By Wayne Lee – Sports Editor
The Eagle Point High School girls basketball team faced a challenging pair of games last week beginning with a contest at rival Crater Jan. 20 where they dropped a 68-42 decision to the third ranked Comets. The Lady Eagles came out strong as they trailed by just one point at the end of the first quarter, 13-12.
“The game started to slip away in the second quarter” said coach Denise Ledbetter, “due to the pressure of their press.” The result was Eagle Point turnovers that were converted to fast break points as Crater senior guards Jazz Fernandez and Taylor Young bombed away from outside with a combined 11 three-pointers in the game. The result was a 28-12 explosion in the second period as the pair combined for 24 of the Comets 28 points leading to a 41-24 lead at the half.
Crater continued to pull away with Fernandez and Young combining for 52 of their team’s total of 68 points as no other Comet player managed more than four points in the game. Despite the lopsided loss, “That was the best we have competed with Crater in quite a few years” said Ledbetter.
Emary Haring led the Lady Eagles with 17 points on 58% shooting and seven rebounds. Karris Johnson and Jill Garlitz each chipped in seven points with Garlitz adding seven assists while Kady Ledbetter had six points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
The team then hosted North Eugene on Jan. 23 where they edged the Highlanders 44-41 in a very tight game. The Highlanders came into town 3-2 in league, 9-8 overall and a #17 ranking while the Lady Eagles were 2-2, 8-8 overall and ranked #16 and the game lived up to its billing.
North Eugene took the early lead thanks to a smothering defense that forced a number of turnovers including a pair of shot clock violations.
The Highlanders pulled out to a 12-9 lead in the first quarter, but Eagle Point began the second with a pair of buckets to go up 13-12 forcing North Eugene to call a time out. The Lady Eagles were clinging to a 19-17 lead with 2:33 left in the first half before the Highlanders scored six points in the final 92 seconds to take a 23-19 lead into the locker room at intermission.
Eagle Point came out strong to begin the second half. After a quick bucket by the Highlanders to go up 25-19, the Lady Eagles fought back to tie the score at 25-25, 27-27 and 29-29 before pulling ahead 34-29. North Eugene battled back to trail 34-32 to begin the final period.
“We were able to turn up our intensity in the second half and get some steals” said Ledbetter. “We also took better care of the ball.” However, the Highlanders were getting to the foul line, hitting seven of eight over the final four minutes. Eagle Point called a time out with just 61 seconds left to play and the game knotted at 40-40.
Kolbie Ledbetter hit one of two free throws with 49 seconds remaining and then made a clutch steal and a lay-up to put the Lady Eagles up 43-40 with 20 seconds remaining on the clock. North Eugene added a free throw to pull within two, forcing Eagle Point to spend a time out but Garlitz hit a free throw to seal the game with just three seconds remaining.
“Jill was clutch from the free throw line” Ledbetter said of her senior guard who went seven of eight from the stripe and led the team with 15 points, 13 in the critical second half. Emary Haning added seven points and six rebounds and Elania Almaraz tossed in six points. Kolbie Ledbetter had five points in addition to that game-clinching steal and older sister Kady added four points, four boards and a pair of blocked shots to secure the victory.
Boys basketball
The boys basketball team had a rough week. They began by traveling to Crater where the Comets jumped out to a quick 14-7 lead in the first quarter and outscored the Eagles 26-11 for a comfortable 40-18 margin at the half. Crater poured in another two dozen points in the third period to go up 64-27 and coast to the win.
Wyatt Terpening led the Eagles with eight points, all in the final quarter. Wyatt Kirby had seven points and Logan Rund added six as the team’s top scorers.
The Eagles then hosted North Eugene on Jan. 23 where they dropped a 79-55 decision. The Highlanders came into the game 14-3 overall and ranked fourth in the state and led the entire way from the opening tip to the final buzzer.
North Eugene built a 17-6 lead in the opening quarter and outscored the Eagles 21-14 in the second period for a comfortable 39-20 margin at the intermission. The Highlanders extended the margin to 60-34 to begin the final quarter and were able to coast to the victory.
Dawson Glasgow led the Eagle Point offense with 17 points and Kane Clark added 13. The Eagles are now 0-3 in league play and 2-13 overall. They travel to Churchill Jan. 30 for their next game.
Wrestling
The Eagles hosted 4-A Mazama Jan. 21 and made it a long ride home for the Vikings. Eagle Point not only won every match but won every match by fall except for the final match that was won 9-0 on a major decision. The night opened with Gavin Pogue being honored for having notched 100 wins over his athletic career at Eagle Point.
The Eagles then went on to dismantle Mazama 82-0. Ethan Metcalf (157) had the shortest match lasting just 21 seconds. Brett Jermaian (138) took 56 seconds to win his match while teammate Colby Price (190) won his in 57 seconds. Pogue (175) won in just 69 seconds while Sean McFall (165) snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, stopping his opponent with just six seconds left in the match.
In addition, OSAA recently released their state rankings. Pogue led the Eagles with a number three ranking and a 27-5 record. Thomas Wippel (138) 18-9 and Nathan Mallari (150) 26-7 were both ranked fourth. Talen Elizando (106) (15-11) is ranked sixth, Sean McFall (157) 14-8 is ranked eighth, Ryan McFall (113) 16-8 is ninth. Metcalf 17-17 is ranked 12th while Cooper White (120) 10-7, Trenton Shelton (126) 7-6 and Brett Jermain (132) 11-12 all ranked 13th respectively.
The team will next see action this weekend as one of 28 teams in the Bill Geister Invitational being held up north in Clackamas, OR.
