Basketball roundup: Canby remains in fourth after defeating Mac

Grizzlies stay within striking distance but Canby holds on

  • By: Alex Tam  
  • Published: 2/3/2010 12:40:58 AM
McMINNVILLE – It was a much-needed victory for the Canby girls basketball team to keep its stranglehold on fourth place in the Pacific Conference.

The Cougars took down struggling McMinnville, 64-44, on Thursday night at McMinnville High School behind senior Melissa Fowler’s game-high 24 points.

Canby (8-8 overall, 3-4 Pacific) remained in fourth – one game ahead of Forest Grove (8-9, 2-5) in the conference with eight games remaining.

“We let them hang around and then they got as close as 13 (points) in the fourth quarter,” coach Heather Roberts said. “And we had a bunch of kids in foul trouble. So then Melissa played point for most of the fourth quarter and we took over from there.”

> The Cougars led 14-9 after the first quarter, and extended their lead to 33-18 at halftime.

McMinnville hung around as Canby held a 46-31 lead heading into the fourth.

Junior Nicole Friedemann had 14 points and sophomore Brianne Huggins added nine. Junior Sara Erbe tallied seven points, and senior Chase Myatt had three.

The Cougars continue to battle adversity with unavailable players as senior Alison Evans and sophomore McKenzie Ericksen were out due to concussions, and sophomore Addie Oeleis is out due to illness.

Canby is in midst of a stretch where it will play four out of five games on the road, which includes Newberg on Tuesday at 5:45 p.m., and Forest Grove on Friday at 6 p.m.

The Cougars then face Tigard and Tualatin in crucial playoff matchups.

“They’re very important because right now, we have the effort to win,” Roberts said. “I think defensively, we’re playing well enough to win. The kids are working hard enough to win. They just need to execute better and take advantage of the free throws, lay-ins and the opportunities that are given, so I think these next four games are important.”

Roberts said her team’s mental toughness – more than anything – will need to improve over the final stretch before the playoffs.

“Obviously, I’d like to go 4-0 just because I think we need to get over that hump and learn how to win,” she said. “And then good things will start to happen. We’re working hard in practice and we’re fine-tuning some things, and ultimately, they got to have confidence in themselves.”

BOYS BASKETBALL
Canby 62, McMinnville 54: Behind junior Justin Langford’s game-high 28 points, the Canby boys basketball team pulled off a 62-54 upset victory over McMinnville on Friday at home.

The Cougars (4-12 overall, 2-5 Pacific) moved within one game of fourth place in the conference behind Tigard (7-9, 3-4).

Canby led from the get-go, holding a 20-16 lead after the first quarter and taking a 32-24 halftime lead.
McMinnville closed to within 42-39 after three quarters, but the Cougars hung on.

Senior Ryan Wall added 14 points, and senior Josh Yoder had 11.

Drew Wickman led McMinnville with 22 points.

Up next, the Cougars travel to play Newberg on Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. before traveling to play Forest Grove on Friday at 7:30 p.m.


1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Canby Cougars 14  19  13 18 64 
McMinnville Grizzlies 9  9  13 13  44

Girls basketball
Canby - Melissa Fowler 24, Nicole Friedemann 14, Huggins 9, Erbe 7, Hansen 5, Myatt 3, Dillon 2
McMinnville - Brosius 21, J. McMillan 8, Niehus 4, G. McMillan 3, Christianson 2, Olsen 2, Peterson 2, Searles 2

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
McMinnville Grizzlies 16 8  15  15  54 
Canby Cougars 20 12  10  20 62

Boys basketball
McMinnville - Wickman 22, White 12, Jones 10, Burke 5, Noble 5, Egli, G. Geelan,
Harris, A. Geelan, Lee, Grimm, Hayes
Canby - Justin Langford 28, Wall 14, Yoder 11, Kuznetsov 6, Zamora 2, Anderson
1, Walker, Evans

Share   |   Email


Comments

We welcome comments from registered users. Comments are solely the responsibility of those who post them; their viewpoints are not endorsed by the Canby Herald and CanbyHerald.com. (read more)
Highlight
ship name
no comments have been added

(last 7 days)