In what would have to be considered as their most impressive win of the season, the Dufur High Rangers won 48-44 over their adjacent county rival South Wasco in a Class 1A girls basketball game Saturday at Dufur High School.
The victory over the Redsides (4-2 Big Sky League, 5-2 overall) capped a successful week in which the Lady Rangers won two out-of-three home games and took over second place in the league standings. Dufur (5-2 Big Sky, 5-3) won 66-39 over the Horizon Christian High Hawks (1-5 Big Sky, 1-6) June 8 and lost 54-42 to the Damascus Christian Eagles (3-1) in a nonleague contest June 9.
Dufur, guided by Coach Nathan Morris, concluded the regular season with Monday’s matchup against Ione/Arlington (3-0 Big Sky, 3-2), followed by Tuesday’s season finale versus the Trinity Lutheran Saints (5-0) of Bend (results came after the printed edition deadline).
“It’s always a big rivalry with South Wasco, so it was definitely a good win,” said Morris, whose squad probably won’t continue playing during the 1A Culminating Week June 21-26. “We didn’t do a very good job of closing out at the end, which is something we have to learn to do better.”
Led by senior Kierstin White (16 points) and freshman Hayley Peterson (12 points), Dufur built a 13-10 first quarter lead over South Wasco. It was a close, evenly played game all the way and the Rangers led 23-21 at halftime and 38-35 at the end of the third quarter.
After Dufur built a nine-point fourth quarter advantage, the Lady Redsides responded with a strong comeback to trim the final margin to four points. South Wasco, guided by third-year Coach Carly Johnson, was led by sophomore Kylie Iverson, who scored a career-high 18 points and senior Jade McCoy (career-high 17).
“It was a really close game and we fell behind by nine points with less than one minute left and then we made it pretty close at the end,” said Johnson, who is hoping to lead her squad to the Culminating Week state playoffs June 21-26 at Baker High School. “Our girls really played well at the end, but we missed some key free throws that hurt. It was a fun game, and I was really proud of how well the girls fought back at the end. I was really proud of the way that freshman Anabell Udey stepped up and played in the post for us, because she did a really good job.”
South Wasco senior Destiny Mora-Lopez was unable to play for South Wasco because she was attending a wedding. Udey played in Mora-Lopez’s usual post position for the Redsides.
South Wasco, which was undefeated a week ago, has dropped two straight, including a 52-40 road loss to the league-leading Trout Lake Mustangs (6-0 Big Sky, 9-0) June 9. The Redsides played their final regular season game Monday against the Country Christian Cougars (6-1) of Molalla (results came after the printed edtion deadline).
South Wasco is hoping to play another week in the state playoffs. “It’s not exactly clear yet how the playoffs will be set up, and it’s still being organized by some other coaches and athletic directors at some other schools, but we’re really hoping that we will qualify for that tournament,” said Johnson. “It would be lots of fun and everyone will be able to play three games. Having an opportunity to play in that gym would be a good opportunity, especially if we were able to make it to the state tournament in the future. It will be fun and kind of like summer camp and it would be a great way to end the season on a fun note.”
The Horizon Christian High Hawks, guided by Coach Joe Petshow, capped their short seven-game spring season by winning their season finale at home 36-22 over the Sherman High Huskies (0-7) Friday.
“The difference in the game, in the second half, was our perimeter defenders contesting their outside shooters,” said Petshow. “Sherman is a young team like we are. Coach Gary Lewis does a good job of teaching floor spacing, getting his players in positions to score. In the second half our defense was able to limit their open shots — shots they were hitting in the first half.”
Horizon led by five points at halftime, and it was a back-and-forth game until the fourth quarter. Horizon junior guard Gus Decker led all scorers with 18 points, including five 3-pointers. Sophomore point guard Gabby Mooney distributed the ball, including some nice entry passes to freshman post Zoe LeBreton, who took advantage of her athletic ability to score 15 points.
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