Sweet Homes lost 51-16 at Cottage Grove Friday and 56-24 to Junction City at home Jan. 17 in girls basketball.
Cottage Grove held the Huskies scoreless in the first quarter, leading 13-0. At halftime, the Lions led 29-4 at halftime and 45-11 after three quarters.
Kayla Miller led the Huskies with five points. Ashtyn Walker added four, Alana Silver, three; Hailey Silver, two; Ria Chiba, two.
Coach Dave McNeil said his team has been fighting illness for the past week, and he had seven or eight players gone each game. With a personnel shortage, the two JV teams were combined for Cottage Grove.
“There’s not much they could have done,” McNeil said. “Right now, I don’t have a real strong ball handler. Nobody’s healthy.”
Cottage Grove has big players and is a challenge in its own right, McNeil said. “You can’t compete with that size and height.”
The Lions ranged from 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet 2 inches, he said.
Beyond the adversity and Cottage Grove’s advantage, “the biggest thing that remains problematic is our close proximity game, layups under pressure,” McNeil said. Their press break is pretty strong when everyone is there, but they’re running into trouble when they attack the basket, frequently turning over the ball.
Long term, they’re working on staying “calm, cool and collected under pressure while remaining competitive,” McNeil said.
The Huskies were scheduled to play at Elmira Tuesday, host Sutherlin Friday at 7:15 p.m. and host Sisters next Tuesday at 5:45 p.m.