Nordhoff senior, Skylar Rutherford, shoots a 3 pointer over the hands of Malibu forward, Lauren Lapajne. Other players featured, from left, Malibu Sharks’ Casey Ovsiowitz and Hannah Kaloper, Rangers Ela Ruf and Cadence Renshaw.
Nordhoff senior, Skylar Rutherford, shoots a 3 pointer over the hands of Malibu forward, Lauren Lapajne. Other players featured, from left, Malibu Sharks’ Casey Ovsiowitz and Hannah Kaloper, Rangers Ela Ruf and Cadence Renshaw.
Ojai Valley News photo by Tom Moore
After losing a tightly contested game against Malibu away on Jan 7 by two points (39-41), the Rangers have been eagerly looking forward to the rematch. Unfortunately, Nordhoff came up just short once again on Friday, Jan. 20 at home, with a final score of 35-38.
In the second half, a combination of turnovers and shots that weren't falling helped Malibu move out to a 10 or 11 point lead. To the Rangers’ great credit, they fought their way back with tough defense, strong rebounding, and improved shooting, catching Malibu at 35-35. Several trips up and down the floor ended with Malibu scoring a highly implausible three-pointer on a left-handed hook shot from deep in the left corner, to beat the shot clock, and which found nothing but net.
Nordhoff had a few close chances to come back, but in the closing moments of the contest, they could not find the bottom of the net. It was a real nail-biter and tearjerker in the end. Nordhoff faces league opponent, Channel Islands on Thursday, Jan 26 at 7 pm at home.
