WALLOWA — For about 12 minutes Friday, Jan. 28, nothing was falling for either the Wallowa or Imbler girls basketball teams.

They endured the offensive struggle through a six-point first quarter — one that saw Imbler lead 4-2 — and the Cougars held just a scant 7-6 lead with 4 minutes to play in the half.

Then the Wallowa press kicked in, set up some easy baskets and in less than a minute turned the game. The 8-0 run pushed the Cougars into control and triggered their offense on the way to a 41-27 home win in Old Oregon League action.

“I was really happy with the way we pressed,” head coach Greg Oveson said. “We created a lot of turnovers on it.”

The combination of Zoe Hermens — who scored a game-high 17 points — and Sophie Moeller at the top of the press changed the game. Moeller snagged a steal, and Hermens put back the missed layup for a 9-6 lead with 3:50 to go in the half. On the next possession, Moeller again grabbed a steal and this time converted the basket. Hermens followed with a steal of her own, and followed with a pass to Haley Brockamp for a jumper. Then Abby Straight got in the action with a steal, getting the ball to Hermens who found Moeller for another layup and a 15-6 lead with 2:57 to go in the half.

“We made a little adjustment to our press, and it was huge,” Oveson said. “We started getting some steals, they started throwing it away, that was the difference right there.”

Hermens later hit a stepback 3-pointer just before the break for an 18-8 lead.

The sudden offensive surge spilled into the third, with Hermens hitting a pair of 3-pointers and scoring eight in the quarter. Yet every attempt by Wallowa to put the game out of reach was replied by Imbler, and despite leading by as much as 13, the Cougars took just a 30-22 lead into the fourth after Imbler’s Jayda Cant scored on a putback.

The Cougars finally did put the game out of reach with the first six points of the quarter, the last on a field goal by Straight with 4:40 to play for a 36-22 advantage. Imbler pulled no closer than 10 the rest of the way.

Hermens, who finished with three 3s on the night, said the press did help the Cougars get going after the rough start.

“We started out really slow, but then we always start better once we get our press really tight, and we had a little run there and scored … quite a few,” she said. “That really helped us out.”

Hermens was the lone Wallowa player in double figures, but was aided in the scoring column by Brockamp and Straight, who each had seven points. Moeller added six points.

Joelle Treat had 14 points to lead Imbler.

The Cougars (11-6 overall, 5-2 OOL) hosted Powder Valley on Feb. 1, Nixyaawii on Feb. 4 and Griswold on Feb. 5.

Also Jan. 29

Wallowa 52, Pine Eagle 29: Wallowa followed its win Jan. 28 with an easy victory, quickly building up a double-digit lead en route to a 52-29 road victory against Pine Eagle on Jan. 29 behind a big game from Sophie Moeller.

The sophomore guard went off for 22 points and hit four 3-pointers. She scored 15 of those points in the opening half, including nine in the first quarter. For three quarters, in fact, she outscored the entire Pine Eagle team, pouring in 20 through three as the Cougars opened up at 45-17 lead.

Walowa put the game out of reach by halftime, hitting four first-half 3s to take a 30-11 lead at the break. The Cougars finished with seven made 3s on the night.

Zoe Hermens added nine points and Karly Baremore scored eight points.

Joseph 31, Cove 29: It was another fourth-quarter comeback for the Joseph Eagles.

Aimee Meyers scored six of her game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter as the Eagles rallied from a six-point deficit to edge Cove for an important Old Oregon League home victory Saturday, Jan. 29, 31-29.

Joseph was down 27-21 after three quarters, but mustered enough offense while limiting Cove to snag the victory. The Leopards were limited to just a Danielle O’Reilly field goal in the final quarter.

Cove grabbed an early six-point lead at 12-6, and held a similar margin throughout. The Leopards were ahead at the half, 20-13, and still up six going into the final eight minutes.

Cooper Nave added eight points in the win for Joseph.

The Eagles (8-6 overall, 5-1 OOL) visit Griswold on Feb. 3 and Nixyaawii on Feb. 5.

Union 37, Enterprise 35: It was yet another tight battle between the Enterprise and Union girls basketball team.

This time, though, it went to the Bobcats.

Union built an eight-point halftime lead and held off an Enterprise comeback attempt for a key 37-35 win over the Outlaws Saturday, Jan. 29, in Blue Mountain Conference play in Union.

The Bobcats got off to a strong start, grabbing an early four-point lead after one and, by halftime, doubling the lead to 22-14.

Enterprise rallied in the third, getting 3-pointers from Rilyn Kirkland, Jada Gray and Emily Love as the Outlaws pulled to within 32-28 after three quarters. They couldn’t, however, get over the top despite limiting the Bobcats to just five fourth-quarter points.

The win kept Union in a tie for first with Stanfield in conference play, while Enterprise slipped to third.

Gray finished with 10 points to lead the Outlaws, while both Kirkland and Love scored seven points.

Callie Glenn had 15 points for Union to lead all scorers.

Enterprise (10-8 overall, 5-2 BMC) visited Stanfield on Feb. 1, likely needing a win to stay in contention for the BMC title. The Outlaws host Heppner on Feb. 4 and Grant on Union Feb. 5.

Jan. 28

Joseph 35, Elgin 27: The Eagles took command with a strong first half and coasted to a 35-27 home win over Elgin on Friday, Jan. 28, in Old Oregon League play.

Cooper Nave had 12 of her 14 points in the first half as Joseph built up a 24-6 halftime lead. The Eagles’ margin reached 19 by the end of the third.

Aimee Meyers added 10 points and Sarah Orr chipped in with eight for Joseph.

Jan. 26

Enterprise 51, Pilot Rock 28: The Enterprise girls didn’t allow Pilot Rock to hang around.

Buoyed by a pair of first-quarter 3-pointers by both Rilyn Kirkland and Jada Gray, the Outlaws opened up a 23-point first-quarter lead and then set it in cruise control on the way to a 51-28 home win over the Rockets in Blue Mountain Conference play Wednesday, Jan. 26.

The Outlaws hit four 3-pointers in the opening quarter and seven for the game, and rolled out to a 27-4 lead after one. By the break, the lead grew to an insurmountable 38-10.

Emily Love, who had 14 points for the Outlaws, led all scorers, while Jada Gray scored 11 points.

Jan. 25

Enterprise 45, Heppner 41: The Outlaws used a big third quarter to build a lead and held off the Mustangs for a 45-41 road victory Tuesday, Jan. 25.

The teams were tied at the half, 21-21, after Enterprise squandered an eight-point first-quarter lead.

The offense got going in the third, with 15 points as the Outlaws reassumed the lead through three, 36-29. Heppner rallied in the fourth in an attempt to get back in the game, but fell short.

Emily Love led Enterprise in the win with 11 points including seven in the second half. Rilyn Kirkland and Jada Gray both added nine points and Madi Wigen scored eight points.