STAC GIRLS BASKETBALL: FORKS’ QUICK START TOO MUCH FOR OWEGO (January 15, 2026)
By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
OWEGO — Led by Oregon State commit Maggie Warpus, Chenango Forks jumped out to a quick start and went on to defeat Owego, 62-32, in STAC Central Division girls basketball action here Thursday evening.
The Blue Devils opened the contest with a 14-3 run which saw Warpus score 10 other game-high 14 points. Following the first points on a Reaghan Hughes field goal, Warpus drained a 3-pointer. Moments later, she hit a free throw, then a basket to give Forks an 8-0 advantage.
“She's a solid all-around player and a great teammate,” coach Luke McEvoy said. “She doesn't force anything. She gets all of her teammates involved.
“That's kind of what we talked about before the game is we can't focus all of your attention on her, because if you do that, then she's still going to just pick you apart and just dump the ball off to other girls that are very capable of making shots and making plays.
“They've got a lot of girls that do a lot of the same things,” coach McEvoy said. “They work hard defensively, they run their offense very well, and they get to the spots on the court where they can score from so it's nice and balanced.
“They affected us defensively with some of the things. Obviously she (Warpus) is a game changer on the defensive end of the court too, and it takes away some of our post presence or when we attempt to drive and there she is again, right there in your face.”
Jenna McEvoy removed the River Hawks’ zero from the scoreboard with a 3-pointer at 4:17, but the Devils closed out the period with six more points, including four from Warpus for the 14-3 lead.
Owego’s next points came on a pair of free throws by Marielle Dearles at 6:37 of the second quarter, making it a 16-5 game.
Hughes canned a trey at 5:22 to build a 23-5 Forks cushion, then Ashlyn Dalton and Eva Crawford scored back-to-back baskets to make it 23-9.
Following a CF bucket, McEvoy nailed her second 3-pointer to cut the gap to 25-25-12.
Molly Derr countered with consecutive baskets for a 29-12 advantage, then Crawford closed out the half with a basket.
McEvoy made a free throw one minute into the third quarter, then added another at 6:30 to make it 31-16.
Warpus nailed a pair of free throws, McEvoy canned a three-ball, Warpus hit a putback, then McEvoy tossed in a pair of free throws to make it 45-21 at the midway point of the third quarter.
Unfortunately for Owego, the Devils closed out the period with an 11-4 surge to take a 46-25 cushion into the final stanza. Jordyn Ericksen-Hrehor went 4-for-4 at the stripe, Mari Pourby added a basket and a free throw, Warpus put in two more foul shots and Alyx Clutz tacked on a bucket while the River Hawks received baskets from Dalton and Crawford.
Kenzie Curtis knocked down a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter and Forks went on to finish off an 11-0 run which began in the third period, making it a 53-25 game.
Searles halted the run with a basket, then Keely Wicklund followed with a traditional 3-point play. She stole the ball underneath her own basket and put it in for two and was fouled in the process. She tacked on the free throw to make it 53-30.
Crawford accounted for Owego’s final basket, then the Devils scored the game’s final nine points, including a trey by Jaidyn Ericksen-Hrehor to close out the scoring.
Despite suffering their second straight loss, coach McEvoy feels his team is coming along well.
“I think very well,” he said, “and we've talked. We've had a couple of tough losses this week. We've got a tough stretch ahead of us and our focus is trying to get better game by game.
“Tonight, compared to the first time we played them, I thought we did a lot of really good things … so I thought we really stepped up. Our offense has kind of let us down the last couple nights and I thought tonight we got some good shots, so we'll just keep working on that and compete. We want to compete for 32 minutes. That's all I keep asking.”
Warpus was the only Forks player to score in double figures, but the Devils did get some balanced scoring from their lineup. Jordyn Ericksen-Hrehor pitched in with eight points, Derr had six, and Curtis, Hughes, Jaidyn Ericksen-Hrehor and Pourby added five points each.
Forks made four threes and went 14-for-18 (78 percent) at the foul line.
McEvoy led the River Hawks with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, and Crawford chipped in with eight points. Dalton and Searles contributed four points each, and Wicklund added three.
Forks, which leads the division, improved to 4-1 (6-4 overall) while Owego slipped to 2-4 (7-4 overall).
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IN PHOTO 1: Katelyn Dodge. … PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
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