Henley girls basketball won a thriller over 3A Banks and Henley boys basketball beat Sweet Home to snap a three-game losing streak on the final day of the Sisters Shootout. Here’s how each game unfolded Saturday.
Girls: Henley 46, Banks 43
Let Kennedi Modin be a guiding example of why it’s important to go deeper than box scores when evaluating players’ performances.
The Henley (11-0) sophomore only made one shot against defending 3A champion Banks (8-3) Saturday: the shot that kept the Hornets undefeated.
With 17.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the game tied at 43, Henley inbounded the ball at midcourt coming out of a timeout. The Hornets put the ball in Annie Campos’ hands, and with about 11 seconds on the clock, she began to drive toward the basket. The Braves defense collapsed into the paint, leaving Modin wide open in the left corner. Campos threw her a shovel pass, and she connected on the shot with about five seconds remaining, leaving Banks with no time for anything but a half court heave.
“Modin has hit clutch shots for us last year,” Henley head coach Randy Denson said. “I was confident she could make it. Credit to Annie to see and get the ball to her.”
Modin wasn’t the only Hornets underclassman to come up big in the final minutes. Prestyn Schade–Henley’s lone freshman–nailed a shot from just inside the arc to put her team up 41-40 with 1:14 remaining, then hit two free throws to tie the game at 43 with 45.6 seconds on the clock. Similar to Modin, Schade’s four late points made up her entire scoring output.
“She is so composed and the team has embraced her,” Denson said.
In sharp contrast to the Hornets’ 27-point first quarter against Madras on Friday, the score remained 0-0 until Senia Campos hit a three with 3:49 left in the opening frame. The Braves scored five points in the last 1:34 to go up 7-5 heading into the second quarter and built a 16-10 lead with 2:12 remaining in the first half.
Henley outscored Banks 8-0 the rest of the way to take an 18-16 lead at halftime. The go-ahead bucket came in bizarre fashion; the Braves accidentally scored on their own basket with 29 seconds left.
The Hornets dominated the third quarter until the final minute, when Banks scored on back-to-back possessions to cut what had been a 30-19 Henley lead to 33-24 going into the fourth.
The small run sparked a big one, with the Braves outscoring the Hornets 10-1 over the first 3:18 of the final period to tie the game at 34. There would be five lead changes after that, with Modin’s game-winner being the last.
“Our team is tough,” Denson said. “They do what is necessary to win…I’m beyond proud of our team and coaches.”
With Henley steamrolling most of their first 10 opponents this season, Denson said it was “critical” for them to be able to grind out a win against a quality opponent.
“In the past, if teams slowed the game down, we have had trouble getting the win,” Denson said.
Jewell Northcutt led the Hornets in scoring with 12 points and 6 rebounds, followed by Anna Harper with 7 points and 11 rebounds and Annie Campos with 6 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. In addition to their respective clutch time points, Prestyn Schade had 6 rebounds and Kennedi Modin had 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Other contributors for Henley were Lily Fussell with 5 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals; Senia Campos with 5 points; and Mya Mauch with 2 points. Banks’ “own goal” was not credited to any Hornets player.
For Banks, freshman Nylah Vanthom had 15 points, Jade Janecek had 9 (on three triples), McKenna King had 6, Emily Graham, Jordyn Maller and Jocelyn Janecek each had 4, and Naomi Brown had 1.
The Henley girls start 2024 with another 3A opponent as they travel to Lakeview (4-5) at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Boys: Henley 45, Sweet Home 32
Henley (7-4), reduced to a seven-player rotation for the second day in a row without Markus McCreadie and TJ Chavez, took their first lead of the game at 7-6 on a Chris Janney three with 2:50 to go in the first quarter and never trailed again.
Up 13-8 after the opening frame, the Hornets used an 11-0 run to pull ahead 27-12 with 1:34 left in the half before Sweet Home (2-9) got a pair of baskets to make it 27-16 at the break.
Both teams hit two field goals in the third quarter as Henley took a 33-25 lead into the fourth. The Huskies drew within 33-27 at the 7:45 mark, but the Hornets held them scoreless for the next 4:37 while pushing the lead to 15.
“I was really happy with how those guys played and some guys who stepped up,” Henley head coach Luke Hammond said. “It was a good win for us as a team moving forward.”
Aiden Hayes led the Hornets with 15 points and 3 steals, followed by Lane Frank with 14 points (including four threes) and Luke Bennett with 11 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds. Other contributors for Henley were Chris Janney with 3 points and 3 rebounds; Owen Harper with 2 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists; Bryson Montag with 4 rebounds and 2 steals; and Joe Janney with 2 rebounds.
For Sweet Home, Colin Nicholson had 14 points (all in the first three quarters), Vegas Mauer and Nathan Aker each had 5, Bradyn McClure had 4, and Ethan Delibertis and Conner Pace each had 2.
The Henley boys start 2024 with a trip to 5A Ridgeview (6-3) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.