Sisters 41
Sweet Home 38
Sisters sank a three on the buzzer to take a 41-38 win from the Husky girls Friday night at home.
Sisters led 6-4 after the first quarter and 22-17 at halftime.
“We actually took the lead for a little while in the third,” Coach Jason Gorham said. The two teams were tied 28-28 at the end of the third quarter.
Sisters hit a couple of quick baskets in the beginning of the fourth to take the lead back, and the two teams went back and forth.
With less than a minute, the Eagles knocked down a bucket to take a 38-36 lead. Dani Thireault hit a field goal with an assist from Chelsea Hackworth to tie the game.
The Huskies did a nice job on defense, Coach Gorham said, but Sisters was able to put up a last-second shot to win it.
“We played really well,” Coach Gorham said. “We had too many turnovers in the first half, but in the second half we only had seven.”
Part of the problem was Sisters’ press, Coach Gorham said. The Huskies made some adjustments and took much better care of the ball in the second half. That helped them hang on with a shot to win at the end.
Hannah Swanson led scoring for the Huskies with 13 points. Ashlee Flanagan added six; Hackworth, five; Thireault, four, Sara Brocard, four; Nicki Aerni, four; Tabbi Trahan, two.
Emily Van Blaricum and McClain led Sisters with 11 each.
Stayton 44
Sweet Home 30
Stayton defeated the Huskies 44-30 on Feb. 8 at home.
“We came out and had a really good first quarter,” Coach Gorham said. The Huskies were tied 10-10 after that quarter. “They were able to have a big second quarter.”
Stayton built a decisive 23-13 halftime lead.
“They executed their offense and got some good shots,” Coach Gorham said. The big difference was Stayton was 6-8 from the foul line in the second quarter.
“I know we missed some open shots out of our offense,” Gorham said. “We were getting good looks, and they just weren’t going in.”
Stayton stretched its lead by two per quarter the rest of the game, leading 29-17 at the end of the third quarter.
“I was pretty happy,” Coach Gorham said. “We did pretty well. We were able to get a lot more shots than we normally do against Stayton.”
Swanson led Husky scoring with 10 points. Flanagan added eight; Hackworth, six; Trahan, two; Thireault, two; and Brocard, two.
Heather Hoppman led Stayton scoring with 14. Crisman added eight.
Stayton is third in the Capital Conference behind Cascade and North Marion. Its only losses this year were to those two teams, which are both ranked top five in the state. The Huskies are scheduled to play both this week.
The Huskies are tied with Molalla for fifth place and may end up playing a tie breaker. The winner of the tie breaker will probably face Sisters in conference playoffs then Stayton for third seeding in state playoffs.
“We played a real good game against them Friday,” Coach Gorham said. “I think we could beat them if we see them again.?
“We’ve got two tough games this week with North Marion and Cascade,” Coach Gorham said. Cascade is in first place. North Marion is second, with its only league losses to Cascade.
His team will go out and play as well as it can, Coach Gorham said. “We want to end the season playing our best basketball.”
Last weeks games were among the best against tough teams so far this year, Coach Gorham said.