Big 1st half helps La Pine past Taft

Published 10:44 pm Friday, December 22, 2017

LA PINE — A rocky start could have spelled disaster for La Pine on Thursday. Yet the Hawks needed just one spark to turn the tide.

A nine-point lead in the first quarter swelled to a 20-point halftime advantage, and La Pine held off a Taft rally to secure a 39-31 nonconference girls basketball win.

“We started off real slow,” said La Pine coach Sam Ramirez. “(Taft) scored the first basket, but we just got off and running from there.”

Autumn Gerard had the hot hand for the Hawks (3-7) in the first quarter, scoring eight of the team’s first 10 points to help La Pine build a 13-4 lead after the opening period. Paced by Gerard, who scored all 11 of her points in the first half, the Hawks took control in the second quarter, during which they outscored Taft 19-8 to lead 32-12 at the break.

Haily Hinkle also had 11 points for La Pine and racked up 19 rebounds, 10 of which were on the offensive glass.

“She was hard to stop,” Ramirez said of Hinkle.

Also for the Hawks, Cortney Wolf totaled four points, four assists and four steals.

Also Thursday:

Girls basketball

Mountain View 51, McKay 33: SALEM — Despite falling behind 8-2, the Cougars started clicking offensively in the second quarter, highlighted by three 3-pointers from Liliana Overcash, to climb back and eventually coast to a nonconference win. Bailey Dickerson had 19 points to lead Mountain View (4-3), which has now won four straight. Overcash finished with 14 points, Mia Morey added nine, and Kailynn Bowles contributed six points.

Madras 85, Sweeet Home 30: SWEET HOME — With five players scoring in double figures. the White Buffaloes cruised to a nonconference win and improve to 7-1 overall. Jayden Davis paced Madras with 18 points, while Lynden Harry supplied 12 points, seven steals and four assists. Kaliyah Iverson had 11 points and eight steals for the Buffs, Jiana Smith-Francis finished with 11 points, and Alesha Freeman scored 10.

Boys basketball

Mountain View 67, Philomath 50: ELMIRA — After falling behind 8-0, the Cougars closed the first quarter with a 21-5 run that put Mountain View in control en route to a win at the Elmira Tournament. Chase McClain led the Cougars (5-3) with 21 points and five assists. Matt Van Tassell added 20 points and eight rebounds, and Sawyer DeMeyer chipped in with four steals.

Sweet Home 90, Madras 76: SWEET HOME — An off shooting night from both the 3-point arc (2-of-21) and the free-throw line (22-of-37) was more than the White Buffaloes could overcome in a nonconference road loss. Kanim Smith had 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead Madras (2-6), which also got 10 points each from Dapri Miller and Tyler Lockey. Ten different players scored for the White Buffs.

South Albany 70, Sisters 48: ALBANY — The Outlaws (4-3) fell at the South Albany Tournament and finish the tourney Friday against North Eugene.

La Pine 69, Taft 60: LA PINE — Jeremy Smith had 22 points and four steals, and the Hawks snapped a six-game skid with a nonconference win. Giroux Gerhart totaled 18 points and nine rebounds for La Pine (2-6), and Triton Notary dished out five assists.

North Lake 43, Culver 40: SILVER LAKE — The Bulldogs led by five points with three minutes remaining, but turnovers, errant shots and missed free throws allowed North Lake to rally for a nonconference win. Weston Basl paced Culver (1-9) with 15 points, four rebounds and four steals. David Gutierrez had 11 points for Culver, Eduardo Gutierrez totaled seven boards, and Edwin Gutierrez had six steals. Silas Roth had 11 points for North Lake (6-4), and Clayton Cooper scored 10. Tyce Grassman had 14 rebounds for the Cowboys, and Austin Murphy added 10 boards.