PAGE A14, KEIZERTIMES, JANUARY 14, 2022
McNary pulls off upset over Canby
M C N AR Y
HOOPS
McNary guard Taylor Rubio looks to throw the ball to a teammate in the Celtics 45-29 win over Canby.
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes
SPORTS
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
Playing with a full roster for one of
the first times this season, the McNary
girls basketball squad pulled off a huge
upset over Canby in their final non-
league contest.
Clinging to a two-point lead with less
than a minute to go in the third quarter,
the Celtics (2-8) outscored Canby (6-3)
19-5 in the final 8:42 to run away with
the 45-29 win on Friday, Jan. 7.
“We are finally getting healthy and
we have everybody ready to go. We are
really starting to click and I thought we
played well on both ends of the floor,”
McNary head coach Elizabeth Doran
said. “It was a huge morale boost for us
going into league play. I have been tell-
ing our team that we just need to play a
full four quarters and play together and
I thought we did both of those things in
this game.”
KJ Custer and Avery Buss led the
Celtics with nine points apiece.
“It feels really good to be back on the
court. I missed playing with everybody.
It was hard watching from the bench,”
said Custer, who missed the start of the
season due to a toe injury.
McNary was led by their stifling 2-3
zone defense, which kept Canby out of
the paint and forced them to the perim-
eter. The Cougars shot just 25% from the
floor and were held under the 35-point
threshold for the first time this season.
“They aren’t a great shooting team
but they get to the basket really well
against a man defense, which I was
a little concerned about us guarding.
That’s why we sat back in a zone and
kind of played in the gaps. That was
the game plan and it seemed to work,”
Doran said.
Despite both teams going through
offensive struggles in the first quarter,
a 6-0 run from McNary, highlighted by
a floater from Ava Rubio and a jumper
by Kylie Nepstad, put the Celtics on
top 8-2. However, the Celtics endured
a six-minute scoreless streak, which
allowed Canby to come back and tie the
Lacey Vasas drives to the hoop on a fast break.
game in the second period.
A bucket by Lacey Vasas ended the
drought to give McNary the lead back.
The Celtics extended the advantage
to 19-14 before the half on a runner by
Rubio that beat the buzzer.
Custer nailed a 3-pointer from the
corner to increase McNary's lead to
eight early in the third quarter, but the
Cougar came back to trim the deficit to
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes
two with 42 seconds left in the period.
From that point on, the Celtics
played some of their best basketball of
the season.
After Buss made one of two foul
shots, McNary scored on their final pos-
session of the quarter on a pick-and-roll
at the top of the key, which led to a wide
open jumper by Taylor Rubio, putting
the Celtics up 29-24.