Nyssa’s Madisyn Hartley is on guard as Vale’s Gracee Jacobs drives toward the basket. The Lady Vikings edged the Lady Bulldogs 37-33 in a barn-burner game that went into overtime. (The Enterprise/Kristine de Leon)
VALE – The Lady Bulldogs ran into foul trouble during overtime Friday and Vale took advantage by hitting key free throws to post a 37-33 High Desert League win.
Vale’s Emersyn Johnson, Kyla Wright and Gracee Jacobs led the Vikings with nine points each. Jacobs was seven-of-15 from the free throw line.
Samantha Moore paced the Bulldogs with eight points while teammate Madisyn Hartley chipped in seven.
“That’s the type of game you’re gonna get when Vale and Nyssa get together. It’s gonna be a dogfight to the end,” said Bulldogs coach Jeremy Chamberlain. “They (Vale) made a couple more free throws than we did. And that’s what it comes down to in the end. There’s no secrets between us.”
Early on, it looked like it was going to be a tight game. The Vikings finished the first quarter three points ahead of the Lady Bulldogs, who battled back to knot the contest 15-15 at halftime.
Foul trouble mounted for the Lady Bulldogs in the second half, and the Vikings appeared to barely keep their opponents at bay.
While the Vikings were making their free throws, the Bulldogs struggled with shooting.
“You gotta knock down free throws, you gotta rebound the basketball, you have to protect it,” said Chamberlain. “They (Vale) were a little better in the overtime session than we were.”
Despite the loss and his team’s low shooting performance, Chamberlain said his girls were “pretty patient offensively.”
“I thought we actually ran some offense pretty well,” he said. “The ball just didn’t go in a lot of times.”
Looking ahead, the Bulldogs coach said his girls would need to work on staying out of foul trouble.
“We have got to adjust to the officials, adjust to the flow of the game,” Chamberlain said. “There were some untimely turnovers or a missed rebound that hurt us. It was just the little things throughout the game that got us. So we just have to focus on ourselves a lot and stick to the fundamentals.”
The Bulldogs are on the road to play Umatilla and Irrigon Saturday.
The Vikings also hit the road to battle Umatilla on Friday and Riverside on Saturday.
Boys Basketball
Omar Jaquez scored 17 points and Pedro Chavez poured in 14 to help the Bulldogs beat Vale 55-47 in High Desert League action Friday.
Vale trailed by just two points at the end of the first quarter but Nyssa bolted to a 31-23 lead at the half.
“I think we played hard in the first half,” said Nyssa coach Aaron Mills. “We also made our free throws late.”
The Bulldogs, who capped the game with a 66 percent free throw percentage, still have some work to do, said Mills.
“We need to execute our offense better and shoot fewer early threes,” said Mills. “Defensively, we boxed out poorly. Effort is the main factor on defense.”
Brayden Gregory led the Vikings with 14 points while Kade Haueter scored 12 and Colton Kesey added 10.
“We were very stagnant second and third quarter, offensively,” said Vale coach Colby Shira. “Nyssa’s a great team. So offensively, we really struggled in both of those quarters. I saw that as being the deciding factor.”
The Bulldogs allowed the Vikings to score six points during the second and third quarters. After the halftime break, Nyssa widened the gap during the third quarter to 40-29.
Shira said his players had trouble making their shots.
“Our effort was really good all night. I thought defensively we were on par for the most part. We had our slip ups,” said Shira. “I thought we didn’t turn over the ball too bad.”
Moving forward, the Vikings play Riverside on Friday and Umatilla on Saturday.
The Nyssa Bulldogs will also be hitting the road this weekend. They face Umatilla on Friday and Irrigon Saturday.
Nyssa’s Wyatt Jensen attempts to block a shot from Vale’s Tanner Hamilton. (The Enterprise/Kristine de Leon)