Falcon Boys Make a Statement Against Siuslaw

At 5-13, no one is going to mistake the Siuslaw Vikings with the Golden State Warriors.  However, it was important for the Elmira Falcons basketball team to show that their resurrection from an 0-5 start wasn't a fluke and that with the second half of the conference schedule on tap, they still could find themselves in the upper tier of the 4A Sky-Em Conference.  The Falcons took a step in that direction by eventually dismantling hapless Siuslaw 70-44 at Elmira High School, Tuesday, January 22.

Elmira guard Bryson Forsman goes up to dunk on a breakway as the Falcons overwhelmed Siuslaw 70-44, Tuesday, January 22 at Elmira High School.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

On first glance of the statistics, Elmira's poor shooting under 40% would be a cause for concern.  However, the new strategy was clear: bombs away.  The Falcons chucked up a season high 66 shots, converting 26 of them.  Three players scored in double figures for the Falcons.  Jacob Marr who only scored 5 points in the first half, rebounded to finish with 16.

Christian Davis fires up a 12 foot jumper... one of his 14 shots on the night... in Elmira's 70-44 victory over Siuslaw, Tuesday, January 22 at Elmira High School.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

Keagan Cook and Christian Davis were the primary bombardiers though, firing up 27 shots between them and scoring 14 and 11 respectively.  Paul Ossowski chipped in 7 points and got to the line twice. 

6-6 Jacob Marr posts up for two of his 16 points in the Falcons 70-44 victory over Siuslaw, Tuesday January 22 at Elmira High School.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

The victory left the Falcons 7-9 (1-3 in conference play) going into a Friday night tilt on the road against 4th ranked Marshfield.  It is the first of three games on the road, including a non conference tilt with Crow, before starting the second half of the conference schedule.  A victory over the Pirates in Coos Bay would be a staggering, but not unrealistic, expectation for Head Coach Nick Garman's team.  Considering their start, and the quality of their improvement since the beginning of the year, the story is still yet to be written. 

ONE LITTLE VICTORY; THE GREATEST THAT CAN BE (apologies to the rock band Rush)

Led by Sydney Greene's 3 three pointers in the first half and an angry, tenacious defense, the Lady Falcons managed to hold off a plucky but over matched Siuslaw squad 36-34 at Elmira High School, Tuesday January 22.  The win broke an 11 game losing streak and raised the Falcons' record to a humble 3-13.

Lady Falcons senior Sydney Greene fires a three point shot from above the key in Elmira's 36-34 victory over Siuslaw, Tuesday January 22.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

However, Elmira almost let the Lady Vikings off the hook.  At one time holding a comfortable 8 point lead in the third quarter, the Lady Falcons found Siuslaw cutting into the lead with the help of a back court press and tenacious play by Brea Blankenship and 5-9 Gracie Freudenthal.  Both teams suffered from poor shooting and sloppy ball handling.

Elmira's Eden Blunt slashes to the basket in the Lady Falcons 36-34 victory over Siuslaw, Tuesday, January 22 at Elmira High School.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

The key to victory however was clear.  When Maranda Hanson was on the floor, the Lady Vikings simply didn't have easy lanes to the rack, with sophomore center collecting 4 blocked shots on the evening and redirecting the several more.

Falcons front line players Maranda Hanson and Alexis White battle Siuslaw's Mia Corrine for a rebound in Elmira's 36-34 victory over the Lady Vikings, Tuesday, January 22.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

The win over lowly Siuslaw doesn't reconcile a difficult, injury plagued season, but it does get them in the win column and end that treacherous 11 game string of futility.  The Lady Falcons need to covet the feeling because their next endeavor will be daunting as they travel to Coos Bay to play the #1 ranked team in the state, Marshfield on Friday night.

A WEEK OF WOE

Boys Basketball: Marrs Attacked

Sophomore post man, Jacob Marr had a breakout game, pounding inside and scoring 20 points and swatting 3 blocks on 8 of 16 shooting against Marist Catholic on Friday, January 11 at Elmira High School.  Mysteriously though, he played scant minutes in the fourth quarter.   The Falcons' inability to perimeter defend and the rest of the team's 7-17 shooting allowed Marist to rally to beat Elmira 47-35.

If the Marist game was a revelation for Marr, the Junction City game was a nightmare for him.  6-2 Tiger senior center, Cameron Gibson had a field day schooling the younger Marr in the art of post play, scoring virtually at will.  Gibson's 28 points allowed Junction City to rebound from a game that the Falcons seemingly had under control only to fall 57-51 at Junction City High School, Tuesday January 15.

Cottage Grove raced out to a 16-0 start on 9-12 shooting early and never trailed against Elmira  Marrs faced a triumvirate of Lion centers all 6-5 or taller.  Jasper Ferguson, Creed Lufkin, and 6-8 Shambay Trapp combined for 31 points in the Lions' 53-40 victory over the Falcons at Cottage Grove High School, Friday January 18.  Marrs had a horrid night shooting only 2 of 8, not getting to the foul line and having two of his shots redirected by the Leo's tri-towers.  Keegan Cook and Christian Davis scored 13 and 10 respectively for Elmira in the loss.

After rallying over the Christmas break from 0-5 to 6-6, the Falcons now find themselves 6-9 with a winnable game Tuesday night against the Vikings of Siuslaw.

Girls Basketball:Losing Streak Plummets to 11 Straight 

The Lady Falcons kept good company with the boys with consecutive losses to Marist, Junction City and Cottage Grove.  Short handed with Alexis White and Carly Grossmiller out, lost 51 -34 to Marist Friday January 11th in the conference opener for both schools.  

Grossmiller returned after a month recovering from a knee injury to suffer a dismal shooting night as the Lady Tigers mauled Elmira 67-33 at Junction City High School on Tuesday January 15. 

Alexis White returned to the line up and for much of the game the Falcons had the makings of a supreme upset over the 9-6 Lady Lions of Cottage Grove.  Though she struggled shooting, Grossmiller provoked the offense for the Falcons, getting to the free throw line 7 times.  Sydney Green also showed no shortage of aggressiveness, not only firing up 16 3-pointers, hitting on 5 of them but also getting a rare technical foul in the game.  Green led all scorers with 17.  A surprise contributor to the offense was Ashley Feltz who scored 10 points including 2 old fashioned plus 1 three point plays.   

Though the wins haven't testified to the effort and progress shown in the game against Cottage Grove, the intensity and crispness of the Lady Falcons has been improving now that the injury bug has been sequestered.  A tasty opportunity for victory lurks Tuesday January 22, as the 4-13 Siuslaw Lady Vikings come to Elmira off a grizzly 77-24 drubbing at the hands of Marshfield.

Lady Falcons Continue Tail Spin

After losing a heartbreaking 28-25 home decision to Tillamook, a game which the Lady Falcons led almost the entire game, Elmira looked to the return of star guard Carly Grossmiller to revive their moribund offense and take some of the scoring pressure off of starter Sydney Green. 

However, Grossmiller found that her shot was rusty from a month of inactivity as she recovered from a knee injury.  Grossmiller was a dismal 1 for 14 shooting and despite a season high 21 points from Green, Elmira lost their conference home opener to Marist Catholic 51-34 in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated. 

The true culprit in the contest however was Marist forward Ruby Vlahov who dominated inside and out for 23 points, including 9 points from outside the arc.  Vlahov's outburst and Elmira's generosity in surrendering 16 first half turnovers, allowed Marist to cruise to a 40-19 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The Lady Falcons will seek their first conference victory with a road contest against Junction City, Tuesday January 15.  The game will be broadcast on KOCF radio, 92.5FM.

Holiday Break Results...

Falcons Boys' Season Finds Christmas Cheer

After suffering a 68-32 drubbing at the hands of Milwaukee in the opener of their own tournament, the Elmira boy's basketball team stood at a cringe-worthy 0-5 on the young season.  Christmas came early however, as the Falcons bounced back to pound Lebanon by 16.  The turnaround continued as the Lebanon game was part of a 5-1 streak during the break that lifted the Falcons to #17 in the state.

The Falcons made it a 6-1 streak with a 56-47 road victory over Tillamook in the last non-conference game of the year.

"We played sloppily, especially on defense, in the first half," said Elmira Head Coach Nick Garman in an email.  "We really put the clamps on them in the second half.  Improved leadership, better handle on the offense, drastically improving team defense, and getting some healthy bodies back have all led to the six wins in the last seven games."

Keegan Cook sparked the Falcons with 13 points, 9 from 3 point range as well as sweeping 10 boards.  Jacob Marr added 12 points  with an efficient 6 of 7 shooting and eight rebounds. .

Mason Oilar moves down court against a Sweet Home defender earlier this season.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

These are the results:                                                                                      

Riley Chambers gets a shot off in a game earlier this season.  Photo Kimberly Lillie

70-54 vs Lebanon W

51-46 @ North Bend W

44-63 @ #5 South Albany L

50-36 vs Phoenix W

59-46 vs Klamath Union W

66-42 vs Yamhill-CarltonW
56-47 @ Tillamook

HOLIDAY BREAK FOLLOW-UP

Holiday Break Leaves Lady Falcons Broken

A promising season that started out at 2-2,  plummeted during the break into a 7 game losing streak that left the Lady Falcons at 2-9 on the season.  The struggle began when star player Carly Grossmiller went down with a knee injury.  Her return date is still unknown at press time.

Cassidy Coffman defends against a Sweet Home dribbler earlier this season.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie 

Lady Falcons' forward powers up to score against a Sweet Home defender.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie

Senior Sydney Green skies to reject a Sweet Home players shot in a game played earlier this year.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie