The Huskies lost their season opener 53-27 to Molalla at home Friday night in girls basketball but turned around Saturday afternoon and defeated the Lebanon JV 54-28 on the road Saturday. The junior varsity lost against both.
Molalla 53, Sweet Home 27
With just a day of practice last week, the Huskies came out of the gate cold at the net, and Molalla, with three games already under its belt, ran up a 19-4 lead in the first quarter.
The Huskies controlled the game better in the second quarter, outscoring Molalla and closing the lead to 28-19 at halftime.
The Huskies went cold again after the half, trailing Molalla 43-21 at the end of the third quarter.
“We couldn’t throw a BB into the Grand Canyon at the start,” said Coach Steve Brown. The Huskies stopped Molalla several times in the first minutes, brought the ball back but couldn’t get anything going.
“We played very well in the second quarter,” Brown said, but with one practice last week, he thought a lot of it was first-game jitters.
“Coming into that game against Molalla, I was pretty excited because I know we improved a lot since last year,” said Harlee Brendle. She thought they needed to keep up their energy better into the third and fourth quarters.
“If I had to give a game ball for Molalla, I’d have to give it to Harlee Brendle,” Brown said. She pulled down 12 rebounds, half of the Huskies boards, and scored nine.
Jordan Miller kicked in eight, and Katie Virtue scored six.
Molalla 19 9 15 10 – 53
Sweet Home 4 15 2 6 – 27
Molalla: Isabella Petitta 12, Child 9, Am. Rieskamp 8, K. Larsen 6, Au. Rieskamp 5, H. Satyna 4, A. Larsen 4, Elliott 3, K. Satyna 2, Marr, Thrower, Kelly.
Sweet Home: Harlee Brendle 9, Jordan Miller 8, Katie Virtue 6, Haley Kent 2, Jessica Stockman 2, Caitlyn Gillespie, India Porter, Molly Dadey, Courtney Kent, Amanda Hubbard.
Sweet Home 54, Lebanon 28
The Huskies turned around on Saturday and recorded a win against Lebanon’s JV.
“They were pretty big,” Brown said. “But we came back, and we had pretty good balance. We handled their press. We did a lot of things well. We played really good defense.”
Ballhawks Virtue and Haley Kent hassled Lebanon’s ball handlers and came away with seven and five steals respectively. Brendle stole the ball five times to help lead the team to 25 on the game.
The girls pulled down 23 defensive boards and picked off six on offense.
Their shooting percentage was much higher, in the 50s, Brown said. The Huskies were making crazy shots – Virtue over the shoulder with her left hand while getting fouled.
“They played well,” Brown said. “I’m hoping this gets them started.”
Lebanon is a 5A school with big girls, he said, so it’s like a 4A game.
“If we could play like this all the time, we’ll be very competitive,” Brown said. “We’re still gelling and learning to work together. We’re getting there.’
“Saturday’s game was good all the way around,” Brendle said. “This season it seems we’re more a team,” especially with Virtue and and both Kent twins on the floor. Courtney Kent and Virtue had not played since they were freshmen, and Brendle played Boys and Girls Club ball with them since they were little.
“I have a really good feeling about this season,” Brendle said.
The Huskies built a 14-2 lead in the first quarter, extending it to 26-13 at halftime and 41-19 at the end of the third.
Gillespie led scoring with 14 points, followed by Haley Kent with 13 and Miller with 12. Brendle added six; Hubbard, 5; and Virtue, four. Porter, Dadey and Courtney Kent played but did not score.
Sweet Home 14 12 15 13 – 54
Lebanon JV 2 11 6 9 – 28 G