HSSZ: Recaps

GIRLS BASKETBALL

■ Springfield: Springfield finished its road trip to Arizona for the Nike Tournament of Champions. After falling to Christ the King of New York last Monday, the Millers lost a close game 38-33 to Salpointe Catholic of Arizona. Danaeja Romero-Ah Sam had 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals and JB Robinson finished with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals in the loss. The Millers then went to the secondary consolation bracket and won their final two games, defeating Pine Creek of Colorado 46-27 and Flowing Wells of Arizona 65-26. Romero-Ah Sam led the Millers against Pine Creek with 13 points, 4 assists and 3 steals, while Robinson had a great all-around game, finishing with 10 points, 6 boards, 6 steals and 5 assists.
■ Cottage Grove: Cottage Grove went 0-2 in their holiday tournament last week, falling to South Umpqua 52-36 and Hidden Valley 47-32. Despite the losses, the Lions may have found a new scorer in freshman Mariah Bailey. Bailey followed up a 17-point performance last week by leading Cottage Grove in scoring in both tournament games with 10 and 9 points in the two games. Carli DeGarlais added 8 points against South Umpqua and Logan Zolezzi had 9 against Hidden Valley. (See more on chronicle1909.com)
■ Creswell: Creswell hosted the Bulldog Invitational and won its first game against Class 2A No. 9 Oakridge 69-31 before falling in the finals to No. 8 Coquille 56-38.
■ Pleasant Hill: Pleasant Hill’s only game last week was one of many canceled on Thursday due to weather and road conditions. The Billies were scheduled to travel to Class 4A No. 6 Marshfield, but instead got the week off.
■ Thurston: Thurston’s only game last week was a 63-43 loss at No. 6 Corvallis. Star junior Bailey Tovey had 17 points and 5 rebounds in the loss and freshman Addison Nelson chipped in 11 points.

BOYS BASKETBALL

■ Creswell: Creswell successfully defended its Bulldog Invitational crown last week, beating Sutherlin 61-21 and Class 4A No. 13 North Bend 62-28. Max Velarde had a stellar tournament, finishing with 16 points, 5 steals and 3 assists against Sutherlin and 12 points and 7 rebounds against NB. Sophomore Tyler Whitson had a great all-around tournament as well, averaging 10.5 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals per game. Senior Connor Hanson led the Bulldogs in scoring against NB with 16 points.
■ Springfield: Springfield’s brutal 2022 schedule continued last week against Class 6A No. 23 Liberty. The Millers fell to Liberty 73-31 last Tuesday before gearing up to travel to Crescent Valley. Unfortunately, Springfield’s last game before Christmas was one of the many canceled last Thursday due to road conditions from the weather.
■ Thurston: Thurston’s only game last week was a dramatic 57-55 win over Class 6A Century. Junior Walker Bonar hit a jumper with 8.2 seconds left to lift Thurston to the win. Bonar finished with 20 points while Hunter James led Thurston with 25 and Nate Stiffler added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
■ Pleasant Hill: No games last week.