Hood River ends 2022 with girls basketball win

Hood River has one more non-league contest — at home Wednesday against Mountain View, Wash. — before resuming NWOC play Friday at Milwaukie.

Against Parkrose, Hood River forced the Broncos into 14 first-quarter turnovers to build a 16-1 lead. Parkrose scored the game’s first point on a free throw in the opening minute, but Marina Castaneda’s putback started the Eagles on a 16-0 run over the next six minutes. Castaneda scored eight first-quarter points and assisted on two more HRV baskets. Megan Griggs added six points of her own in the period and added two assists.

Hood River missed its final 10 shots of the first quarter, and similar cold shooting spells hurt the Eagles in their prior two tourney contests. HRV led less than three minutes into the second quarter against Churchill, 22-17, on a basket by Mallory McNerney. But the Eagles failed to score over the final 5:20 of the first half. By the time HRV scored again — at 3:22 of the third quarter — Churchill had assumed control of the game.

The 5-5 Lancers are a balanced team, having lost four games against Class 6A opponents. The two teams played evenly with HRV leading 22-21 at halftime. The Eagles hit five three-pointers before the break.

Churchill pulled away in the third quarter, building a 29-22 lead on Brooklyn Moody’s step-back jumper from near the foul line. A Griggs’ free throw broke HRV’s scored drought, but Churchill responded with another seven-point scoring run to build a 36-23 lead.

Outside shooting kept the Eagles close. Abby Schrankel and Griggs nailed three-pointers in the third period; and Schrankel hit from long range again off an assist from Erandy Galindo to open the final quarter — and HRV was within 40-32. That was as close as the Eagles would get the rest of the game.

Against Corvallis (5-2) in their tourney opener, HRV turned the ball over on six of its first seven offensive possessions — most against a full-court press — as the Spartans built a 10-0 lead. It was 17-0 when Julia Rowan took a pass from Schrankel and got the Eagles on the scoreboard with a short-corner jumper. Galindo scored on a put-back to make it 17-4, but Corvallis closed out the first period with two baskets for a 21-4 lead. Schrankel’s four-point play pulled HRV within 31-13, but the Spartans closed the half with a 10-1 scoring run for a 41-14 lead.