HSSZ: Week of Feb. 1 Capsules

BOYS BASKETBALL

Cottage Grove: 8-8, ranked #17
■ Tipping off: The Lions, with Cole Kishen – 2nd-team all-league a season ago – dive into the meat of their league season with games against No. 10 Marshfield and at No. 7 Marist this week. Only two league teams get automatic playoff bids, so two wins this week would be big for Cottage Grove’s playoff chances.

Creswell: 10-8, ranked #16
■ Tipping off: With a four-game week due to rescheduled games, Creswell’s hopes for repeating as Mountain Valley Conference champs rests on how the team does this week. The Bulldogs face No. 3 Pleasant Hill and No. 8 Harrisburg – the two teams ahead of them in the standings – and will need a big week from Tyler Whitson and Riley Smith.

Pleasant Hill: 14-3, ranked #3
■ Tipping off: After a three-game schedule last week, the Billies are back to two games this week as they host Creswell on Tuesday before traveling to Elmira on Thursday. After a dominant win over co-first place Harrisburg last week, senior captain Matt Nguyen and the Billies’ biggest remaining test is the Creswell game Tuesday.

Springfield: 4-13, ranked #26
■ Tipping off: The Millers still have an outside shot of reaching first-year coach TC Combs’ goal of making the postseason, but have two important games coming up against No. 9 Crater and No. 2 North Eugene. Sophomore Jayden Robinson will be key offensively if the Millers hope to pull off two upsets.

Thurston: 11-6, ranked #14
■ Tipping off: After a three-game week last week, the Colts have only one game this week – at Ashland (5-12) on Friday. Junior duo Nate Stiffler and Noah Blair continue leading Thurston offensively as the Colts enter the final few weeks of the regular season.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Cottage Grove: 12-5, ranked #13
■ Tipping off: Cottage Grove is sandwiched between its two opponents this week in the Sky-Em standings as the second-place Lions host first-place Marshfield on Friday before traveling to Marist on Tuesday. Second-year coach Pete LeMay already has the Lions tied for the most wins in a season since 2021.

Creswell: 12-6, ranked #9
■ Tipping off: Creswell has a hectic week with multiple make-up games from the storm. The Bulldogs travel No. 4 Pleasant Hill on Tuesday and La Pine on Wednesday before hosting Harrisburg on Friday and Sisters on Saturday. Three wins on the week would clinch a third straight playoff berth for Creswell.

Pleasant Hill: 11-4, ranked #4
■ Tipping off: Pleasant Hill – all but guaranteed a playoff spot – faces two teams still fighting for the postseason in No. 9 Creswell and No. 23 Elmira. A win over Creswell on Tuesday would also give the Billies a near-insurmountable lead in the Mountain Valley Conference title race in coach Paxton Miller’s first season. 

Thurston: 5-12, ranked #25
■ Tipping off: Thurston attempts to stop a five-game skid this week at Ashland – a team Thurston handled 60-18 earlier this season. Addison Nelson and Bailey Tovey have been the keys offensively when Thurston has won this season.

BOYS BASKETBALL

■ Cottage Grove had a 1-1 week to start Sky-Em League play, losing to No. 1 Junction City 57-39 before beating North Bend 44-36. In the JC loss, Gannon Leach had a solid game, finishing with 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals. 

■ Creswell had a big week, going 2-0 in conference play to move into sole possession of third place – and the final automatic playoff bid in the Mountain Valley Conference. In a 56-48 win over Siuslaw, Riley Smith had his best scoring game of the season with 20 points. Tyler Whitson then carried the load in a 57-44 win over Elmira, finishing with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.

■ Thurston went 2-1 in the most important week of the season to date. The Colts opened the week handling Springfield 60-35 behind 23 points and 7 rebounds from junior Nate Stiffler. Thurston then traveled to No. 2 North Eugene and fell 58-56 despite 17 points from Stiffler and 14 points and 7 rebounds from Luke Newell. The Colts bounced back on Friday, though, at No. 9 Crater, winning 61-57 in OT thanks to Stiffler’s 22 points.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

■ Cottage Grove finally began Sky-Em League play last week, losing to No.19 Junction City 51-35 in its opener before beating North Bend 63-41. Mariah Bailey had a team-high 15 in the loss, while three Lions scored in double figures in the win: Payton Anlauf with 17 points, Bailey with 13, and Makya Alsup with 13.

■ Creswell went 2-0 in emphatic fashion after eight days of no basketball due to the ice storm. The Bulldogs beat Siuslaw 71-19 last Tuesday behind 26 points and 5 steals from Dakota Carson, as well as 9 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 steals from Elliette Kinney. Then on Friday, Creswell handled Elmira 66-47 thanks to Brooke Moehlmann’s 23 points.

■ Pleasant Hill extended its win streak to seven games with a 3-0 week in Mountain Valley Conference competition. The Billies first beat La Pine 53-17 last Tuesday as Claire Crawford had 21 points and 11 rebounds, Karsyn Stapleton scored 15, and Raigan Obie chipped in 11 points and 7 steals. Pleasant Hill then beat Sisters 36-20 behind Crawford’s 15 points and 11 rebounds, and the Billies finished the week with a 57-37 win over Harrisburg thanks to Crawford’s 16 points and 7 rebounds.

■ Springfield had a 3-0 week, winning its games by a combined margin of +167 – an average of 55.6 per game. The Millers opened the week by beating Thurston 84-16 as Danaeja Romero-Ah Sam had 23 points, 7 assists, and 6 steals. The next night Springfield beat Churchill 68-30 as Diamond Wright scored 19 points. The Millers finished off the week with an 89-28 win at Eagle Point. 

■ Thurston had a tough week, losing 84-16 at No. 7 Springfield, 58-47 against North Eugene, and 84-20 at No. 1 Crater. Bridgette Nault and Gracie Nissen each had 5 points against Springfield. 

RESULTS

BOYS BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Jan. 23
■ Junction City 57, Cottage Grove 39
■ Creswell 56, Siuslaw 48
■ Pleasant Hill 85, La Pine 72
■ Thurston 60, Springfield 35
Wednesday, Jan. 24
■ Churchill 61, Springfield 57
■ North Eugene 58, Thurston 56
Thursday, Jan. 25
■ Pleasant Hill 69, Sisters 49
Friday, Jan. 26
■ Cottage Grove 44, North Bend 36
■ Eagle Point 50, Springfield 49
■ Thurston 61, Crater 57 (OT)
Saturday, Jan. 27
■ Creswell 57, Elmira 44
■ Pleasant Hill 67, Harrisburg 35

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Jan. 23
■ Junction City 51, Cottage Grove 35
■ Creswell 71, Siuslaw 19
■ Pleasant Hill 53, La Pine 17
■ Springfield 84, Thurston 16
Wednesday, Jan. 24
■ Springfield 68, Churchill 30
■ North Eugene 58, Thurston 47
Thursday, Jan. 25
■ Pleasant Hill 36, Sisters 20
Friday, Jan. 26
■ Cottage Grove 63, North Bend 41
■ Springfield 89, Eagle Point 28
■ Crater 84, Thurston 20
Saturday, Jan. 27
■ Creswell 66, Elmira 47
■ Pleasant Hill 57, Harrisburg 37

SCHEDULES

BOYS BASKETBALL
Thursday, Feb. 1
■ Pleasant Hill at Elmira, 6 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 2
■ Crater at Springfield, 7 p.m.
■ Thurston at Ashland, 7 p.m.
■ Marshfield at Cottage Grove, 7:15 p.m.
■ Harrisburg at Creswell, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 3
■ Sisters at Creswell, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 6
■ Springfield at North Eugene, 6:45 p.m.
■ Cottage Grove at Marist, 7:15 p.m.
■ Creswell at Sisters, 7:30 p.m.
■ Siuslaw at Pleasant Hill, 7:30 p.m.
■ Thurston at Churchill, 7:30 p.m.

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Thursday, Feb. 1
■ Pleasant Hill at Elmira, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 2
■ Crater at Springfield, 5:30 p.m.
■ Thurston at Ashland, 5:30 p.m.
■ Marshfield at Cottage Grove, 5:45 p.m.
■ Harrisburg at Creswell, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 3
■ Sisters at Creswell, 6 p.m.
■ Pleasant Hill at Marshfield, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 6
■ Cottage Grove at Marist, 5:45 p.m.
■ Creswell at Sisters, 6 p.m.
■ Siuslaw at Pleasant Hill, 6 p.m.
■ North Eugene at Springfield, 6:45 p.m.
■ Churchill at Thurston, 6:45 p.m.

WRESTLING
Friday, Feb. 2
■ Creswell at Special District 2 Duals (Santiam Christian), 3 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 3
■ Cottage Grove at Frostbite Open (La Pine), 10 a.m.
■ Creswell at Special District 2 Duals (Santiam Christian), TBD
Wednesday, Feb. 7
■ Dallas at Thurston Dual Meet, TBD