Winning is better than losing

Corvallis High girls basketball coach Joe Williamson will take a win over a loss any day.

And while he had to watch his Spartans blow an early double-digit lead against McNary on Friday night, he also watched as they stepped up and executed on defense late to help escape with a 51-47 win over the 6A Celtics.

The win comes after back-to-back losses, the last coming against North Eugene on Dec. 11 in a game the Spartans also had a big lead but couldn’t close out.

The Spartans started strong and played the kind of “inspired” basketball the coaching staff preached prior to the game.

Gabe Johnson came out on fire, the posts called for the ball and grabbed some rebounds, and the Spartans limited the Celtics to just two buckets in the first eight minutes.

But foul trouble began to mound as Johnson picked up two and Kayla Laney had three in the first half. Johnson barely saw time in the second quarter as the Celtics managed to stay in the game.

Many of the fouls were ones Williamson would like to see eliminated. Some came on aggressive plays after the Spartans were unable to secure a rebound.

Much like against North Eugene, the Spartans struggled closing out on shooters. The Celtics hit five 3-pointers in the game, but only one in the fourth quarter and none after they tied the game at 39 early in the fourth.

“The difference was we executed on defense and we rebounded,” Williamson said. “When they missed we got some big rebounds where against North Eugene we didn’t.”

The Spartans will need to limit those shooters when they hit Mid-Willamette Conference play as Silverton and West Albany have the ability to score from the perimeter.

Johnson had a solid game despite being hampered with foul trouble. She finished with a game-high 18 points, including scoring the SPartans’ first seven points of the third quarter.

Katie Schrock had a strong game, netting 15 points off the bench and helped handle the ball when Johnson was on the bench.

Schrock hit a key three to put the Spartans up 42-39 after the Celtics opened the final quarter on a 5-0 run.

The Spartans kept the lead but couldn’t open up a bigger lead as they missed the front end of two 1-and-1 free throw attempts.

Johnson put the Spartans up 49-45 with 33.2 second left, and 50-45 with another free throw with 12.5 left.

Alaina Adams added seven points, Eva Oriakhi five, Kayla Laney three, Karly Laney two and McKenzie Redberg one.

The Spartans did manage 14 steals and had just 12 turnovers according to assistant coach Nova Sweet’s stats.

It was a good win after an 11-day layoff since the North Eugene loss. And if you ask Williamson, any win is a good one.