WHS girls win in OT, up streak to six

Published 1:43 pm Tuesday, January 27, 2015

After losing a three-point lead in the final two seconds of regulation, the Wallowa girls’ basketball team (5-2 league and 9-7 overall) responded on the road Saturday for a 48-47 overtime win to record it sixth straight victory.

The victim Saturday was what had been the league’s No. 2 team from Nixyaawii and came a mere 24 hours following a 37-19 Cougar victory against Powder Valley in North Powder.

Interesting enough, earlier during this season, when WHS was struggling to gain its identity, Wallowa lost decisively to both these teams by 15- and 22-point margins respectively.

Wallowa coach Greg Oveson boils down the improved play of his team to the word “confidence.” Yet that confidence comes from many factors, Oveson says, including the fact his team is “playing as a team,” “playing team defense,” and “hitting some outside shots.”

A new pride in rebounding also is paying huge dividends for the Cougars who downed the league’s No. 1 team from Echo a week earlier. Aggressive rebounding efforts from the likes of Lauren Makin, Savannah Nobles, and Macey Frei are providing more scoring opportunities for the Cougars, and yet it’s the dominant play of senior Calli Miller on the backboards that’s setting the tone. Miller snared a total of 31 rebounds during the two wins last weekend.

Wallowa opened Friday’s game with three three-point field goals in the opening minutes against the host Badgers, two by Frei and one by Taylor Harshfield, and zoomed to an early lead en route to the lopsided win.

Against Powder Valley, Harshfield scored 15 points, Makin 12, Frei six, and Miller four.

Trailing 43-40 with only two seconds remaining on the clock, the end of regulation worked out to perfection for Nixyaawii when an Eagle player made the first of two free throws, intentionally missed the second, grabbed the rebound, and tossed the ball in to demand overtime.

A big play in the overtime victory came when Wallowa’s Frei snared a rebound off a teammate’s missed free throw and put the basketball in the hoop to earn a three-point lead that melted, but didn’t go away.

The ladies from Wallowa were led by three players scoring in double figures. Harshfield scored 17 points, Frei 16, and Makin 10.

Wallowa next will play at home Friday against Griswold (3-4 league and 7-9 overall) and then travel to Pine Eagle (0-6 league and 2-11 overall) on Saturday.