Siuslaw plays Thursday, Friday at Newport
The Siuslaw Vikings boys and girls basketball teams will be playing in Newport this week after all.
The Vikings boys open the two-day tournament Thursday with a 2 p.m. game against South Umpqua.
The Lady Vikings play Newport at 3:30 p.m.
"We have made improvements in all aspects of the game," Siuslaw girls coach Aaron McNeill said Tuesday. "Our half court defense is getting better as our team is becoming more cohesive.
"Players now have a better understanding of their defensive responsibilities as well as their teammate's responsibilities. Knowing the responsibilities of all five positions in our zone defensive set allows us to work together better and in doing so creates a much stronger defensive team.
"I feel when we can rebound and limit opponents to one shot each possession, we can be competitive on the defensive side of the court. We have to do a better job limiting our turnovers and transition opportunities for opponents. We have given up too many points off turnovers and transition baskets.
"If we can improve our transition defense and force teams to play against our half court zone, we can be more competitive on the scoreboard."
Sophomore Jane Lacouture leads the team in scoring with 35 points, senior Gracie Perkins has 25 and 6-foot freshman Rhianna Lane — the team's leading rebounder — has 15.
"Offensively, we are getting a better grasp of our offensive sets and the shot opportunities we can get from these sets," McNeill said. "We have continued to increase the number of shots we take each game, but we need to reward ourselves and make more of our shots.
"Obviously if we make more shots we can be more competitive on the scoreboard. We feel like we have improved offensively each game in that we are getting better shot opportunities and more shots out of our offensive sets."
Taft plays the Newport junior varsity in the girls bracket at 12:30 p.m. and Newport faces Taft at 5 p.m. in the boys game to cap first-day action.
Friday, the girls consolation is at 12:30 p.m., the boys consolation at 2 p.m., the girls championship at 3:30 p.m. and the boys championship at 5 p.m.
The tournament had been scheduled to tip off Tuesday, but was delayed two days because of bad weather and poor road conditions.
The Siuslaw boys continue their road show with a game at Sutherlin Jan. 4 and Sky-Em/Skyline Crossover games Jan. 7-8 at either Hidden Valley or North Valley in Grants Pass.
The Vikings then open Sky-Em League play with games at Marist Jan. 14 and Marshfield Jan. 18.
The Siuslaw boys do not have another home game scheduled until the third game of league play on Friday, Jan. 21, when the Vikings host Elmira.
The Lady Vikings will be idle until Jan. 7-8, when they host the girls' Sky-Em Crossover games at Glenn Butler Court.
Opponents for Crossover games will not be announced until the week of the tournaments.
BOYS SCHEDULE
Record: 4-3 overall, 0-0 Sky-Em League
Dec. 1 — at Siuslaw 55, Bandon 47
Dec. 3 — Siuslaw 60, at Newport 43
Dec. 6 — at North Bend 47, Siuslaw 35
Dec. 8 — at Pleasant Hill, canceled
Dec. 10 — at Harrisburg Tournament, canceled
Dec. 11 — at Harrisburg Tournament, canceled
Dec. 14 — at Siuslaw 63, Newport 61
Dec. 17 — Siuslaw 61, Sutherlin 27, at Bulldog Invitational, Creswell
Dec. 18 — Creswell 64, Siuslaw 58, at Bulldog Invitational, Creswell
Dec. 21 — Pleasant Hill 64, at Siuslaw 62
Thursday, Dec. 30 — South Umpqua, 2 p.m., at Newport Tournament
Friday, Dec. 31 — at Newport Tournament, TBD
Tuesday, Jan. 4 — at Sutherlin, 7 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 7 — Sky-Em/Skyline Crossover, at Grants Pass
Saturday, Jan. 8 — Sky-Em/Skyline Crossover, at Grants Pass
Friday, Jan. 14 — at Marist, 5:45 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 18 — at Marshfield, 5:45 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 21 — Elmira, 5:45 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 25 — at Junction City, 5:45 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 28 — Cottage Grove, 5:45 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 4 — Marist, 7:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 8 — Marshfield, 7:15 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 11 — at Elmira, 7:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 15 — Junction City, 7:15 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 18 — at Cottage Grove, 7:15 p.m.
BOYS VARSITY ROSTER
0 Kyle Hughes, junior, forward, 6-5
1 Chad Hughes, senior, forward, 6-6
2 Braydon Thornton, senior, guard, 6-2
3 Izaac Mattson, senior, guard, 6-2
4 Sam Ulrich, junior, guard, 5-10
5 Beau Erickson, senior, guard, 5-11
10 Jimmy Allen, junior, guard, 6-2
11 Camp Lacouture, senior, guard, 6-0
12 Harrison Hubner, senior, guard, 6-0
13 Brody Terry, senior, guard, 5-11
14 Andrew Jensen-Norman, sophomore, forward, 6-3
21 Aiden Jefferis, senior, forward, 6-1
23 Joe Slaughter, senior, guard 6-0
34 Avery Hart, senior, forward, 6-5
Coach: Dylan Perry
Assistants: Brian Carmer, Nick Johnson
GIRLS SCHEDULE
Record: 0-10 overall, 0-0 Sky-Em League
Dec. 1 — Bandon 47, at Siuslaw 7
Dec. 3 — at Newport 52, Siuslaw 2
Dec. 6 — at North Bend 46, Siuslaw 14
Dec. 8 — at Pleasant Hill 51, Siuslaw 10
Dec. 10 — Monroe 56, Siuslaw 19, at Harrisburg Tournament
Dec. 11 — Blanchet Catholic 36, Siuslaw 16, at Harrisburg Tournament
Dec. 14 — Newport 45, at Siuslaw 14
Dec. 17 — Sutherlin 47, Siuslaw 9, at Creswell Tournament
Dec. 18 — Monroe 39, Siuslaw 12, at Creswell Tournament
Dec. 21 — Pleasant Hill 41, at Siuslaw 12
Thursday, Dec. 30 — Newport, 3:30 p.m., at Newport Tournament
Friday, Dec. 31 — at Newport Tournament, TBD
Friday, Jan. 7 — Sky-Em/Skyline Crossover at Glenn Butler Court, Siuslaw
Saturday, Jan. 8 — Sky-Em/Skyline Crossover at Glenn Butler Court, Siuslaw
Friday, Jan. 14 — at Marist, 7:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 18 — at Marshfield, 7:15 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 21 — Elmira, 7:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 25 — at Junction City, 7:15 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 28 — Cottage Grove, 7:15 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 4 — Marist, 5:45 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 8 — Marshfield, 5:45 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 11 — at Elmira, 5:45 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 15 — Junction City, 5:45 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 18 — at Cottage Grove, 5:45 p.m.
GIRLS VARSITY ROSTER
0 Rhianna Lane, freshman, center, 6-0
2 Abby Riggs, freshman, guard, 5-4
3 Cate Waggoner, sophomore, guard, 5-2
4 Jane Lacouture, sophomore, guard, 5-7, co-captain
5 Jolee Erickson, freshman, guard, 5-5
11 Denali Sleeper, senior, forward, 5-7
12 Claire Lindell, freshman, guard-forward, 5-5
13 Haylee Cole, senior, guard-forward, 5-6, co-captain
14 Mya Smith, sophomore, guard, 5-3
23 Gillian Norton, junior, center, 6-0
25 Gracie Perkins, senior, guard, 5-5
33 Macy McNeill, freshman, guard, 5-3
Coach: Aaron McNeill
Assistant: Sara Truax
