Portland West girls sweep Portland East

PORTLAND With the Sumner County Conference Tournament looming, the rival Portland West and Portland East girls middle-school basketball teams faced off in their first game after the Christmas break.

Led by a second-quarter surge, Portland West took control and held on for a 25-17 victory over the visitors on Monday evening.

“It’s a good win off of the break,” Portland West head coach Casey Dove said. “It’s always worrisome after two weeks off that we’ll be sloppy. We had our moments where it was a little bit rough, but I thought our girls did a good job of coming in and executing the (game) plan. East did a really good job of preparing for our favorite defense. We had to adjust and go to something a little different, and the girls did a good job of shutting them down with that.”

Portland West (7-5) jumped out to a 6-2 lead, led by consecutive baskets from Lillie Whitehead.

Then, Portland West broke things open in the second quarter, outscoring Portland East 12-2 to build an 18-6 halftime lead.

Whitehead scored six more points in the quarter. She led all scorers with 15 points.

Portland East (3-9) only managed one field goal in the second quarter, a two-point basket by Daley McCloud. From there, Portland West ended the half on a 10-0 run.

The Portland East offense picked up in the second half, outscoring Portland West 11-7 and cutting the deficit to eight points. Sami Parker scored five points in the half, and teammate Makayla Choate hit a three-point shot.

“The girls have put in a lot of work,” Portland East head coach Scott Steinbrecher said. “They got the shots and did everything they were supposed to do. They were aggressive, and I think you saw a different team in the second half, which is probably the best we’ve played all year. All the work that they’ve done all season long is paying off. I just wish it would reflect on the scoreboard for them.”

Portland West captured a 24-13 win at Portland East on Nov. 12.

“It’s always a lot of fun,” Dove said. “We tell them that these are girls they’re going to play with next year. When it’s on the court, it’s a fun rivalry, but they’re usually pretty good at being humble yet excited all at the same time.”

Portland East ends the regular season with games against visiting Rucker-Stewart on Thursday and at Hunter on Monday, while Portland West concludes the regular season with a game at Knox Doss Middle at Drakes Creek on Thursday and then against visiting Rucker-Stewart on Monday.

PORTLAND EAST (17) – Sami Parker 8, Abi Thomerson 4, Makayla Choate 3, Daley McCloud 2.

PORTLAND WEST (25) – Lillie Whitehead 15, Rachel Westveer 6, Savannah Pippin 2, Abbie Tomlinson 2.

Half: 18-6, Portland West. Three-point field goals: Portland East 1 (Choate 1), Portland West 0. Records: Portland East 3-9, Portland West 7-5.