Henley girls and boys basketball came out on opposite ends of one-possession games at Klamath Union Friday. Here’s how each matchup unfolded.
Girls: Klamath Union 65, Henley 63
Klamath Union’s (15-2, 6-1 Skyline Conference) Dianara Peña hit a buzzer-beating three to hand Henley (19-2, 6-1) their second loss of the season and move into a tie with the Hornets for first place in the league standings with one game remaining.
Henley currently owns the tiebreaker that would decide the Skyline Conference championship if both teams win their final games Tuesday: The Hornets are No. 2 in the OSAA computer rankings, while the Pelicans are No. 4.
Peña’s shot–which bounced off the backboard, off the front rim, and off the backboard again before rattling in–came after Henley’s Annie Campos slipped past a defender for a layup to put the Hornets ahead 63-62 with seven seconds remaining. Coming out of a Klamath Union timeout, Peña inbounded to Erin Garcia, who dribbled across halfcourt before handing it back to her at the edge of the center circle. Peña baited one Henley defender into jumping, then dribbled to the top of the key and threw up a closely contested shot.
The Hornets got up 7-2 in the first 1:48 of the game, but Keely Hall hit a contested layup and a three on back-to-back possessions to tie it at 7-7 with 5:30 to go in the opening period. Henley responded with five straight points and remained in control for the rest of the first quarter, taking a 20-13 lead into the second.
Klamath Union went on a 10-2 run over the first half of the second quarter, taking their first lead of the game on a Kshalee Thomas three with 4:15 remaining. The lead would change hands five times in the latter half of the second with Henley going into halftime up 30-28.
The Pelicans tied the game twice but never took the lead in the third quarter. After Thomas hit a three to tie it at 39-39 with 2:16 on the clock, the Hornets went on an 11-3 run that helped them pull ahead 50-44 at the end of the period.
Henley kept Klamath Union at arm’s length for the first few minutes of the fourth quarter. Things began to shift in the Pelicans’ favor around the 4:50 mark, when the Hornets committed the first of back-to-back fouls that put Klamath Union in the bonus. The Pelicans went 2-of-4 on both trips to the free throw line to cut the Hornets’ lead to 54-50 with 4:40 to go. A coast-to-coast layup by Peña with 4:10 remaining turned out to be the start of a 10-0 run that lasted until Lily Fussell hit a Euro step reverse layup to pull Henley within 60-57 with 2:10 on the clock.
The teams traded empty possessions before Kennedi Modin’s layup with 1:04 left made it 60-59. Then, Senia Campos intercepted a pass in the frontcourt and found Annie Campos for a contested layup to put Henley back on top at 61-60 with 28 seconds to go. Hall was fouled on a putback attempt on Klamath Union’s next possession and sank both free throws to give the Pelicans a 62-61 lead with 17.8 seconds on the clock. The Hornets called timeout to set up what would be their final possession.
Annie Campos finished with 28 points (including 11 in the third quarter), 11 rebounds, 7 steals and 5 assists to lead Henley in all categories. Kennedi Modin was the next leading scorer for the Hornets with 10 points; Lily Fussell had 7 points (including 6 in the fourth quarter), 6 steals, 4 rebounds and 4 assists; Jewell Northcutt had 6 points and 3 rebounds; Prestyn Schade had 5 points and 5 steals; Senia Campos had 4 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals; and Bayli Ladner had 3 points and 3 rebounds.
Henley recorded a total of 22 steals.
Keely Hall led Klamath Union with 19 points (on 6-of-8 shooting), 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Kshalee Thomas had 18 points, and Dianara Peña finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Her game-winning shot was just her second 3-point attempt of the game. Other contributors for the Pelicans were Andi Harmon with 8 points and 2 rebounds; Erin Garcia with 4 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds; and Dakota Neese with 4 points.
Klamath Union shot 55% from the field and 50% from three while holding Henley to 35% from the field and 32% from three. The Pelicans shot 11-of-17 from the free throw line, while the Hornets shot 8-of-24.
This was Klamath Union’s first win over Henley since 2021. It also avenged their 57-36 loss in the teams’ first meeting Jan. 30.
Both teams play at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Henley hosts Phoenix (13-9, 4-3) to wrap up the regular season, while Klamath Union hosts Hidden Valley (6-17, 2-5).
Boys: Henley 47, Klamath Union 44
Henley (14-7, 6-1 Skyline Conference) never trailed but–unlike in their first matchup with Klamath Union (7-13, 2-5) Jan. 30–could never quite run away from a Pelicans team that was in a must-win situation Friday.
The Hornets led 10-9 at the end of the first quarter and went on a 10-1 run over the first five minutes of the second en route to a 29-17 halftime lead. A Jeff Spooner and-one with six seconds left in the third cut it to 37-29 heading into the fourth after Henley rebounded the missed free throw but couldn’t get a good shot off.
Spooner’s tough bucket helped spark Klamath Union to score the first five points of the fourth quarter. DayQuan McKay banked in a deep three to make it 37-34, but Henley got back-to-back buckets from Markus McCreadie to push the lead to 41-34 with 5:23 left in the game. Klamath Union didn’t get within one possession again until McKay hit a layup with .7 seconds on the clock for the game’s final points.
McCreadie had a banner game for the Hornets, racking up 21 points (including 10 in the second quarter), 14 rebounds, 5 blocks, 2 steals and 2 assists. Owen Harper fell one board short of a double-double, finishing with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Other contributors for Henley were Aiden Hayes with 6 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds; Luke Bennett with 5 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds; Joe Janney with 3 rebounds; Chris Janney with 2 rebounds and 2 assists; and Bryson Montag with 2 rebounds.
McKay led the Pelicans with 18 points (including 7 in the fourth quarter), followed by Tony Matheney with 7 (all in the second half), Landon Bogatay and Dashel Geraud with 5 each, Malcolm Lassett-Hankins with 4, Kalvin Hayes with 3 and Jeff Spooner with 2.
Both teams wrap up the regular season at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Henley hosts Phoenix (16-5, 5-2) in a game that will decide the Skyline Conference championship, while Klamath Union hosts Hidden Valley (12-10, 4-3) to conclude their 2023-24 campaign.
