The end of an era

Slowly they made their way off the University of Portland's Chiles Center court to the vistor's bench one last time Saturday morning.

Sharing six years of trials and triumphs, big wins and heartbreaking losses and friendships that have shaped and molded their character was coming to an end.

They knew this time would come, but nothing could fully prepare them for the finality that was to come. They had talked about it a week and a half earlier and had a difficult time expressing exactly what they thought it would feel like.

“It’s going to be hard. I don’t even want to think about it,” Karly Laney said then.

But here it was as the horn sounded and the five seniors who had poured their hearts and souls into the Corvallis High girls basketball program for four years walked off the court together one final time.

They embraced their coaches and each other, then made their way through an arch made by juniors Katie Schrock and Alaina Adams, then hugged each other one-by-one and the tears they hoped may not show on the court, began to flow freely.

So much for no crying on the basketball court.

But how could you blame them?

Six years of an emotional journey that will leave an indelible mark on each other, their coaches, teammates and families had come to an end.

"I cried a little bit," said Kayla Laney. "Just like when I saw Nova (Sweet) like I gave all the coaches a big hug and I don't think it has really hit me yet that that was my last game. Like it didn't hit me I would never play at our CHS gym again until we were leaving for the tournament.

"There was not a dry eye on the bench."

It was a journey the seniors -- Kayla Laney, Karly Laney, Leah Seitz, McKenzie Redberg and Gabe Johnson -- will never forget. Nor will those who were fortunate enough to come along for the ride.

And while the ending could have played out in storybook fasion with a state championship, it was about as good as it could get.

The seniors were able to walk off the court together as a group, knowing they had left every ounce of energy on the floor in their final game and had helped the program win its second straight fourth-place trophy.

So while the tears were ones of sadness, they were also tears of joy for all the time they had put in not only during their high school years, but also in middle school when the five became teammates for the first time in seventh grade.

"That was sad," Redberg said. "As you saw everyone was crying. It was six years playing with the same five poeple and it was over. It was ... sad."

Karly Laney felt the same emotions as Redberg.

"It was sad," she said. "Looking back and seeing the journey that we've gone and had and everything."

And oh what a journey it turned out to be. From a sophomore season that was as trying as any could have imagined to back-to-back Mid-Willamette Conference titles, consecutive trips to the state tournament and back-to-back fourth-place trophies.

"To go from where we were sophomore year with the same group of girls to we could have been state champions," Kayla Laney summed up the journey.

It was that journey that coach Joe Williamson stressed when he took over following that difficult and trying sophomore season that had all five players seriously contemplating giving up playing the game they showed they had such a passion for the past two years.

They bought into Williamson's system, were willing to take the criticism and coaching they received and became examples of what it means to be a team.

That example rubbed off on the underclassmen, the ones who will now need to make an impact next season if they hope to keep the tradition and expectation level going.

"A lot of them have shown me like how to be a leader and leadership and the roles that you play, like your responsibility on the court and off the court," sophomore Jessica McGowan said. "They are just great role models.

"It's going to be really tough because they are really good to practice with and they make you better, they push you. Next year it's going to be us pushing each other without them."

That example was none more apparent than after falling to North Eugene in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The seniors felt it was their chance to win a state title and they suffered through a gutwrenching 40-35 loss that could have destroyed them and left a bitter taste in their mouths for more than a few days.

The pain of that loss was still evident after Saturday's win over Summit for fourth.

"It's like we can take a hit but we're going to come back just as hard," Kayla Laney said. "It's just tough. We shouldn't be fourth place."

The Spartans regrouped from that loss and blew out Hillsboro 68-39 then jumped all over Summit and won 53-39.

"Things happen but we showed our mentality that we stick through things," Karly Laney said. "Like we're not going to give up just because we didn't get where we wanted to."

But it was still difficult.

"I guarantee you that every person on the team hates it that we got fourth place," Karly Laney said. "They don't even want the trophy but the fact that we were able to win out and not just win but blow people out at the end, it shows our mentality and how focused we are.

"It's hard to hear North Eugene is playing in the state championship tonight because I know, no offense, that they don't deserve it and we're a way better team. You saw that on the court (Saturday) and (Friday).

"The people who were there and saw know that we're a good team and know that we basically got messed up in the very beginning. The people who watched know."

Those fortunate enough over the past six years to watch the seniors play knew that already. But the way they played the last two games and how they didn't allow one setback to derail a dream was a fitting ending.

"It's going to be weird next year," Karly Laney said. "The girls were in the van the other day and they looked around and said like this is our team next year and they said nose goes on point guard. It was hillarious."

And while there was still laughter at that time, the realization that the seniors weren't going to be around the next year may have come later Saturday night when some were watching the championship game.

Schrock was talking with Karly Laney and said, "Oh we should do this next year ...." then went silent. Next year would be different for Schrock and the returners for sure.

It will be different for everyone, especially for those who have been blessed to have been taken on such a remarkable and fun journey.

Another fourth-place finish!

It would have been easy for the Corvallis High girls basketball team to let the disappointment of losing in the quarterfinals be their defining moment.

For a team that wanted so badly to play for a state title, the frustration that comes with an early loss, like the 40-35 loss to North Eugene on Thursday in the OSAA 5A tournament, could have been enough to break their spirits.

But not this team.

The Spartans rebounded with a convincing 68-39 win over Hillsboro on Friday, then came out and knocked off Summit 53-39 on Saturday to capture fourth place at the Chiles Center.

"They had two choices to make and that was an early exit or we're going to show that we should have been in that championship game," CHS coach Joe Williamson said. "I think with the scores and how we dominated the last two games, we think we should be (in the championship game). But that's the way state tournament basketball games go. We did as much as we could after that loss."

Junior Katie Schrock hit four 3-pointers and finished with 15 points, and Gabe Johnson finished her career with 14 more points as the Spartans won their second straight fourth-place trophy.

"It's a big accomplishment," senior McKenzie Redberg said. "Fourth isn't exactly bad but it's not what we wanted. I mean, after the first game it's the best we could have done."

It was the culmination of two seasons of success for the Spartans, who finish this year at 23-4. Over the past two seasons, the Spartans posted a 44-11 record and won six playoff games.

Corvallis used a 10-0 run that stretched over the first and second quarters to take control on Saturday morning. Schrock hit the first of her four threes and Syree Gerner had five points in the run. Johnson's steal and layup at the buzzer helped CHS to a 17-8 lead.

The game was still within reach for Summit just before the half, but Redberg took an inbounds pass with 0.8 seconds left and banked in a three at the buzzer to put CHS up 30-15 at the break.

"I don't if it was just that shot, but we had a confidence about us that we were up, we've got this so let's just finish the game," Redberg said. "That 3-pointer was disgusting but whatever."

The shot was initially ruled a two-pointer but changed to a three.

Johnson had four points and Kayla Laney two to start the third to cap what was a 13-0 run that put CHS up 36-15.

It was the final game for the five seniors -- Johnson, Redberg, Kayla Laney, Karly Laney and Leah Seitz -- who came off the floor with a minute left.

"There was not a dry eye on the bench," Kayla Laney said. "But yeah, to go from where we were sophomore year with the same group of girls to we could have been state champions."

Added Williamson: "They are a great group of kids and they work hard and are a great example. I'm going to miss them."

Corvallis 53, Summit 39
CORVALLIS 17 13 9 14 -- 53
SUMMIT 8 7 6 18 -- 39
Corvallis: Katie Schrock 15, Johnson 14, Kayla Laney 9, M. Redberg 6, Gerner 5, Kar. Laney 2, Adams 2, Seitz, Hendrickson, McGowan, W. Redberg, Clark

Summit: Jesse Luersen 15, Cindy Mosier 15, Haynes 5, Defoe, Parr, Mondry

Bouncing back against Hillsboro

After being upset in the quarterfinals of the OSAA 5A girls basketball tournament by North Eugene on Thursday, McKenzie Redberg made a bold statement.

The Corvallis High senior said her team would not lose Friday when it met No. 3 Hillsboro in the consolation bracket.

Redberg scored 10 points, played solid defense on Hillsboro's Shayla Ball, helping to hold the state's second-leading scorer to 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting and got a lot of help from her teammates as Corvallis advanced to the fourth-place game with a convincing 68-37 rout at the Chile Center.

"I think we had our mind that there was no way we were going out losing two games," Redberg siad. "We just wanted to come out and play our game.

"We knew (Thursday) we didn't play our game and it was frustrating because it was the time we needed to show our game. (Friday) we played how we should have (Thursday).

No. 4 Corvallis (22-4) will face Summit at 9 a.m. Saturda with a chance to take home its second straight fourth-place trophy. The Storm knocked off Sherwood 45-27.

Redberg, who led Corvallis with 16 points in the 40-35 loss to North Eugene on Thursday, was one of four players in double figures on Friday with 10.

Gabe Johnson (18), Katie Schrock (13) and Karly Laney (10) also finished in double figures.

Johnson, who only scored four points in the loss to North Eugene on Thursday, was still feeling under the weather but a pep talk got her going.

"I talked to the coaches and they said it was all in my head," she said. "I just had to put that aside and play."

Hillsboro started well and led 17-14 after the first quarter. But Corvallis hung tough defensively and limited Hillsboro to 14 points the next two quarters to open a 48-31 lead.

Corvallis used a 13-1 run to close out the second quarter to take the lead at the half, then back-to-back 3s and a steal and short jumper by Johnson late in the third quarter broke it open.

Laney had seven of her 10 points in the 13-1 run that erased a 23-18 deficit and put Corvallis up 31-24 at the half.

Laney said it was a drive by Schrock just before that run that gave Corvallis the confidence it needed.

"I knew that they were tired when Katie came off that pick and got a wide open layup," she said. "Right then they were tired, and maybe they would come out in the second half ready to go a little bit, but they aren't going to stay with us."

Hillsboro did stay with Corvallis in the third quarter before the dam broke open late in the period.

Corvallis led 38-30 with 2:35 left when Schrock hit two 3s, the second hitting the front rim and dropping in from the baseline, and Johnson converted a short jumper after Corvallis stole the inbounds pass.

Just like that it was 46-30 with 1:28 left in the third and Hillsboro was never able to mount a comeback.

The biggest difference from Thursday to Friday was the work Corvallis did on the glass. Corvallis had just 21 total rebounds against North Eugene, but had 29 in the first half against Hillsboro. It ended with 54.

"We just came out with the mentality that this is our ball and this is our court, you're not going to touch it," Laney said. "Every time they shot the ball, every time we shot the ball, we needed to get the ball and so every rebound was ours. Not all of them but most of them."

That effort allowed the seniors to play one more game.

"The seniors, we were talking and saying that we don't want this to be our last game, we don't want to lose our last game here so we were all really determined and we were going to get a win," Johnson said.

So that moment late in the fourth quarter when they all came out of the game and got to watch the players who will be back next year get a chance to taste what it's like to play at the Chiles Center, well let's just say it was pretty darn sweet.

"It was just fun to watch because that's the team next year," Redberg said. "We're sad we're not going to be a part of it but it was nice they got to play in the tournament too and get that experience if they make it next year."

But before next year there is one more game. It's a chance to go 4-2 at the state tournament over the past two years and to finish with 44 wins.

Sure the pain from Thursday's loss is still lingering -- "It feels a lot better but still the loss (Thursday) is in the back of all of our minds and still thiniking only if we could have played like that -- but the Spartans showed the heart and resiliency needed to bring home another trophy.

Corvallis 68, Hillsboro 39
CORVALLIS 14 17 17 20 -- 68
HILLSBORO 17 7 7 8 -- 39
Corvallis: Gabe Johnson 18, Schrock 13, Kar. Laney 10, M. Redberg 10, Kay. Laney 4, Gerner 4, McGowan 4, Adams 2, Clark 2, W. Redberg 1, Hendrickson, Seitz.

Hillsboro: Shayla Ball 10, Cookson 8, Edwards 7, Christensen 6, Tollefson 6, Foekler 1, Lopez 1, Merrill, O'Connor, Pearson, Thorud

Tough quarterfinal loss to North Eugene

A year ago, the Corvallis High girls basketball team was overjoyed just to be in the OSAA 5A state basketball tournament at the Chiles Center.

So when the Spartans lost to Hermiston in the quartfinals, they were disappointed but still a bit excited to have a chance to finish fourth.

With nearly the entire team back this season and a No. 4 ranking, the Spartans had their sights set on challenging for a state title.

That dream ended on Thursday as the Spartans kept clawing back but could never overcome an early deficit and fell 40-35 to North Eugene.

"Yeah, it's really hard," senior McKenzie Redberg said. "Last year I didn't get to play really so this was my one opportunity to go out and win a state championship."

The Spartans, who saw their nine-game winning streak snapped, will now try to rebound and match last year's fourth-place finish. That quest begins at 10:30 a.m. against Hillsboro, a 58-46 loser to Ashland later Thursday.

A slow start proved to be the Spartans' downfall on Thursday. After scoring the first four points, the Spartans watched as North Eugene went on a 20-2 run to build a 20-6 lead with 5:05 left in the first half.

"The opening quarter hurt," CHS coach Joe Williamson said. "We just didnt have the defensive presence, that physical, take it to them (style). We let them post us up and go inside. Even when they missed we let them get on the boards."

Redberg dind't have an answer for the lack of defensive intensity early.

"There were open people everywhere and their posts scored buckets," she said. "It's not what I expected at all. I don't know what happened."

Still, the Spartans (21-4) managed to cut the deficit to 20-14 at the half as they were able to get out in transition late in the second quarter, keyed by their defense.

They got it to 20-19 on a basket by Kayla Laney early in the third, but that was as close as they would get despite having the ball and a chance to take the lead on at least four possessions.

The Spartans were just 14 of 38 from the floor and just 3 of 10 from the free-throw line for the game.

"It's just disappointing," Redberg said. "I know I missed a layup and I missed three free throws. If I would have made all those we would have at least been tied."

But it was Redberg's offense that kept the Spartans in the game. Redberg, who was injured in the quarterfinals a year ago, scored eight of her game-high 16 points in the third quarter and hit a three at the buzzer to keep CHS in the game, down 29-25.

"She just wanted it," Williamson said of Redberg. "It looked like she wanted to step up and hit big shots where everybody else was afraid to."

Added Redberg: "I didn't want to let my team down so I was going to do whatever I could to make sure we would get to the next stage and (was) hoping people would rally around but it didn't happen."

As tough as the loss was, Redberg said the Spartans must regroup and close out the season on a positive note.

"It's going to be really hard but we have to," she said. "We're not going out. We are not losing our game tomorrow."

North Eugene 40, Corvallis 35
NORTH EUGENE 13 7 9 11 -- 40
CORVALLIS 6 8 11 10 -- 35
North Eugene: MaKenzie Ficek 13, Huff 12, Virde 7, Ferrenburg 6, T. Ficek, Knight, Couts
Corvallis: McKenzie Redberg 16, Kayla Laney 8, Johnson 4, Gerner 4, Schrock 3, Kar. Laney, Seitz, Adams, W. Redberg

Headed back to the Chiles Center!

The talk inside the Corvallis High girls basketball team’s locker room prior to Saturday night’s 5A state playoff game was about leaving a lasting impression.

Not just on Bend, Saturday night’s opponent and the team that stood between the Spartans and a return trip to the Chiles Center and the state tournament.

No, the Spartans wanted to make the the rest of the teams that would advance to the state tournament take notice.

“We wanted to send Bend a message that we’re not going to go down easy, we’re going to fight for this because it’s our home court, and for the seniors this is our last home game so we’re going to out on a strong note,” senior Kayla Laney said.

And for a five-minute stretch of the first quarter, the Spartans did exactly that.

Gabe Johnson, McKenzie Redberg, Karly Laney, Kayla Laney, Katie Schrock and Syree Gerner each scored during an 18-0 run that put the Spartans up 20-3.

It was the cushion the Spartans needed to put Bend behind the 8-ball and help them advance to the state tournament for the second straight year.

It was anything but easy from that point, though, as the Spartans had to battle for a 54-44 victory.

Corvallis (21-3) will face North Eugene on Wednesday at noon in the first quarterfinal of the tournament.

North Eugene (17-7), the second seed from the Midwestern League, dispatched Marshall 58-13 on Saturday.

The 18-0 run was impressive not only in that six players scored, but in how the Spartans worked the ball to get open shots from all over the floor.

Short and mid-range jumpers, rebound baskets, 3-pointers and a drive to the hoop highlighted the run.

“It definitely was a really good start and it was very key because we start off slow at times, but this game we started off big and got a big lead and I think everyone just jumped from that,” Johnson said.

Despite allowing the Lava Bears to get back in the game a bit, the Spartans pretty much controlled the tempo most of the game.

They were able to spread the floor and find the open player for easy shots, especially after that patience broke down the defense.

“It worked really well, especially with being patient,” Johnson said. “Time was on our side because we were ahead so we didn’t want to rush any of the passes.

“It’s just smart basketball. We’ve gotten to the point where we all know that if we’re up, just take care of the ball.”

That is one of the areas the Spartans have improved as the season has gone on.

Kayla Laney mentioned the Oaks Christian game in the Slam Jam tournament in California as a learning experience. The Spartans had a seven-point lead late and lost it by not taking care of the ball down the stretch before falling in double overtime.

“I think the Oaks Christian game was an eye-opener because, yes, we get ahead because we’re that good, but we need to learn how to keep that lead,” she said.

“We work pretty hard on (being patient). It’s taken a while because I don’t think we did it as much last year, but that is one of our key aspects, especially in the fourth quarter. We’re used to being ahead by that much and when we are, we need to know what to do and we need to know we can’t drive to the basket and give up the ball with two minutes left. That’s not very smart basketball.”

Back to that smart basketball idea, Johnson showed that she would take what the Bend defense gave her on Saturday.

Johnson, who hasn’t taken a lot of 3-pointers this season, hit three in the first half on her way to 13 points.

“It’s just what I was given,” she said. “Like (coach) Joe (Williamson) said, shoot when you’re open and I was. I was confident. I really wanted to go to Portland, go to state and that’s what we did.”

Still, Bend was able to cut the Spartans’ lead to eight points in the fourth quarter.

But Karly Laney and Schrock each scored easy baskets after a patient offensive set to push it back to 12 with three minutes left.

Then Schrock, Karly Laney and Kayla Laney hit six free throws to seal the deal.

“It’s definitely a relief,” Kayla Laney said. “It’s one of those things where we can celebrate tonight but tomorrow it’s game time and you have to come to the floor ready and you’ve got to come with that mentality that we’re going to state and we need to leave it on the court. Every game is serious. This is it.

“Especially for the seniors, we don’t have another year. Monday we’ve got to come to the floor ready to go and ready to play.”

Last year’s experience may be a key for the Spartans to go farther than a fourth-place finish.

“I’m super excited,” Johnson said. “It’s flabber ghasting. Last year we were here but we didn’t really know what to expect at state and now we do. We’re all really, really excited to get back there.”

But their work is far from over.

“It’s not going to be easy at all,” Kayla Laney said. “All of these other teams are going to want it just as much as we do and they’re not going to be like, ‘Oh, hey, it’s Corvallis. Let’s let them win.’

“We wanted it so much and we wanted to get back to state because we want to be state champions, we want to win that game.”

Corvallis 54, Bend 44
BEND 8 10 14 12 — 44
CORVALLIS 23 9 12 10 — 54
Bend: Ali Friesen 15, Schatz 11, Taylor 9, Danforth 8, Penington 1, Evers, Whitehurst
Corvallis: Gabe Johnson 13, Kayla Laney 13, M. Redberg 9, Schrock 8, Kar. Laney 7, Gerner 2, Seitz 2, Adams, W. Redberg, McGowan

An amazing six years for the Fab 5

Joe Williamson motioned to senior Leah Seitz to check in during the final seconds of the Corvallis High girls basketball team’s game against Silverton on Feb. 16.

The Spartans were in the process of finishing off the Silver Foxes to wrap up the Mid-Willamette Conference championship.

Standing at the scorer’s table waiting to check in, Seitz had a puzzled look on her face as she glanced over to Williamson, almost asking her coach why he was putting her back in of a game with so little time left and the game in hand.

“The five of you on the floor at the end — league champs,” Williamson said.

It was a fitting ending for the five seniors who have played together the better part of the past six years.

“It was just kind of subtle,” point guard Gabe Johnson said. “Look, we’re all in. We made it this far. It was very heart-touching.”

Kayla Laney also realized what was happening.

“I remember standing at the foul line and I was getting ready to block out and then I look over and I see Leah and I looked around and I saw that we were all in and I was like, yeah,” she said. “I looked at Joe and he was beaming.

“It was epic.”

That could best describe the journey that Seitz, Johnson, Laney, her sister Karly and McKenzie Redberg have taken since they first began all playing together on a seventh-grade Future Spartans team.

Through all the ups and downs this group — known as the Fab 5 — was able to start and finish their final regular season home game.

And they were able to embrace as the final horn sounded and celebrate a conference title.

Who could have ever dreamed their story would play out as it has.

From scrawny seventh graders to mature young women, this group has overcome numerous challenges to become a team many feel can reach the 5A state title game in a week.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Johnson said. “We’re all grown up and adults and to see us go off to college. It’s sad but it’s good for us.”

But the journey could all come to a quick end Saturday night at home in the second round of the playoffs against Bend. Or it will end next week at the state tournament in Portland.

“It’s just weird,” Redberg said. “It’s basically been the five of us since the beginning of my basketball career, and just knowing that it’s basically over, it’s depressing. They are like everything to me. We’re like the five best friends.”

Regardless of when the end comes, it has been quite the experience.

“It’s been such a journey,” Kayla Laney said. “We’re the only five left from our Future Spartans team. I just think it’s going to be a huge binding but breaking point. We are just so close as a team. You don’t get many teams that have this much chemistry.”

The journey nearly came to a premature ending two years ago.

Sophomore year was on of the worst for the Fab 5. The Spartans struggled to a 4-10 MWC record and a 9-16 overall mark.

It wasn’t so much the losses that made the season so tough to handle, it was the pain the year brought from the overall experience.

Redberg and Johnson were in their second year on varsity, while the Laneys were in their first year with the varsity team. Seitz played a lot of JV and swung to varsity.

“I cried like every night,” Seitz said. “I felt like there were so many different things that I look back now that we needed to work on, not just on the basketball court but as a team. Being a team and then playing basketball and we hadn’t even gotten the team part down. It was oh, I don’t want to think about sophomore year.”

The season ended with an embarrassing 75-55 thrashing at Lebanon.

At that point, each of the players contemplated whether they wanted to continue playing.

“It was really tough,” Karly Laney said. “I just felt like our middle school years and all that time we put in and everything was a letdown. It was worthless time spent. It was really hard. I wanted to give up and never touch a basketball again.”

“It definitely tried us a lot and definitely put us in a position to question, do we want to play this because we love it, or do do we want to play it because we want to win?” Kayla Laney said.

“I think all of us had thoughts of quitting, but overall we decided to persevere and we we’re like you know what, we want to play because we love the game. There’s not much more than you can do.”

One decision that helped the players rethink possibly walking away from the game came when coach Scott Lasswell resigned after 15 seasons as head coach.

They waited anxiously as a new coach was hired.

It’s ironic that the final game of sophomore season was against Lebanon.

As it turns out, Williamson, who was co-coach of the Warriors in that game, decided to apply for the open position.
When he got it, the Fab 5 decided to give him a shot.

Redberg was all set to focus on soccer and track, but she listened to what Williamson had to say and considered giving basketball another go.

“He said, ‘It’s a whole new season, get over it and see what happens. I promise it will be different. Go through the summer’ and I said, ‘OK,’ ” Redberg said. “So I kind of went with it.”

Williamson left an immediate impression on Kayla Laney, too.

“I love Joe,” she said. “The first thing he said when he met me was, ‘Girl, you need to gain weight.’ I was like, ‘Nice to meet you.’ ”

While Williamson may have caught Laney off guard, it was the kind of personality that the players were craving.

They tasted some success in the summer league games and began to bond. Soon, those bad experiences began to melt away.

“I think there was a moment when he first got hired and we all went to USBA camp where we all met each other,” Johnson said. “I think a lot of us thought this was a whole new year, a whole new coach. We’re going to start all over. From there we’ve gotten here.”

To a player, they credit Williamson and the assistants over the past two years — Nova Sweet, Lindsay Schnell, Mark James and Tom Cox — for making the game of basketball fun again.

And for making them better players.

“He’s just been a coach for me that’s pushed me as far as I can,” Johnson said of Williamson. “He gets on people, but deep down it’s because he wants you to be the best and he knows we can be the best we can. I really thank him and Lindsay and the whole coaching staff for that. They’ve definitely changed me personally and how I play and have helped me a lot.”

As Johnson said, Williamson is able to be the fun-loving coach who will joke around with his players, but he can also make you focus and work hard.

“He’s definitely one of those coaches I will always be friends with, like I know I can come talk to him whenever I need to,” Kayla Laney said. “Like on the court he’s a coach, but outside of basketball he’s definitely one of my adult friends.
“He knows how to get to the point and yeah, he’s going to yell at you and scream at you but you know that he’s doing it because he wants you to be better and grow as a player. And like Mark says, it’s not personal it’s basketball.”

While he can be hard on the players at time, he is also that coach that makes you want to play for him. The energy and passion he brings each day gets the players ready.

“Probably how inspired he is to coach us,” Karly Laney said. “Like every day he is pumped and ready to go. Like (Wednesday) morning, 6 flipping o’clock in the morning and he walks into the gym and blows his whistle as loud as he can. Hi guys, let’s go. Right then I wanted to shank him but I love him so I can’t. ... He’s so enthusiastic, so pumped and ready. Yeah he gets mad at us but it’s because he loves us so much and he wants us to be the best and do the best that he’s willing to do anything for us to make sure we get everything we can.”

The coaches spent a lot of time, in many ways, helping the players develop. That dedication is not lost of them.

“They started to instill confidence in us, especially me because I wasn’t very confident,” Kayla Laney said. “Nova especially really helped me. She was amazing. She would come work with me on my post moves and be like, ‘Kayla, I know you can do this. You have the athleticism, you have the ability to do this, you’ve got to stop with the mental midgets, you’ve got to believe you can do this.’ Nova and Lindsay have been awesome at that.

“One thing I really love about Lindsay is before every game she sends a text. It’s always really inspirational and really gets me ready to play the game.”

What Seitz said she will remember the most about Williamson is the difference he has made in two year.

“Just the fact that he turned this program around like 180 times seven which maybe would be, I don’t know if it would be a 360 in the end but he just turned it around so much,” she said. “He’s the hero of Corvallis girls basketball.”

That turnaround began almost immediately. The Spartans shocked most of the basketball world last year as they went from 4-10 to 11-3 in MWC play and tied for the title.

Then they won a draw and received the first seed to the playoffs.

After a home win, the Spartans took on Hermiston in the quarterfinals of the 5A tournament.

And while they may have lost that game, they rebounded with two wins and a fourth-place finish.

That was one of the most memorable moments for Seitz.

“Just the fact that we accomplished such a big thing last year and I want to do the same thing this year,” she said. “Getting fourth place in state even though we lost our first game was really big to me because I didn’t realize we had the potential to win that game. I didn’t know we were that good.”

Everything looked good coming into this season. The Spartans lost just two players from last year and were a favorite to return to the playoffs and challenge for a state title.

But for Seitz, senior year has been one of her toughest. She suffered a knee injury during the soccer season and has worked hard to get back on the basketball court.

“It was probably the hardest thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life,” she said. “Until you get injured, you don’t know how hard it is.

“I am someone who gets motivated by other people and the fact that I had to work out like physical therapy by myself, I kind of felt like I was on my own when I was still on the basketball court because I didn’t have any direction because I had been gone for the first two weeks of basketball.

“I kind of lost sight of the fact that I wanted to play basketball and I made things a lot more difficult.

“When I got to the CV game and got in the game, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I forgot how to play basketball. This is what it’s like, this is why I practice, this is why I come here at ungodly hours of the morning, ungodly amounts of time to be here and focus.’ I had forgotten about it. It was an eye-opener.”

Having the support of such good teammates, but more importantly such good friends, helped make the situation easier.

“This is a special group of people,” Seitz said. “Especially for basketball because they helped me get back from my knee injury. So many times I would walk up to people bawling because I’m emotionally unstable and physically unstable and they had to deal with so much crap of mine.

“I just feel like I’ve gotten so much closer to the entire group this year. I don’t know how I’m going to go on without them. I don’t know, it’s going to be hard.”

It’s that kind of bond that has helped make the last six years so much fun for the Fab 5.

“It’s been really awesome because obviously we’re really close,” Kayla Laney said. “We’ve had our differences with each other but it’s one of those things where we just come through it because we’re teammates and friends. It’s just like siblings, you are going to fight but deep down you love each other. We can rely on each other.”

Maybe that’s why it may be tough to walk away from each other when the season ends.

“It’s going to be hard. I don’t even want to think about it,” Karly Laney said, a possible tear forming in her eye. “This Saturday is the last time I’m going to play a game on this floor and I can’t even think about that. It’s going to be a trip.”

Added Redberg: “It’s going to be sad, but I’m hoping we walk off feeling accomplished, knowing we did the best we ever could together and to know that we left a mark on CHS and that we can always come back and be like in 20 years come back and watch Corvallis basketball and say remember the time ... To be able to come back and share our memories together. But it’s going to be sad.”

So if a tear or two are shed on the floor, you might have to forgive the players.

“I think it’s going to be tough,” Kayla Laney said. “ I know I have always been told that you don’t cry on the court, but that might be hard.”

Especially after six years of ups and downs and an amazing journey that could end with a state title.

Spartans won't be denied

When West Albany's Kara Hartman drained a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of regulations to tie the game Wednesday night, Corvallis High senior McKenzie Redberg had a feeling of deja vu.

You see, back in seventh grade, the Future Spartans team she played on -- which had current seniors Gabe Johnson, Leah Seitz, Kayla Laney and Karly Laney on the team -- a North Albany team that had Hartman on the roster, won a close championship game.

In that game a North Albany player -- Redberg swears it was Hartman -- hit a halfcourt shot to the end the first quarter. North Albany won the game by three.

So when Hartman drained the shot on her home court to tie the game at 36 on Wednesday, Redberg was a bit upset.

"I was like come on," Redberg said. "I'm pretty sure she was the one that hit the halfcourt shot in our seventh-grade game. Come on, no deja vu. This is not going to happen."

Redberg made sure the outcome would be different than the one some five years ago.

With the Spartans down 39-38 and the final minute ticking away in overtime, Redberg took a pass from Karly Laney and calmly sank a three of her own to put the Spartans up 41-39.

This time, Hartman and the Bulldogs didn't have an answer as the fourth-ranked Spartans earned their 20th win of the season and finished the Mid-Willamette Conference season with a 13-1 record.

"I looked and I saw three girls collapse on me and I thought, not smart and I looked up and saw Z wide open and passed it to her," Laney said. "I knew it was going in because I don't know, I could just tell. As soon as she grabbed it she was determined to make it."

Determined maybe, but it had been less than a stellar offense game for Redberg or her teammates. The Spartans struggled from the floor and the free-throw line all game, and Redberg was scoreless until hitting the game-winner.

That after Redberg spent time during her off block shooting. She was pretty much on fire thorughout, she said.

Despite the lack of success in the game, Redberg was determined.

"When it came down to it, I'm not letting my team lose," she said. "I just focsed somehow."

"What a way to finish your last regular season game," coach Williamson said as he gave her a congratulatory hug while being interviewed.

The players began to show some emotion after Redberg's shot. And een though the Spartans had only pride to play for after wrapping up the MWC title on Monday, the game meant a lot to them.

"I was really proud of Z and I was really glad for Z because she wasn't hitting anything and for her to hit that big of a shot, it's a confidence boost right there," Johnson said. "After that shot she was like OK let's go. Everyone was pumped. It was good."

While the Spartans had their playoff berth wrapped up, West Albany could have finished second with a win and thus only needed to win one playoff game to make the 5A quarterfinals. Instead, the Bulldogs will now have to win two games on the road to reach the quarters.

Knocking the Bulldogs to third was a good motivator as well for the Spartans.

"It just shows our character and it shows how much we want to win and what it means to us," Redberg siad. "We wanted to beat West Albany on their floor, even though it didn't really affect us in league. It doesn't matter, we will still play hard no matter what."

The Spartans struggled mightly in the first half and trailed 21-14. They received a huge scare late in the first quarter when Johnson, likely the player of the year in the conference after sharing that honor last year, fell hard to the floor and stayed down for a minute or two.

She had to be helped off the floor and did not return in the first half.

It was an anxious moment for her teammates.

"Yeah, she never lays on the floor," Laney said. "I actually thought something was up because she's never on the ground and pops back up. She might be a little sore but she's good. It scared me."

Johnson said she had a dead leg and that she hit her knee cap on the floor.

At the half, Johnson said she wanted to play in the third quarter. She warmed up a little and came in midway through the third quarter.

"It was a little stiff but I know Joe was telling me this game quote un quote doesn't matter but every game I play matters and I know Joe hates losing and everyone else hates losing," Johnson said. "I just don't think it would feel right if we had lost this game. It's just not proper to lose on your last game."

The Spartans took a 24-22 lead on Kayla Laney's steal and layup with 2:25 left in the third, but the Bulldogs managed to lead 26-24 after three.

Corvallis led by three on several occassions in the fourth, the last on Katie Schrock's layup after breaking the press with 13 seconds left.

But then a breakdown allowed Hartman to hit the tying three.

"I didn't even know she hit that," Karly Laney said of Hartman. "I didn't know who hit that I just know we had a miscommunication. I had no clue who hit it I didn't even know it was a three."

But the Spartans didn't let the disappointment linger and Johnson's rebound basket put CHS up 38-36. A three by West gave the Bulldogs the lead with 1:48 left but Redberg had the final say in the outcome.

The Spartans overcame the loss of Johnson and severe foul trouble to earn the win against the Bulldogs, ranked ninth in the AP poll and 11th in the coaches poll. Schrock, filling in at the point for Johnson, picked up her fourh foul early in the third, and Kayla Laney fouled out on a very late call with just under seven minutes left in regulation.

"It shows we can overcome any faults or anything," Karly Laney said of the win. "Gabe was out, Kayla fouled out then I was in foul trouble and I was scared to foul. Oh, and we were playing against the refs for sure. It was seven on five the entire time. They didn't give us a break. I don't know, it just shows we can do anything and preparing us for playoffs and state. Hopefully that will show through."

The last time the Spartans had to play with Johnson on the bench was when she picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter against Silverton. The Spatans were down 22-10 after the first quarter and were never able to recover. Coincidentally, that is the last time the Spartans lost.

"I was really, really, really proud of them," Johnson said. "I know when we played Silverton and I came out and that kind of went downhill and from there we kind of all talked about it to step up and be leaders and I think the team did. Especially Karly, what 16 rebounds, amazing."

Now it's time to sit back, rest and get focused for what the Spartans hope are four more wins and a state championship. They open the playoffs on Feb. 28 at home.

Corvallis 41, West Albany 39 (OT)
CORVALLIS 7 7 10 12 5 -- 41
WEST ALBANY 11 10 5 10 3 -- 39
Corvallis: Gabe Johnson 9, Syree Gerner 9, Kar. Laney 6, Adams 5, Kay. Laney 5, Schrock 4, M. Redberg 3, W. Redberg, Seitz
West Albany: Jaclyn Silsby 17, Harman 8, Barawis 5, Kastrava 3, Kuntz 2, Dixon 2, Jamison 2, Grebner, Siegner, Martin
JV: West Albany 57, Corvallis 45
Frosh: West Albany won