CORRECTION 2/24: an earlier version of this story misapplied the Skyline Conference tiebreakers. They are used to determine the league’s top seed for OSAA playoff purposes. Teams that finish tied for first place with identical records in league play are declared co-champions.
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Henley girls and boys basketball both clinched Skyline Conference championships with senior night wins over Phoenix Tuesday. The Hornets recognized Mya Mauch, Meredith Brown, Annie Campos and Jewell Northcutt from the girls team and Aiden Hayes, Owen Harper, Lane Frank, TJ Chavez, Chris Janney, Luke Bennett, Peyton Lichner and Markus McCreadie from the boys team before their respective games. Here’s how each matchup unfolded.
Girls: Henley 64, Phoenix 24
Henley (20-2, 7-1 Skyline Conference) produced another blowout win over Phoenix (13-10, 4-4) to clinch back-to-back league titles and reach 20 wins for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
The Hornets finished tied with Klamath Union (16-2, 7-1) atop the Skyline Conference standings, giving the Pelicans a share of their first league championship since 1990. Henley was awarded the Skyline Conference’s top seed in the OSAA playoffs because they had the higher OSAA computer ranking (No. 2 vs No. 4), the last of three tiebreakers the league uses.
The Pirates scored the first points of the game 38 seconds in on a shot from Mae Woodward with her feet on the 3-point line. Henley scored the next 12 and didn’t allow another field goal the rest of the first quarter en route to a 21-3 lead heading into the second. The Hornets led 36-8 at halftime and 55-22 after three quarters. The fourth quarter was played with a running clock, except on free throws.
Annie Campos led Henley with 16 points (including 9 in the first quarter), 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Jewell Northcutt had 14 points (all in the first three quarters), 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Anna Harper, playing in her first game since the Hornets’ league opener at Hidden Valley Jan. 16, finished with 8 points (including 6 in the third quarter), 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Other contributors for Henley were Bayli Ladner with 5 points and 9 rebounds; Meredith Brown and Kennedi Modin with 5 points and 3 rebounds each; Prestyn Schade with 4 points (all in the second quarter), 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals; Senia Campos with 4 points; Lily Fussell with 2 points, a team-high 10 rebounds, and 3 steals; and Mya Mauch with 1 point, 3 steals and 2 rebounds.
The Hornets recorded a total of 51 rebounds, including 29 offensive boards.
For Phoenix, Alissa Alvarez had 10 points, Mae Woodward had 8 (including 6 in the third quarter), Anabell Delgado had 4 and Mira Jacobs-Grigsby had 2.
Henley’s first round playoff matchup will be determined following the play-in games. Phoenix will travel to Baker (11-14) for a play-in game at a date and time TBD.
Boys: Henley 53, Phoenix 51
Markus McCreadie blocked a game-tying layup at the buzzer as Henley (15-7, 7-1 Skyline Conference) won their third straight league title over a Phoenix (16-6, 5-3) team trying to complete a worst-to-first turnaround.
The Pirates, who finished at the bottom of the Skyline Conference last year with a 2-6 record in league play, would have claimed a share of the championship and the league’s top seed with a win at Henley Tuesday. They swept third-place Hidden Valley (13-10, 5-3) this season, while Henley split with the Mustangs, giving Phoenix ownership of what would have been the deciding tiebreaker.
The first quarter featured five lead changes and 11 points from Robin Trenbeath, including three triples. It ended with the Pirates up 16-14. Phoenix led the entire second quarter and was ahead by five with 13 seconds to go before McCreadie scooped up a loose ball in the high post and fired an outlet pass to Chris Janney, whose subsequent layup brought Henley within 29-26 at halftime.
The Hornets trailed in the third quarter until McCreadie hit two free throws at the 5:08 mark to tie the game at 31-31. McCreadie gave Henley the lead 1:11 later on a floater in the paint that made it 33-31. Trenbeath drained a three from the top of the key to put the Pirates back on top 34-33 with 2:46 remaining, but McCreadie answered by putting back his own miss 12 seconds later to make it 35-34.
Leading 38-36 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Hornets weren’t able to put much distance between themselves and Phoenix until they scored on three straight possessions to turn a 42-41 lead with 6:49 left into a 48-41 lead with 5:22 left. The Pirates responded with a small run of their own, though, cutting it to 48-46 with 2:48 to go. An Amaru Williams three made it a one-point game at 50-49 with 2:06 on the clock, but Phoenix came up empty on their next two possessions.
With 34 seconds left, McCreadie sent a shovel pass between two defenders to Owen Harper underneath the basket. He laid it in to give Henley a 52-49 lead. The Pirates missed a game-tying three about 10 seconds later but got the rebound. Instead of holding for another three, Trenbeath drove in for a layup that made it 52-51 with 13.3 seconds on the clock. Phoenix ended up sending McCreadie to the free throw line with five seconds left, giving themselves the last possession. Diego Hernandez took the inbound and raced the length of the floor but couldn’t shake McCreadie as he drove into the paint.
McCreadie finished with 27 points (including 10 in the third quarter), 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks to lead Henley (shared or outright) in all categories. Owen Harper ended up with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists. Other contributors for the Hornets were Aiden Hayes with 5 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds; Luke Bennett with 5 points and 4 rebounds; Lane Frank with 3 points; Chris Janney with 2 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals; and Bryson Montag with 2 points and 2 rebounds.
Trenbeath led Phoenix with 22 points (including six threes), followed by Brayden Decker with 13 (including three triples), Dylan Harper with 11, Amaru Williams with 3 and Diego Hernandez with 2.
The Pirates made a total of 10 threes–including seven in the first half–while Henley made two (both in the first quarter).
Henley and Phoenix’s first round playoff matchups will be determined following the play-in games.