Gabe Johnson slowly walked toward the back of the weight room that serves as a meeting place before and after games for the Corvallis High girls basketball team on Friday night.
The junior point guard had just suffered through one of the worst shooting nights of her basketball career.
And it couldn’t have come at a worst time for Johnson and her teammates.
The Spartans were on the verge of knocking off rival Crescent Valley for the first time in 11 games. All Johnson needed was to knock down a couple of free throws to seal the win.
But on a night where she had to persevere throughout, it wasn’t meant to be.
After the miss, CV was able to rebound, get the ball up the court and Molly Doran was able to lay the ball in off the glass with less than a second to play as the Raiders capped a 6-0 run over the final 30 seconds to force overtime.
The Raiders then went on to complete the comeback and walk away with a 52-49 win that even their head coach said they probably didn’t deserve.
Johnson by no means cost the Spartans the game, although it had to feel that way immediately afterwards.
Teammates, coaches and fans tried to console her, but nothing they said was going to change the feeling that was buried in the pit of her stomach.
Despite the awful shooting night, and Johnson wasn’t alone as the Spartans combined to shoot just 14 of 43 from the field and a dismal 8 of 18 from the free-throw line, Johnson still led the Spartans in scoring with 15.
It’s too bad the game ended the way it did for Corvallis.
The final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter overshadowed the first 7:30 that saw the Spartans turn a 40-29 deficit into a 48-42 lead.
That after CV led by as many as 15 in the third quarter after the two teams went into the half deadlocked at 20.
“We just got fire in our eyes,” Johnson said after the game, alluding to the fourth quarter. “We weren’t going to lose.”
But the comeback fell short.
The Spartans’ run late in the third and through the fourth quarter was sparked by Johnson’s willingness to continue shooting despite the rough night.
That allowed teammates to get open and Johnson found them. Five different players — Johnson, Alaina Adams, McKenzie Redberg, Eva Oriakhi and Katie Schrock — all contributed points in what turned out to be a 23-2 run over eight minutes.
That was a positive Johnson and her teammates must take from the game.
They played well enough to win, and feel like they lost the game, rather than having CV win it.
But a loss is tough to swallow, regardless of how it happens.
By the time Saturday morning rolled around, many of the players felt the same as the night before. Practice was focused and the team worked on those areas that hurt them the night before, especially free throws.
There is no time to sulk or remain focused on Friday’s loss. West Albany comes to town on Tuesday, and a win gives the Spartans a boost they so dearly need.
The players may still have some doubt as to how good of a team they can be.
A win Friday could have proved not only to the community, but to themselves, how far they have come in a short period of time.
A win Tuesday might just be the step they need to beginning to realize their potential.
Good teams are able to overcome adversity, and the Spartans have been able to do that a lot so far this young season.
Tuesday they get see if they can do it again.
Corvallis 52, Crescent Valley 49
CRESCENT VALLEY 10 10 20 8 4 — 52
CORVALLIS 12 8 9 19 1 — 49
Crescent Valley: Batista 17, Kaufman 10, M. Doran 12, Coyier 8, Dong 3, H. Doran 2, Barnes, Waite, Rausch
Corvallis: Johnson 15, Redberg 6, Adams 9, Schrock 6, Oriakhi 5, Seitz 4, Westly 3, Kay. Laney 1, Kar. Laney
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