Sherman makes big shots in triumph over Dufur

Desiree Winslow scored 19 points, Emily Hill added 14 and the Huskies moved into fifth place in the Big Sky Conference after a 54-49 victory over Dufur Thursday in Moro.

“We haven’t quit. We have stayed after it and it just makes me feel wonderful,” said Sherman coach Steve Bird. “I think it is indicative of their heart. The kids have their heart and they want to go out and play well. It is fantastic to see them coming together. We are doing better, so that is a good look to the future.”

Sherman led by as much as 11 points in the third quarter, but Dufur used a 7-2 run in the final two minutes, capped by five straight points by Kayla Bailey to make the score 46-41.

In the fourth period, Dufur came up dry on four consecutive possessions to start the fourth quarter, and still had chances to turn the momentum.

Mikayla Kelly hit a bank shot from the paint, and then Bailey added a jumper to get the rangers to within a 48-45 deficit with 5:23 left.

Winslow and Lexi Grenvik then added back-to-back baskets, and after a free throw by Bailey, Winslow hit a layup to move the Huskies ahead by a 54-46 score with 35 seconds remaining.

With 26.4 seconds left, Alexus Outlaw inched the Rangers to a 54-49 score after a 3-pointer, but then a missed front end free throw on Dufur’s next possession, Sherman ran out the clock.

Dufur totaled 19 field goals overall, but had just nine field goals in the final 13:09 of regulation.

“On defense, we played awesome,” Jaelyn Justesen said. “We switched a lot on defense to help each other and we switched back really well. We communicated in this game and we just pressed hard on them with our defense. We improved so much since we played them the last time. It is really great to see that.”

Winslow scored nine of her 19 points in the second half, and Hill did most of her damage in the third quarter with three 3-pointers and a basket. The senior guard had 14 points.

Justesen had 11 points, Sammie Lepinski tacked on eight and Grenvik notched two points.

“I think we executed our offense really well,” Justesen said. “We ran through our sets and moved the ball and our shots were on tonight.”

Bailey hit for 22 points, 21 in the first three quarters, Outlaw added 11, both Leticia Macias and Kelly had six points each, and Chloe Beeson hit for five points.

“That is the frustrating thing because we actually executed pretty well,” said Dufur head coach Jack Henderson. “I thought we set some good screens and had girls open for the entire game. And then we would get them open, throw them the ball and then they couldn’t catch it. That is where we struggled. I like the way we executed, but it was frustrating the way we struggled to finish.”