THE MAIN EVENT – GIRLS WRESTLING
■ Game facts: Thurston heads to North Eugene this weekend for the 6A/5A Special District 3 championships. The Colts, ranked No. 1 in Class 6A/5A, will primarily be battling with No. 3 Redmond and No. 5 North Medford – the defending state champs – for the league title. Rubie Winterburn, Kristal Zamora, Elly Asher,and Katelyn Dow lead the Colts.
WEEKLY PREVIEWS
BOYS BASKETBALL
COTTAGE GROVE: 8-9, RANKED #17
■ Tipping off: Cottage Grove travels to Junction City on Friday as the Lions try to upset the top-ranked Tigers. JC beat Cottage Grove 57-39 in mid-January, so the Lions will need senior duo Gannon Leach and Cole Kishen to lead the offense to pull off the upset.
CRESWELL: 11-11, RANKED #16
■ Tipping off: Creswell tries to bounce back after a 1-3 record last week as the Bulldogs travel to Sisters on Tuesday. Sisters just beat Creswell 48-35 on Saturday, so leading scorer Tyler Whitson will need a good game after scoring only 11 in Saturday’s loss.
PLEASANT HILL: 16-3, RANKED #3
■ Tipping off: The Billies are in a battle with Harrisburg for first place in the conference, and this week Pleasant Hill looks to continue its six-game win streak as it hosts last-place Elmira. Junior Gavin Inglish continues his campaign for back-to-back conference player of the year honors.
SPRINGFIELD: 4-14, RANKED #26
■ Tipping off: Springfield hosts Ashland on Friday in a battle of teams that each have only one league win this season. Springfield’s league win was a 60-49 victory at Ashland earlier this season, though, so junior Vinnie Trinka and the Millers are looking for the season sweep.
THURSTON: 12-6, RANKED #14
■ Tipping off: The Colts host No. 2 North Eugene next Tuesday as the two top teams in the Midwestern League face off for the second time. North Eugene beat Thurston 58-56 in late January, but a victory this time around could give coach Blaine Liberatore and the Colts a shot at a share of the league title.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
COTTAGE GROVE: 13-6, RANKED #16
■ Tipping off: Cottage Grove travels to Junction City on Friday as the Lions seek revenge on JC for a 51-35. After an upset win over No. 12 Marshfield last week, senior guard Jaylee Lima and the Lions are in prime position to grab one of the Sky-Em League’s two automatic playoff spots.
CRESWELL: 15-7, RANKED #10
■ Tipping off: Creswell rides a three-game win streak into its final two games of the regular season. The Bulldogs travel to Sisters on Tuesday – a team Creswell beat on Saturday to earn sole possession of second place in the Mountain Valley Conference.
PLEASANT HILL: 13-5, RANKED #4
■ Tipping off: Pleasant Hill sits alone in first place of the MVC as the Billies are 8-0 in conference play. Two more conference wins would clinch back-to-back regular-season conference crowns for junior Claire Crawford and the Billies, who host Elmira this Friday.
SPRINGFIELD: 12-7, RANKED #3
■ Tipping off: While back-to-back Midwestern League titles seems unlikely now after two losses to No. 1 Crater, the Millers are still battling for prime postseason rankings. Junior post player Diamond Wright and the Millers host last-place Ashland on Friday.
THURSTON: 6-12, RANKED #24
■ Tipping off: Thurston begins the second half of league play tied for fourth in the standings. The Colts travel to No. 15 North Eugene on Tuesday, and need an upset if they have any postseason dreams this season.
WEEKLY RECAPS
BOYS BASKETBALL
■ Cottage Grove’s only game last week was a 64-39 loss to No. 9 Marshfield. Cole Kishen (19 points) and Trevor Cooper (15 points) combined for 34 of the Lions’ 39 points in the loss.
■ Creswell went 1-3 in its biggest week of the season, falling to 11-11 overall and 5-5 in league play. Creswell’s only win was a 69-58 victory over La Pine in which junior Tyler Whitson finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals.
■ Pleasant Hill kept pace for the conference title race with two wins last week, beating Creswell 68-47 and Elmira 74-57. Gavin Inglish led the way in both wins, scoring 20 to beat Creswell and 30 against Elmira.
■ Thurston’s sole game last week was a 73-56 win at Ashland on Friday. Four Colts scored in double figures: Nate Stiffler and Noah Blair each with 17, Walker Bonar with 16, and Luke Newell with 13.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
■ Cottage Grove had a 1-1 week, losing a non-league game to Class 5A North Eugene 70-35 before bouncing back with a 46-40 league win over No. 12 Marshfield. Jaylee Lima had 13 points in the win, and Payton Anlauf and Mariah Bailey each had 9.
■ Pleasant Hill grabbed two conference wins last week, beating No. 10 Creswell 48-42 and Elmira 53-22, before falling 38-18 in a non-conference game at Marshfield. Claire Crawford finished the Creswell game with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman Karsyn Stapleton had a solid week, scoring 14 against Creswell, 13 against Elmira, and 9 at Marshfield.
■ Thurston earned its second league win of the season after beating Ashland 48-36 last week. The Colts trailed at halftime but completed the comeback to move into a tie with Eagle Point and Churchill for fourth in the Midwestern League.
WRESTLING RECAPS
■ Cottage Grove competed at the La Pine Frostbite Open, the boys coming in fourth and the girls in fifth. Jeffery Conklin (120 pounds), Carter Bengtson (138), and Nathan Abrams (285) each took second for the boys, and Madison Holder (135) finished second for the girls.
■ Creswell traveled to Santiam Christian with the girls winning a tournament and the boys finishing third in a dual meet. Jennalyn Kruger (140 pounds) was the sole winner for the girls, and Lyosha Mitchell (120) went 7-1 in the duals to lead the boys.
CONFERENCE CALL
Weekly notes from around our area teams’ conferences:
Chase wins 4A Player of the Year
Marist Catholic’s Cloe Chase, a Springfield resident, was named the Class 4A Girls Soccer State Player of the Year last week after leading the Spartans to a 17-1-1 season and second-place finish. Chase, a University of Oregon commit, scored 52 goals on the season – third best all-time in the state – and finished her career with 118 goals – fifth all-time.
Junction City boys tops Marist with buzzer-beater
No. 1 Junction City got revenge over No. 7 Marist Catholic last week, beating the Spartans 60-58 on a three-quarter-court shot at the buzzer to cap off an 18-point comeback in the fourth quarter. Marist beat Junction City 44-37 early in January, and led for the majority of this game as well. Junction City senior guard Keivon Riley scored 20 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter – including the game-winner – to lead the Tigers’ comeback.
RESULTS/SCHEDULES
RESULTS
BOYS BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Jan. 30
■ Pleasant Hill 68, Creswell 47
Wednesday, Jan. 31
■ Creswell 69, La Pine 58
Thursday, Feb. 1
■ Pleasant Hill 74, Elmira 57
Friday, Feb. 2
■ Marshfield 64, Cottage Grove 39
■ Harrisburg 42, Creswell 39 (OT)
■ Crater 47, Springfield 41
■ Thurston 73, Ashland 56
Saturday, Feb. 3
■ Sisters 48, Creswell 35
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Jan. 30
■ Pleasant Hill 48, Creswell 42
Wednesday, Jan. 31
■ North Eugene 70, Cottage Grove 35
■ Creswell 62, La Pine 38
Thursday, Feb. 1
■ Pleasant Hill 53, Elmira 22
Friday, Feb. 2
■ Cottage Grove 46, Marshfield 40
■ Creswell 66, Harrisburg 39
■ Crater 58, Springfield 56
■ Thurston 48, Ashland 36
Saturday, Feb. 3
■ Creswell 40, Sisters 35
■ Marshfield 38, Pleasant Hill 18
SCHEDULES
BOYS BASKETBALL
Friday, Feb. 9
■ Ashland at Springfield, 7 p.m.
■ CGHS at Junction City, 7:15 p.m.
■ Elmira at Pleasant Hill, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 10
■ Pleasant Hill at Siuslaw, 1:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 13
■ North Bend at Cottage Grove, 5:45 p.m.
■ Churchill at Springfield, 6:45 p.m.
■ North Eugene at Thurston, 6:45 p.m.
■ Siuslaw at Creswell, 7:30 p.m.
■ Pleasant Hill at La Pine, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 15
■ Cottage Grove at Marshfield, 5:45 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Friday, Feb. 9
■ Ashland at Springfield, 5:30 p.m.
■ CGHS at Junction City, 5:45 p.m.
■ Elmira at Pleasant Hill, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 10
■ Pleasant Hill at Siuslaw, 3 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 13
■ Siuslaw at Creswell, 6 p.m.
■ Pleasant Hill at La Pine, 6 p.m.
■ Thurston at North Eugene, 6:45 p.m.
■ Springfield at Churchill, 7 p.m.
■ North Bend at Cottage Grove, 7:15 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 15
■ Clackamas at Springfield, 6:45 p.m.
■ Cottage Grove at Marshfield, 7:15 p.m.
WRESTLING
Friday, Feb. 9
■ Cottage Grove boys at 4A Special District 2 Championships (Stayton HS), TBD
■ Creswell boys at 3A Special District 2 Championship (Sheridan HS), TBD
■ Springfield, Thurston girls at 6A/5A Special District 3 Championships (North Eugene HS), TBD
■ Pleasant Hill boys at 3A Special District 3 Championships (North Valley HS), noon
Saturday, Feb. 10
■ Cottage Grove boys at 4A Special District 2 Championships (Stayton HS), TBD
■ Creswell boys at 3A Special District 2 Championship (Sheridan HS), TBD
■ Pleasant Hill boys at 3A Special District 3 Championships (North Valley HS), TBD
■ Springfield, Thurston girls at 6A/5A Special District 3 Championships (North Eugene HS), TBD
