The No. 9-ranked The Dalles High Riverhawks girls basketball team split two non-league road games in the Jingle Jam Tournament Dec. 28-29 at Riverdale High School in Portland.
The Class 4A Riverhawks (3-2) faced the No. 3 ranked Class 2A undefeated Colton High Vikings (10-0) last Wednesday and they had a good start in taking an 8-4 lead in a low-scoring first quarter. The Riverhawk offense went cold in the second as the Vikings outscored The Dalles 11-0 and never trailed again. The Vikings held The Dalles to its lowest point total this season in their 30-23 win.
Sophomore post Sydney Newby led The Dalles in scoring with 11 points, followed by junior Zoe LeBreton with six.
The Riverhawks, guided by Coach Darcey Hodges, bounced back a day later with a, 44-13, win Dec. 29 over the 2A Portland Christian High Royals (2-5).
“It was nice to put another win in the win column,” said Hodges. “They (Royals) were not a strong offensive team, so that helped us a lot. Sydney was really attacking the basket on offense, and she was playing aggressively and strong. We played aggressive defense, and we were fighting to get the ball often.”
The Riverhawks led 14-4 after one quarter and 23-8 at halftime. The Riverhawks played a combination of zone and man-to-man defenses to limit the Royal offense.
Led by Newby (17 points, eight steals, six rebounds), The Dalles outscored Portland Christian 21-5 in the second half to pull away. The 31-point margin was the largest for The Dalles this season and it was the Riverhawks’ first road win. LeBreton had nine points, four assists and three steals. Riverhawk senior guard Veronica Robledo had eight points and a team-high eight rebounds, and senior guard Natasha Muzechenko had a team-high five steals.
The Riverhawks were seeking a second straight win when they met Class 3A Corbett High Cardinals (9-2) in a non-league contest Monday at The Dalles High School (result was after the printed edition deadline). The Dalles plays at Pendleton (4-8) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Dalles lost twice (53-33 and 55-31) to Pendleton last year when both teams were members of the Class 5A Intermountain Conference.
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