By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

STAYTON, Ore.– It took until the aecond half for either the Lady Eagles of Stayton and the Huskies of North Marion to get into a groove.

But when they did, it was a mad dash to the finish line.

First, Stayton built a double-digit lead by the by late in the third quarter only to be matched by North Marion in the fourth as free throws help the Huskies prevail over the Eagles 57-54 Tuesday night.

“They were very important,” said sophomore Ally Umbenhower, who scored (x) points on the night.  “Now we are tied for first place in league right now so it’s a pretty big win for us.  We didn’t come out as strong, but we pushed through and did good.”

It was Stayton’s first loss in the Oregon West Conference and their first in their last eight games.

“They did a good job, they came out and played well,” said Eagles Head Coach Melissa Hollenbeck.  “I knew that they had it in them, we weren’t overlooking them by any means but we had a really off shooting night, It happens it teams and we need to learn how to execute better.”

Tied at 24 apiece entering the second half following an opening half of trying to figure out each other, Stayton found their groove first offensively as they built a double-figure lead behind a 12-4 run sparked by two three-pointers and strong defense.

Tess Hendricks led the charge on defense and Alyssa Lindemann on offense during this span.

“We were excited,” described Lindemann.  “We were trying to pull ahead because we knew they were a tough team and we knew that they would push forward.  They were keeping up with us for the whole game.”

But slowly, behind a switch in gameplan, North Marion clawed back into the game with a 18-5 run.

Before the run, the score was 36-28 before the run in favor of the Eagles, but it was now 49-45 with 2:16 left in the game in favor of the Huskies.

“We just switched some things up and the girls played with heart,” said North Marion Head Coach Dennis Melcher. “We got a break here and there, got a shot and we got the momentum coming back our way.  I think Stayton panicked a bit and we capitalized.”

Now faced with a deficit and stunned, Stayton tried to make a final push for the win.

Lindemann with a three and a pair of free throws, Hendricks with steals.

But their efforts were met by Umbenhower and Company, who used momentum to help them keep their lead in check from the line and from the field.

“I think we just had a problem keeping our intensity up the whole game,” said Tess Hendricks, who finished with 12 points and four steals.  “We had a few mental lapses but we’ll definitely be ready the next time we see them.”

UP NEXT:  NORTH MARION-  Vs. Newport (1/29) 7pm STAYTON- @ Cascade (1/29) 7pm

1st.      2nd.      3rd.       4th.       Final

Stayton.  13.       11.        12.         18.        54

N.Marion  11.      13.        4.           29.        57

Stayton: A. Lindemann 16, Anderson 13, Hendricks 12, Hollenbeck 8, Doran 3,  Ikea-Mario 2, Sheppard, Bender.

N.Marion : K. Henry  17, A. Umbenhower 12, H. Kinniburgh 9, E. Scanian 8, K.Florez 4, L. Wing 4, B.Morgan 3.

3pt: Stayton: Lindemann 4, Hollenbeck 1, Doran 1 N.Marion :Henry 5, Umbenhower 2,Florez 1 Kinniburgh 1

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!