Oroville girls to Sweet 16 | Updated
Published 3:57 pm Saturday, February 22, 2014
WENATCHEE – The Oroville girls basketball team had swept Lake Roosevelt in their two regular-season contests. But that didn’t mean a thing Saturday as the Raiders pushed the Hornets into overtime before Oroville pulled away to a 51-38 victory.
The Hornets reached the regional round of 16 for the first time in school history.
Oroville won despite playing stretches of the first three quarters without leading scorer and rebounder Lily Hilderbrand, who was saddled with most of the game with foul trouble. But she survived the entire fourth quarter and overtime with four fouls, while others stepped up while she sat on the bench.
“It was a great learning experience for the girls,” said Oroville coach Mike Bourn. “It was just what we needed for regionals. There are times that happens and you have to figure out how to win anyway.”
He said Rachelle Nutt and Kali Peters filled the void left behind by Hilderbrand, especially at the defensive end.
Mikayla Scott hit several shots in in the in the second half, finishing with 12 points.
“Scotty had a huge game,” he said. “She’s just gotten better all season.”
The Hornets finished the game on a 13-0 run.
Bourn said that Lake Roosevelt was very well-prepared for the Hornets after having watched the entirety of last Wednesday’s district championship loss to White Swan.
“Boy were they ready for us,” he said. “They did a great job of isolating Lachelle Bearcub, and she hurt us a lot,” he said.
Hilderbrand finished with 16 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter and overtime, while Brittany Jewett added 10, including a 3-pointer in OT. Meagan Moralez hit a pair of crucial 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to account for her six points.
Bearcub led Lake Roosevelt with 17 points.
Both teams struggled from the free throw line, with the Hornets making 14-of-29 (48.3 percent) and Lake Roosevelt 8-of-22 (36 percent)
The Hornets (15-7) will play DeSales at Regionals – a one-game, loser-out contest – at Richland High School on Saturday, March 1, 4:00 p.m.
About Brent Baker
Brent, is a former reporter/photographer for the Gazette-Tribune and sometimes works as a freelance sports reporter for the G-T. Prior to working at the G-T, he was the sports editor for Sunrise Publishing from 2000-2005 in Michigan. He subsequently owned and operated Buckland Media, a high school sports website, in Michigan until 2010. He and his wife Kim, who have an adult son, moved to Tonasket in 2010. Brent worked as a full time reporter/photographer at the G-T from 2011 - 2014).
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