Central Oregonian

Loggers defeat Eagles

Last time Mitchell girls defeated Spray was more than 10 years ago

Lon Austin

January 24, 2013

In a win that was a long time in coming, the Mitchell Logger girls basketball team knocked off the Spray Eagles 51-34 Saturday night in Mitchell.

The Loggers have come close before, but the win is the first in more than a decade by Mitchell over a team from Spray.

“We came out in the first quarter with focus and intensity on the defensive end and created a lot of scoring opportunities off of turnovers,” said Mitchell head coach Tim Foster.

The Loggers took advantage of the turnovers to outscore the Eagles 16-4 in the opening frame. With the big lead, Mitchell chose not to press in the second quarter, but still took a 24-12 lead into the half.

“Spray was able to get some shots up, but we continued to do a good job offensively moving the ball and staying aggressive,” Foster said.

Mitchell put the press back on in the third quarter and extended their lead to 38-23 by the end of the period. The fourth quarter was more of the same as the Loggers cruised to the easy victory.

Mitchell had their best shooting night of the season hitting just over 35 percent of their shots.

“We finally found our shooting touch,” Foster said. “We didn’t torch the nets by any means, but going 22-62 is a huge step up from the way we have been shooting lately.”

Jenna Perry-Zapara had a huge game for the Loggers, scoring a career high 16 points and adding 12 steals and five assists. Miranda Holt was also in double figures with 12 points, while Jenay Apperson added nine points.

Kylie Severson led the Eagles in scoring with 17 — including eight in the third quarter — while Megan White added six.

“I thought the girls did a great job limiting the touches that White got,” Foster said. “She struggled with foul trouble most of the game, and did not score until the fourth quarter.”

With the win, the Loggers raised their record to 3-9 overall and 1-2 in the High Desert League.

Mitchell is on the road this weekend, playing Ukiah on Friday and Monument/Dayville on Saturday. Both games are scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

“Overall, I thought the girls played with great composure and focus tonight,” Foster said. “Hopefully, we can use this as a catalyst and continue to improve.”

Saturday, Jan. 19

Mitchell 51, Spray 34

at Mitchell

Spray (34) — Kylie Severson 17, White 6, Ordway 5, Mortenson 4, Siwek 2. Totals 12 7-12 34.

Mitchell (51) — Jenna Perry-Zapara 16, Holt 12, Je. Apperson 9, Fox 4, Tolton 4, Domenighini 4, Jo. Apperson 2. Totals 27 7-17 51.

Spray 4 8 11 11 — 34

Mitchell 16 8 14 13 — 51

Three-point goals — Spray: Severson 2, Ordway; Mitchell: none.

Logger boys split weekend games

The Mitchell boys team was also in action last weekend, dropping a heartbreaking 46-44 contest to Long Creek on Friday night, then rebounding to defeat Spray 45-35 Saturday night. No other information is available from the boys contests.

The Mitchell boys team is now 6-7 on the year, and 1-3 in High Desert League action.