Both the Henley girls and boys basketball teams won championships in dominating fashion at the Yreka Invitational Saturday. Here’s how each game unfolded.
Boys: Henley 57, Del Norte (CA) 28
It was the Markus McCreadie show for Henley Saturday morning.
The Hornets’ 6-foot-7 center nearly outscored Del Norte (CA) by himself with 27 points as the Warriors were simply unable to match up with him in the paint. McCreadie also had 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks.
For a while, McCreadie was the only player on either team who didn’t struggle to score. He had all of Henley’s first quarter points as the Hornets took a 7-4 lead and finished the first half with 15 as his team led 19-7. Henley found its groove in the second half, allowing it to expand its offense; the Hornets scored 36 points over the final 16 minutes, with 24 coming from players not named McCreadie.
“Markus was obviously very good today,” Henley head coach Luke Hammond said. “I’m proud of the guys’ willingness to share the ball and get it to Markus in great scoring position.”
Defensively, the Hornets threw several different looks at Del Norte (CA), keeping the Warriors off balance and regularly forcing them into bad shots. Henley’s effort on defense throughout the weekend was ultimately what secured the Yreka Invitational championship; the Hornets and Crater both finished 3-0 in the boys division’s modified showcase format, but Henley won the points allowed tiebreaker 86-109.
“We wanted to establish a defensive mindset for the year and I thought we did that,” Hammond said. “Our defense was good and we want to be able to hang our hat on that as a program.”
Despite McCreadie’s dominance, nearly all Hornets players who dressed out ended up scoring. Luke Bennett had 8 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks; TJ Chavez had 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals; Aiden Hayes had 5 points and 3 rebounds; Lane Frank had 5 points; Bryson Montag had 2 points and 3 rebounds; Peyton Lichner had 2 points; Owen Harper had 1 point, 4 rebounds and 3 assists; and Chris Janney had 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
For Del Norte (CA), Lyon Rigden had 12 points, Michael Webster had 9, Kyle Dixon had 3, and Collin Tromble and Danner Dowd each had 2.
The Henley boys face their first OSAA opponent of the season as they travel to 5A Redmond at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Girls: Henley 84, Yreka (CA) 33
The Henley girls had come up short of a title in their last two trips to the Yreka Invitational, finishing third in 2022 and second in 2021. It became clear very early in Saturday night’s championship game that the Hornets would not be leaving the 2023 tournament empty-handed.
Henley raced out to a 12-0 lead in the first 2:12 of the game, but tournament host Yreka (CA) responded with a 7-0 run over the next 2:37 to cut the Hornets’ lead to five. That was as close as the Miners would get, though; Henley proceeded to go on another 12-0 run to end the first quarter. Up 48-22 at halftime, the Hornets only continued to build their lead over the defending champions, reaching the running clock margin of 40 points with 18 seconds left in the third quarter.
“I can’t ask for a better effort from our girls,” Henley head coach Randy Denson said. “They’re doing things the right way.”
Yreka (CA) often struggled just to inbound the ball against the Hornets’ stifling defense, which recorded 20 steals.
“Defensively, we’re in a way better spot at this point than last year,” Denson said. “We’ve changed our defense a little bit to kind of match our defensive pressure.”
Anna Harper and Jewell Northcutt each had 17 points for Henley, with Harper adding 10 rebounds and Northcutt adding 3 steals. Annie Campos had 16 points, 6 steals, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, and Kennedi Modin had 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, and 1 block. All four players earned all-tournament honors, and Harper was named MVP.
Other contributors for the Hornets were Senia Campos with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists; Lily Fussell with 6 points, 4 rebounds and 1 block; Bayli Ladner with 5 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals; Prestyn Schade with 5 points and 2 assists; Meredith Brown with 3 points and 2 rebounds; and Mya Mauch with 4 rebounds.
For the Miners, Alexes Collier–last year’s tournament MVP–had 11 points, Alianna Avery had 8, Peyton Carter had 5, Emmie Freitas had 4, Maycie Collier had 3 and Maci Hogan had 2. Alexes Collier and Emmie Freitas both earned all-tournament honors.
The Henley girls face their first OSAA opponent of the season as they host 5A Redmond at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
