Benny Westcott
Sweet Home girls basketball players are happy to get back on the hardtop, albeit with much warmer weather outside than in a typical basketball season.
“We’re just so glad we get a season,” said Head Coach Michelle Knight. “We’re hoping to build on what we started last year.”
Earlier this year there were questions about whether the OSAA would even allow indoor “contact” sports like basketball and wrestling, but when the organization decided to allow sports, it moved “winter” sports — basketball, swimming and wrestling to the final of the three six-week seasons that began in mid-February. The “winter” season will run through the end of June.
Knight said she didn’t think the team was going to be able to play this year, and that her squad is thankful for what they’re getting.
The girls finished sixth in the 4A-3 Oregon West Conference last season, going 1-11 in their league and 7-16 overall.
They already matched that with a win at Sisters to open their season, then following that up with a close loss at Woodburn on Saturday, May 22.
Whether Sweet Home can be more competitive in the Oregon West League this year remains to be seen, but it’s a good start. And the good news was that the Huskies proved last year that they were no longer mere pushovers, as they had been in recent years. The other good news is talent from that team is returning.
“We hope to improve and have fun and go into, hopefully, a more normal year next year,” Knight said of the Huskies.
As for this year, she said that things are hard to predict.
Philomath was a dominant force in the league last year, going undefeated in conference play and earning a 24-1 overall record.
“In normal years, we know what the other teams look like, we know who we’re up against. And this year, a lot of teams don’t have a JV team. All numbers are down across the board, so it’s just a totally different year,” she said.
Despite the unknowns, Knight said “I feel like we have a strong core group that will do some really good things.”
“We have a really good group of girls that help each other out and believe in each other,” she said. “The kids that have played a little bit more and know more about the game are so good at coaching and helping the girls that are still learning some of those things.”
She said that having much less time than usual to prepare for the season before the first game has been “pretty overwhelming,” but that “the kids have responded well to it. It’s been a pretty quick learning curve.”
The squad had three softball players and four track athletes miss basketball practices as they finished up their spring sport commitments.
Key returnees include sophomore Brooke Burke, junior Adaira Burger, junior Katie Miller, and senior Natalie Rodgers.
Rounding out the squad are Shelbey Nichol, Jillian Lynn, Katie Robeck, Chloe Fairchild, Kailey James, Adrienne Funk, Keely Boyd, Meeja Bitter, Madison Duncan and Angel Cordes.
Because teams are low on numbers, conference teams will play a 15-minute “fifth quarter” prior to the varsity games, for those who would typically be JV players.
“It’s not ideal, but it’s better than nothing,” Knight said of the fifth quarters. “I think we would have more kids if everything didn’t overlap quite so much, but that’s out of our control.”