HRV girls end season with most wins in five years

“We had a tougher schedule than what we had in the past,” Coach Steve Noteboom said. “Twelve of our 24 games were against teams that made the playoffs. We ended with an OSAA ranking of 23, and it was our goal to be in the top 25.”

HRV returned last week from an extended layoff after having its final two NWOC contests delayed because of inclement weather in the Portland area. The Eagles had a 12-day wait from when they last played (Feb. 16, a 51-33 home victory over Parkrose) to last week’s final game. Hood River’s other remaining contest — at Hillsboro — was canceled.

Coach Noteboom’s team showed marked improvement this season, with the highlight arguably the Eagles’ win Feb. 7 against visiting Milwaukie. HRV had lost by 19 points to the Mustangs when the two teams played Jan. 6; the Eagles won the rematch by eight points.

“We showed a lot of progress developing our basketball skills and more importantly we developed the mental side of the game, and we are excited about next year,” Noteboom said.

Entering the season, Hood River had lost 38 successive league games, but the Eagles ended that streak on Jan. 17 with a 64-30 win at Parkrose. When the two teams met in the rematch on Feb. 16 it marked the final home game of the two Eagle seniors, Mallory McNerney, and Giselle Gonzalez.

Noteboom called McNerney, a three-sport athlete, “the best decision maker in the program.” She had the highest field goal percentage on the team and that shooting prowess, and her leadership, were missed when she was injured (for seven games), Noteboom said. “I can’t thank her enough for her four years of commitment to HRV basketball,” he added.

Gonzalez, this school year’s ASB president, is a selfless player, always positive and encouraging, according to Noteboom. “She stepped up to fill in for injured and sick teammates and played a valuable role for this team,” the coach said of his three-year varsity player.

The nucleus of this year’s Eagle team featured a strong group of junior and sophomore players.

NWOC notes: Four league schools qualified for the Class 5A state playoffs. Two those schools, Putnam and La Salle Prep, advanced to this week’s state tournament in Corvallis. Wilsonville and Canby lost play-in games to the state tourney on March 3, which ended their seasons. The 5A state tourney is March 7-10 at Oregon State University’s Gill Coliseum.