Both the Henley girls and boys basketball teams can take home a Yreka Invitational title Saturday after two big wins Friday. Here’s a look at how each game unfolded.
Boys: Henley 51, Red Bluff (CA) 31
Henley started slow against a Red Bluff (CA) team that lost 71-48 to Crater on Thursday, but the Hornets went on a 10-0 run over the final 4:32 of the first quarter to take a 16-8 lead and the Spartans never threatened again.
The teams combined for 14 points in the second quarter–with all but two coming in the final 1:32–as Henley took a 27-13 lead into halftime.
“I was happy with how we played,” Henley head coach Luke Hammond said. “That was a very athletic team and I thought we did a good job defensively making them uncomfortable.”
The Hornets had a total of 7 steals and 4 blocks and were anchored by a strong two-way performance from Markus McCreadie, who had 20 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks–all team highs. Luke Bennett was also effective on both ends of the floor, recording 11 points, 4 assists and 2 steals. Other contributors for Henley were Owen Harper with 8 points and 3 rebounds; Aiden Hayes with 6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block; Lane Frank with 3 points; TJ Chavez with 2 points and 2 rebounds; Chris Janney with 1 point, 3 rebounds and 2 assists; and Bryson Montag with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block.
For Red Bluff (CA), Marcos Torres had 8 points, Eli Hohenberger had 7, Zane Dewsup and Carson Hall each had 3, and Kayden Leaf and Diego Ortiz each had 2.
Henley will face Del Norte (CA) in their final round-robin game at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. They’ll have to wait until the end of the day–once the rest of the boys games have been played and tiebreakers have been sorted out–to see if they win the Yreka Invitational title.
Girls: Henley 75, Del Norte (CA) 48
It took nearly a full quarter for Henley’s shots to start falling, but once they did, the Hornets put the game out of reach quickly.
Anna Harper gave the Hornets their first lead of the game at 8-7 with 35 seconds left in the opening frame. It was the start of a 22-2 run that lasted until the 4:20 mark in the second quarter.
Up 38-13 at the break, Henley played Del Norte (CA) fairly evenly in the second half. The Warriors went on a few small runs but never got closer than 19 points as the Hornets advanced to the Yreka Invitational championship game.
“I’m happy with the way we pushed the game and again the pressure applied defensively,” Henley head coach Randy Denson said. “Last year we struggled at times in the half court defense. We seem much improved at this point.”
Harper led the Hornets with 17 points, followed by Senia Campos with 16, Annie Campos with 11, Lily Fussell with 8, Kennedi Modin, Prestyn Schade and Bayli Ladner with 5 each, and Mya Mauch and Jewell Northcutt with 4 each.
For Del Norte (CA), Brooklyn Carter finished with a game-high 20 points (including five 3’s), scoring 14 in the third quarter. She was followed by Jacalyn Gorbet with 12 points, Lauren Stutes with 9, Tsinte Steinruck with 4 and Khloe Smith with 3.
Henley will face tournament host Yreka (CA) in the Yreka Invitational championship game at 6 p.m. Saturday.