Girls basketball: Joseph shocks top-ranked Union at tournament

Published 10:00 am Friday, February 16, 2024

BAKER — The opening day of the girls’ 1A Old Oregon League tournament Thursday, Feb. 15 proved to be a day of upsets in the Baker High School gym, with the Joseph Eagles claiming a stunning victory over Union and another underdog, Nixyaawii, also winning.

The Joseph girls, fifth in the league standings coming into the tournament, shocked top-ranked Union, 32-29. Details of the game were not immediately available.

The Eagle girls now advance to a Friday game versus Powder Valley with a start time of 6 p.m. in semifinal action.

Union, now out of the tournament, will need to wait for tournaments around the state to play out to see if their Oregon School Activities Association’s ranking of 14th will be enough to earn a berth to the state tournament.

The Imbler girls were also caught off-guard in the opening round as seventh-seeded Nixyaawii upset the fourth seeded Panthers, 42-40. The Golden Eagles are headed to a 2 p.m. game versus Echo in the semifinals.

Like Union, Imbler heads home after the loss but with a sixth-place OSAA ranking should qualify for a state berth.