PAGE A14, KEIZERTIMES, JUNE 25, 2021
McNary cruises by Central in final home game
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
The seniors of the McNary girls bas-
ketball team capped off the final home
game of their careers in memorable
fashion against Central on Wednesday,
June 16.
After falling behind in the first quar-
ter, the Celtics ended the half by going
on a 25-5 run and eventually defeated
the Panthers by a score of 50-24.
In a year where the season looked
uncertain at times due to the COVID-
19 pandemic, McNary head coach
Elizabeth Doran expressed gratitude in
getting the chance to coach her seniors
one last time.
“They are just a really special group
to me. It has been really fun to see
them all as seniors. It is a pretty special
moment to have them play together in
their last game at McNary,” Doran said.
Leah Doutt, a four-year varsity player
and reigning first-team all-league per-
former, led the way with 26 points.
“It is bittersweet. It still doesn't feel
real. I am just grateful that I could fin-
ish it out with my teammates and best
friends,” Doutt said. “It feels good to go
out on a win.”
“Leah has been the leader of this
group from the start,” Doran added.
The anxiousness of senior night
appeared to take a toll on the Celtics in
the early going. McNary initially strug-
gled with Central's full-court press and
defensive pressure, which caused them
to fall into a 5-0 hole midway through
the first period.
Doran elected to burn a timeout to
try and calm the nerves of her players
“I think it was about getting that
timeout and telling them to take a deep
breath. Central did have some intense
pressure, so we had to be aggressive
and attack, instead of being back on our
heels,” Doran said.
SPORTS
Avery Buss runs by her defender on the way to the hoop In McNary's 50-24 victory over Central on Wednesday, June 16.
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes
After Doutt got free for a hoop to
end the four-minute scoreless streak,
things began to open up offensively
for McNary. A steal and layup by KJ
Custer, which was followed by a base-
line triple from Kylie Nepstad, gave the
Celtics their first lead at 7-5.
Later in the period, the Celtics
showed phenomenal ball movement in
breaking the press, which resulted in an
easy layup by Custer off the feed from
Doutt. On the next Central posses-
sion, Custer got a steal and converted
another uncontested bucket to increase
the lead to 12-5.
“We have a very aggressive defense
and staying in the passing lane really
helps us,” Custer said. “Our bench also
helps us so much and it really moti-
vates us to keep pushing.”
“KJ is a spark plug coming off the
bench. It has been fun to see her get
more comfortable at the varsity level
the last couple of weeks,” Doran added.
McNary built their lead to 21-7 in the
second period thanks to six straight
points from Doutt. Central got their
first field goal in more than 10 minutes
to cut the lead to 11, but McNary closed
the half on a 9-0 run to go up 30-10 at
the break.
McNary's offense sputtered in the
Caption It!
L AST WEEK’S
WINNER
third quarter, going scoreless for four
minutes. But thanks to stifling defense
and seven points from Doutt, McNary
put the game well out of reach by going
up 37-14 after three quarters.
As her time at McNary comes to a
close, Doutt showed appreciation for
what the McNary girls program has
given her over the last four years.
“I have been playing with most of
these girls since fourth grade. It has
been awesome to be a part of Doran's
first four-year group. Our coaching staff
is amazing and we have such a great
culture here. I am really grateful to have
been able to play here,” Doutt said.
By STEVE BREEN
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