Miscues doom BHHS at Douglas

Bruin Ashley Juarez drives into the paint Friday night at Douglas High School. The Pilot/Jef Hatch

The Trojans employed a solid defensive game plan of pressure, pressure and more pressure to defuse one of the Far West’s best offenses. The plan worked.

“We just didn’t respond really well tonight,” Head Coach Chris Schofield said. “We were really sloppy with the ball ... really tentative with it.”

“We did what we wanted, we just didn’t make shots,” Schofield said. “We didn’t make layups.”

The relentless pressure from Douglas also forced the Bruins to commit turnovers. The pressure translated into uncharacteristic mistakes from the Bruins as well.

Miscues or no, the Bruins still had a chance late in the game. Down seven in the waning minutes, five quick points from Kambri Coleman and a lightning strike from Miriam Hernandez tied the game. An immediate foul by the Bruins sent Trojan Ashley Davis to the line, and she responded by hitting both and giving Douglas a two-point lead they’d never relinquish.

“The one thing we couldn’t do is foul,” Schofield said, but suggested it was a bottom-line issue.

“None of that should have mattered,” he said. “We make a free throw, knock down layups and none of that is a factor.”

Which leads us to the critical part of the game, according to Schofield: free throws. The Trojans got to the line 15 times in the fourth quarter alone.

“That was the bulk of (the Douglas) offense,” Schofield said.

The Bruins were 4-11 for the game.

“Obviously if we pick up two or three of those, we’re right in there,” Schofield said. “I can’t overstate how important (free throws) are.”

The loss blurs focus of the Bruins’ own playoff picture, but Schofield said he isn’t interested in scenarios.

“All we know is we have to go 1-0 Tuesday,” he said.

The game he was referencing is the Feb. 9 matchup with Siuslaw at 6 p.m.