by Wayne Lee – Sports Editor
The Lady Eagles had a tough stretch of games, beginning with a 66-32 loss to visiting Springfield on Feb. 12, The Millers came into the game ranked second in the state with an undefeated league record and an overall mark of 21-2.
They then hosted 11th ranked Crater, and the Comets posted a 68-36 win. Crater shooting guard Taylor Young was once again an unstoppable force scoring 28 points, 23 in the first half, as the Comets bolted out to a 24-7 first quarter lead and never looked back.
“We got quite a few points in the paint which was out goal,” said coach Denise Ledbetter. We needed to rebound a little better and once again, turnovers were a big factor in the game. We had 22 turnovers that led to 18 points for Crater.”
Emary Haning put up 13 points and grabbed seven boards and teammate Kady Ledbetter added 12 points and three rebounds. They were the only two on the team to manage more than one basket.
This set up a crucial game at North Eugene Feb. 20 for the Lady Eagles to keep their playoff hopes alive and in the words of the coach, “We played a great game, came out with energy and fire, played as a team, shared the ball very well. I’m so proud of them.” And that seems like an understatement given the Lady Eagles’ 61-41 blowout of the Highlanders.
Led by Kady Ledbetter’s 21 points and 14 rebounds, Eagle Point jumped out to a 15-8 lead in the first quarter, extended it to 34-18 at the half and were up 51-28 after three.
“We were leading 6-3,” said coach Ledbetter, “and we went on an eight-point run to pull further away.” The Lady Eagles went on to dominate the boards outrebounding North Eugene by a 43-21 margin. Jill Garlitz hit four of six three-pointers on her way to 16 points (12 in the second quarter) to go with four steals and four assists. Haning added nine points along with four steals and four assists.
The Lady Eagles currently stand at 12-10 overall, 6-4 in league and ranked 13th in the OSAA state rankings.
Boys Basketball
The Eagle Point High School boys’ basketball team traveled to Springfield Feb. 12 where they posted their first league victory of the season, defeating the Millers 76-58. The win avenged a previous 61-54 loss at Springfield back on Jan. 16.
The Eagles were the team that got off to the fast start, jumping out to an early 21-13 lead in the first quarter and extending it to 38-25 at the intermission. The Eagle offense was led by Wyatt Terpening who scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half.
The second half began as a fast-paced shootout as the two teams combined for 47 points in the third period. The Millers poured in 22 of those 47, only three points less than they had scored the entire first half, and yet they failed to make up any ground. Things settled down in the final period, but Eagle Point still managed to outscore Springfield 13-11 to win going away.
Wyatt Kirby led the Eagles’ offense with 21 points, 15 in the second half. Carson Robinson tossed in 15 points and Dawson Glasgow added 13 to put four Eagles in double figures. Eagle Point’s last win was Dec. 13 against McKay, which hasn’t won a game in 22 tries and is ranked dead last in the state.
Eagle Point then hosted rival Crater Feb. 17, dropping a 67-44 decision to the Comets. The Eagles followed with an 84-33 loss Feb. 20 at seventh-ranked North Eugene. The team currently stands at 1-9 in league, tied with Springfield, and 3-19 overall.
Wrestling
The Midwestern League held their league tournament Feb. 21 at Ashland High School. Thurston barely edged Crater for the league title with 484 points to 480 for the Comets. Eagle Point was third with 274 points followed by North Eugene with 107, Ashland at 106.5, Churchill with 57.5 and Springfield with 11.5.
The Eagles were led by Brian Cortez (285) who was the only gold medal winner for Eagle Point. Gavin Pogue (165) placed second, Thomas Wippel (138), Ethan Metcalf (144) and Nathan Mallari (150) all placed third. Fourth place finishes were turned in by Talen Elizando (106), Ryan McFall (113), Sean McFall (157), Colby Price (165) and Kai Peters (215). Jaxon DeVette (106), Levis Evans (126), Aiden Love (138), Isaac De La Cruz (150) and Cash Nekouie (175) all placed fifth and both Damian Amara (113) and Bret Jermain (132) finished sixth to round out the team scoring.
