January 23, 2014

By Cliff Richardson

McKenzie Varsity Sports Schedule This Week

The Eagle Basketball teams travel to Siletz Valley Charter on Tuesday, January 21, with the Girls scheduled for a 5:30 pm. start followed by the Boys at 7:00 pm. Both teams are at home on Friday, January 24, versus Mapleton, with the Girls tipping off at 5:30 pm. and the Boys at 7:00 pm. Saturday, January 25, the two teams travel to Eddyville. The Girls are scheduled for a 3:00 pm. start and the Boys tip off at 4:30 pm. The Eagle Wrestling team is scheduled for a Dual Meet at Crow on Friday, January 24, with a 5:00 pm. start.

Eagles Smother Devil’s Fire, Scramble League Standings

Makaila Hiddleston’s hot  shooting and strong rebounding performance led the visiting Eagles in putting a damper on the hot shooting Lowell Red Devils Friday, January 10. McKenzie’s convincing 52-39 Mt. West League victory put the Eagles one half game behind the Red Devils, who were handed their first League defeat of the season. McKenzie’s victory at the time moved the Eagles up to 4th in the OSAA State 1A Rankings. McKenzie forged a 23-17 halftime lead before clamping down defensively in the 3rd quarter, holding Lowell scoreless while scoring 10 to open the game, 33-17. A good part of that defensive effort came in the form of blocked shots as the Eagles had 8 total. McKenzie was also tenacious in stealing the ball as the visitors disrupted Lowell’s offense with 26 team steals. Hiddleston continued to tear up opposing defenses as she led all scorers with 27 pts. and hauled in 10 rebounds. The senior also had 6 of her team’s steals and a block. Sister teammate Buggy Hiddleston also scored in double digits with 10 pts. and frustrated the Lowell offense with 7 steals and 3 blocks. Senior Shyla Harlan scored 7 pts. from the wing, grabbed 5 rebounds, had 4 steals and 2 blocks. The Eagle’s sophomore point guard, Jorden Smith tallied 6 pts., 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and a block. Juniors Katey Totten had 5 steals, 4 rebounds, and 2 pts., and Kailyn Ringler blocked 1 shot. McKenzie shot 43% from the field.

Lowell Rolls Over McKenzie Boys, 57-28

McKenzie dropped a Mt. West League game at Lowell on Friday, January 10 and slid to 2-3 in League play, 2-9 overall. Bailey Adams led the Eagles with 16 pts. Lowell was led by three players with double figures, Alex Norris (16 pts.), Cameron Slaven and Sean Castellani (each 11 pts.)

McKenzie Girls Extend Win Streak to 8

The Eagles continued their winning ways as they downed the Siletz Valley Charter Warriors at Finn Rock on Saturday, January 11. McKenzie beat the visitors 39-15 and briefly rolled into a tie at the top of the League standings with Lowell and Triangle Lake. Lowell was not in action Saturday and Triangle Lake defeated the Mapleton Sailors, 65-18, on the road. McKenzie took control of the game early, establishing a halftime lead of 21-4. With all Eagle players seeing action in the victory, Makaila Hiddleston scored 10 pts. and grabbed 6 rebounds while teammate Jorden Smith added 9 pts., 6 rebounds, 6 steals, and 2 blocks. Shyla Harlan dropped in 9 pts, stole the ball 4 times and hauled in 3 rebounds. Buggy Hiddleston tallied 6 pts. with 3 rebounds, Katey Totten had 2 pts. with 3 steals, and Miyanna Hayes scored 3 pts while adding a rebound. Aly Mathews had 3 rebounds and 2 steals, Kailynn Ringler grabbed 4 rebounds, had a block and a steal, and freshman Isabella Espinoza had 3 steals and a rebound. The Eagles shot 41% from the field.

Siletz Valley Charter Routs Eagles, 64-33

Siletz Valley Charter braving wind and rain, traveled to McKenzie for a Mt. West League game on Saturday, January 11. Unfortunately for the home team, the Warriors were obviously not concerned with the blustery weather and instead, were focused on beating the Eagles on their home court. The Warriors Angel DeAnda led Siletz with 19 pts. to lead all scorers. Siletz teammates David Greenawald and Tyler Sjestrom each added 11 pts. McKenzie’s Jason McCarrick led his team with 9 pts.

Eagle Ladies Wallop Wolverines

Alsea arrived in Finn Rock, Monday afternoon (Jan. 13) as one of the surprise Varsity girls teams in the Mt. West League. The Wolverines brought a 4-2 League record and a 8-2 overall record to McKenzie and the six players on Alsea’s roster have certainly raised a few eyebrows and excited the folks from the Coast Range mountain school district. The Eagles certainly were not in a position to overlook the visitors if they were to remain in the hunt for the League Championship. Triangle Lake, Lowell and McKenzie are in a three way battle for the Title at the midpoint in the season and both Alsea and Siletz Valley are close behind. The Eagles took care of business, defeating the upstart Wolverines 36-20. Fortunately for McKenzie, Makaila and Buggy Hiddleston both shot near 50 % from the field and both athletes scoring 13 pts. in the contest. As a team, the Eagles shot only 36% from the field. McKenzie’s defense however stole the show as the Eagles came up with 23 steals as a team. Makaila Hiddleston had 3 steals and 7 rebounds while Buggy Hiddleston added 2 steals to go with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Shyla Harlan led her team with 9 steals, hauled in 7 rebounds, and scored 8 pts. Katey Totten stole the ball 4 times, scored 2 pts., had 3 assists and 3 rebounds. Jorden Smith, while having an off shooting night, contributed with 3 steals, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. McKenzie had a 20-7 halftime lead.

Alsea Hangs Defeat on McKenzie

The visiting Alsea Wolverines defeated the Eagle Varsity Boys 49-30 on Monday, January 13, at Finn Rock. Senior Eagle Bailey Adams scored 15 pts. for McKenzie in the Alsea loss and sophomore Drew Hamlow tallied 10 pts.

Triangle Lake’s Kiana Brown Sets New State Scoring Record

Senior Basketball player Kiana Brown is now the Oregon High School All Time Leader in Career Points Scored and with the 2013-14 season about half over, she will continue to add to her legacy. Brown moved past the mark held by Trisha Stevens of Philomath (1987) last night at home versus Siletz Valley, scoring a three point shot midway through the second quarter and playing on to finish the game with 31 pts. Triangle Lake defeated visiting Siletz Valley 75-18. Brown’s new mark currently stands at 2,498 pts. for her career. The senior has committed to play basketball next year for Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington. EWU is a member of the NCAA Division 1 Big Sky Conference.

McKenzie Gals Squeak By Yoncalla, 38-32

The Eagle Girls Varsity Basketball team won its tenth consecutive game to go 12-2 on the season overall. In the first meeting between the two Eagle schools this season, McKenzie won fairly easily 41-29 in the friendly confines of their home gym. On the road last Tuesday, January 14, the visiting Eagles found the going a bit more treacherous. Yoncalla was the 12th ranked team in the State and they gave McKenzie Head Coach David Duncan and his 4th ranked group a few moments to scratch their heads about. Yoncalla jumped out to a 15-8 first quarter lead and carried a 20-16 lead into the locker-room at the half. Whatever McKenzie Coach Duncan shared and altered in the half session came to fruition in the third quarter as McKenzie woke up and outscored Yoncalla 17-7 to take the lead for good at 33-27. Both teams scored 5 points each in the fourth and McKenzie escaped with the win. Makaila Hiddleston led all scorers with 21 pts. and nearly had a double-double as she grabbed 9 rebounds. Hiddleston also had 4 steals and a block. Shyla Harlan scored 9 pts., hauled in 3 rebounds, and stole the ball 5 times. Buggy Hiddleston scored 6 pts., had 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocked shots. Katey Totten scored 2 pts., had 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and a block. Jorden Smith did not score but grabbed 3 rebounds and had 4 steals. For the game, McKenzie shot 41% from the field and turned the ball over 17 times.

Yoncalla Boys Thump McKenzie 44-20

Yoncalla defeated McKenzie last Tuesday, January 14, at Yoncalla. Yoncalla, representing the Skyline League improved its overall record on the season to 11-6 and currently lead their League with a 5-1 record.

Poor Shooting Sinks Eagles Against Lakers

McKenzie’s focus was to shut down the State’s new Career Scoring Leader, Kiana Brown, when fourth ranked Triangle Lake arrived in Finn Rock for a Mt. West League showdown last Friday, January 17, between the two league leading rivals. The Eagles for the most part were successful in that regard as Brown scored well below her average with just 14 pts. The Eagles, for their effort, however, were handed a 41-31 loss as they could not contain the rest of the Lakers from scoring and shot an anemic 24% from the field and just 35% from the charity stripe in one of their worst offensive outings of the season. The Lakers outscored the 3rd ranked Eagles 9-3 in the first quarter to set the stage. Both teams traded baskets in the second quarter and Triangle Lake led 20-13 at half. McKenzie gained a point on the visitors in the third, trailing 28-22 but the Lakers clamped down in the final period, 13-9, to secure the victory. The loss dropped the Eagles (6-2) out of the lead and into third place in the Mt. West League standings behind Triangle Lake (8-1) and Lowell (7-1). One of the few bright spots on the night, sophomore Eagle point guard Jorden Smith led her team with 12 pts., 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Buggy Hiddleston was the only other Eagle to score in double figures as she tallied 11 pts. to go with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. Shyla Harlan and Katey Totten each scored 3 pts. and Makaila Hiddleston scored well below her average with just one basket for 2 pts. Hiddleston in fact had just 5 field goal attempts in the game to go with 6 rebounds, 1 assist and a steal. Harlan had 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals. Totten grabbed 6 rebounds, added 4 assists and swiped the ball twice.

Triangle Lake Boys Swamp McKenzie 56-27

The visiting fourth ranked Triangle Lake Boys team swept past host McKenzie, winning for the 15th consecutive time, extending their record to 9-0 in League play and 16-1 overall. For the Eagles (2-13), the loss was the 13th consecutive since opening the season with two wins against Mapleton (2-7) and Mohawk (0-13). Alex Nastasiuk led his Eagle team with 14 pts. and 15 rebounds.

Eagle Girls Back On Winning Trail, Lasso Mustangs, 42-31

McKenzie jumped out of its one game slump to corral the visiting Crane Mustangs, representing the High Desert League in the Southeast quarter of the State. Crane arrived in the River Valley of the Eagles leading its League with a 3-0 record and an 8-6 overall record on the season. This was a very good match up between the fourth ranked Eagles and the ninth ranked Mustangs. Senior Eagle Post player Makaila Hiddleston scored 15 pts. and hauled in 5 rebounds in leading her team to a 13-3 overall record. McKenzie has eight games left in the regular season and is looking toward the Mt. West League Tournament and an opportunity to participate in the OSAA State Basketball Championships. Shyla Harlan and Katey Totten each tallied eight pts. for McKenzie.

Mustangs Up-End Eagles, 52-29

The visiting Crane Mustangs Boys Basketball team defeated McKenzie to improve their overall record to 6-8. The Eagles dropped to 2-14.

McKenzie River Reflections