A last-second shot by Adaira Burger saved the game for Sweet Home, which watched Elmira take away a comfortable lead in girls basketball Friday night, Jan. 3 in the Huskies’ last non-league match before Oregon West Conference play.
The Huskies beat Elmira 41-40 Friday at home to go into their league schedule with a winning record.
Starting slowly, Sweet Home built a 10-7 lead in the first quarter. By halftime, the Huskies held a comfortable 24-15 lead.
“We were ahead by halftime,” said Coach Michelle Knight. “We didn’t come out strong in the third quarter, and then it was just a battle at the end.”
Elmira stepped up its offense in the second half and closed the gap, trailing just 30-27 at the end of the third quarter.
The Falcons took a 36-35 lead with four minutes left on the clock. Sweet Home snagged the lead again to lead 39-36 with 2:22 on the clock.
Elmira scored a couple of free throws to get within one point with 45 seconds on the clock. Falcon senior Ashley Feltz connected with just under 13 seconds left to give Elmira a 40-39 lead, and the Huskies called a timeout.
Sweet Home put the ball in Becky Belcher’s hands. She took a shot, but Elmira deflected it to Burger, who sank a short jumper inside the paint to give the Huskies a 41-40 lead and the game with 1.4 seconds left.
Brooke Burke led the Huskies with 19 points. Paige Doerr and Feltz led Elmira scoring with 12 points each.
“It’s just been fun for them to win these close games,” Knight said. “We’re still learning how to win. One thing we’re working really hard on is protecting our lead” – to win and play with confidence and composure while holding a lead.
“They play with heart,” she said of the Huskies. “They have to play as a team. They know exactly what to do, but they haven’t always executed that.”
Her team is learning to stay composed, she said, and they showed that Friday night.
“To come out of our preseason with a winning record, we’re celebrating every single moment like that,” Knight said.
It was also exciting to see such big crowd out to cheer on the girls, Knight said. The girls are well aware the community has been out to support them, and “it’s really fun.”
Sweet Home, 6-5 in pre-league play, will face Woodburn its first Oregon West foe, at 5:30 p.m. Friday at home. Woodburn, 3-6, is 28th in the statewide OSAA rankings heading into league play, while Sweet Home is ranked 16th. The Huskies will travel to Philomath at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The undefeated Warriors are ranked first in the state.
Elmira 7 8 12 13 – 40
Sweet Home 10 14 6 11 – 41
Elmira scoring: Paige Doerr 12, Ashley Feltz 12, White 9, Matthews 6, Williamson 1, Coffman, Porter.
Sweet Home scoring: Brooke Burke 19, Natalie Rodgers 7, Becky Belcher 7, Adaira Burger 4, Katie Miller 2, Kirsten Watkins 2, Hannah Powell, Danielle Tressel, Kassidy Vandehei.