NEW ERA FOR WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

During the winter break, the eighth-ranked Saints had a great performance at the crossover tournament hosted by Skagit Valley Community College, finishing 2-1 over the three-day tournament. Mt. Hood’s Madison Allen and Tasha Beckett were named to the all-tournament team.

But now is when it counts and boy, are the Saints making the most of it. South Region play began Jan. 2 as they hosted the Southwestern Oregon Community College Lakers at the Yoshida Event Center in a game that went down to the last play.

This was the Saints’ first home game of the entire season as all their preseason games were away, so, obviously the Advocate was there to cover it for you guys.

The home crowd, consisting mostly of family and high school friends, was excited to finally being able to watch the Saints in action and it did appear that the players were a bit nervous and pressured at the beginning of the game. They missed some open 3s and shots from inside the paint in the first 5 minutes but it didn’t take long for the home crowd to get into the game and cheer the Saints on as they finished the first half down just 33-32, after being down by as much as eight points.

The next two quarters were close, as well, with the lead going back-and-forth. Then came the fourth quarter, which was a nail-biter that ended with a huge comeback from the Saints.

It all began with 4 minutes remaining on clock and the game tied at 57. SWOCC called a full timeout and got a 3-pointer from Keiko Aotaki right after the game had resumed that silenced the crowd. The Saints’ Courtney Jackson responded with a made jump shot. SWOCC then made a layup, followed by another 3-pointer by Aotaki. At 65-59, Lakers, Mt. Hood coach Vanderboer called a timeout and then gave SWOCC the same treatment as he created a 3-point opportunity that the Saints’ Bri Rosales converted, thanks to a great assist by Kassidy Ellett. A turnover was made right after, thanks to a crucial steal by Ellett, giving Atalina Pritchard a layup.

And so, in a matter of 40 seconds, the Saints were back in the game at 65-64, and getting the crowd hyped again.

FANTASTIC FINISH

Bell Madison from SWOCC made a layup on the next play, but Saints’ Madison Allen responded with a clutch 3-pointer from behind the arc, tying the game at 67 with 1:07 remaining, thanks to another great assist by Ellett. This was followed by two Laker free throws and then two by Mt. Hood – but Rosales was only able to convert one. Leading 69-68 with 24 seconds on the clock, SWOCC called a 30-second timeout; the Lakers were looking to run the clock out and Mt. Hood was forced to foul.

SWOCC had the opportunity to stretch the lead to three but that’s when home court advantage came into play. The Saints crowd made some noise during Abby Neff’s two free throws for SWOCC, causing her to miss both. With 16 seconds on the clock, Mt. Hood called a full timeout. Down by one, with no need of a 3-pointer to seal the game, Vanderboer either had to come up with an open jump shot opportunity or look for a foul to convert hopefully into two free throws.

As the game resumed, SWOCC chose not to give Mt. Hood the easy two tries and instead try to rely on good defense, hoping the Saints would miss their last shot. But after a bit of passing, Jackson was able to find Ellett, who was forced to pull up for a jump shot with three SWOCC players on her but successfully made the shot, to regain the lead.

With only two seconds remaining it was SWOCC’s ball, enough time for a quick grab-and-shoot 3, but the Saints’ Emily Webber sealed the game with a massive steal to give the Saints the 70-69 victory.

The Saints’ Jackson led the team with 24 points (3-4 from behind the arc) and six rebounds, Kassidy Ellett had seven assists and four steals, and Tasha Beckett just missed out on a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Just three days later, Mt. Hood had another home game as it hosted the second-ranked Riverhawks of Umpqua Community College. But this didn’t scare the Saints as they went out strong and finished the first quarter up 20-15. They kept the lead through all four quarters of the game, finishing on top, 78-72, and improving their record to 2-0 in league play while staying undefeated at home.

Courtney Jackson led the Saints with 20 points and six rebounds, as Rachel Watson picked up a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

COOLED OFF BY STORM

The Saints did suffer a setback in their most recent game as they were on the road facing the Chemeketa Storm and fell, 71-64, on Wednesday, Jan. 9. Watson finished the game with 12 points and three personal fouls, while Jackson finished with 11 points and also three personals, a teamwide issue against the Storm.

But this loss shouldn’t stop Mt. Hood’s momentum as the Saints stood at 11-5 overall, their best start in years, heading into the weekend. This time last year, they were 5-8 overall.

The Saints hope to keep their strong run going when they play at 2 p.m. Saturday at Linn-Benton Community College.