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Antelopes grab 6th in state tourney

The Adrian girls basketball team wrapped up their season with a sixth-place finish during the Oregon School Activities Association’s 1A basketball tournament in Baker.

The Lopes opened state play on Wednesday, March 2, taking on the Golden Eagles of Nixyaawii Community School in quarterfinal action. After leading early in the contest, the Antelopes saw Nixyaawii score 34 points in the second half, and fell 50-30.

The Lopes jumped out early, leading 11-2 at the 3 minute, 11 second mark off of a jumper by Carlee Morton. Morton ended the quarter with a 3-pointer with just 20 seconds left on the clock to give Adrian a 14-4 lead.

In the second quarter the Golden Eagles began to find their range, closing up the score to 18-16 at the half.

Adrian struggled in the second half, putting up seven points in the third quarter and only five points in the final eight minutes. Nixyaawii added 17 points in each of those quarters.

Morton had 20 points to lead the Lopes in the loss and also added three rebounds.

For the game, Adrian shot 35 percent from the field, going 7-for-20 and dropped to 29 percent from the free throw line, hitting on 2-of-7 shots.

The loss dropped the Antelopes into the consolation bracket of the tournament.

Early Thursday morning, March 3, Adrian faced a familiar foe – the Crane Mustangs – in the first round of consolation. The two teams faced each other twice during the regular season, with the Mustangs winning both games. The two also faced each other in the High Desert League championship game, when Adrian took a 30-26 win for the title.

Last week, Adrian played to a 12-12 tie at the end of the first half, and was able to outscore Crane 23-18 in the second half. The Lopes claimed their second win of the year over the Mustangs, 35-30.

Crane took the early lead just a minute into the game with a 3-pointer by Hannah Maupin. Down by five points at one time in the first quarter, the Antelopes clawed back into the game and tied it up with a shot by Lauren Barraza.

The second quarter offered more of the same as Crane jumped out only to have the Lopes close the gap and, with 25 seconds left in the half, tie up the score at 12-all with a jump shot by Morgan Bayes.

Adrian took its first lead at the 6:31 mark in the third quarter as Morton’s basket put the Lopes up, 15-14. The Antelopes continued with the offensive pressure and as the third quarter came to a close, Adrian had a 22-18 lead.

Both teams were in double digits on the scoreboard in the final quarter, but with the Lopes holding their third quarter advantage and adding 13 points, the Antelopes claimed the win.

Morton had 15 points in the win while Bayes had nine.

Adrian upped its shooting average to 45 percent, going 13-for-29 and hit 8-for-19 from the free throw line, a 42 percent average.

On Friday, March 4, the Lopes played Rogue River Adventist in the game to decide fourth place in the tournament. In the lowest-scoring affair of the tournament, Adrian lost 24-19 to the Red Tail Hawks.

Selina Villareal put the only points on the board for the Antelopes in the first quarter, dropping a 3-pointer and taking Adrian to a 3-2 lead with the first eight minutes played.

Rogue River Adventist stepped up in the second quarter, adding nine points to lead at the half, 11-7.

The second half saw Adrian score eight points in the third quarter, the highest total of the game, but drop back again in the final quarter of the game with only four points.

For the game, the Antelopes found success on only eight of 58 attempts from the field, a 14 percent average. Villareal had five points to lead Adrian.

Along with their sixth-place state finish, Adrian ends the season with a 21-7 overall record and a 1A-8 High Desert League title. Only one player, Kylee Skerjanec, will depart the team due to graduation; next year’s squad will feature five returning seniors.

As the tournament wrapped up, Nixyaawii picked up third place after downining Hosanna Christian, 53-39

The 1A champion ended up being Country Christian after they defeated North Douglas, 54-37.

Adrian 14 4 7 5 30
Nixyaawii 4 12 17 17 50
Adrian 8 4 2-9 30: Hutchings 1 0 1-3 3; Bayes 0 0 1-4 1; Barraza 1 0 0-0 2; Morton 4 4 0-1 20; Villareal 1 0 0-1 2; Skerjanec 1 0 0-0 2. Nixyaawii 13 3 15-23 50.

Crane 7 5 6 12 30
Adrian 7 5 10 13 35
Crane 12 1 3-7 30. Adrian 12 1 8-19 35: Hutchings 1 0 1-2 3; Barraza 1 0 1-3 3; Morton 4 1 4-9 15; Villareal 2 0 0-1 4; Nielson 0 0 1-2 1; Bayes 4 0 1-2 9.

Adrian 3 4 8 4 19
Rogue River 2 9 7 6 24
Adrian 7 1 2-2 19: Barraza 2 0 0-0 4; Morton 0 0 2-2 2; Villareal 1 1 0-0 5; Nielson 1 0 0-0 2; Bayes 3 0 0-0 6. Rogue River Adventist 7 1 7-17 24.