Nighthawks cage Tigers on opening night

OAKESDALE - The Oakesdale Nighthawks girls basketball team came away with a big win against the Odessa Tigers at home on Tuesday, Dec. 3.

The Nighthawks instigated the mercy rule and defeated the Tigers, 62-19.

The Nighthawks flew to an 11-1 lead to start the game. By the end of the first quarter, Oakesdale gained a 24-7 advantage.

Oakesdale added two steals resulting in breakaway layups in the second quarter, the first one coming from freshman guard Megan Crider and the second at the hands of senior guard Lucy Hockett.

At halftime, the Nighthawks had a commanding 44-10 lead.

"When Lucy was a freshman, that was the year we only had about six players for most of the season and she had to really step into a role that not alot of freshmen have to stem into," said Oakesdale head coach Heidi Perry. "She was put in a position where she had to play every minute of every game. There were a lot of games that year we had five players and it created a lot of toughness in her. Lucy is also very humble and I think the girls just trust her because she knows that she's going to put the team above herself."

The Tigers began to fight back in the third quarter, but the Nighthawks did not ease up. By the end of the third quarter Oakesdale led, 55-14.

"They played with energy and enthusiasm and were excited to play," Perry said. "The way we moved the ball around and passed, we did our best to find an open teammate who had a really good look at the basket."

With a running clock in the final quarter, Oakesdale continued to dominate the court. When the final buzzer sounded, Oakesdale had won, 62-19.

The Nighthawks next traveled to DeSales to play Mount Vernon Christian on Wednesday, Dec. 4, after press time. Mount Vernon moved up to the 2B level this year and were the State runner-up last season. The season before that the team was State champions.

"It's going to be a really big test for us because they have three starting guards returning," Perry said. "We're going to play some pretty experienced girls, so it's going to be a great early season test for us."

Oakesdale was originally scheduled to play an away game against the Colton Wildcats on Saturday, Dec. 7, but the game was moved to Monday, Dec. 16, due to a shortage of referees. Their next game after playing Mount Vernon will be to take on the Almira-Coulee-Hartline Warriors at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10.

"This is a really fun group to coach," Perry said. "

They are very coachable and they want to learn. They really love each other."