BULLDOGS FREYA DEMASTERS PUTS UP TWO IN THE PAINT DURING THE THIRD QUARTER OF THE CRESWELL VS OAKLAND MATCHUP ON DEC. 14. THE CRESWELL BULLDOGS LOST TO THE OAKLAND OAKERS 38-43 AND HAVE A CURRENT OVERALL RECORD OF 5-4. Christopher Palanuk/The Creswell Chronicle
It was a two-loss week of girls’ basketball for the Creswell, as the Lady Dawgs fell hard on the road to Salem Academy, 17-52, on Dec. 11 and dropped a second game, 38-43 to visiting Oakland on Dec. 14.
The Lady Dawgs were shut out in the first quarter at Salem Academy, 0-14; they trailed 11-26 at halftime, 14-40 after three quarters and were outscored 3-12 in the final period.
”We actually played better than what the score said – we just couldn’t make any baskets,” said Creswell Head Coach Tyler Hollingsworth. ”We probably should’ve only been down by about four at halftime, but we missed five layups and five free throws in the first half.”
In the second half, ”we were running our offense pretty well and getting good looks; we had nine or 10 wide-open shots I’d give us a high percentage chance of making on a typical day,” Hollingsworth said. ”It was just overall a horrible day of shooting for us.”
Bailey Howell scored seven points and made five blocks. Freya DeMasters also scored seven points and had two rebounds.
”They’re a good team, but if more of our shots had been dropping, I think we could’ve at least made it more competitive,” Hollingsworth said. ”The girls kept fighting; we just couldn’t get the ball to go in the hole.”
Against Oakland, Creswell also got off to a slow start, but with a better second half of shooting found a way to make it a close game. The Lady Dawgs trailed 1-14 after one and 7-22 at halftime, but closed to 22-29 at the end of the third quarter.
In the first half, the Oakers scored nine points off 19 Creswell turnovers. But the Lady Dawgs came on strong in the third quarter, outscoring the Oakers 15-7, and closed to within three with just minutes left in the game.
”We fought hard to come back and had two possessions where we could’ve gotten within one, but we just didn’t execute down the stretch,” Hollingsworth said.
DeMasters led Creswell with 11 points and three rebounds. Emme Whitson had 10 points and seven rebounds; Aubrie Hatch had nine points and seven rebounds; and Howell had three points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
”Our defense has been pretty good for the most part, but inconsistency is our biggest obstacle right now,” Hollingsworth said. ”I’ve got to do a better job coaching consistency this week.”
The Lady Dawgs stay home this week, hosting Sutherlin and Westside Christian for two more non-league contests. After that, they will be on break until their first league game on Jan. 4.
