CRESWELL – The Bulldogs girls basketball team continues to have Harrisburg’s number this season as they earned their second 20+ point win over the Eagles with a final score of 66-39 last Friday. Creswell’s defense was stout, turning Harrisburg turnovers into easy looks on the other end all night.
“We try and play harder than anyone else,” Creswell coach Tyler Hollingsworth said. “We want to put pressure on everyone. So we use that as almost like an offensive catalyst, so we try and get into people early and make them feel uncomfortable. Our girls have bought in – they’re probably one of the hardest-playing groups I’ve coached in the last couple years.”
Creswell succeeded in setting the tone early by taking a lead and never letting go. The Bulldogs went up by as much as 40 points in the third quarter before a late run by Harrisburg. Even while up big, though, Hollingsworth stressed keeping their foot on the pedal.
“That’s probably the hardest thing – having fun, but not losing your mentality or what you want to do,” Hollingsworth said. “So we really harped on it at halftime. We said, ‘I don’t care what the score is, if you’re in the game we have expectations that you play a certain way.’”
The driving force for the Bulldogs in the first half was senior guard Dakota Carson, scoring all 19 of her points on the night in that time, helping Creswell to a 47-11 halftime lead.
“She’s our engine for sure offensively,” Hollingsworth said. “We have a lot of capable players, but she’s been the most consistent for us. So when she starts off easy it kind of opens things up for everyone else.”
Carson wasn’t the only significant contributor for the Bulldogs. Sophomore Elliette Kinney finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals, Kylie Leonard recorded 9 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals, and Lauren Bailey finished with 6 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists.
With their triumph on Friday followed by another win on Saturday against Sisters, Creswell holds sole possession of second place in the Mountain Valley Conference – only behind Pleasant Hill. The Bulldogs look to defend their position on Tuesday at Sisters. With a win, Creswell would secure its third straight postseason appearance.
“I don’t care how we win or lose, I care what we did,” Hollingsworth said. “If we win or lose it happens, but if we did it the right way good things are probably going to happen.”
