CRESWELL – The Creswell girls basketball team fell to the Sutherlin Bulldogs 40-27 on Friday, extending a five-game losing streak. Coach Tyler Hollingsworth recognized a silver lining.
“A hard-fought game, right?” Hollingsworth said. “The effort was tremendous. We were fighting, scrapping, and clawing. That’s what I was looking for.”
‘Christmas break slump’
Before the game, Hollingsworth was discussing how the team was struggling with the “Christmas break slump,” a common phenomenon that many local teams are dealing with at the moment. He admitted that he had not anticipated it would carry over as long as it has. He said he realized after the past two games against Jefferson and North Bend that it was an issue.
“We just didn’t show up against Jefferson,” Hollingsworth said. “That was a game where I expected the game to be competitive, we came out flat. And so that was maybe what was disappointing lately. I wasn’t mad that we lost or about the losing streak.
“I’m mad that we didn’t show up, like, effort-wise,” he said. “In North Bend, I feel like if we played with this energy last night, it could have been different. I was starting to get concerned. I was looking at trying to find all answers on a wall somewhere and pick it.”
Bulldogs’ defensive efforts
Raelee Green and Kylie Leonard were the leading scorers with 7 points each. It was a low-scoring game, and offensive execution needed improvement. According to Hollingsworth, there were six layups that the Bulldogs “should execute on a 90% rate, but don’t.” The Bulldogs are still working on finishing at the rim and their shooting.
The defensive efforts by the Bulldogs, however, kept them competitive, particularly on the boards. This was especially pleasing for Hollingsworth, considering they were outsized by 6-foot players. For him, this indicates progress heading into league play.
BOB WILLIAMS / THE CHRONICLE PHOTO
“I told them ‘If you play like that all the time, good things will come,’” he said after the game, “because we’ll have better nights scoring the basketball. We won’t go against three 6-footers and maybe get a little easier to finish inside against some people.”
Ultimately, despite the loss, Hollingsworth looks forward to building on this effort and growing the team’s confidence in upcoming practices and games.
“Half the battle is giving girls confidence and making them believe,” he said. “I think tonight they started to believe again. And so hopefully we’ve got three more games next week before league, and if we can just keep building on those things, that could help get us some confidence right before we start.”
