Claire Lenarduzzi

In the last minutes of the game, Kaylor Buse, freshman, looks for an open teammate to secure a pass.

Winning seven of their last eight games, the women’s basketball team had one spot separating them and the Tualatin Timberwolves previous to the Three Rivers League (TRL) rematch. 

On Jan. 25, the teams met up for the first time this season, each coming off a four game win streak. After bringing the game into overtime, the womens team secured the win in an offensive battle, resulting in a 52—48 score, keeping the winning streak alive. 

11 days later, marking the beginning of the second half for league play, the number seven and eight ranked teams were found competing for a TRL leverage yet again. While playoffs doesn”tt start for another four weeks, contention for a top ten seed in the bracket has already begun.

Continually going back and forth each minute of the game, Tualatin came out on top, beating the womens team in the game’s final seconds.

Sophie Maxwell, sophomore, expressed her viewpoint on the game’s importance, after being defeated by three points in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter. 

“It was a huge game, because Oregon City had lost to [Tualatin],” Maxwell said. “If we would have beat them, we would have tied for the league.”

Falling to Tualatin, put the team to 12—7 for the season, and 5—2 in league play, dropping their overall ranking to eighth, with Tualatin sliding ahead to the sixth spot. 

Now being third in the league, Oregon City would have to lose to Tualatin for the team to take control of the two spot again. 

“We’re crossing our fingers that Oregon City loses to Tualatin again, that way we can be ahead in the league,” Maxwell said. 

Still with five games left in the regular season, the team has a chance to regain control of the TRL, while facing opponents with a losing league record for four out of five games.

“Right now it’s us, Oregon City, and Tualatin,” Maxwell said. “So we have to compete.”