COQUILLE — Sutherlin’s girls basketball team got the better of Coquille for the second time Friday night, beating the host Red Devils 49-36 to clinch the north division of the Far West League and a spot in the Class 3A playoffs.
The Bulldogs pulled away in the third quarter to stretch their win streak to 19 since a loss to Amity the second game of the season.
Coquille has just three losses. The others were to Sutherlin and Cascade Christian both on the road.
The Red Devils will most likely finish second in the league’s north division and get a home game in the league playoffs against the third-place team from the south for a guaranteed spot in the state playoffs.
Coquille coach Marty Stallard said despite Friday’s loss, the team is headed in the right direction.
“We’ve come a long ways,” he said. “We’ve been working really hard in practice. Our defense is good.”
On Friday, Coquille’s challenges came on the offensive end, where the Red Devils missed a lot of good looks and also shot poorly from the foul line. Coquille had two free throws late in the second quarter with a chance to pull within one point and missed both and Sutherlin hit two in the final seconds to lead 21-16 at the break. That lead grew to 35-22 by the end of the third quarter when Coquille hit a dry spell on offense.
“They came focused and ready to play,” Stallard said of his team. “We just missed some easy shots.”
The Red Devils also struggled with Sutherlin’s twin towers — Addyson Clark and Madison Huntley, juniors who are at least 6 feet tall. Clark had 20 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and Huntley scored 17.
Sutherlin also did a good job defensively again slowing Coquille star Holli Vigue, who had eight points. Kylee Coyle also had eight points and Lexi Lucatero added seven.
The Red Devils bounced back Saturday with a 55-28 win at South Umpqua.
Coquille finishes the regular season with a home game Wednesday against Douglas, a road game Friday at Glide and a home game on Monday, Feb. 12 against Brookings-Harbor, rescheduled from an earlier date when travel issues for the Bruins forced the postponement.
“We’re right there,” Stallard said. “We can beat anybody on a given night. But we can’t make blunders on defense and we can’t miss easy shots.”
Sutherlin is No. 2 in the OSAA power rankings and No. 3 in the coaches poll. Coquille is No. 7 in the power rankings and No. 8 in the coaches poll.
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