NYSSA – The Nyssa girls basketball team opened the season with a come from behind victory over Liberty Charter on Wednesday, December 4 on the Bulldog home court. The win came by way of a long three-point bucket by Hailey Castro with 26 seconds left in the game, giving Nyssa the 34-31 win.
The two teams traded baskets back and forth to start the game. The Patriots of Liberty Charter led 12-6 at the end of the first quarter and extended the lead to 26-12 at the half.
The Dawgs mounted a comeback in the second half and took a lead, 29-28 with just over three minutes left in the game. The two teams ended up tied at 31 points with 51 seconds left in the game. Then came Castro’s game winning shot.
“Coach said we needed shooters down the stretch and I was ready to take the shot,” said Castro after the game. “When I put the shot up, I had the feeling it was good.”
The slow start was discussed in the locker room at halftime according to Syriah Trujillo, a senior guard on the team.
“We were just not playing aggressive and we talked about needing to drive the ball more,” Trujillo said. “We also needed to get in more on rebounding.”
Castro said the team also talked of playing a full four quarters of ball and starting quicker against teams.
“I liked the mental toughness we showed tonight after being down early,” said Nyssa coach Jeremy Chamberlain. “With this being the first game, we just needed to relax. It is early and we still have things to work on like our free throw shooting and offensive execution. Liberty Charter is a good team and we had to fight for this win.”
Four players for the Bulldogs added six points to lead the team in scoring. Trujillo, Britain Hartley, Castro and Lydia Woodruff combined for 24 of Nyssa’s 34 total points.
Nyssa (1-0 overall) hosts 4A La Grande on Thursday, December 5 with game time scheduled for 7:30 pm in the Bulldog gym. The game will be the opener for the Tigers season.
