McKenzie Sports Report - December 12

McKenzie Varsity Sports Schedule This Week

The McKenzie Varsity Boys and Girls Basketball teams travel to Lowell on Thursday, December 12. The Boys Junior Varsity game will start at 4:30 pm, the Girls Varsity game tips off at 6:00 pm and the Boys Varsity game will start at 7:30 pm.

The Eagle Boys travel to Gold Beach on Friday, December 13. A JV game is scheduled at 5:30 pm and the Varsity game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm start.

McKenzie Boys play at Myrtle Point on Saturday, December 14, with a JV game set for 1:00 pm and a Varsity Boys game following at 2:30 pm.

The McKenzie teams host Chiloquin on Tuesday, December 17. The Girls Varsity game will start at 5:00 pm and the Boys Varsity will tip off at 6:30 pm.

Eagles Scrappy In Oakridge Opener

The McKenzie Girls and Boys Varsity Basketball teams lost their respective opening games of the 2024-25 season last Wednesday, December 4, against visiting Oakridge. The Eagle Girls lost 35-50 and the McKenzie Boys dropped their game 52-63. But both Eagle teams fought and scratched and found a way to keep the fans engaged in positive vocal and foot stomping support.

The Oakridge girls, led by junior guard, Alejandra Arellano, jumped out to a 20-3 first quarter advantage and the Warriors extended the margin to 32-20 at the halftime break. But the persistent and quick (and sometimes wild) slicing drives of Eagle guards Liliana Jones and Claire Weiss kept the Warrior defense on their heals.

McKenzie's offense didn't feature any effective outside shooting (no 3 point attempts) and their shooting percentage for the game was an anemic 18% (15 made out of 85 attempts). But the lanes were open courtesy of the flatfooted Warrior defense and the Eagles took advantage closing the gap in the third quarter and finishing the period just nine down, 28-39.

McKenzie sophomore guard, Liliana Jones, had a night, scoring 26 points, hauling in 10 rebounds and recording 8 steals, for her first double double of the new season. But over on the other side of the court, the Warriors countered with #22, Arellano, who scored 24 points. Unfortunately for McKenzie, only two other Eagle players scored, Weiss with 5 points (and 8 rebounds) and post Linn Goette, who finished with 4 points.

Goette was a force inside the paint, however, grabbing a game high 15 rebounds. Oakridge, on the other hand, spread their scoring around as forward Brooklyn Anderson added 11 points, post Emmalee Ross added 4 points, guard Allisa Wygle finished with 3 points, and Lola Meska, Aureliah Schroeder, and Nicole Slabaugh each scored 2 points.

The McKenzie Boys painted a similar game portrait as their lady colleagues in that they played an up-tempo pace, slicing into the paint for forced shots that fell in 37% of the time. Oakridge's shot attempts, however, found the bottom of the net more often. The visitors established an 18-9 first quarter lead and increased the difference at halftime by a dozen, 32-20.

The Eagles came back out after the half break with new energy, but the Warriors still maintained they had an answer and looked to break open the game for a rout. The Eagle's brand new score-clock showed Oakridge up 49 to 29 after the third quarter horn. But credit those feisty Eagles, they fought back in the final quarter and rallied to within 7 points of tying the score. With the home crowd fired up and well into the supporting their local team's efforts, the McKenzie boys showed some interesting potential. Unfortunately, the Warriors had an unstoppable force in their ranks this evening.

May we introduce you to Oakridge senior guard Max Maher, who kept the Eagle rally at bay with an outstanding 41-point output? With Maher leading the way, the Warriors held off the Eagle rally and earned the 63-52 non-league victory. Maher missed just 2 shot attempts all night, shooting an incredible 89% from the field, including going 2-2 from the 3-line and hitting 7 of his 8 free-throw attempts.

Eagle freshman guard Amir Enfield led the Eagle offense with 17 points, shooting just under 50% from the field. Sophomore post Masonn Burton added 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his first double double. Junior guard Will Meister finished with 8 points, freshman Jacob Norlund and junior Hayden Harbick each contributed 4 points, senior Noah Prado and senior Aytan Munoz Brown each scored 3 points, sophomore Rhys Hamlow added 2 points and junior forward Jacob Peek added 1 free-throw.

McKenzie Girls Earn First Hoops Victory

The McKenzie Varsity Girls Basketball team traveled to Pendleton with the Eagle Boys team and participated in the Bouncin' Cancer Tournament held at Nixyaawii High School. The Eagles defeated the Stanfield JV team in the opening game of the Tournament, winning 43-35. The next day, McKenzie fell to Pilot Rock by a score of 27-65. No stats were available at press time.

Eagle Boys/Girls Drop Two Apiece At Pendleton Tourney

The McKenzie Varsity Boys traveled to Pendleton last Friday to participate in the Bouncin' Cancer Tournament hosted by Nixyaawii High School. The Eagles fell to Nixyaawii JV in the first game on Friday afternoon, December 6, 27-63 and also to Pilot Rock / Ukiah the next day by 36-63. No stats were available at press time.