December 31, 2015

McKenzie Varsity Sports Schedule This Week

The McKenzie Varsity Girls and Boys Basketball teams both travel Monday, December 28, to Dufur to participate in the 1A Hoops Classic. The Girls team will play Hosanna Christian at 2:00 pm. The Boys team follows, also against Hosanna Christian, with the game slated for a 3:30 pm. start. Both teams will play on Tuesday and Wednesday, December 29 and 30, with opponent and time to be determined yet.

Eagle Stats At Crane Tournament

The McKenzie Girls 28-60 loss to McDermitt, Nevada on the opening day of the Crane Tournament had freshman wing Jade Hayes scoring 8 points to go with 8 rebounds, both tops for her Eagle team. Hayes added 2 assists and also had 2 turnovers.

Jorden Smith and Miyanna Hayes each scored an additional 6 points and had 3 rebounds each. Smith added 4 assists, 2 steals, and had 2 turnovers. Miyanna Hayes added a steal and led the team with 5 turnovers. Kanyen Kamrath and Idgie Williams each scored 4 points. Williams also had a rebound, 2 assists, and 4 turnovers. Kamrath contributed 1 rebound and committed 2 turnovers. Katelynn Caulley finished her night with 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and a couple of turnovers. Paige Lowry added 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 3 turnovers, and Anna McNutt had 2 turnovers. For the game the Eagles shot 29% from the field and as a team committed 22 turnovers.

The Girls 39-31 win over North Lake on the second day had Jorden Smith leading her Eagle teammates with 14 points, 5 steals, 5 assists, and 7 turnovers. The senior point guard also grabbed 6 rebounds.

Jade Hayes scored 13 points, led her team in rebounds with 8 boards, and also had 4 steals and a turnover. Idgie Williams, Kanyen Kamrath, Katelynn Caulley, and Miyanna Hayes all scored 3 points each to round out the offensive output. Williams added 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 3 turnovers. Kamrath finished with 2 rebounds, a steal and 3 turnovers. Caulley had a rebound and a turnover and Miyanna Hayes added a steal, 2 turnovers, and led her team with 4 fouls.

The McKenzie Boys lost their first game at the Crane Tournament to McDermitt, Nevada by a score of 26-51. Drew Hamlow led the Eagles offensively with 11 points. Hamlow also led his team in rebounds with 9 and steals with 2. The senior wing player also had 2 assists.

Freshman Danny Quirk added 7 points and led the team with 3 assists. Chanse Hamlow and Codee Clark each contributed 3 points. Clark added 6 rebounds and Chanse Hamlow had 4 boards to go with 2 assists and a steal. James Rimmer scored 2 points, had 1 rebound and 2 assists and Matt Brownlee added 1 rebound.

The Hamlow brothers had a tough night offensively as Chanse was 1-14 from the field and Drew was 5-19. The Eagles shot just 21% from the field, 11 shots made for 52 attempts. No game stats were available for the Eagle Boys second game versus Crane, a 29-58 loss to North Lake.

Alumni Update

Jordan Wiley, a senior forward at Western Oregon University, scored 11 points in his last game, including making 3 out of 5 of his three-point shot attempts. Wiley's team is currently undefeated (11-0) and ranked 3rd in the NABC Coaches poll nationally. Wiley has started all 11 games this season and is averaging 10.4 points per game, 5th on the team. The ex-Eagle will be in Eugene on Tuesday, December 29, when the University of Oregon hosts Western Oregon in a non-conference game.

Karissa Harbick, a senior at Oregon Institute of Technology, scored 6 points in her last game in which her team defeated The Evergreen State College, 81-56. OIT is currently 10-3 on the season including 4-0 in Cascade Conference play. The Owls are tied for first place in the Conference with Southern Oregon and Warner Pacific.

Senior Taya Harbick, a senior at New Hope Christian College in Eugene, scored 6 points in her last game against Simpson College. New Hope Christian lost the game 61-72 and is currently 5-6 on the season under Head Coach Darin Harbick.

Sophomore Trey Harbick, playing forward for New Hope Christian College, scored 11 points in his last game versus College of Idaho, a 54-127 loss. The New Hope Christian men's team is currently 3-13 this season.

Harbick Finds Niche At OIT

By Steve Matthies H&N Sports Editor (Klamath Falls)

Article reprinted from Dec. 25 edition

Karissa Harbick knew Oregon Tech would be her ultimate collegiate destination. That the senior from Vida would play basketball only was a bonus.

"In high school, we had a shadow program and I always wanted to be (in) the health field," she says. "That's how I found radiology and I did my senior project on that. Once I decided on radiology, I looked at schools and Oregon Tech was the only school in the state where you could get a bachelor's degree. I wasn't sure I wanted to go to a community college and transfer, or what. Either way, I knew I would be here."

Enter OIT women's basketball coach Scott Meredith. "I had to contact him," the 21-year-old Harbick says. " I knew playing basketball for the first two years was something I wanted to do, but this was going to be the end result."

She also looked at Linn-Benton Community College and a couple of schools in Washington State, but wanted more than an associate's degree and did not want to pay out-of-state tuition for school. Her expectations were limited, at best.

"I just wanted to come here and work hard, in the classroom and in basketball," she says. "I wasn't expecting such a supportive community, how tight knit it is. It's definitely different, but I like it. If someone asks me about OIT, I would tell them they should definitely come here. The education is great. The professors are great. I love the community. There are so many people who support (Tech). People care about Oregon Tech," Harbick adds. "It's great to feel a part of that."

The people are what she will remember. "That, and how hard work has paid off, in basketball and in the classroom. What I will remember is how great it felt to be a part of Oregon Tech."

Harbick still has an externship before she can graduate, and knows that could take her almost anywhere in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Montana, or Alaska. It is a blind draw.

"I want to work in a clinic, so it would be nice to be able to go someplace where I can work both in a clinic and a hospital," she says. "I just don't want to be too set on going to one place."

One of the major bonuses for Harbick has been being close to home where her family has been able to be part of her experience, especially in basketball. "It's huge," she says. "My family has been with me my whole life, and they have been able to meet some of the people who support me. I love the memories we are making together. I hope, if I have kids, that I can be a part of this stage of their lives, too."

It is more than holidays. "I can go home on weekends. It's great to be able to go home for a little break and be able to come back and be focused on the things I have to be focused on," Harbick says. Coming from a Class 1A high school also has been special, especially since she has been part of the first back-to-back Cascade Collegiate Conference women's basketball tournament championships in OIT history.

McKenzie River Reflections