Three Rivers: No. 1 Tualatin Holds Off No. 2 West Linn 63-52

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the most anticipated matchup of the season, the No. 1-ranked Tualatin Timberwolves held off the No. 2-ranked West Linn Lions 63-52 on the road Tuesday night. It was round one of two Three Rivers League meetings between the two state heavyweights.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Timberwolves took control late in the first quarter (23-12), and appeared to pull away by halftime (45-21) after hitting 5 three-pointers in the second frame, outscoring the Lions 22-9.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But West Linn showcased its resilience in the second half, chipping away at Tualatin's game-high 29-point lead early in the third quarter and reducing it to 8 points with 2:11 remaining in the fourth.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lions held the Timberwolves to one field goal and 6 points in the final frame, but Tualatin survived with an 11-point margin.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Timberwolves (17-1, 6-0) remain undefeated in the Three Rivers League and currently stand alone at the top of the table. West Linn (15-2, 2-1) moves to second place. The rivals meet again on Feb. 28 at Tualatin.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Next up: West Linn hosts 5A No. 1-ranked Springfield, and Tualatin goes to Oregon City; both games are on Thursday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/box-score {"name":"acf/box-score","data":{"game":["1485487"],"_game":"field_6a1b2c3d4e5f7"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6984eb14e429b"} /--> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">TRL West Linn vs. Tualatin Round 1 was a balanced team effort on both sides:</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tualatin</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1014114' first='Kendall' last='Dawkins'] 15 PTS / 7 REB</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Love Lei Best 14 PTS / 4 AST</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='921538' first='Maaya' last='Lucas'] 14 PTS / 4 3PM / 4 REB</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='502344' first='Alex' last='Padilla'] 9 PTS / 7 REB / 3 STL</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1208223' first='Bella' last='Amens'] 8 PTS / 2 REB</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>West Linn</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='832621' first='Reese' last='Jordan'] 13 PTS / 4 3PM / 8 REB</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='832080' first='Kaylor' last='Buse'] 12 PTS / 5 REB / 4 AST / 4 BLK</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1232847' first='Kinley' last='Buse'] 9 PTS / 5 REB</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1002464' first='Ayla' last='Arnold'] 9 PTS / 3 REB</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='837898' first='Kyla' last='Buse'] 7 PTS / 3 REB / 1 BLK</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->