overall) faces Dayville/Monument, while Powder Valley (3-3) meets Council, Idaho. Both teams will play their fi rst game on their home fl oor. ECHO SLIPS BY IMBLER The Echo Cougars pre- vented Imbler from collect- ing its fi rst win, stopping the Panthers, 41-31, at the Badger Tournament. Stats were not available. Imbler (0-6 overall) hosts Enterprise on Thursday. Also Friday UNION STOPS JOSEPH’S RALLY WITH ITS OWN The Union Bobcats gave away all of a 17-point first- quarter lead and trailed in the fourth quarter before finding their offensive flow late for a 58- 45 win over the Joseph Eagles at the Badger Tournament. The Badgers scored the game’s first 16 points and held a 19-2 lead after one quarter of play. The lead quickly dissipated as the Eagles stormed back to pull ahead 22-21 on a field goal by Chase Murray before Union took a 24-22 lead into the half. The teams were tied at 33-33 after three, and Joseph grabbed a 39-36 lead with 5:34 to play before Union regrouped to win the game. Keegan Glenn, who had just 10 points after three quarters, scored 13 points in the fourth quarter as he and Jace Phillips hit timely field goals to help the Bobcats pull away. Phillips finished with 13 points for the Bobcats, who ended up outscoring Joseph 25-12 in the final quarter. Murray scored 22 points to lead the Eagles, and Mason Ferre added eight. TIGERS FALL TO HOOD RIVER VALLEY La Grande dug itself a double-digit hole and was un- able to recover in a 56-48 loss to the Hood River Valley Eagles at the White Buffalo Classic in Madras. The Tigers faced a deficit of 11 at halftime but saw it grow to 51-36 after three quarters. Devin Bell had 11 points to lead La Grande and connected on three 3-pointers. Cristian Mendoza added 10 points. BIG FIRST, THIRD QUARTERS LIFT OUTLAWS The Enterprise Outlaws outscored the Wallowa Cougars a combined 33-6 in the first and third quarters, which proved to be the difference in a 60-36 home win. Cason Kirkland scored 17 points to lead a balanced effort for Enterprise, which outscored Wallowa 11-1 in the first quarter then used a 22-5 run in the third to break open a 46-19 lead. Devin Greer added eight points for Enterprise, which had nine players score. Tristin Bales had 28 points to lead all scorers for Wallowa (2-3 overall), which hosts the La Grande JV Wednesday. HUSKIES FALL TO ROCKETS The Elgin Huskies dropped a 56-43 road contest to Pilot Rock. Staff photo by Ronald Bond Powder Valley’s Roper Bingham missed on this dunk attempt, but still had 24 points in the Badgers’ win Friday. PREP BOYS HOOPS ROUNDUP Both Cody Harvey and Kaden McClure scored 13 points in the game for Elgin, while Payton Thurmond scored 20 points for the Rockets. Pilot Rock held a 28-21 lead at the half and used a strong third quarter to push the lead to double figures. IMBLER FALLS TO ADRIAN The Imbler Panthers dropped their Friday contest at the Badger Tournament to the Adrian Antelopes, 58-40. Stats were not available. Saturday BADGERS RUN AWAY FROM BOBCATS Reece Dixon scored 26 points Saturday, and the Powder Val- ley Badgers pulled away after a slow first quarter for a 60-37 win over the Union Bobcats at the Badger Tournament for their fifth win in a row. Roper Bingham added 12 points and Dominick Grende had 10 for the Badgers, who scored just six points in the first quarter but woke up in the second to take a 26-21 lead at the half then blitzed Union in the second half to send it to its first loss. Keegan Glenn was the lone Bobcat in double figures with 18 points, while Jace Phillips added seven. Both teams next play Thurs- day at the Union Christmas Classic. The Badgers (5-1 over- all) face Council, Idaho, while Union (4-1) faces Dayville/ Monument. Both teams will play at home in the first round of the tourney. eight points, and both Patrick Frisch and Braden Dickenson added six. Cove (1-4 overall) faces Crane Thursday in the Union Christ- mas Classic in a game in North Powder. BIG THIRD LIFTS EAGLES The Joseph Eagles outscored Jordan Valley 20-4 in the third quarter to recover from a halftime deficit, earning a 58-43 win over the Mustangs in their final game at the Badger Tournament. Joseph trailed 28-25 at the half, but Mason Ferre scored nine of his 18 points in the third to spark the turnaround, which ended with the Eagles holding a 45-32 lead. Chase Murray finished with 19 points to lead the Eagles (3-2 overall), who visit Ione/Arling- ton Friday. GREER GOES OFF IN OUTLAWS’ WIN Devin Greer scored 29 points Saturday and hit seven 3-point- ers as the Enterprise Outlaws won their third game in a row, stopping the Pine Eagle Spar- tans, 75-50. Cason Kirkland added 14 points and hit four of Enter- prise’s 13 3-pointers in the contest. Kirkland also collected nine rebounds and had 12 assists, barely missing a triple- double. Enterprise raced out to a quick nine-point first-quarter lead and added on the rest of the way. The Outlaws (3-2 overall) face Nixyaawii Dec. 27 on the road. TOUGH THIRD QUARTER DOOMS HUSKIES The La Grande Tigers rebounded from Friday’s loss to earn their first win of the season, edging past The Dalles Riverhawks, 53-49. Kaleb Myer went off for 24 points as the Tigers fended off the Riverhawks for the win. Mason Mellinger was the only other Tiger in double figures and scored 10 points for La Grande, which used a strong second quarter to take a 27-21 lead at the half then held off The Dalles in the second half. La Grande (1-2 overall) hosts Nyssa Tuesday. Elgin held a two-point lead at halftime but followed with just two points in the third quarter in a 51-40 road loss to Horizon Christian, Hood River. The Huskies, who were up 20-18 at the break, were outscored 17-2 in the third and saw their rally in the fourth fall short despite scoring as many points in the final period (20) as they had in the first three. Kaden McClure had 16 points to lead the Huskies, and Gage McKay had eight. Elgin (2-3 overall) faces Jordan Valley Thursday at the Union Christmas Classic. SECOND QUARTER STRUG- GLES HURT LEOPARDS IMBLER GETS OFF THE SCHNEID A rough second quarter doomed the Cove Leopards in a 55-31 home loss to the Pilot Rock Rockets. Cove was outscored 19-2 in the second quarter, which put the Leopards in a 30-11 hole they were unable to dig out of. Bo Ledbetter led Cove with The Imbler Panthers picked up their first win of the season, finishing the Badger Tourna- ment in North Powder on a high note with a 65-23 win over the Echo Cougars. Stats were not available. Imbler (1-5 overall) visits Notus, Idaho, Friday. TIGERS GET FIRST WIN
