Milwaukie coed roundballers finish strong

The Mustangs have their best season in years

By John Denny

The Clackamas Review, Mar 3, 2010

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It’s been quite a year for Milwaukie High School girls basketball.

With wins over Lakeridge and Putnam in games last week, the Mustangs finished the year with a record of 5-7 in league and an overall record of 13-12.

It’s Milwaukie’s best league record since 2001, when the Mustangs went 7-9 in the Three Rivers League and 13-11 on the season.

It’s Milwaukie’s first .500 season since 2005, when the Mustangs went 13-11 (5-9 in the then 8-team TRL).

During the past four seasons the Mustangs had gone 1-49 in league (7-90 overall).

This year’s league wins have included two over Lake Oswego, two over cross-town rival Putnam, and last week’s win at Lakeridge. It’s thought to be the first time in school history that Milwaukie has swept Lake Oswego in girls basketball.

Last week’s 52-30 win over Lakeridge avenged a 54-34 loss to the Pacers in a game played at Lakeridge on Feb. 2.

“Last time we played [Lakeridge] we didn’t shoot well,” said Milwaukie coach Kevin McElroy. “This time they didn’t shoot well. We pretty much dominated them with our half-court defense. Every shot was contested….

“We jumped on them from the start and didn’t let up. We’re playing some pretty good basketball right now.”

Milwaukie led 14-6 at the end of the first period, 24-11 at halftime, and 36-14 heading into the final period.

While McElroy said that it was a team effort on defense, Lindsay Kanalz (18 points), Alexis Noren (12 points) and Kelly Walsh (11 points) headed the effort on offense. Kanalz and Walsh both hit two 3-pointers.

Lakeridge senior post Lexi Ross, who scored 17 points in the earlier game, was held to just two points.

Sophomore Nicole Blizzard was high-point for the Pacers, with 8.

The Mustangs took no hostages in last Thursday’s season final at Putnam, winning 59-17.

“We’ve played good defense down the stretch, in our last four games,” said McElroy. “The girls have been doing a good job stopping teams, contesting every shot, not giving opponents open looks and keeping the ball out of the paint.”

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