Another split leaves Eagle girls in fifth place in NWOC

HOOD RIVER — Hood River Valley’s (HRVHS) girls basketball team recovered from a lopsided defeat to league-leading Wilsonville to start the week by beating Hillsboro, 45-36, three days later on the road in Northwest Oregon Conference play.

The split left the Eagles 8-10 overall and 5-5 in the nine-team NWOC — with six games remaining. Hood River was scheduled to play Feb. 9 at home against La Salle Prep, and Feb. 12 at Canby. Both those teams beat the Eagles in the first half of the conference season. The top four teams in the NWOC earn automatic qualifying berths into the Class 5A state playoffs. With six games remaining, Hood River (5-5 league) trails Wilsonville (10-0), La Salle Prep (8-1), Canby (7-3), and Putnam (6-3). A key game with Putnam is scheduled Feb. 24 in Hood River. The Kingsmen beat HRV 44-38 in the first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 22 in Milwaukie.