Cottage Grove Sentinel
Sports & Recreation
B1
THURSDAY | DECEMBER 23, 2021
Creswell boys take first place at
Bulldog Invitational
ODFW R ECREATION AND F ISHING
R EPORT
myodfw.com/recreation-report
Updated December 23, 2021
Winter steelhead tips
The first winter steelhead of the sea-
son are being caught in several coastal
rivers. If you’re hoping for a successful
steelhead season, we’ve got some win-
ter steelhead fishing tips that just might
help.
Report you hunt
Just a reminder that all big game and
turkey hunters who bought a tag need
to report their hunt, even if the didn’t
hunt or take an animal. Also a reminder
that reporting early will help you avoid
the last minute crush of procrastinators.
Learn more about how to report by vis-
iting myodfw.com/articles/report-your-
hunt.
Best bets for weekend fishing:
Winter steelhead, late season Chi-
nook and rainbow trout are on the fish-
ing agenda for the weekend.
On the north coast, anglers continue
to catch hatchery winter steelhead on
the North Fork Nehalem, Necanicum,
and the Lower Columbia Tribs (Klas-
kanine R, Big Creek, and Gnat Creek).
While the Alsea is currently the best
spot on the mid-coast to target early
winter steelhead, the Siletz and Siuslaw
should also be seeing their first steel-
head soon if they haven’t already.
KENDRICK MURPHY/CG SENTINEL
The Creswell boys pose with their first-place plaque after defeating Siuslaw 64-58 in the Bulldog Invitational Championship
game.
By Kendrick Murphy
kmurphy@cgsentinel.com
The Creswell boys basketball
team mojo is at an all-time high
right now after taking first place
in their home tournament ‘the
Bulldog Invitational’ with wins
against Monroe (77-42) and Siu-
slaw (64-58) on back-to-back
nights.
Also surpassing the best pro-
gram start in nearly a decade in
winning their first seven games
in a row beating the previous
mark of six and earning a top-
Sutherlin outlasts
Bulldog girls
Sports Calendar
Dec.28-30
• Cottage Grove
Boys Basketball @
Sisters Holiday
Shootout vs. Banks
(Dec. 28) 7 p.m.
• Cottage Grove
Girls Basketball @
Stayton Tournament
vs. Sweet Home
(Dec.28) 3 p.m.
• North Douglas
Boys Basketball @
Toledo Holiday
Tournament vs.
Kennedy (Dec.28)
4:45 p.m.
• North Douglas
Girls Basketball @
Toledo Holiday
Tournament vs.
Kennedy (Dec.28)
3:15 p.m.
Athlete of
the Week
four ranking in the state.
“I’m certainly happy with the
start and I think the kids are too,”
said Head Coach Jesse Thomas.
“Now we’re trying to keep find-
ing things in the areas that we
need them to improve on that
have shown up consistently in
KENDRICK MURPHY/CG SENTINEL
By Kendrick Murphy
kmurphy@cgsentinel.com
Prior to their meeting with
Sutherlin, the Creswell girls bas-
ketball team was riding a small
win streak of three in a row and
scoring over 50 points per game
in each win.
The Bulldogs traded punch-
es with Sutherlin in the first half
of their contest, but the visitors
See GIRLS B2
See FIRST B2
Lion boys pick up two wins
at Seaside tournament
By Kendrick Murphy
kmurphy@cgsentinel.com
Samairah Quinones goes baseline with her dribble in the
58-41 Creswell loss to Sutherlin.
the games.”
In the championship game
against Siuslaw Max Velarde
led Creswell in scoring with 14
points while teammates Chase
Green and Caleb Lee each add-
Last week the Cottage Grove
basketball team traveled up to
Seaside for an eight-team tour-
nament that featured teams from
both Oregon and Washington.
The tournament expanded over
Dec. 16-18 and saw the Lions go
2-1 in three games.
After losing a close game to the
host school Seaside 56-50 on the
first night, Cottage Grove rallied
for two wins against Elma (Wash-
ington) 70-67 and Newport 72-
53.
“I was very pleased with the
kids’ effort overall night in and
night out,” said Head Coach Seth
Hutchison. “Our guys fought
hard you know, and it was a men-
tal grind and a physical grind. I
thought every single kid stepped
up to answer the challenge. So
it was a good test for us and I
thought they answered the call
and I was really pleased with
them not giving in or making
excuses. I was very pleased with
their effort.”
The Lions had four starters in
double figures in their final win
on the weekend against Newport
to secure a fourth-place finish.
Senior Carter Bascue led the way
with 25 points and 9 rebounds,
Jayden Cameron had 16 points,
while Brennen Murphy and Ty
Kishen each added 11 points.
“I feel like we played really
well,” said junior forward Bren-
nen Murphy. “I feel like we made
some minor mistakes, but I know
we’re going to fix them as the sea-
son goes on. But we played really
well overall, we came together as
a team, and we shot the ball well
See WINS B2
Cottage Grove girls take third at Seaside tournament
By Kendrick Murphy
kmurphy@cgsentinel.com
After losing a hard-fought game
to Sisters on Dec. 14 the Lady Li-
ons were able to rally and earn
two wins out of three games at the
Seaside Holiday Classic defeating
Rochester (a school in Washing-
ton) and Seaside to finish third
overall at the tournament.
“We had a lot of growth in our
first game and came out with a
win, which put us on the winning
side of the bracket,” said Head
Coach Erin Royse. “Our second
game, we hit a pretty hard low,
which turned into some good
team-building back at our where
we were staying. We came out the
next day and executed we were al-
most like a different team. There
was a calm, there was a trust, there
was a difference. And I think we
needed that step in our growth. So
that third game, resulting in a vic-
tory that was not perfect. And we
still have a lot of room for growth,
and we all recognize that. But it
was a huge difference between
game two and game three.”
After the girls defeated Roch-
This week’s athlete of the
week is Cottage Grove
boys basketball player
Carter Bascue. Bascue
had a big game for
Lions on the final day of
the Seaside tournament
scoring 25 points and
grabbing 9 rebounds.
ester 45-40 on the first night, the
next day the girls ran lost to As-
toria 22-38 forcing the team to
adjust after not being able to get it
going offensively only scoring 22
points.
“I think we were all disappoint-
ed in ourselves as individuals and
needed to regroup,” said Royse.
“There were lots of mistakes made
in that game, but I think our team
looked at it as a really good growing
opportunity and took advantage
of it. I think we addressed some
things from the Astoria game then
came out the next day with a re-
Bascue had
an efficient
game
against
Newport
on Saturday
Dec. 18.
Scoring 25
points while
shooting 90
percent on
FGs.
PHOTO BY KENDRICK
MURPHY/CG SENTINEL
newed trust and positive energy
that carried onto the court against
Seaside.”
Gracie Arnold led the scoring
effort for the Lions during their
final game against Seaside with 20
points and 11 rebounds as Cottage
Grove came away with a 39-30
victory over Seaside to finish the
weekend with a third-place finish.
“Our girls are really proud of our
third-place finish, and they should
be,” said Royse. “I think there’s a
lot of growth there on the defen-
sive end, especially in blocking
out which we have struggled with.
We’ve given up quite a few offen-
sive rebounds that have turned
into points for the other team. So
slowly we’re getting better.”
The Cottage Grove girls will
take some time off during Christ-
mas and will be back in action
on Dec. 28-30 at a tournament in
Stayton.
Stat leaders
Gracie Arnold 20 points, 11
rebounds
Teanna Child 7 points
Emma Hitt 4 points