Sky Chappell
The Sweet Home girls basketball team started their first league play in the Oregon West Conference on Jan. 19 losing 15-76 to Cascade, which is ranked No. 9 in the 4A division.
The Cougars (7-5) jumped out to a considerable 24-2 lead just after the first quarter. Following the first, the Cougars were able to get a substantial 48-9 lead by halftime. The Huskies, although behind, continued their fight. Coach Erika Evans commented on how proud of her team she was, stating “Overall I am proud, as always, of our ability to play the entire game with a consistent mindset of not backing down.”
“Cascade is a very tough team, and [a] very well developed program,” Evans said. “Moving forward, we are continuing to work on handling pressure and reading the court offensively.”
Freshman player Brooke Elder led the Huskies with a 26% shot percentage, along with sophomore player Addy Vannice with a 23%. Both athletes had a combination of 10 points.
Cascade, however, outshot Sweet Home (1-10) 52% to 13% from the field as well as turned over the ball significantly less, 11 times on the Huskies 37 times. Regardless, the girls still fought to the nail. As Evans commented, “My girls go all out, no matter the score, and are dedicated to the mission of building a program for the future.”
This week, the Huskies will be playing at Newport (2-10), Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. and will be back home playing Philomath (11-3), Jan. 26 at 5:30 p.m