Season ends for Clatskanie girls

Despite a #2 seeding entering tournament play, the Clatskanie High School girls basketball team's season concluded last Saturday against Halsey's Central Linn High School. Being outscored 21-13 in the first quarter, Clatskanie went into halftime down 39-22. Not gaining any ground in the third, Clatskanie was outscored 18-15 in the fourth to bring the final score to 65-45. Central Linn senior Raegan Day led all scorers with 22 points, going 6 for 16 from the field. Junior Addie Wolff added 17 points, followed by junior Peyton Gaskey and sophomore Chloe Kallai, who scored 11 points each for the Cobras.

As has been the case most of the season, the Tigers were led by junior Joey Sizemore, who scored 19 points on 5 of 15 shooting from the field. Sizemore also led the team in assists with six and had the lone block for Clatskanie. Sophomore Lacey Willis had 14 points for the Tigers and co-led the team in rebounds with nine, deflections with five, and steals with three. Sophomore Olivia George co-led the team with nine rebounds to go along with her 11 points and two steals.

"The girls played hard and never gave up," said Coach Dawn Warren. "Our coaching staff was very proud of their effort and the work they put in for this game. We were down two of our nine girls for this game, plus another of our players played while still trying to recover from the flu, so we had players playing out of their regular offensive and defensive rotations. That being said, Central Linn played a great game. They hustled and had the best shooting night that I believe they've probably ever had, making 12 three-pointers."

Over the season, the Tigers (19-7) were led in shooting by Sizemore, who averaged 4.8 field goals made per game, followed by Lacey Willis with 4.4 and George with 4.3. Sizemore led the team in average rebounds per game with 9.9, followed by 8.0 from George and 7.4 from Willis. In the category of assists per game, Sizemore led the Tigers with 5.1, followed by 2.2 for Willis and 1.5 for George. On the defensive side, Willis led the team in deflections per game with 4.6, followed by 3.4 each for Sizemore and junior Mya Jensen and 2.6 for George. Sizemore also led the team in steals per game with 3.3, followed by Willis' 3.0 and George's 2.5.

One of the more positive notes as the Tigers' season comes to an end is the fact that the team will only be losing senior Karielle Carlson. Rounding out the roster chalk full of underclassmen are juniors Bethany Hagen and Aliyah Gibbs, sophomores Payton Taylor and Peyton Krueger, and freshman Izzyanna "Izzy" Mustola, all of whom would be expected to return for the 2025-26 season.

"We were sad that we didn't make it to Pendleton, especially given the adversity that this team faced and overcame over and over again this season," said Warren. "I don't think many were expecting our girls to do so well this year, so I am incredibly proud of the trust they put in us as coaches while implementing all new offenses and defenses this season. We are all looking forward to coming back even stronger next year.”