BOYS BASKETBALL
RECAPS
■ Cottage Grove lost a league replay to No. 4 Marist Catholic 75-37 last Tuesday. The Lions then lost to Marshfield 79-48 on Friday in another league replay. Fortunately, the Lions have one more chance with these demanding league opponents to turn things around for a postseason berth.
■ Pleasant Hill dominated Elmira 70-50 at home last Friday. Pleasant Hill’s dynamic duo – Gavin Inglish and Landen Melvin – both led with 22 points. Following them was Riley Smith with 15.
■ Springfield lost to Crater 80-62 on the road last Friday. The Millers continue facing a historic winless season.
■ Thurston dominated Churchill last Tuesday, 58-41. The Colts’ top scorers were Noah Blair with 18 points, Nate Stiffler with 15, and Lucas LaBounty with 12. The Colts then crushed the Ashland Grizzlies 55-42 at home on Friday. Stiffler led with 17 points, LaBounty with 16, and Blair with 14.
PREVIEWS
#13 COTTAGE GROVE (8-8)
■ Tipping off: The Lions hit the road to replay the North Bend Bulldogs. Cottage Grove beat the Bulldogs 65-58 at home two weeks ago. Though they lose the home-court advantage, it should be an easy skate for the Lions to face a 0-6 Sky-Em league opponent. Watch out for Trevor Cooper, who lit up the scoreboard with 27 points against the Bulldogs last game.
#7 CRESWELL (12-6)
■ Tipping off: The Bulldogs replay the Harrisburg Eagles on Friday. Only two weeks ago, the No. 21 Eagles upset the Bulldogs, barely edging them out 45-44. But the Bulldogs should be more prepared after facing more demanding Mountain Valley opponents from this last week. As usual, watch for leading scorer Tyler Whitson and how he sets up teammates for success.
#2 PLEASANT HILL (16-3)
■ Tipping off: The Billies head to replay La Pine on Friday. After dominating with a 30-point blowout against the Hawks in previous league play, this road game should be smooth sailing for the Billies. Follow Riley Smith, a Creswell transfer who’s starting to become a rising star on the team.
#30 SPRINGFIELD (0-14)
■ Tipping off: The Millers invite out-of-league opponent Dallas Dragons to their home court on Friday. The Dragons also are winless, and are the lowest-ranked team in 5A at No.32. This may be the opportunity the Millers need to earn a victory before the season ends. Look for Vinnie Trinka, who remains the Millers’ leading scorer.
#3 THURSTON (13-3)
■ Tipping off: Thurston replays Eagle Point at home on Friday. With an 18-point win earlier in league (74-56), this should be a breeze for the Colts. The Colts are still undefeated in the Midwestern League thus far.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
RECAPS
■ Cottage Grove lost to Marist Catholic 56-28 on Tuesday. Mariah Bailey led with 12 points and 3 rebounds. Following her was Sienna Wagner with 9 points and 6 rebounds, and Makya Alsup with 7 points and 3 rebounds. The Lions lost to Marshfield 67-45 on the road on Friday. Bailey had 18 points, and Alsup had 11 points and 7 rebounds.
■ Creswell lost to Pleasant Hill 44-21 last Tuesday at the Billies’ home court. Creswell’s Kylie Leonard and Brooke Moehlmann led with 5 points each. Following them was Elliette Kinney with 4 points and 7 rebounds.
■ Pleasant Hill beat Elmira 36-28 on Friday. But they lost to No. 4 Cascade Christian on Saturday. Against Elmira, the Crawford sisters swept. Anna Crawford led with 10 points and 12 rebounds; Claire Crawford had 7 points and 7 rebounds. However, Claire left the Elmira game with a foot injury. She did not play against Cascade Christian. Against Cascade, Brooke Weimer led with 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals. Cheyenne Green did not play in all three games and still sits on the bench. Coach Paxton Miller said, “We are hopeful to have (Claire and Cheyenne) back soon.”
■ Springfield won against North Eugene 58-42 last Tuesday. Sailor Hall led with 18 points and 4 rebounds. Following her was Darissa Romero-Ah Sam with 17 points, 11 assists, and 7 steals.
PREVIEWS
#18 COTTAGE GROVE (7-9)
■ Tipping off: The Lions travel to replay North Bend on their home court Friday. The Lions have fallen on hard times in the midseason and have gone 0-6 in league. Though North Bend edged them out 49-41 last game, they should be able to reassess and recover with a win of their own. Makya Alsup and Sienna Wagner lead the Lions.
#15 CRESWELL (12-6)
■ Tipping off: The Bulldogs replay Harrisburg on Friday. After a 23-point blowout win earlier in the league (50-27), this should be a swift game for the Bulldogs. Look for the plays of Mila Nguyen, Kylie Leonard and Brooke Moehlmann.
#4 PLEASANT HILL (14-4)
■ Tipping off: The Billies travel to replay La Pine on Friday. After an explosive start to the league, still undefeated at 5-0, this should be a painless matchup for the Billies. Also, the Billies already downed the Hawks by a 30-point margin earlier in league (52-20). Watch out for star player Claire Crawford, who calls the big shots for the Billies.
#19 THURSTON (6-9)
■ Tipping off: The Colts invite Eagle Point to their home court on Friday. Earlier in league, the Eagles dominated the Colts by a 22-point margin, (50-28). This may be a difficult rematch for the Colts. Bridgette Nault, Gracie Nissen, and Payton Tove will need to rally their troops.
WRESTLING, SWIMMING, AND CHEER
RECAPS
WRESTLING
■ Thurston boys and girls won 1st at the West Albany Tod Surmon Invitational last weekend. Springfield boys and girls placed 12th.
■ Cottage Grove’s Boston Kent won 1st in her weight class (135) at the Harrisburg Girls tournament last weekend.
SWIMMING
■ Springfield boys went (7-3) last week, winning against Willamette, Eagle Point and Crater. Whereas Springfield girls went (6-4) winning against Crater and Eagle Point, but losing to Willamette. Standouts for the Millers were Larissa Ulbricht with 7.60% in the 200 Free and Gavin Jones with 11.13% in the 200 Free.
CHEER
■ Thurston won 2nd place at the Lakeridge last week. The week before, they won a national title at the Las Vegas-based contest Jamz Cheer and Dance Nationals.
■ Creswell came in first at the Roseburg cheer competition last weekend.
