Saints snap seven-game losing streak

The Saints women’s basketball team snapped a seven-game losing streak Wednesday night, as it defeated the George Fox University junior varsity team, 62-48, in Newberg.

Led in scoring by sophomore center Marley Yates and freshman guard-forward Kelsea Baton, Mt. Hood jumped on top and ended a tough preseason on a high note.

“We came out looking to press them,” said head coach Tyler Rose.

The Saints treated George Fox “like we would our (regular season) opponents,” played well on defense and offense and “built the lead up and carried it through to get the victory,” he said.

Mt. Hood ended the preseason with a 3-11 mark.

The Saints struggled through a pair of tournaments, both in Gresham and on the road, losing by double digits in all seven games since their last win on Dec.3. Poor shooting, especially in the first half of games, often left them with an insurmountable halftime deficit.

But Rose said the George Fox game should help set MHCC up for the tough regular season that begins this Saturday in Coos Bay. The Saints square off against the 9-6 SWOCC (Southwestern Oregon CC) Lakers. The game is set for 2 p.m.

The South Region will be hard, since it has several of the NWAC’s elite teams, Rose said.

“The league is gonna be open. It’s always a challenge, because three out of the best five teams in the league are in the South,” he said. “I feel like we’ve pressed, prepared… (so) we know what we’ll see and expect.”

Yates has been a consistent bright spot for the Saints. Prior to Wednesday’s game, she had averaged 11.2 points, an NWAC leading 10.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game.

Rose said the SWOCC game promises to be challenge. “They’re a great, up-tempo team,” he said.

 

–Greg Leonov contributed to this story