BULLDOGS AUBIE HATCH AND BILLIES MORGAN JANSHEN FIGHT FOR A JUMP BALL DURING THE FOURTH QUARTER OF THE CRESWELL VS PLEASANT HILL GAME ON FEB. 6. THE CRESWELL BULLDOGS LOST AGAINST THE PLEASANT HILL BILLIES 26-55 AND HAVE A CURRENT OVERALL RECORD OF 7-14. Christopher Palanuk / The Creswell Chronicle
Aubrie Hatch’s 21 points kept Creswell close as the Lady Bulldogs were clipped by the 14th-ranked La Pine Hawks, 40-44, on Feb. 4. Creswell also fell 26-55 to the fifth-ranked Pleasant Hill Billies on Feb. 6 in girls’ basketball action last week.
The Lady Dawgs and the visiting La Pine Hawks were neck-and-neck the entire game. The score was tied 5-5 after the first quarter; Creswell led 17-16 at halftime, and La Pine led 32-29 after three and nipped Creswell 12-11 in the final period.
”They shot a lot of free throws in the fourth quarter,” Creswell Head Coach Tyler Hollingsworth said of La Pine. ”We didn’t not shoot well, but a few too many fouls cost us the game.”
A couple of missed opportunities added the final nails: ”We had chances to tie it or take the lead down the stretch,” Hollingsworth said. ”We had a couple of good looks in a row – we just couldn’t make them.”
Hatch’s 21 points included four-of-eight three-point shooting; she also had three rebounds.
”From the Santiam Christian game through the La Pine game, Aubrie has had been playing pretty good,” Hollingsworth said. ”She’s been more consistent, more aggressive, more ready to take shots, and it’s paid off with pretty solid numbers.”
Bailey Howell added five points, four rebounds and four blocks; Emme Whitson added three points, six rebounds and six assists.
At Pleasant Hill, the Lady Dawgs trailed the host Billies 8-18 after one, 16-30 at halftime and 24-44 after three. Creswell’s reserves played the fourth quarter and were outscored by Pleasant Hill 2-11.
Howell had nine points, six rebounds and two blocks, while Freya DeMasters had nine points and four rebounds. Hatch added four points, five rebounds and three assists.
Hannah Way paced Pleasant Hill with 17 points; Angeni Yeo added 16.
”The last three or four games our turnovers have been way down, and that’s a positive, but we haven’t played good half-court defense,” Hollingsworth said. ”Pleasant Hill was getting to the rack; they were able to do whatever they wanted to do every time, instead of us forcing them to do what they would be least likely to do.”
The Lady Dawgs (1-9) will wrap their season this week, hosting Harrisburg for their Senior Night game and traveling to Santiam Christian.
With no league playoffs this year, Pleasant Hill (10-0) will go to state as the Mountain Valley Conference’s first seed, with La Pine (7-4) the likely two-seed.
