Sports
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
A7
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
ON CAMPUS
Eastern
men drop
close
contests
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Dallee Jo Bingham (15) looks to pass at Powder Valley High School on Friday, Dec. 3, 2021, during a loss to visiting Jordan Valley. The Badgers are coming off a
9-6 record in the pandemic-shortened spring season.
CAUTIOUSLY
OPTIMISTIC
Young, athletic
Powder Valley squad
returns six players
from last year’s team
By JEFF BUDLONG
For The Observer
ORTH POWDER — Armed
with depth but guiding
a youthful team, Powder
Valley head coach Allen
Bingham is cautiously opti-
mistic coming off a 9-6 pandemic-im-
pacted campaign last season.
The Badgers will have to replace three
starters, including standout Belle Blair, but
the experience gained should benefit the
team this season.
“It was a fun season because we had a
lot of games and not many days for prac-
tices,” said Bingham, who is in his 20th
year leading the Badgers. “They had that
tournament (at the end of the season) in
Baker which we got to go to and take third.
I was very excited we got to play in the
spring because the players got a chance to
compete and grow.”
Bingham said the tournament atmo-
N
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Jacey Anderson (10) dribbles into position at Powder Valley High School on Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. The
North Powder girls basketball team lost to visiting Jordan Valley 47-23.
sphere, even if it wasn’t the traditional state
tournament, served his younger players
well. The Badgers have six players who
took part last season back on this year’s
squad. The goal every season for the Bad-
gers is to advance through districts and
make it to the state tournament.
Juniors Dallee Jo Bingham and Maddy
Leggett are the two returning starters who
will be asked to help lead the team. Dallee
Jo Bingham will be key in the post for a
team that does not sport a ton of size in the
paint, while Leggett will play on the wing.
“They are pretty consistent, solid
See, Girls/Page A8
just comes down to dribbling
the ball again and hitting it hard
at practice.”
The Badgers have a variety
of offensive weapons, including
See, Boys/Page A8
See, EOU/Page A8
Powder Valley will
rely on deep group
of upperclassmen
to compete for
Class 1A state title
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Kaiden Dalke (22) leaps for a layup at Powder Valley High School on Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. Dalke will look to be a staple
in the Badgers’ 2021-22 season on the hardwood.
the starting lineup are Reece
Dixon, Kaden Krieger, Case
Olson, Cole Martin and Clay
Martin. Coming off the bench is
Kaiden Dalke, a senior who can
heat up from 3-point range.
Powder Valley has speed
and size, which can prove cru-
cial at the 1A level. After a long
football season, Kyle Dixon is
not overly concerned with the
players getting back into their
top basketball form.
“They’re young,” he said. “It
Liefke pours in
career-high 38 points
KLAMATH FALLS —
Just two quarters away from a
weekend sweep, junior Sailor
Liefke had different plans for
the Eastern Oregon University
women’s basketball team.
Following a 55-47 loss at
Southern Oregon on Dec. 3,
the Mountaineers trailed 48-38
heading into the second half of
a matchup with Oregon Tech
on the following day. Liefke
went off for a career-best per-
formance with 29 points in the
second half, which gave her 38
points on the night.
The career performance was
a part of an offensive explosion
for the Mountaineers, who out-
scored the Owls 52-36 in the
second half to take a 90-84 vic-
tory. The incredible offensive
performance helped Eastern
improve to 5-6 overall and 2-1
in conference play.
Liefke shot 13-for-22 from
the field and hit nine out of her
10 free-throw attempts. Her
defense was also stellar, tallying
a game-high six steals. The
Mountaineers scored 24 points
off turnovers.
The win is much needed for
Eastern as conference play gets
under way. After eight straight
road games, the Mountaineers
will look to build on the victory
after a two-week hiatus from
games. Eastern is set to return
to La Grande and host Lew-
is-Clark State at 5:30 p.m. on
Dec. 17.
BADGERS FOCUSED ON ULTIMATE GOAL
NORTH POWDER — After
coming up just one touchdown
shy of winning the Class 1A
state championship this fall,
Powder Valley is back for the
upcoming basketball season
looking for similar success on
the hardwood.
A majority of the basketball
team, all upperclassmen, were a
part of the football squad’s run
to the championship game. With
a deep, athletic group leading
the way for Powder Valley, head
coach Kyle Dixon is looking
forward to a strong season.
“We want to make it all the
way to the end. I think we can
have a good year,” the coach
said. “If we just keep together,
we should be fine.”
The Badgers are made up of
six seniors and five juniors, four
of whom are 6-foot-3-inches
or taller. Leading the way in
KLAMATH FALLS — It
was a difficult weekend for the
Eastern Oregon men’s basket-
ball team, dropping consecutive
games by single digits.
“We just haven’t been able
to put a full game together yet,”
head coach Chris Kemp said.
“We needed a couple key stops
both nights we just couldn’t
get.”
The Mountaineers were
bested 70-67 on Friday, Dec. 4,
just one day before falling 80-71
to Oregon Tech. The losses
dropped Eastern’s record to 5-5
overall and 0-3 in Cascade Col-
legiate Conference play, but the
team is starting to find its iden-
tity in the absence of standout
guard Max McCullough.
Transfers Phillip Malatare
and Xavier Lovelace have been
the one-two punch for Eastern
so far this year, giving the team
versatility at both the guard
and forward positions. The duo
combined for 74 points and
27 rebounds through the two
weekend contests.
Malatare has proven that
he is a capable scorer, but the
matchup with Southern Oregon
showed how gritty of a guard
he can be. The junior scored 11
points and tallied five assists
and eight rebounds. Love-
lace carried the load scoring in
the game against the Raiders,
leading the team with 18 points
and nine rebounds. He added 17
points and six rebounds in the
loss to Oregon Tech.
The two transfers have
helped carry the load for the
Mountaineers thus far, as the
team still searches for an iden-
tity at the start of conference
play. As the team continues to
gel and overcome injury issues,
Malatare and Lovelace will
be essential for the Eastern
men’s hoops team as the season
progresses.
“I am excited to get home for
some games and see if we can
start to build some momentum,”
Kemp said.
Eastern will have nearly
two weeks off before hosting
Lewis-Clark State on Dec. 17.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.