ASTORIA GIRLS TAME TIGERS
Talk about grabbing a tiger by the tail.
Facing an uphill battle to match Seaside's late season surge for the 3rd playoff spot in the Cowapa League Girls basketball race, the Astoria Lady Fishermen took to the road for the last time in the regular season in search of a must-win against Yamhill-Carlton. The Tigers, winners of just one game in the Cowapa this year, would not lay down for the Fishermen, pushing out to a 23-8 halftime advantage and throwing serious doubt into the Astoria faithful that the Lady Fish would have any chance to grab a precious road victory.
But whatever Astoria Coach Gordon Thompson said to his charges at the break, worked.
"Let's just say that I let them know that they didn't perform to my level of expectations." Thompson said wrly after the Fishermen staged a second half comeback and secured a 37-33 victory. "We weren't playing defense and I made some adjustments. The girls knew that if they didn't follow our plan in the second half, they's be sitting on the bench."
After falling behind by 15 in the first half, Astoria came out after the break with blood in their eyes, stifling the Tigers offense, allowing only 1 free throw at the 2:12 mark remaining in the 3rd Quarter and only 3 points in the quarter, as the Fishermen closed the gap down to 5, at 26-21, heading into the final stanza.
Key in that 3rd Quarter was the play of Junior guard Sara Cullen, who buried 3 jumpers in succession down the floor, and reserve Alex Hillard, who dumped in 4 points in the quarter that saw Astoria outscore Yamhill-Carlton 13-3.
"That quarter was key." said Thompson. "The energy was better, the execution was better, and our girls stepped up when they needed to."
The Fishermen took the lead midway through the final period on a Jamie Coggins offensive rebound and put-back, then held off the pesky Tigers on their way to the important road victory. Astoria improved to 3-5 in League play, 12-11 overall. Yamhill-Carlton dropped to 1-7 in the Cowapa and 3-17 on the season overall.
Next up for Astoria is a pair of home dates. This Friday night the Lady Fishermen host Banks, then close out the regular season with Seaside on Tuesday. The Fishermen need to sweep those games and have Seaside lose on Friday to Cowapa League leader Scappoose to pull into a tie with the Gulls for the 3rd and final OSAA playoff position. If that happens, then the two teams would have a one-game, winner-in contest at a neutral site to determine the team that would advance to the post-season.
ASTORIA - 4 4 13 16 - 37
Coggins 10, O'Bryan 2, Saulsbury 4, Cullen 9, Wilson 2, Stephens 4, Hillard 8, Roman, Carr
YAMHILL-CARLTON - 9 14 3 10 - 33
Bellwood 10, Larson B. 9, Findley 2, Whitehead 2, Dunham 8, Larson S. 2, Chamberlin, Witham
FIELD GOALS: AST: 13-34-38%, YC: 7-29-24%
3 PT FG'S: AST: 0-0-0%, YC: 2-7-28%
FREE THROWS: AST: 11-21-52%, YC: 13-25-52%
TURNOVERS: AST: 17, YC: 23
Facing an uphill battle to match Seaside's late season surge for the 3rd playoff spot in the Cowapa League Girls basketball race, the Astoria Lady Fishermen took to the road for the last time in the regular season in search of a must-win against Yamhill-Carlton. The Tigers, winners of just one game in the Cowapa this year, would not lay down for the Fishermen, pushing out to a 23-8 halftime advantage and throwing serious doubt into the Astoria faithful that the Lady Fish would have any chance to grab a precious road victory.
But whatever Astoria Coach Gordon Thompson said to his charges at the break, worked.
"Let's just say that I let them know that they didn't perform to my level of expectations." Thompson said wrly after the Fishermen staged a second half comeback and secured a 37-33 victory. "We weren't playing defense and I made some adjustments. The girls knew that if they didn't follow our plan in the second half, they's be sitting on the bench."
After falling behind by 15 in the first half, Astoria came out after the break with blood in their eyes, stifling the Tigers offense, allowing only 1 free throw at the 2:12 mark remaining in the 3rd Quarter and only 3 points in the quarter, as the Fishermen closed the gap down to 5, at 26-21, heading into the final stanza.
Key in that 3rd Quarter was the play of Junior guard Sara Cullen, who buried 3 jumpers in succession down the floor, and reserve Alex Hillard, who dumped in 4 points in the quarter that saw Astoria outscore Yamhill-Carlton 13-3.
"That quarter was key." said Thompson. "The energy was better, the execution was better, and our girls stepped up when they needed to."
The Fishermen took the lead midway through the final period on a Jamie Coggins offensive rebound and put-back, then held off the pesky Tigers on their way to the important road victory. Astoria improved to 3-5 in League play, 12-11 overall. Yamhill-Carlton dropped to 1-7 in the Cowapa and 3-17 on the season overall.
Next up for Astoria is a pair of home dates. This Friday night the Lady Fishermen host Banks, then close out the regular season with Seaside on Tuesday. The Fishermen need to sweep those games and have Seaside lose on Friday to Cowapa League leader Scappoose to pull into a tie with the Gulls for the 3rd and final OSAA playoff position. If that happens, then the two teams would have a one-game, winner-in contest at a neutral site to determine the team that would advance to the post-season.
ASTORIA - 4 4 13 16 - 37
Coggins 10, O'Bryan 2, Saulsbury 4, Cullen 9, Wilson 2, Stephens 4, Hillard 8, Roman, Carr
YAMHILL-CARLTON - 9 14 3 10 - 33
Bellwood 10, Larson B. 9, Findley 2, Whitehead 2, Dunham 8, Larson S. 2, Chamberlin, Witham
FIELD GOALS: AST: 13-34-38%, YC: 7-29-24%
3 PT FG'S: AST: 0-0-0%, YC: 2-7-28%
FREE THROWS: AST: 11-21-52%, YC: 13-25-52%
TURNOVERS: AST: 17, YC: 23
posted by Danny Havel at 7:47 AM
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