Cowgirls corral Outlaws - Central Oregonian

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Lon Austin

The Crook County Cowgirls seem to have Sisters’ number.

Tuesday night, the Cowgirls knocked off Sisters, 52-39, to earn their third victory of the season over the Outlaws.

“Sisters is a good team,” said Crook County head coach Dave Johnson. “They are well-coached. They play hard and they are disciplined. They are a very good basketball team.”

The Cowgirls were able to defeat the Outlaws despite a sub-par offensive performance on the night. The Cowgirls shot just 31 percent from the floor, making 18 of 58 shots. However, Crook County’s defense forced Sisters into 19 turnovers while holding the Outlaws to just 25 percent shooting (12-47).

“We had great looks at the basket, but very poor shooting,” Johnson said. “We just could not knock down a shot, but I thought that our defense was pretty good.”

After trailing 3-1 in the game’s opening minutes, the Cowgirls outscored the Outlaws 10-2 the remainder of the first period to take an 11-5 lead.

The Outlaws went on a streak of their own to open the second quarter, scoring seven points in a row as they took a 12-11 lead.

After calling time out, the Cowgirls stepped up their defensive pressure, scoring eight consecutive points to retake control of the game.

Crook County led 27-20 at the half, and held a 37-27 lead at the end of the third period. The Outlaws were unable to mount a serious challenge in the final period, as the Cowgirls held on for the victory.

Brooke Buswell was the only Cowgirl to score in double-figures, finishing with 17 points. Buswell was 4-6 from the floor in the game as well as going 9-12 from the free throw line. In addition, she led the Cowgirls in assists with four, and pulled down seven rebounds.

Jaci McKenzie and Kayla Morgan each added seven points for Crook County, while Taylor Walker finished with six.

Crook County post, Makayla Lindburg, who had 20 points in the two teams, second meeting, managed only five points in this contest. However, she was still instrumental in the Cowgirls’ victory, pulling down 10 rebounds, and blocking five shots.

Sisters’ Taylor Nieri led all scorers with 21 points, including knocking down four three-point shots.

With the victory, the Cowgirls moved up to 16th in the latest OSAA Class 4A power rankings. Crook County is now 8-5 on the season, while Sisters falls to 4-8.

The Cowgirls are at home tonight as they take on the Roosevelt Lady Roughriders in a Special District I matchup.

Roosevelt is currently 1-11 on the year. Nonetheless, Johnson indicated that the Cowgirls are taking the game seriously.

“It’s the one team in our league, so we really need to sweep Roosevelt,” he said. “We will definitely be keyed up. I think we will pressure them and do the same things we have been doing.”

Because the game is part of a doubleheader, game time is set for 5:45 p.m. The varsity boys game will follow at 7:30 p.m.

The Cowgirls are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Bend to take on the Summit Storm in a 3:30 p.m. contest.

Tuesday, January 10

at Sisters

Crook County (52) — Brooke Buswell 17, McKenzie 7, Morgan 7, Walker 6, Lindburg 5, Ovens 4, Solomon 4, Loper, Saenz, Apperson. Totals 18 13-20 52.

Sisters (39) — Taylor Nieri 21, Herron 5, Kernutt 5, Spear 3, Henson 2, Kaiser 2, Peterson 1. Totals 12 10-13 39.

Crook County 12 16 10 14 — 52

Sisters 5 15 7 12 — 39

Three-point goals — Crook County: McKenzie; Sisters; Nieri 4, Kernutt.