By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

STAYTON, Ore.–  It wasn’t pretty, but the Lady Eagles of Stayton got it done.

A once 12-point, fourth-quarter lead with under four minutes to go was quickly reduced by Newport to a 51-49 lead with a minute-and-a-half to go in the game with something got to give.

Something did give.  In favor of the Eagles.

Behind free throws by Tess Hendricks and Sierra Shelton, Stayton won the opener of the Oregon West Conference over the Cubs, 58-49 Tuesday night.

“The girls showed a lot of heart in the end to finish that off,” said Eagles Head Coach Melissa Hollenbeck.  “We’ve got to do a better job of finishing teams off earlier on and keep the intensity-level high that entire time and not allow them back into the game.”

For Mariah Hollenbeck, the mindset when the game got uncomfortably close, her and her teammates had to keep within themselves to pull off the win.

“We had to keep up the intensity up and keep rolling with what we had,” said Hollenbeck. “Just keep passing the ball to teammates and work together.”

How did we got to the crucial points from Hendricks and Shelton?

After a tight 20-17 start to the game in the second quarter, Stayton jumped out to a 45-29 lead behind physical play; and while, hitting part of their 19 of 25 free throws during the span in part of the 25-12 advantage for the Eagles.

Faced with a 47-31 deficit in the final four minutes of the game, Newport made their move.

Behind two three-pointers in part of a 18-4 swing of momentum during a span of two-and-a-half minutes, Stayton now found themselves on their heels.

“We just made some bad decisions offensively,” said Melissa Hollenbeck.  “Defensively, we didn’t get the stops that we needed.  But at the end, free throws came through, the girls did a good job on their free throws and finishing off.

“A win is a win in the books.”

Off a steal, Shelton hit a mid-range shot.  Followed by some free-throws before Hendricks hit four of her six free-throws in the quarter to ice the win.

For the Head Coach Hollenbeck, it’s back to work Wednesday to pan out the fine details for Yamhill-Carlton Friday night on the road.

“We’re going to work extremely hard in practice and they’ll do a good job,” said Hollenbeck.  “The girls always do.  They bounce back and do an extremely good job.”

For the younger Hollenbeck, for when they get into the game with the Tigers, they need to keep their intensity up for all four quarters.

“(We) just got to keep up the intensity, hard work and play together,” said Hollenbeck.  “And have fun.”

Hollenbeck finished with 11 points and eight of the team’s 20 steals.  Hendricks had four of the teams 13 assist to go with her 14 points and Madison Anderson had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

1st      2nd       3rd         4th        Final

Stayton    16       17         14          11               58

Newport    11       9           11          18             49

 

Stayton:  Alyssa Lindemann 16, Hendricks 14, Anderson 12, Hollenbeck 11, Shelton 5, E. Lindemann, Sheppard, Doran, Cates, Bender, Ikea-Mario.

Newport: C. Cavanaugh 13, Hyduchak 12, Hargett 12, Wagner 9, Hargett 2, Martinez 1, Bevany , Woodruff, Mitehell.

3pt Goals: Stayton: A. Lindemann 2, Hendricks 2, Hollenbeck 1

Newport: M. Hargett 2

Free throws: Stayton 19/25  76%  Newport: 11/18  61%

PHOTO GALLERY (PICTURES BY JEREMY MCDONALD)

Jeremy McDonald is a professional sports journalist in the Salem/Portland area and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalist in Oregon with B.S. degrees from Southern Oregon University in Journalism (2011) and Health/PE (2013).  Got a story idea? Email him at jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com or on Twitter at @J_McDonald81!