Coming from behind, the Huskies defeated Westside Christian 41-38 in girls basketball on the road on Dec. 17.
“We played rather well,” said Coach Steve Brown. “We were always within reach.”
The Huskies trailed 12-8 after a quarter and failed to close the gap by halftime, trailing 20-16.
But Sweet Home gained a little in the third, trailing 27-24 at the buzzer, then outscored Westside 12-9 in the fourth to tie the game at 36-all at the end of regulation and send the game into overtime.
Haley Kent scored a field goal and three free throws, while Westside could muster only two free throws in overtime, to get the win.
Both teams had chances to score after Kent’s last point, but neither was able to put anything else on the board.
“We played really good defense,” Brown said. Turnovers were down, but shooting was off. The Huskies shot 7-15 from the foul line, but their field goal percentage was much lower.
“It shouldn’t have been that close,” Brown said. “We had a multitude of shots in the paint, and it just wouldn’t fall.”
If one girl had hit 50 percent, the win would have been by double figures, Brown said, and the team has been emphasizing shooting in practice since then.
With their small size, the Huskies have to shoot well, Brown said. They don’t have the privilege of getting multiple looks at the hoop ever possession. They need to time their shots and make them count.
Getting a win in these circumstances is a big deal, Brown said. Last year, if they’d been in the same situation, he asked them, and “they said they probably would have folded in overtime.”
“They’re learning,” Brown said. “This is great getting them ready for league. They play as hard in the first quarter as they do in the first quarter. Their effort never ceases.”
Sweet Home 8 8 8 12 5 – 41
Westside 12 8 7 9 2 – 38
Sweet Home: Haley Kent 17, Jordan Miller 9, Harlee Brendle 9, Caitlyn Gillespie 4, Katie Virtue 2, Molly Dadey, Jessica Stockman, India Porter.
Westside: Alli Sloop 13, Tate 10, Fischer 7, Carr 6, Hagen 2, Palau.
North Eugene 68,
Sweet Home 34
With some heavy-hitting three-pointers, 5A North Eugene defeated the Huskies 68-34 on Thursday, Dec. 19, in Sweet Home.
Both teams started slow and the Huskies had a tough time getting rolling.
“I think we missed three or four easy shots at the beginning,” Brown said. “I’m not saying we could’ve beat them. It would’ve made it a lot more interesting. We played pretty darn good at the start. We just didn’t score.”
As the contest unfolded, North Eugene built a 12-8 advantage by the end of the first quarter, expanding its lead to 28-18 by halftime.
Courtney Gregory dropped four of her five three-pointers in the third quarter to vault North Eugene ahead 54-27.
Brown said North Eugene probably had about 28 offensive boards, while the Huskies had three, highlighting the need again for precision shooting.
Meanwhile turnover statistics were lower again, with just 13 on the game, and the Huskies pulled down 14 defensive rebounds, while hitting 12 of 37 shots.
North Eugene 12 16 26 14 – 68
Sweet Home 8 10 9 7 – 34
North Eugene: Courtney Gregory 21, Carver 11, Gain 8, Carroll 6, Daniel 5, Garber 4, O’Malloy 4, Laird 4, Keller 3, Snyder 2.
Sweet Home: Miller 11, H. Kent 10, Brendle 6, Virtue 5, Porter 2, C. Kent., Dadey, Amanda Hubbard.