Saints trap Lions en route to eight-point win

The Saints women’s hoops team beat Multnomah University 66-58, Wednesday night.

Mt. Hood led from start to finish, and by as many as 15 points in the first half.

Saints sophomore center Marley Yates had 8 points with nine minutes to go in the first half. Multnomah struggled to contain her in the first 20 minutes of action. At halftime, Mt. Hood had a healthy 39-27 lead, led by her 10 points.

With 11:51 to go in the second half, Multnomah got to within five points, but the Saints were able to hold off the Lions.

Mt. Hood’s defense was ultimately the key in the win. MHCC constantly trapped Multnomah, who committed 22 turnovers that MHCC converted into 23 points.

The visiting team was hot from the three-point area until the last three minutes of the game. Multnomah hit 11-for-26 threes in the game, but went just 1-for-6 in the final three minutes.

“My team could really use a win,” coach Tyler Rose had said before the game.

He added, “We beat Multnomah by 19 points the last time we played them (a 55-36 win on Dec. 3) and we didn’t play very well.” Rose went on to say with optimism that the Saints’ season is not lost, even with an overall record of 4-17 and South Region mark of 0-6 in the NWAC.

“Every team we play the rest of the season (is) beatable; we can still get that fourth playoff spot,” he said.

Mt. Hood had four players reach double digits in scoring on Wednesday. Yates and freshman guard-forward Delanee Martin had 14 points each; freshman guard-forward Lacey Weddle added 12, while freshman center Madison Weaver contributed 10 points.

The victory snapped a six-game losing streak.

Last Saturday, the Saints hosted Umpqua Community College. Umpqua, leading the NWAC with a 19-2 record, left with its eighth straight win. Mt. Hood seemed overwhelmed by the very good Umpqua team, trailing 42-22 at halftime and losing, 65-49.

“We played a very strong team. They lead our division for a good reason,” Rose said of Umpqua. Alexis Imbler was MHCC’s leading scorer with 10 points.

Mt. Hood concludes its three-game home stand at 2 p.m. Saturday against Southwestern Oregon (13-8 overall, 4-2 South Region).