Oroville girls win opener despite free throw struggles

OROVILLE – The Hornets overcame a rough night at the free throw line to hand Kettle Falls a 49-34 season-opening defeat on Friday, Nov. 30.

The two teams were locked in a 32-32 tie after three quarters, but Oroville outscored Kettle 17-2 in the fourth quarter despite missing 10 of 14 free throws down the stretch.

“We went to more of a man-to-man and shut down their top two players,” Bourn said of the Hornets’ late surge. “We were all excited about our first game, too, and probably were trying to do a bit too much. The girls settled down and played pretty well once they got going.”

Katie Tietje paced the Hornets with 13 points, with Callie Barker and Lily Hilderbrand adding nine apiece.