Barba explodes with 41 against Scots
Ashley Barba, with ball, against Crescent Valley on Friday. One night later against McKay she was nearly unstoppable, finishing with a career high 41 points. Photo by Lance Masterson.
Ashley Barba was on fire in the Panthers 86-67 win over McKay in varsity basketball from Saturday.
The Central High senior guard even surprised herself by netting 41 points against the Royal Scots.
“Yes, definitely, it’s a career high,” she said when asked about the barrage. “I think my highest when I was younger was 28, maybe.”
It helped the stat sheet that she kept getting the ball.
“I just ran down the floor and (Hadley Craig) looked for me. So, it was really awesome,” Barba said. “And the rest of the team, they were also looking for me when I was running down the floor.”
It was a more-the-merrier kind of night for Barba.
“Definitely, I wanted to score When we got a rebound, it was like I got to go, I got to go,” she said. “I wanted to achieve that goal for myself, and for my team. It was really special.”
Craig turned in a stellar performance as well, notching 26 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Kyleah Medel and McKenzie Wells added six boards each for the Panthers (2-5, 6-7 overall), while Patricia Mike led McKay with 33 points.
Central took control early. The girls scored 27 points in the first period, and added another 22 points in the second period.
Still, last week was a mixed bag for the Panthers, as they fell 61-37 to Crescent Valley on Friday. This was the first game after a week-long unplanned break caused by the recent cold snap.
As for the boys, coach Tyler Allen wasn’t sure how his team would react following days of inactivity.
Even worse from Allen’s viewpoint, the unplanned break came right after his Panthers varsity boys basketball team (5-2, 7-6 overall) edged Corvallis in a double overtime thriller. It was the type of win teams use to move forward.
“We had good momentum after Corvallis, and I would have loved to build off it,” Allen said during the break. “It’s great the team has a chance to let their bodies heal, but you also fear they haven’t been active, and future injuries can be a result of that.”
While the players’ bodies may have been resting, their minds were hard at work.
“Technology made some basketball possible, especially since film of opposing teams are readily available online to players and coaches,” Allen said. “I challenged my team to write the scouting reports for Crescent Valley and McKay. Feels like Zoom school all over again.”
As of Saturday, the boys had won four of their last five games. They are third in the Mid-Willamette Conference standings.
Still, it doesn’t take much to derail weeks of work, progress and discipline, not to mention recent winning ways.
“Creating a winning culture is like a house of cards. Just takes one little deviation and it’s possible you have to start all over again,” Allen said.
