While Sweet Home ended its girls basketball season with a 56-37 loss to Newport on the road Feb. 25, the team made substantial gains and has a lot going for it next season.
Newport pulled ahead quickly, leading 14-6 after the first quarter, 30-19 at halftime and 42-23 going into the fourth quarter. Sweet Home made progress in the fourth quarter, edging out Newport 14-13.
Turnovers were a key problem during the game, Coach Michelle Knight said. “We had 14 turnovers in the first quarter. We didn’t take care of the basketball.”
Adaira Burger, Brooke Burke and Katie Miller led the Huskies at the hoop, scoring eight points each. For Newport, Avonly Wolf and Nicole Dickason led scoring with 12 points each.
The Huskies finished the season with seven wins and 16 losses, 1-11 in league.
“We did have a good season,” Knight said. “We won more games this year than we’ve won in 20 years.”
The Huskies played in a tough league, including the top-ranked team in the state, Philomath, which was undefeated until it faced West Albany Saturday, Knight said; and Cascade and Stayton will both appear in the playoffs.
“We still have a lot of things to work on,” Knight said, particularly in taking care of the ball. “But we competed against all of these teams. I’m excited to see what we can do next year.”
Going forward, Sweet Home will compete in two spring tournaments, a total of eight games, and then in summer league, Knight said. “It’s exciting. Things are looking up. We’re returning some youth. Our seniors did a great job of laying the foundation.”
Graduating this year will be Hannah Powell, Kirsten Watkins and Kassidy Vandehei.
Going forward, the team has some work to do, Knight said. The Huskies need to fix some fundamental skills, ball handling, beating a trap and taking care of the ball.
They made a lot of progress this year, Knight said. They’ll do well for several games, and then “we will go back to some of those old habits,” like trying to dribble through a trap.
Their progress showed where it counted.
The Huskies scored 300 more points than they did last year, and they allowed fewer than last year.
While they shot just 33.5 percent, the team did better at executing its offense, trusting each other and making quick passes, Knight said. “When they did the things we worked on, great things would follow.”
Next year, all of the girls will have varsity experience and know what to expect, Knight said, and she expects things to improve further.
“I’ve asked for a harder pre-season schedule to prepare us for league a little better,” she said. “We’d better do better next year. Our goal is a play-in game.”
To get there, the top five scorers return. Burke had the highest average at 11 points per game. Burger added 8.3 points per game and 11 rebounds per game. Becky Belcher recorded 7.9 points per game with 7.1 rebounds per game. Miller put up 5.5 points per game, and Natalie Rodgers scored 5 points per game with 3.6 assists per game.
“I am really proud of them,” Knight said. “I think that maybe in the past, girls played basketball just for fun. We’ve asked them to play competitively, and they are. They’ve done everything we’ve asked of them to get better. They’ve bought into what we’re trying to do. I’m super proud of them. They’ve made history this year. It’s a big deal.”
Sweet Home 6 13 4 14 – 37
Newport 14 16 12 13 – 56
Sweet Home scoring: Brooke Burke 8, Adaira Burger 8, Katie Miller 8, Kassidy Vandehei 5, Hannah Powell 3, Kirsten Watkins 3, Becky Belcher 2, Mercedes Burks, Natalie Rodgers, Katie Robeck.
Newport scoring: Nicole Dickason 12, Avonly Wolf 12, Wagner 9, Barber 8, Murray 4, Green 3, Rundell 3, Tromlite 2, Martinson 2, Driebergen, Smith, Thompson.