Two home wins last week propelled Sweet Home girls basketball to a .500 league record of 5-5, and kept the Huskies (9-12, ranked no. 17 in OSAA) in playoff contention.
Sweet Home beat Sisters (7-13, No. 24) 51-40, and then beat No. 11 Stayton (11-6) 45-26. Sweet Home had previously lost twice to Stayton this season.
Sweet Home had three double digit scorers against the Outlaws. Junior guard Brooke Burke scored 16 points on 4-for-10 shooting, going 8-for-9 from the free throw line. Senior post player Adaira Sleutel also had 16, going 5-for-8 from the field, including a 2-for-3 mark from three-point land. She shot 4-for-5 on free throws. Freshman Kaylynn Mamac had 12 points on 5-for-11 shooting, going 2-for-4 from the charity stripe. Senior Mercedes Burks added five points while senior Chloe Fairchild scored two, ensuring that all five Husky starters put up points in the game.
“It’s just huge that we are all scoring now, rather than just one or two,” Head Coach Michelle Knight said.
“We’re definitely emphasizing that. Most teams that we play will double team Burke and Sleutel most of the game. We’ve been working hard on creating opportunities to get the other girls open, and they’ve been executing perfectly.”
Sleutel led the team in rebounds with 11, while Mamac pulled down eight.
The Huskies outshot the Outlaws 40.0% to 34.1%.
Against Stayton, Sweet Home held the Eagles to just 21.6% shooting, thanks to watching a lot of film and a defensive strategy masterminded by Assistant Coach Nick Tyler designed to mitigate Stayton’s outside shooters, Knight said.
“The girls executed the plan to perfection,” Knight noted. “It was such a sweet win for us.”
“I’m really proud of our team,” the coach continued. “We have very small numbers, but the great thing about having a small team is that they know each other and know where they are going to be on the floor.”
Sweet Home roared out to an 8-0 lead, backed by an enthusiastic home crowd. The rest of the first half was more competitive, with Sweet Home hanging onto a 17-15 lead before Burke hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to send her team into the locker room up 20-15 at halftime. The second half was all Sweet Home as the Huskies held the Eagles to just 11 points.
Sweet Home shot 35.3% from the field in the game. Stayton’s poor shooting performance also included a 2-for-9 effort from the free throw line.
Burke scored 16 points for the second consecutive game, going 5-for-14 from the field, 3-for-9 on three pointers, and 3-for-3 from the foul line. Mamac scored 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting, and the freshman also pulled down 13 rebounds. Sleutel scored 11 points on 5-for-14 shooting, grabbing 13 rebounds as well.
Sweet Home plays at Newport (6-13, No. 28) on Friday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. in the Huskies’ second to last game of the regular season. They will finish the regular season Feb. 22 at home against Cascade.