THE MAIN EVENT: BASKETBALL
MARIST AT COTTAGE GROVE
■ Game facts: Friday, Jan. 19, Marist Catholic at Cottage Grove boys at 5:45 p.m., girls at 7:15 p.m.
■ Tipping off: The Lions host Marist in Sky-Em League matchups Friday. First up, the CG boys (7-7, ranked #18) face the Spartan boys (9-5, #10), who are fresh off an upset over No. 1 Junction City. Cole Kishen and the Lions fell to Marist once already this season, a 65-41 loss in the I-5 Holiday Tournament. After the boys, senior captain Payton Anlauf and the CG girls (11-4, #11) host Marist (7-7, #12) in a matchup between two borderline top-10 teams.
WEEKLY PREVIEWS
BOYS BASKETBALL
Creswell: 8-8, ranked #16
■ Tipping off: Creswell tries to bounce back after an 0-2 stretch against the top two teams in the Mountain Valley Conference. Tyler Whitson, who leads the Bulldogs in points, rebounds, and assists, leads Creswell against Sisters (6-7) and Siuslaw (9-5) this week.
Pleasant Hill: 11-3, ranked #2
■ Tipping off: Pleasant Hill travels to Siuslaw and Elmira. The Billies are led by the captain trio of Matt Nguyen, Landen Melvin, and defending MVC Player of the Year Gavin Inglish.
Springfield: 4-10, ranked #24
■ Tipping off: The Millers host rival No. 17 Thurston next Tuesday as they look to build off their first Midwestern League win since Feb. 1, 2022. Vinnie Trinka and Jayden Robinson have been two of the more consistent scorers for first-year coach TC Combs.
Thurston: 9-5, ranked #17
■ Tipping off: Thurston is at North Eugene on Tuesday, after deadline, before hosting Eagle Point on Friday. Walker Bonar, Thurston’s second-highest returning scorer from last season, had perhaps his best game of the season last week with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Bonar has struggled to score this season, but if he emerges during league play the Colts could contend with North Eugene and No. 8 Crater for the conference crown.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Creswell: 10-6, ranked #10
■ Tipping off: Senior captain Dakota Carson and the Bulldogs look to cement themselves as the second-best team in the Mountain Valley Conference as they finish out the first half of conference play with games against Sisters and Siuslaw.
Pleasant Hill: 8-4, ranked #4
■ Tipping off: The Billies continue to inch their way up the rankings, and are No. 4 after a four-game win streak. The reigning MVC Player of the Year Claire Crawford continues her excellent season, with multiple games of 20+ points and 10+ rebounds in recent weeks. Pleasant Hill closes out the first half of conference play at Elmira and Siuslaw.
Springfield: 9-6, ranked #3
■ Tipping off: The Millers host Thurston next Tuesday as they continue looking to right the ship after an early league loss to Crater. Diamond Wright has stepped up for the Millers this season, and is averaging 15 points a game in league play.
Thurston: 5-7, ranked #24
■ Tipping off: Thurston hosts No. 18 Eagle Point on Friday in a matchup of teams vying for the third and final automatic playoff spot out of the Midwestern League. Senior Bailey Tovey and sophomore Addison Nelson will likely be the scoring leaders all season for the Colts.
WEEKLY RECAPS
BOYS BASKETBALL
■ Cottage Grove,like many other schools in Oregon, had a game canceled due to travel conditions last week. The Lions were able to get on the road and head to No. 14 Hidden Valley on Wednesday near Grants Pass, where CGHS fell 60-56.
■ Springfield earned its first Midwestern League win since February 2022 with a 60-49 victory over Ashland last week. Jayden Robinson led the Millers with a game-high 15 points, and Vinnie Trinka added 13 points for Springfield.
■ Thurston’s sole game last week was a 51-34 win over Churchill. Nate Stiffler had a game-high 15 points, while senior Walker Bonar totaled 14 points and 7 rebounds for the Colts.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
■ Cottage Grove had two dominant non-league wins, beating Hidden Valley 66-22 and Class 5A Thurston 60-39. Sophomore guard Mariah Bailey led the way against HV with 18 points, and Payton Anlauf chipped in 15. Against Thurston, Jaylee Lima had 15 points and Anlauf added 11 as the Lions extended their win streak to six games.
■ Springfield had two away Midwestern League wins as the Millers handled North Eugene 62-55 and Ashland 73-20. Danaeja Romero-Ah Sam and Diamond Wright led the way in both games. Against NE, Romero-Ah Sam had 23 points and 8 rebounds, while Wright had 14 points and 11 rebounds. In the Ashland win, Wright led the way with 20 points and Romero-Ah Sam chipped in 16 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals.
■ Thurston had an 0-2 week, losing to Churchill 67-42 and Cottage Grove 60-39.
WRESTLING RECAPS
■ Thurston wrestled at the Oregon Wrestling Classic dual meet at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center in Redmond. The Colts girls won their dual meet, defeating La Grande in the finals. Eily Ashler (102 pounds), Rubie Winterburn (107), Kristal Zamora (142), and Katelyn Dow (192) all went 3-0 in the championship duals for Thurston. The boys finished third in the Class 5A dual meet, losing to Redmond in the semifinals before beating Mountain View for third place. Michael Salas Sanchez (108), Kanoe Kelly (115), Jaxon Harada (128), Sean Regas (134), and Brian Osorio (287) all went undefeated in the championship bracket.
CONFERENCE CALL
Weekly notes from around our area teams’ conferences:
Marist boys down No. 1 Junction City
■ No. 10 Marist Catholic beat No. 1 Junction City to open Sky-Em League play last week. The loss was Junction City’s first league loss since June 15, 2021 – a 65-59 loss to Siuslaw during the Covid season. Marist held a Junction City offense that was averaging over 56 points a game to only 37 points, JC’s second-lowest output of the season.
Crater girls extend streak to 10
■ The top-ranked Crater Comets girls basketball team owns the longest win streak in Class 5A after two dominant Midwestern League wins last week. The Comets have won 10 in a row, including a 59-49 win over Springfield two weeks ago. As Springfield and Crater battle for the league title, the Comets dominated Ashland 88-14 and beat North Eugene 67-40 last week to move to 3-0 in league play. Sage Winslow led the Comets with 21 points and 7 steals in the win over Ashland.
RESULTS/SCHEDULES
Results
BOYS BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Jan. 9
Pleasant Hill 63, Creswell 53
North Eugene 75, Springfield 35
Thurston 51, Churchill 34
Wednesday, Jan. 10
Hidden Valley 60, Cottage Grove 56
Friday, Jan. 12
Harrisburg 55, Creswell 43
Springfield 60, Ashland 49
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Jan. 9
Pleasant Hill 47, Creswell 37
Springfield 62, North Eugene 55
Churchill 67, Thurston 42
Wednesday, Jan. 10
Cottage Grove 66, Hidden Valley 22
Friday, Jan. 12
Cottage Grove 60, Thurston 39
Creswell 57, Harrisburg 29
Springfield 73, Ashland 20
Schedules
BOYS BASKETBALL
Friday, Jan. 19
Marist at Cottage Grove, 5:45 p.m.
Pleasant Hill at Elmira, 6 p.m.
Eagle Point at Thurston, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 23
Junction City at Cottage Grove, 5:45 p.m.
Creswell at Siuslaw, 6 p.m.
La Pine at Pleasant Hill, 6 p.m.
Thurston at Springfield, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 25
Creswell at La Pine, 7:30 p.m.
Sisters at Pleasant Hill, 7:30 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Friday, Jan. 19
Eagle Point at Thurston, 5:30 p.m.
Marist at Cottage Grove, 7:15 p.m.
Pleasant Hill at Elmira, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 23
Thurston at Springfield, 5:30 p.m.
Junction City at Cottage Grove, 7:15 p.m.
Creswell at Siuslaw, 7:30 p.m.
La Pine at Pleasant Hill, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 25
Creswell at La Pine, 6 p.m.
Sisters at Pleasant Hill, 6 p.m.
WRESTLING
Friday, Jan. 19
Cottage Grove at Bay City Duals (Marshfield), TBD
Pleasant Hill at Special District 3 League Meet (Rogue River), 5 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 20
Cottage Grove at Bay City Duals (Marshfield), TBD
Springfield at Southridge Wrestling Tournament, 9:30 a.m.
Creswell at Screaming Eagle (Santiam Christian), 10 a.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 23
Creswell, Pleasant Hill at Creswell Dual, TBD
Springfield at Elmira Dual, TBD
Wednesday, Jan. 24
Thurston at Redmond Dual, 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 25
Creswell at Senior Night Duals (Siuslaw), 5 p.m.
