1A girls basketball roundup: Trout Lake continues to pace Big Sky girls title chase

The Mustangs started the week with a Jan. 23, 66-21 road win over the Dufur High Rangers (2-5 league, 3-10 overall) Jan. 23. Violette Anderson (season-high 26 points) led the Mustangs to a 22-4 first quarter lead.

“I think we’ve picked things up pretty good and we’re really working together well as a team,” Anderson said. “We’re really hoping to go to the state tournament in Baker (Feb. 29-March 2) this year. Having Emma Patterson on our team is really awesome, too, because she can shoot good, and we really didn’t have very many outside shooters.”

Patterson, a sophomore, was a member of the Klickitat/Glenwood High Vandals (Klickwood) last season.

Junior Jayla Avila scored 14 points and junior teammate Nancy Painter added 12 for Trout Lake. Hayley Peterson, Dufur’s lone senior player, led the Rangers with 12 points.

The Mustangs won 52-21 at home Jan. 26 over the Sherman High Huskies (3-4 league, 8-10 overall) and 69-35 on Jan. 27 at Condon.

The Mustangs host South Wasco on Feb. 6 in a showdown for first place in the Big Sky West Division. South Wasco wins four

The Redsides won four straight games last week to stay in second place in the Big Sky West Division behind the Mustangs. Playing four games in five days, the Redsides started with a 62-11 road win Jan. 23 at Lyle/Wishram (0-7 league, 0-11 overall). Freshman Hailee Pechanec led the way with 15 points.

The Redsides followed on Jan. 24 with a 46-41 come-from-behind road win at Condon. The Redsides trailed 16-9 after one quarter and they were behind 24-17 at halftime. The Redsides took control after Condon’s leading scorer, Gracie Garthwaite, fouled out in the fourth quarter. Julie Hull led South Wasco with 20 points.

After playing back-to-back games, the Redsides had a day off, followed by back-to-back contests Jan. 26-27. They won 58-19 over the Bickleton High Pirates (0-7 league, 0-10 overall) at home Jan. 26, followed by a 49-43 road win over Sherman.

Sherman drops three straight

The Huskies had a rough week while facing top league contenders South Wasco, Trout Lake and the Spray/Mitchell/Wheeler High Eagles (5-2 league, 12-5 overall) and they lost three straight. Playing their first game in two weeks, the Huskies had a two-game win streak snapped in a 43-37 loss at home to the Eagles, the second-place team in the Big Sky East.

Sherman is the third-place team in the East Division behind the Eagles and the first place Ione/Arlington High Cardinals (6-1 league, 10-5 overall). The top three teams qualify for the upcoming district playoffs Feb. 13-17.

Dufur loses three-of-four

The young Rangers (one senior) had a tough week. Following their Jan. 23 home loss to the Mustangs, the Rangers bounced back and recorded a season-high point total in a 57-37 win over Bickleton.

Lyle loses three games

The Cougars, who have only six players, lost three home games last week, extending their losing streak to 11. Following a home loss to South Wasco on Jan. 23, the Cougars lost 50-17 to Condon Jan. 26, followed by a Jan. 27, 48-31, loss to Spray/Mitchell/Wheeler.

The Cougars, guided by Coach Laura McConville, scored a season-high point total (31) in the loss to the Eagles. The Cougars were led offensively by Keira Tennison (career high nine points, three blocks, eight rebounds), and Jozlynn Pyle (nine points).

Horizon loses at Arlington

The Hawks returned to the court for the first time in two weeks and lost at East Division leading, Ione-Arlington, 53-6 on Jan. 26. Horizon, which has lost three starters this season to injuries, and plays four games in five days the next two weeks.