Sutter girls ousted in physical playoff opener

By now, most Mid-Valley observers know that Courtney Clingan can certainly play basketball.

Little do people know that the Sutter High junior can also sing.

The high-scoring guard showed off her vocal chords by belting out a perfect rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner" before the Lady Huskies' Northern Section Division IV playoff opener against Willows on Tuesday night.

But unfortunately for Sutter fans, the national anthem was the highlight of the evening as the visiting Honkers outplayed and outfought the Huskies from the get-go to earn a 60-43 victory.

"We didn't move the ball quick enough and didn't get the calls early and that set the tone for the game,"Sutter coach Dustin Ford said. "But like I told the girls, preparing for next season starts right now."

In a physical contest indicative of playoff basketball, the eighth-seeded Huskies (13-14) certainly displayed enough hustle to compete with the ninth-seeded Honkers (16-10). But when Willows came out with a trapping half-court defense, Sutter simply had no response and points were hard to come by.

The Lady Huskies committed 21 turnovers in the first half alone and finished with 33 for the game. And while they shot a respectable 15-of-32 from the field, the turnovers were just too much for them to overcome.

"We've basically been practicing our circle zone, half-court trap since the beginning of the season and we were able to keep them away from the basket," said Willows standout Lindsay Van Tol, who finished with a game-high 20 points, 13 rebounds and three steals before leaving in the fourth period after getting slammed into a wall following a layup.

"When we play together, we're pretty good," she added.

Despite the loss, Sutter did receive strong performances from the scrappy Clingan as well as freshman center Erika Larson. Clingan led the Huskies with 14 points and hustled until the end, while Larson added 12 points to go with a game-high 15 rebounds.

"It was a dirty game, but we gave 110 percent and that's all you can ask for," said Clingan, who is one of four starters slated to return to the Huskies next season. "We're going to miss the seniors, but we have a lot of potential and we're going to improve.

"I think people will need to look out for the Huskies next year."