HOOD RIVER — The Hood River Valley (HRV) girls basketball team lost the first of three successive home games Feb. 10 against visiting La Salle Prep, which put a damper on Eagles’ Class 5A state playoff hopes.
HRV (10-10 overall, 4-6 league as of Feb. 16) lost 55-31 to the Falcons to remain in sixth place in the Northwest Oregon Conference (NWOC). Hood River is trying to work its way up to fourth place and attain the league’s final automatic berth into the 2025 playoffs.
Canby (10-9, 4-4) and Putnam (5-8, 4-4), the closest two teams ahead of the Eagles in the league standings, are next on the schedule for HRV — Canby on Feb. 19 and Putnam on Feb. 25.
The top four teams in the conference automatically qualify for the 5A state playoffs. There are two other statewide playoff berths based on power rankings. HRV Coach Steve Noteboom said last week that the Eagles needed to win at least one of the three games in their home stand to have a realistic chance to make the playoffs.
La Salle jumped out to a 14-0 lead on the Eagles last week. The visitors bottled up HRV’s leading scorers Julia Rowan and Bella Howe with a triangle-and-2 defense. Neither player scored in the first half, when La Salle took a 25-8 lead.
HRV mounted a slight comeback early in the third quarter, scoring the first five points of the period on Addi Van Metre’s offensive rebound and putback, and a Rowan 3-pointer. La Salle rebuilt its lead to 15 points and then scored the final 10 points of the quarter.
Isa Rivera led Hood River with seven points, while Rowan and Van Metre added six points apiece.
Boys lose on the road
The Hood River Valley (4-7 Northwest Oregon Conference, 9-10 overall) boys basketball team couldn’t replicate their early season success against the Falcons when they lost 73-58 at La Salle Prep (7-3 NWOC, 12-7 overall) on Feb. 10. HRV beat La Salle in overtime on Jan. 10.
The Eagles outscored La Salle 15-14 in the first and held a 26-20 lead halfway through the second quarter, but La Salle ended the quarter on a 12-2 scoring run.
Both teams shot the ball very well (La Salle 63% 2-point FG, HRV 55% 2FG) but HRV couldn’t keep pace in the fourth quarter. Senior Zak Poole and JJ Poole led the scoring charge with 21 and 16, respectively. Matthew Fauth added 12 points and seven rebounds. Deacon Ybarra and Davis Parr were the other scorers with six and three points.
Snow and freezing rain canceled the Eagles’ Feb. 13 contest versus Canby. It has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 7:15 p.m.
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