Lady Trojans, Honkers tip off in Durham

DURHAM - It was a Glenn County rivalry that tipped off tournament over the weekend in Durham, as Orland High and Willows heated up the hardwood on Thursday to open the tournament.

A balanced Willows scoring attack that saw eight players score helped send the Lady Honkers into the second round with a 40-30 victory over the Trojans.

Neither side had much luck finding the bottom of the net in the first quarter, although Kaylin Jones sunk a 3-pointer to open the scoring and added a bucket to score five of Willows' seven first-quarter points.

The Trojans took a good number of shots but were just off the mark, as a bucket by freshman Cindy Montes made it 7-2 heading in the second eight minutes.

The Honkers seemed to find their rhythm offensively in the second period, while defensively they were able to pressure the Trojans into a number of turnovers.

Sam Brott's four points topped the Six Honkers who scored in the second quarter, as they continued trying to spread the Orland defense and create passing lanes and open looks. Ally Brunner and Alyssa Beatty were both good for three points, with Jones, Lexy Weber and Kaylin Renfro pitching in with two points apiece.

Beatty's trey made it a 21-3 ballgame, but Orland bounced back as Jessica James took a steal coast-to-coast for a bucket and Dominique Walker and Destiny Thompson each hit a free throw.

The halftime score stood at 23-7 for Willows.

The Trojans found their shooting touch in the second half, as they actually outscored the Honkers 23-17.

Walker hit from long range to open the third quarter for Orland, and they kept chipping away, as Thompson scored on a nice dribble-drive to cut the deficit to 31-16, but a deuce by Weber gave Willows a 33-16 lead to begin the final period.

Orland played with a great sense of urgency down the stretch, scoring the first six points of the closing quarter. Walker and Thompson both hit shots from the charity stripe, before Thompson connected on a scoop shot in the lane and James made a pair from the line to cut the Honkers' lead down to 33-22.

A James bull's eye from behind the arc cut the lead to single digits at 34-26 with 2:17 left to play, but the Honkers put it away from the free-throw line, with Jones, Morgan Hughes and Baneli Lomeli each sinking a pair.

Jones' nine points led Willows, with Brunner following closely with eight and both Beatty and Renfro finishing with five. Brunner collected 13 rebounds and Hughes, 10, as Willows corralled 44 as a team.

Montes tied for game-scoring honors with nine points for the Trojans, and Walker and Thompson both added six.

In the Trojans' other matchups, they were defeated 55-40 by Hoopa Valley on Saturday, but came back to notch their first win of the season with a 43-42 victory over Colusa.

James and Willow Hibbard both scored seven and Montes pitched in with six against Hoopa Valley, and the Trojans outscored the RedHawks 14-7 for a fourth-quarter comeback win.

Walker's 11 points paced the victory, with James scoring eight.

Willows fell by four points to Gridley, 56-52 on Friday, despite Hughes' 21-point, 11-rebound performance. Brunner sank 11 points.

The Lady Honkers used 19 points from Hughes and 15 by Brunner to top Foresthill 51-42 on Saturday. Hughes recorded another double-double with 12 rebounds.

Orland (1-4) played at Corning on Tuesday.

Willows (4-4) played in Live Oak on Tuesday, and hosts Winters tonight.

CONTACT Craig Purcell at 824-10936 or cpurcell@tcnpress.com.