Girls basketball: Wallowa avenges loss to county rival

Published 9:54 am Tuesday, January 30, 2024

JOSEPH — The Wallowa girls’ basketball team is not a group to forget a loss. On Jan. 4, county rivals Joseph rolled into the Cougar gym and handed the Lady Cougars a 40-36 loss. On Friday, Jan. 26, the Wallowa girls repaid the favor, traveling to Joseph and downing the Eagles 41-29 in 1A Old Oregon League play.

The first half between the county rivals was relatively even, with the Cougars taking an 18-16 lead into the locker rooms.

Both teams struggled to score in the third quarter, with Wallowa tallying nine points to Joseph’s seven, but the Cougars put the game away in the fourth quarter as the Eagles again struggled, scoring just seven points in the final stanza.

In the last quarter, Wallowa’s Zoe Hermens took eight free throws and connected on six of them. She led all scorers with 19 points. Abby Straight added 13 points for the Cougars.

In the loss, Joseph was led by Aimee Meyers and her eight points. Annie Miller added six points.

Wallowa stayed on the road for a Saturday, Jan. 27 1A Old Oregon League game against Imbler, but this time the Cougars couldn’t grab the win, falling 39-34.

The Cougars raced to an 11-3 lead after the first quarter, but the Panthers rallied with a 19-point second quarter while the Cougars went cold, adding just three points in the frame to fall behind, 22-14, at the half. The two teams played evenly in the third quarter, each scoring eight points. Wallowa cut the lead with a 12-point fourth quarter, but the Panthers held on for the victory.

Abby Straight led Wallowa with 13 points and Sophie Moeller added nine.

Joseph rebounded from the Friday loss with a 44-35 overtime victory at home over Pine Eagle on Saturday, Jan. 27. The game marked the second win of the season by the Eagles over the Spartans.

Wallowa (12-8 overall, 3-4 1A Old Oregon League) fights to return to .500 in league play with a home game on Thursday, Feb. 1 versus the visiting Leopards of Cove (4-17 overall, 0-7 1A Old Oregon League). In a nice change to the schedule, the girls will play after the boys, with the Lady Cougars taking the court at 7 p.m.

Joseph (9-10 overall, 5-2 1A Old Oregon League) isn’t scheduled to see action next until Tuesday, Feb. 6 with a 5 p.m. game at Powder Valley. The Eagles will be looking to avenge their worst loss of the season, a 52-15 loss at home against the Badgers.