Girls take down Putnam in high scoring battle
Wilsonville defeated the Kingsmen 92-62 on an incredible shooting night.
Junior guard Sydney Burns attacks the basket against Putnam. Burns led all scorers with 19 points on Friday night.
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Wilsonville hasn’t lost a league game this year – in fact, they haven’t lost to a 5A team this year. Some would think that the Wildcats would look at this statistic and relax, not worrying about any potential competition.
But that’s not the case. Ahead of this game, the Wildcats were well aware that the Kingsmen would present a challenge. Posting 88 and 91 points in their last two games respectively, Putnam is an offensive juggernaut. With quick guard play and amazing ball movement in transition, the Kingsmen can easily turn a game on its head and go on a quick run.
Which is how they found themselves leading the Wildcats in the first quarter. Wilsonville knew that Putnam was capable of a hot start, and they were able to respond with a 10-0 run to take the 18-13 lead, at which point they never looked back.
The Wildcats play best when they’re playing fast, getting transition buckets and forcing turnovers. Because of this, the matchup with Putnam allowed Wilsonville to excel at what they do best – both teams were flying up and down the court the entire night, with few possessions getting truly set in the half-court.
The ball movement for the #1 ranked Wildcats was the highlight of the night, and head coach Justin Duke was impressed with how “unselfish” the team played. “We didn’t settle for any bad shots.”
In fact, Wilsonville had an outstanding shooting night. With starting senior wing and leading three-point shooter Renee Lee out, one would expect the Wildcats to be cold from beyond the arc. Instead, the rest of the team stepped up and drained 14 3’s over the course of the night.
With this success over Putnam, who sits firmly in the top half of the NWOC, Wilsonville has certainly shown what they’re capable of. The Wildcats face Parkrose next, which marks the halfway point of league competition. Based on how the season has progressed so far, Wilsonville is poised to make a deep playoff run this year, and they have the potential to top last year’s third-place finish.
