A9
WEDNESDAY
February 19, 2020
Joseph Eagles girls stop Wallowa Cougars 53-38
By Ellen Morris Bishop
Wallowa County Chieftain
Joseph’s Sabrina Albee
chalked up 19 points to lead
the Eagles over the Wallowa
Cougars 53-38 in the sea-
son’s fi nal game. Although
Joseph committed 17 turn-
overs to Wallowa’s 11, the
Cougars girls couldn’t get
their shots to fall.
Eagles’ coach, Lance
Homan, said his squad put in
a solid effort. He noted the
team had early foul trouble
which hurt both offensive
and defensive play. Homan
added that the Cougars are a
tough team
Albee’s efforts included a
three pointer and 4 of 6 foul
shots. Brianna Micka con-
tributed 12. For Wallowa,
Kyla Hook led scoring with
11 points, while Jamie John-
ston contributed 10.
Ellen Morris Bishop
Joseph’s Brianna Micka brings the ball down court and shoots.
Ellen Morris Bishop
Joseph’s Sabrina Albee shoots to widen the lead in the 4th quarter.
Eagles boys outdistance the Cougars 64-42
But Wallowa cuff s
Grizzlies 78-35
By Steve Tool and Ellen
Morris Bishop
Wallowa County Chieftain
Steve Tool
UP FOR THREE, ANYONE? Joseph Eagles player, Madelyn
Nelson, sets for a three-pointer during the Eagles’ 54-40
win over Nixyaawii.
Joseph girls are league
champs after weekend win
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
The Joseph girls cagers
proved that JCS Eagles
are tougher than Golden
Eagles after trouncing
Nixyaawii 54-40 on Sat-
urday, Feb. 15. The game
started as a defensive bat-
tle with the Eagles lead-
ing by seven midway
into the third quarter
before they caught fi re.
The Eagles’ offense and
defense shifted into high
gear, as buckets fl owed
through the hoop while
the defense forced a num-
ber of turnovers, putting
Nixyaawii seriously into
the hole.
The fourth quarter
saw the Eagles maintain
their momentum, leading
40-28 at the beginning of
the quarter and coasting to
victory before the helpless
Golden Eagles knew what
was happening. The end
was anti-climactic.
Sabrina Albee led the
scoring with 23 while
Madelyn Nelson chipped
in with 13 and Brianna
Micka put in 10 for the
cause.
Coach Lance Homan
said that the Saturday win
was huge for the squad
as it allowed them to be
league champions again.
He also noted his pride
of the team and how they
have refused to let down
and feel sorry for them-
selves after the destruc-
tion of their gym and
much equipment, but they
came together as a team
and fi nished the regular
season off on a high note.
“We played a great
game,” coach Lance
Homan said. “We’re ready
for District.” The Eagles
ended the regular season
at the top of the Old Ore-
gon League with an 11-1
record and 18-6 overall.
They meet an undeter-
mined opponent at Dis-
trict in Baker on Friday,
Feb. 21 at 6 p.m.
The Joseph Eagles boys
squad outdistanced the
Wallowa Cougars 64-42
in a game Feb. 14 in Wal-
lowa. The halftime score
was 33-21, but in the sec-
ond half the Eagles pulled
steadily away. The game
was fast paced and frenetic,
with Wallowa committing
29 turnovers, and Joseph
giving up the ball 24 times.
Chase Murray dropped in
16 points for Joseph. Had-
ley Miller posted 12, and
Mason Ferre‘ scored 11.
For Wallowa, Tristin Bales
scored 15 and Quinten Til-
lery tallied 12.
Despite the 22-point
spread, Joseph coach Olan
Fulfer said the Eagles had
their work cut out for them.
“They played hard and
they’ve improved a lot since
Ellen Morris Bishop
Zeb Hermens takes the ball downcourt.
the last time we played
them,” Eagles’ coach Olan
Fulfer said. “They took the
momentum from our sec-
ond half. They were able to
come out and make it tough
on us for a long time.”
Coach Cody Lathrop
said the Cougs played well
against the Eagles, but 14
missed open shots helped
lead to the defeat.
“The offense was work-
ing well,” he said. We were
creating turnovers, and if
we’d made the shots we
normally make, we prob-
ably could have been right
there with them.”
Saturday saw the Cou-
gars’ machine travel to
Griswold to deliver a wal-
loping and then some to the
hapless Grizzlies, 78-35.
The Grizzlies were short
on men as only six players
suited up.
“We executed at a very
high level on the road,”
coach Cody Lathrop said.
“We shot the ball well and
did what we wanted when
we wanted to.”
The coach said that the
half-court trap defense
worked exceptionally well
on the Grizzlies, resulting
in a 24-4 fi rst quarter score
for the Cougs, led by Tris-
tin Bales’ 14 points in the
frame.
The Cougs, working
within Lathrop’s offense,
suddenly realized their
potential, and one three-
pointer led to another —
and another. The team sank
nine by game’s end.
“We played really well
last night, and it’s a shame
that we fi gured it out when
we did (at the end of the
season),” Lathrop said. “We
have a lot of hope for the
future.”
The Cougars ended the
season with a 3-9 Old Ore-
gon League record and 7-15
overall.
Joseph boys lose heartbreaker to league champ Nixyaawii
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
February 15 saw the
Joseph Eagles boys play-
ing at their temporary home
court in Enterprise, host-
ing Nixyaawii on Senior
Night. The highly antici-
pated game provided plenty
of action. But the Joseph
team lost by a narrow 67-61
score, although they had tied
the game and led for a short
time in the fourth quarter.
Fulfer said that the loss
gave him hope for the team’s
future at state, and he was
happy with the squad’s sec-
ond half performance, while
he felt the fi rst half was lack-
ing, with the Eagles down
by 13. The coach blamed
himself for the lacklustre
fi rst half. He said the Eagles
started with a zone offense,
which failed to stop the
Golden Eagles.
“They burned us in the
zone and built up a big lead
and we ended up going back
to man and that worked a lot
better,” he said.
Ellen Morris Bishop
Tyasin Burns loses the ball to Mason Ferre and Reece Nelson.
After a half-time pep talk
and discussion the Eagles
went to work with their
offense, patiently moving
the ball and working their
way into high-percentage
shots while chopping away
at Nixyaawii’s lead. Joseph
outscored the Golden Eagles
23-11 in the third quar-
ter, setting the stage for the
exciting fi nal quarter.
The fourth quarter battle
saw the two teams exchang-
ing leads, but the Golden
Eagles had slightly bet-
ter luck at the basket, end-
ing with the 67-61 defeat for
Joseph.
Fulfer said he was proud
of the team.
“They didn’t let all the
little things get to them and
they battled back,” he said.
“I really like coaching these
guys and they make my job
a lot of fun.”
Fulfer also gave the
Golden Eagles credit for
making shots when it
counted while noting the
Eagles came a hair’s breadth
from defeating the best team
in the state.
Chase Murray led the
scoring with 28 points while
Mason Ferre‘ followed with
11 and Miller with nine.
Fulfer also noted the defense
of Reece Nelson and called
him a player of monster
potential. Littlepage also
came in for defensive kudos
from the coach.
The weekend left the
Eagles with a 9-3 League
record and 18-6 over-
all while holding down
third place in the Old Ore-
gon League. Joseph will
face Pine Eagle at Baker on
Thursday, Feb. 20, for their
fi rst District game.
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