The Huskies lost 60-41 to Junction City in their league opener Friday night at home in girls basketball.
“As far as the score goes and team defense, we did a pretty good job,” said Coach Steve Brown. Most of Junction City’s advantage came from its press and Husky turnovers.
“They got a bunch of fast break points,” Brown said.
Junction City broke away to an 18-6 lead after a quarter. By halftime, Junction City had buried Sweet Home under a 37-18 deficit. The Huskies held on for the most part in the second half, trailing 50-32 at the end of the third quarter.
The Huskies were hampered by fouls for their leading scorer. Ally Tow picked up two fouls early on and sat out most of the first quarter in foul trouble, Brown said. She went on to score 19, but she came out of the game with an injury with three minutes left in the game.
“That made Kayla Miller have to step up,” Brown said. She wasn’t sure of herself. She made a few mistakes, but “she did a great job.”
Miller also hit double digits, scoring 11 in the game.
“If everybody can at least score four points (a basket and two free throws), that puts us at 32 without Tow or Kayla Miller scoring,” Brown said. “Everything after that is icing on the cake.”
Brittany Brownell also was down most of Friday after being injured Thursday night against Yamhill-Carlton.
Looking forward, Brown thinks the Huskies have a chance and are looking for a win against a couple of other teams in the league.
“It only takes one win to get the ball rolling,” he said.
The Huskies were scheduled to travel to Sutherlin Tuesday and will face Sisters at home Friday before heading to Elmira next Tuesday.
They are 0-1 in league and 3-8 overall.
Junction City 18 19 13 11 – 61
Sweet Home 6 12 14 8 – 40
Junction City scoring: Katarina Thompson 16, Norris 10, Evans 8, N. Thompson 8, Eba 7, Graton 7, Ohman, Jobe.
Sweet Home scoring: Ally Tow 19, Kayla Miller 11, Kaitlynn Autry 4, Ashley Wickline 3, Hailey Silver 2, Bethany Gingerich 1, Brittany Brownell, Chiara DiMola.
Yamhill-Carlton 53. SH 44
Thursday night on the road, the Huskies trailed badly after a quarter, but they came back to within three or four before losing 53-44 to Yamhill-Carlton.
Yamhill-Carlton built a 19-6 lead in the first quarter. The Huskies slowed Yamhill-Carlton down in the second quarter, trailing 26-15 at halftime. The Huskies started catching up in the third quarter, trailing 39-32.
They got within three or four points in the fourth quarter, Brown said, but then they started fouling to get the ball back. Yamhill-Carlton answered by scoring from the foul line and increasing its lead.
“They were very physical,” Brown said. “We were shooting two free throws all of the fourth quarter.”
The Huskies hit just under 50 percent from the foul line, shooting 6-13.
“I’ve seen improvement, and they never give up,” Brown said.
Tow led the Huskies in the game with 25 points.
The girls also lost a game to Stayton 53-15 at home on Jan. 29.
Sweet Home 6 9 17 12 – 44
Yamhill-Carlton 19 7 13 14 – 53
Sweet Home scoring: Tow 25, Autry 6, Silver 3, Brownell 3, DiMola 3, Gingerich 2, Wickline 2, Miller, Kayla Bennett.
Yamhill-Calrton scoring: Megan Gaibler 13, Southard 10, Reimann 10, van Horn 9, Sauers 8, Whitchurch 3, Carlgren, Mitchell, Revas, Ready, Dixon.
Stayton 15 10 17 11 – 53
Sweet Home 4 8 0 3 – 15
Stayton scoring: Madison Anderson 16, Hollenbeck 12, Hendricks 7, Ikea-Mario 6, Shelton 6, Cates 4, Doran 2, A. Lindemann, E. Lindemann, Sheppard, Bender.