Canby Herald Online

Tualatin 54, Canby 48: Canby girls fall down the stretch to Tualatin

Cougars let second-half lead slip away on Monday

• By: Alex Tam  
• Published: 2/2/2010 4:18:39 PM

Photo By: Alex TamGirls basketball: Tualatin 54, Canby 48
Canby High School senior Melissa Fowler (left) drives on Tualatin High School senior Kelsey Allred in the first half of Monday's 54-48 loss at home.

CANBY — Another game in hand, but another game that just slipped through the hands of the Canby girls basketball team.

All season long, the Cougars have continued to play well through the first three quarters. However, fourth-quarter breakdowns have been a theme this season. And unfortunately, it returned on Monday in a 54-48 loss to Tualatin at Canby High School.

“We fouled too much, (too many) turnovers, (missed) free throws and missed lay-ins,” coach Heather Roberts said. “I think the kids worked really hard but we just got to mentally be able to pull through this. It’s just unfortunately been a consistent pattern.”

Canby (7-8 overall, 2-4 Pacific) moved into a tie for fourth place with Forest Grove (8-8, 2-4) in the conference before its matchup at McMinnville on Thursday.

The Cougars were in control for most of the game, leading 42-40 with 7:31 left in the fourth quarter following senior Melissa Fowler’s two free throws.

Tualatin then went on a 9-1 run capped by senior Kelsey Allred’s 3-pointer with 4:11 to go for a 49-43 lead.

Canby senior Chase Myatt answered with a 3-pointer with 3:03 left to cut the deficit to 49-46, but it was as close as the Cougars got the rest of the way.

“Just once again, it’s another game we could’ve won,” Roberts said. “Somehow, we’re just not finishing enough down the stretch.”

Canby led for most of the first half, leading by as many as eight points on two different occasions. However, the Cougars struggled from the field, shooting 20 of 58 (34.5 percent). Tualatin was 20 of 48 (41.7 percent).

Canby also continues to battle adversity with the absence of senior starter Alison Evans, as well as several other players who fell ill over the weekend. The team practiced last Saturday with just six players available.

“We’ve been without Ali now for a couple weeks,” Roberts said. “And we had four other kids sick, but you know, you can’t make excuses and it’s who you have.”

“And if you have the opportunity, you have to make your free throws. You’ve got to make your lay-ins and you got to make sure you don’t turn the ball over.”

Roberts said the issues right now are just mental, as physically, she believes her team can match up with any team in the state.

“I’m stuck with this one,” she said. “I feel like we have good game plans. I feel like our defense hung through and we’re getting the shots. We just got to make them. The kids got to have confidence in themselves and they’ve got to take advantage of the opportunity given to them.

“I think we’re playing hard enough to win. We’ve got to be mentally tough in those situations.”

Fowler led the Cougars with a team-high 17 points and Myatt added 14. Sophomore Brianne Huggins had six points off the bench.

Junior Emily Ben-Jumbo led Tualatin with a game-high 25 points, and Allred added eight.

Up next, the Cougars travel to play Newberg on Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. and to Forest Grove on Friday at 6 p.m.

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Tualatin Timberwolves	14	13	11	16	54
Canby Cougars	11	17	12	8	48

Tualatin – Emily Ben-Jumbo 25, Allred 8, Johnson 7, Brown 6, Arndorfer 5, Dion 2, Cichoke 1, Anderson, Wilcox, Morrison, Senger, Bryant, O’Neill
Canby – Melissa Fowler 17, Chase Myatt 14, Huggins 6, Hansen 4, Friedemann 3, ERbe 2, Dillon 2, Zauner
Field goals: Canby 20-58 (34.5 percent), Tualatin 20-48 (41.7 percent)
Free throws: Canby 6-13 (46.2 percent), Tualatin 11-25 (44 percent)
Turnovers: Canby 17, Tualatin 16

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