FEBRUARY 25, 2022, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A21
Nepstad shines on senior night
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
In her final home game for the
Celtics, Kylie Nepstad concluded her
McNary career on a high note.
The senior shooting guard led
McNary with 17 points and was 5-of-9
from beyond the arc as the Celtics
routed Sprague on senior night, defeat-
ing the Olympians 51-12 on Monday,
Feb. 21.
“I really appreciate my teammates
always playing hard and finding me
for open threes. It was a lot of fun. I
just played with a lot of confidence
tonight,” Nepstad said. “It has been an
amazing four years. I have loved it and
I appreciate all my teammates and my
coaches.”
Nepstad, who has played on the var-
sity team for three years, led McNary in
scoring with nearly 11 points per game
this season and shot more than 40%
from three-point territory.
“Kylie has had a phenomenal senior
season. She really stepped up and she
has played phenomenally on both
offense and defense. She has been a
real leader on the team. It has been
great to see her grow as a player and
step into this leadership role,” McNary
head coach Elizabeth Doran said.
Back-to-back hoops by Ava Rubio,
followed by a triple from Nepstad,
put McNary up 9-2 in the early going.
Another bucket by Rubio, plus a tough
layup from KJ Custer, extended the
Celtics lead to 13-4 at the end of the
opening period.
Despite going through a three-min-
ute scoreless streak in the second
quarter, McNary was able to put the
game out of reach before the half.
Aubrianna Cabral broke the drought
with a layup off a backdoor cut, then
Hailey Schwinof got her first hoop to
put McNary up 17-5.
After Lillian Besa scored in the post
Kylie Nepstad gets to the hoop to score two of her 17 points, leading McNary to victory in her final home game as a member of the Celtics.
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes
and Nepstad put in a floater, Custer
capped off the 14-1 run with a 3-pointer
at the buzzer, giving the Celtics the
27-6 lead at the half.
“This was a great way to end it. We
were playing well together on both
ends of the court. Everything clicked
for us tonight,” Doran said.
On defense, the Celtics forced 20
turnovers and held Sprague to their
lowest point total since 2014.
“We were just active on defense and
were always getting in front of passes,”
Nepstad said.
“Our defensive effort was great. We
pressured the ball and we were in the
right spot on the help side for most of
the game,” Doran added.
With a massive lead on the score-
board, Doran got the chance to play
LEFT: Lillian Besa shoots a jump-hook over a defender. RIGHT: KJ Custer dribbles into traffic.
all 13 players on the roster, including
senior Jordan LaGrone, who scored her
first basket as a member of the varsity
team on a 3-pointer from the top of the
key in the final quarter.
“It was a fun game and it was fun to
have all the seniors and everyone who
played contribute in some way,” Doran
said.
Photos by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes