Eagles fall short in championship match at their hoops tournament

The West Valley varsity girls basketball team played their way into the championship match of their Holiday Hoops tournament this weekend.

The young team has improved their skills and gained confidence as the season has progressed, and they saw it paying off this weekend.

"This whole weekend they took their game to another level," Eagles coach Daina Cowan said. "They are starting to believe in themselves and believe that they can actually play with those tougher teams."

West Valley started the tournament with a strong win against Orland, 57-38.

Amy Westaby and Megan Bowen scored 17 points during the opening round victory.

The team continued to dominate in the second round of the tournament, coming away with a 53-44 win over Lassen.

"It was a very physical game, and our girls hung right in there. They didn't back off," Cowan said.

The hard fought match against Central Valley wasn't as kind to the Eagles. West Valley lost 62-50

West Valley started off strong. They had the lead for the first and second quarters of the game.

Central Valley matched the Eagle's intensity, but West Valley took the lead, ending the first half 21-17.

West Valley took control in the first 16 minutes, and out-rebounded the Falcons 21-11.

"They started getting a little more aggressive on the court and we weren't blocking as well as we should have," Cowan said.

The coach said she also noticed her teams conditioning.

"We probably need to get in better shape. Last night we noticed it, and we noticed it again tonight," she said. "We started running out of gas. That's when you make the turnovers and not moving your feet to get on the defense."

Central Valley went on a shooting spree, featuring Falcons guard Ashley Sanchez, who sunk 3s and finished with 28 points. She also took home MVP honors.

West Valley couldn't take back the momentum of the game, losing 62-50.

"We never could make up the deficit." Cowan said. "You can never come out of that locker room flat, offensively or defensively. You can't give them offensive rebounds either."

Eagles coach Cowan said her team needs to learn how to play against teams when they are at a height disadvantage.

The Eagles will have a sharp learning curve. They have their chance for a rematch against the Falcons on Friday.