A season to remember

It was almost 8 a.m. that Saturday when as I was driving down Rosa Park Way and reality began to set in.

I was on my way to the final game of the season for the Corvallis High girls basketball team.

The emotions began to well up a bit. It had been, to use a corny cliche, a magical ride. An unbelievable year that saw the Spartans playing basketball on "Championship Saturday."

Sure, they weren't playing for the "Championship" but they had a chance to place fourth in the state and equal the accomplishments of the success of the 1988 and 1989 Spartans teams, the best finishes by any in program history.

And as if the script could only be written one way, the Spartans played one of their finest games of the season in the last game of the season, knocking off No. 2 Ashland 49-39.

What a ride that is sad to see come to an end. What great accomplishments from the start of the year to the end of the year.

What a great bunch of girls. All very classy and pleasant to be around at all times. They represented the school and their parents exceptionally well at all times. They were humble in victory and gracious in defeat.

And what a great bunch of coaches. They inspired, encouraged and taught not just basketball skills, but life skills. They helped make basketball fun again for the girls, fans and family members.

It began waaaaaaaaay back in November.

When I began this adventure I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I just hoped a new coach who didn't know me from anyone would allow me the chance to write freely and chronicle the season. I also hoped the girls were cool with it.

I should have known from the start it was going to be a thrilling ride. The Spartans won their first three games and were having a great time. They had shown so much improvement since the last season and looked like they could vie for a playoff berth. They even were ranked in the top 10.

Then came tough back-to-back losses. The first one came at Sherwood. The Spartans trailed big early but fought back and had a chance to make a game of it in the fourth quarter before Sherwood pulled away. The bus ride home was long and quiet.

Then it was a loss at home to North Eugene that was really tough to swallow. The first three games seemed so long ago and any momentum gained with those victories was gone.

And there were 10 days to go until they could take the court again.

When they did, the Spartans scored a four-point win over 6A McNary to head into the holidays feeling better about themselves.

The Spartans kept that momentum going into the Lake Oswego tournament. While they weren't in the bracketed tournament, the Spartans vowed to win their round-robin tournament and head into the Mid-Willamette Conference season on a high.

The tournament didn't start out well as the Spartans were robbed in a 60-58 loss to Aloha. But while the loss was tough, the Spartans rallied from double figures down without starting point guard Gabe Johnson, who was ejected for a horrific call by the same official who would later call a foul on Syree Gerner that gave Aloha two free throws in the final seconds that gave Aloha the two-point win.

But the players realized they could still compete even with the player who would end up as the MWC player of the year.

They were still frustrated and took out that frustration on Glencoe a few hours later. They then earned an impressive 51-40 win over 6A South Medford the next day and wrapped up the tournament with a 45-22 thrashing of Centennial.

Just like that the Spartans were 7-3 heading into the conference season.

I remember telling the guys at the office that I thought the Spartans could make some noise in the conference and that I thought they could be a pretty good team.

I also remember asking coach Joe Williamson what the goal was for the Spartans in conference play. He said a league title. I sort of laughed and he gave a smile as most coaches would say that. But looking back I realize just how serious Williamson was that day. He saw it, while others still may not have, myself included.

I was talking with assistant coach Lindsay Schnell before the MWC season and she asked me what I thought the Spartans' record would be in the conference. I stated 9-5. I thought they would split with Crescent Valley and Silverton and would be swept by West Albany (for some reason West has always been a team we (the juniors anyway) struggled with). I also thought they would lose a game they probably should have won and my guess was the first Lebanon game. I just thought they would want so much to beat Joe's former team they would struggle.

That equated to a 9-5 MWC mark and I thought they would be fourth and squeak into the playoffs.

I am happy to say that I am a terrible prognosticator, well I may not be that bad but I missed the boat on two of the losses.

The Spartans took care of business in the MWC opener, routing Woodburn to set up a showdown with rival Crescent Valley. After the Raisers took a bog lead in the third quarter, the Spartans put on a marvelous comeback and led by six with 30 seconds left.

But in the blink of an eye, the Raiders scored six straight points to force overtime and then stole the win to continue their recent domination of the Spartans. To say it was a shocked and stunned locker room is an understatement. It was a long night and a tough practice the next morning.

I wasn't sure what to expect the next game, which just so happened to be West Albany at home. The Spartans made a statement and dismantled the Bulldogs as McKenzie Redberg hit four 3-pointers and the Spartans as a team were hot from the outside.

After an easy win at South Albany moved their record to 3-1, the Spartans earned a quality 48-45 win at home over a Silverton team many expected to challenge for the conference title.

That set up the showdown with Lebanon and Joe's return to his old school. The Warriors had been playing well and had a win at Crescent Valley under their belt so the outcome was anybody's guess.

The Spartans controlled their emotions and put on a great defensive effort to jump out to a 20-1 lead and cruised to the 62-21 victory and a 6-1 record.

That was the beginning of a stretch of four games in seven days. They followed that with another easy win over Woodburn then took apart Dallas before facing Crescent Valley in a rematch. The Spartans were in first at 7-1 while CV was at 5-2.

The Spartans controlled the game throughout and ended a 13-game losing streak to the Raiders with a 55-39 victory.

That set up a showdown with West Albany. A Spartans victory and the MWC crown would be all but locked up.

Instead of a night of celebration, the Spartans took a step back as they didn't play their best basketball and despite a thrilling comeback in the fourth quarter, they dropped a 58-54 decision that moved West Albany into a tie for first with the Spartans at 8-2 with four games to play.

The Spartans rebounded with a home win over South Albany before heading to Silverton. The Spartans hung close in a loud environment but in the end the Silver Foxes sent the Spartans home with a 42-39 loss and all of a sudden they were no longer in first place.

Now they needed to win out and hope Silverton could knock off West Albany to force the possibility of a three-way tie.

And while Williamson wasn't feeling all that lucky as he headed the bus to go home that night, that is exactly what happened.

The Spartans went to Dallas and got a win and Silverton crushed the Bulldogs to force a three-way tie with one game to play.

A secret draw for the first seed was done prior to the game but CHS athletic director Bob Holt wouldn't let anyone know. The players knew they still had some business to take care of and it would be no easy task with Lebanon in town wanting a bit of revenge and a playoff berth, which it would get with a win.

The game was thrilling throughout and even a fire alarm in the third quarter couldn't stop the Spartans as they held on for a 55-46 win.


Then came the excitement as the Spartans were informed they had drawn the No. 1 seed and a home game.

The coaches and I then made a monster trip to Klamath Falls and back to film and scout Mazama, the Spartans' second-round opponent. I thought the coaches' willingness to spend close to 11 hours together to scout showed how far they would go to give the players every opportunity to succeed.

The trip paid off as the Spartans shook off a slow start then blitzed the Vikings for a 45-22 win and a trip to the Chiles Center, the mecca of 5A and 6A girls basketball these days.

As we all know now, the tournament proved to be so much more than we could have imagined at the beginning of the season. Despite a close loss to eventual runner-up Hermiston, the Spartans won twice and placed fourth.

That success is what I expected next season so to have it happen a year early was beyond belief. The experience couldn't have happened to a better group of people who sold out for each other and sacrificed time and family to work together for a common goal.

I was just fortunate to go along for the ride. There were some tough moments personally. And if I had to do it all over again, I would never have asked Joe if I could blog about the season. Haha, got you. I wouldn't have traded the experience for anything.

So I say thank you to the coaches and players for accepting me as part of the team and including me so much in all that you did.

And to you faithful readers, thanks for reading and supporting this great group of young ladies and coaches.

While I know expectations are high for next year, my hope is the players improve like they did this year and enjoy the experience. If that happens, the outcome of games and the season will take care of themselves.

TJNTD.

Thank you for taking me along on the journey.

Go SPARTS!!!

Sorry for the delays

I have posted the last two stories from the state tournament and will be working on a year-ender story and a couple of others over the next few days and weeks.

Thank you to all of you who have been faithful readers and have helped me along the way. It was a great ride and one I will always remember!!!

GO SPARTS!!

Spartans enjoy the journey

The Corvallis High girls basketball team had a secret slogan all season.

They wore shirts that read TJNTD, and kept it’s meaning from those outside of the team.

The letters stood for “The journey not the destination.”

The destination turned out to be a fourth-place finish at the OSAA 5A state tournament after knocking off No. 2-ranked Ashland 49-39 at the Chiles Center on Saturday.

The journey, however, was one the players will always remember.

It’s a journey coach Joe Williamson hopes continues next season.

“I told the girls this gives them a lot of motivation to work hard in the offseason and to make ourselves better,” Williamson said Saturday afternoon.

The Spartans rebounded from a 9-16 overall mark and 4-10 Mid-Willamette Conference recordlast season to win a share of the conference crown at 11-3 with West Albany and Silverton this season.

They then received the top seed to the playoffs in a draw, allowing them an opportunity to host a playoff game.

The Spartans knocked off Mazama to advance to the Chiles Center for the first time since 2002.

Corvallis ran into a tough Hermiston team that eventually reached the state title game, dropping a 51-46 decision in the quarterfinals.

The Spartans lost first-team all-conference selection McKenzie Redberg to a knee injury early in the second quarter of that game. Redberg didn’t play the rest of the tournament.

The Spartans rebounded with a 56-38 victory over Crater, then completed the sweep of Southern Oregon Conference teams with Saturday morning’s win for fourth place.

Most of the players couldn’t have imagined they would have been playing for fourth last summer.

“Honestly, when were at that summer tournament and coach said he could see us being league champs, I was wondering what he was thinking,” junior Kayla Laney said. “I mean did you not see us play last year? We played against you?

“Then (Friday) night I was thinking, you know what? We can do this. We can get fourth.”

The Spartans lose just two seniors - Taylor Westly and Eva Oriakhi. Oriakhi missed the last half of the season with a knee injury, so a young team got even more playing time.

That should bode well for next season.

“Taylor and Eva were amazing and they definitely brought so much to the team,” Laney said. “But we have five returning going-to-be seniors. Most of those seniors have played quite a bit during the games.”

That group of seniors-to-be include MWC player of the year and point guard Gabe Johnson, Redberg, Kayla Laney, Karly Laney and Leah Seitz. Johnson averaged 19.3 points per game in the tournament and was named to the all-tournament second team.

Add in juniors-to-be Katie Schrock, an honorable mention MWC pick, and Alaina Adams, a second-team all-MWC selection, and the Spartans look primed for another strong year. Syree Gerner, who played key minutes as a freshman, will also be back.

Schrock had a standout tournament, hitting five 3-pointers in the second half against Crater, and three more in the first half against Ashland to give the Spartans a spark.

“I think next year we will have a really strong, deep team,” Schrock said. “We have everybody returning but also the swing players who came up to state and got to play in the game at the end and get some experience at the state tournament.”

But Williamson doesn’t want the players to think too far ahead. He knows there is a lot of work to be done.

“I want them to continue to go on the journey, not that there is pressure to do this again or match exactly the same,” he said.

“Next season is a whole different journey. We have to make it our own season and not compare anything. We need to enjoy it. The biggest thing is to not put too much pressure on ourselves. We need to enjoy the journey.”

What an accomplishment: Spartans finish fourth

There was a sense of accomplishment for the Corvallis High girls basketball team early Saturday morning.

A team that won just nine games a season ago, completed a storybook season with a 49-39 victory over Ashland in the Chiles Center.

That win gave the Spartans fourth place in the OSAA 5A state tournament, equalling the fourth-place finishes by the 1988 and 1989 CHS teams back in the old 4A classification.

"It's the icing on the gorgeous wedding cake," CHS senior Taylor Westly said.

Added sophomore Katie Schrock: "It's pretty exciting. We came back from last year when we weren't even remotely close to the state playoffs and here we are fourth. I believe we could have gone all the way. We just needed to get our act together in the first game."

The Spartans finish the season officially at 18-10, with three of those losses coming via forfeit after using an ineligible player in the Lake Oswego tournament in December. On the court, the Spartans won 21 games.

"It's pretty unbelievable," first-year coach Joe Williamson said. "The expectation that we put on them, I think we surpassed them. We had big league goals and to get to the Chiles Center but to go 2-1 ... To beat Crater and Ashland, two very good teams, I couldn't be any more happy or proud of the girls. They played with a lot of heart and desire."

Maybe their finest game came Saturday morning. Ashland (25-4) entered the tournament on a 24-game winning streak and nearly knocked off last year's champion, Willamette, in the quarterfinals.

The Grizzlies also had a good tandem with point guard Allison Gida and 6-foot-3 post Brenna Heater, who scored 36 points in the loss to Willamette.

But the Corvallis posts -- Kayla Laney, Alaina Adams, Karly Laney and Syree Gerner -- did enough to limit Heater's touches and to keep her in check most of the game.

Heater finished with 20 points, but managed just 12 shots, She did convert 7 of 11 from the free-throw line.

"Every look she had she was doubleteamed," Williamson said. "I thought our girls played interior defense better than I could have ever asked for."

Said Kayla Laney: "We played amazing helpside (defense). We had each other's backs."

Ashland took an early 10-4 lead, but the Spartans weren't about to go quietly. After struggling in the first half of their first three playoff games, the Spartans rebounded quickly thanks to back-to-back threes by Schrock and Gabe Johnson.

Corvallis took a 16-14 lead into the second quarter, and gradually increased the lead each quarter.

"I think it was huge because we totally broke their confidence," Kayla Laney said of the first-quarter success. "Because then they realized we wanted it so much better than they did. We knew that if we played tough and if we played Heater pretty tough that they weren't going to be able to score enough. Coach told us exactly what to do to win and we did it."

Corvallis led 29-22 at the half after Schrock's third three of half with 10 seconds to go. Schrock hit five threes in the second half to help the Spartans pull away from Crater on Thursday.

"It was really nice, shots were falling early so people weren't afraid and weren't feeling rushed to take shots so they took shots we knew they could make, Schrock said.

Ashland tried to work the ball inside to Heater in the second half, but for the most part the Spartans were able to control her.

"We came out hard, played good D and bodied the big girl up," Westly said. "She's a big girl, hard to body up and I think we did a really good job with that."

Johnson finished with a game-high 22 points, while Adams added 11 and Schrock nine.

"I'm speechless," Kayla Laney said.

Corvallis 49, Ashland 39
CORVALLIS 16 13 8 12 -- 49
ASHLAND 14 8 6 11 -- 39
Corvallis: Gabe Johnson s22, Adams 11, Schrock 9, Kay. Laney 4, Gerner 2, Seitz 1, Westly, Kar. Laney, Hendrickson, McGowan, W. Redberg
Ashland: Brenna Heater 20, Sievenlist 8, Gida 6, McKinnis 5, Pavlich, Van Vleck, Silbowitz, Zare, Petitt, Delcarlo, Contreras

A second-half turnaround

Maybe it was the 6:30 a.m. wake up call, or maybe it was not realizing the season could end that quickly.

Whatever it was, the Corvallis High girls basketball team struggled through the first half of Thursday's 9 a.m. consolation game of the OSAA 5A tournament at the University of Portland's Chiles Center.

Whatever it was, coach Joe Williamson was going to make darn sure the Spartans knew he wasn't particularly pleased with the way they played the first 16 minutes against Crater.

So he let them have it in the locker room.

"I've only challenged them a couple of times in the locker room this year," Williamson said. "Even in big games or close games I try to stay calm and build confidence and tell them to relax. This game I thought they needed a little bit of ... to get in their heads. To challenge them, chew on them a little bit."

The Spartans heard their coach loud and clear.

In eight minutes they scored more points (19) than they did in the first 16 (15) and turned a 19-15 deficit into a 34-25 lead en route to a 56-38 win over the Comets and a chance to play for fourth place on Saturday.

"I think we really took it heart," senior Taylor Westly said of the halftime talk. "I think we knew it (heading) into the locker room.

"I think that makes it all the more powerful because he is normally quiet or enthusiastic. To have him get on us made us step it up and play our basketball."

The Spartans started the second half with more energy on the defensive end, and Katie Schrock caught fire from 3-point range. Schrock hit back-to-back threes to put the Spartans up 23-22 with 5:30 to play in the third. It was a lead the Spartans would never relinquish.

Kayla Laney hit a jumper and added a free throw before Schrock canned her third three of the quarter and all of a sudden the Spartans were up 29-22 with 3:15 left in the quarter.

"I think we wanted it a lot more," Laney said of the third-quarter run. "We kind of realized how important the game was. It could have been our last game. We didn't want to go out 0-2 in the state tournament."

The Spartans led 34-25 after three but the Comets trimmed the lead to 36-32 with 6:28 to play. But the Spartans responded and Schrock's fifth three of the second half capped a 12-2 run making it 48-34 with 2:51 to play.

Schrock was 5 of 7 from three and the Spartans were 6 of 13 overall.

"They can either make or break a game," Westly said of shooting threes. "Stepping up like that, props to (Katie). To hit five threes, that's no small accomplishment. I think the rest of us worked really hard in Carolina getting the screens and getting her so she was wide open for those."

The Spartans forced Crater into 21 turnovers and disrupted the Comets offense in the second half.

"I also think we played really tough defense as a team," Westly said. "The posts really got them off the boards and stepped it up and rebounded. We all contributed."

Schrock finished with 17 points, as did Gabe Johnson for the Spartans. Kayla Laney added eight points and eight rebounds.

The Spartans have a chance to finish fourth with a win over Ashland on Saturday. They believe that would be the best finish in the program's history.

"I get shivers up and down my body thinking no matter what we take home a trophy," Westly said. "We have a chance to finish higher than any other CHS (girls basketball) team has ever placed in state. That's a great opportunity and win or lose it's something this team will take away and come back here with as seniors."

The Spartans will face a tall test in Ashland, the Southern Oregon Conference champions. Ashland (25-3) is led by 6-foot-3 post Brenna Heater, who had 36 of Ashland's 48 points in an overtime loss to Willamette on Wednesday. She had 17 points and 12 rebounds in a 52-45 win over Bend on Thursday.

"Yeah, the big girl is an issue but our big girls are an issue too and they play hard defense," Westly said. "Our guards get up and pressure out there.We will be missing (McKenzie Redberg) in that pressure but I know we'll all step up and put the pressure on the guards and make it more difficult to look into the post."

Corvallis 56, Crater 38
CRATER 9 10 6 13 -- 38
CORVALLIS 11 4 19 22 -- 56
Crater: Leona Steel 11, Noon 9, Harding 8, Albright 4, Kappel 3, Heard 2, Britton 1, Deschamps, Sullivan, Hills, Smith, Sailing, Bonney
Corvallis: Katie Schrock 17, Gabe Johnson 17, Kay. Laney 8, Westly 7, Seitz 2, Gerner 2, Kar. Laney 2, Adams 1, W. Redberg

Mama said there would be days like theses

If there is one thing Joe Wiliamson expects out of his Corvallis High girls basketball team it is effort.

Williamson couldn't have been happier with the effort his Spartans put forth during Wednesday's OSAA 5A quarterfinal game, however the outcome could have been much better.

Corvallis scrapped and clawed back in the fourth quarter, but a 16-point third-quarter deficit was too much to overcome as Hermiston held on to knock off the Spartans 51-46 at the University of Portland's Chiles Center.

Corvallis (16-10) will take on Crater (14-9) in a loser-out game at 9 a.m. Thursday. The winner advances to play for fourth place on Saturday. Crater hung tough with Wilsonville before falling 66-52 in the first quarterfinal of the day.

The Spartans battled hard throughout, but an injury to first-team all-Mid-Willamatte Conference player McKenzie Redberg, 33 turnovers and a tough shooting night doomed Corvallis.

"All in all, you want the effort to be there and to shoot well," Williamson said. "The effort was there but we didn't shoot well. But I'll take the effort first."

Corvallis was just 16 of 46 from the floor and 1 of 12 from three for the game.

The Spartans trailed 25-22 early in the third quarter after Kayla Laney converted a three-point play. But Hermiston went on an 11-2 run to push the lead to 36-24 before making it 43-30 at the end of the quarter. The lead was 46-30 with 6:45 to play before the Spartans started chipping away.

Leah Seitz provided a spark off the bench during a 9-1 run with a couple of steals, a layup, a big rebound and outworked Hermiston standout Shoni Schimmel for a loose ball to give the Spartans possession.

"We needed someone to come in and play inspired basketball for us and she was the spark, on the floor diving, reading passes and getting out for steals," Williamson said. "I was proud of her."

So were her teammates.

"I'm so proud of Leah," point guard Gabe Johnson said. "At the beginning of the season she was having some tough times but she has improved so much and I'm really proud of her."

Seitz had a couple of things on her mind during the game.

"One was Z is out again once again so I have to make up for her and the other was I got injured and I haven't been playing as well since then and I just wanted top prove myself and say I can play well," she said.

Seitz was referring to the South Albany game when Redberg was sick and left at halftime. Seitz played most of Redberg's minutes and scored nine points to hep lead the Spartans to a win.

Despite being down 16 on Wednesday, Seitz said the Spartans never lost hope.

"I think we had the confidence," she said. "All of us were thinking this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so if we don't make the most of it then why are we here? So I think we tried to make the most that we could."

Seitz played more after Redberg was injured early in the second quarter when she and Shimmel fell hard to the floor.

Redberg didn't play the rest of the game. Her absence meant the Spartans had to make some major adjustments.

"As soon as she went down, our whole rotation process (changed) and who we were going to sub in to take Schimmel, now we really have no subs coming in," Williamson said.

Added Johnson: "It was really tough but I knew to trust in the team. I knew people were going to step up and I knew I had to step up."

The Spartans trailed 16-6 after the first quarter, struggling a bit with nerves and the Hermiston pressure. They committed nine turnovers in the first quarter.

"The pressure they put on, it takes a few minutes to adjust to it," Williamson said. "We did a pretty good job for the second half of the first quarter and the second quarter and then all of a sudden we came out in the third and it looked like we hadn't seen it and struggled a bit."

Johnson led the Spartans with 19 points while Alaina Adams added eight and Laney seven. The Spartans outrebounded Hermiston 47-28.

Schimmel led Hermiston with 14 but the Spartans forced her into 6-for-21 shooting, including 1-for-12 from three. The Bulldogs as a team were just 17-for-59 from the floor and 2-for-23 from three.

"For the most part we got back on defense and did a good job with that,"Williamson said. "We made them get in a half-court set and made the shots as difficult as we could."

The Spartans return to the floor early with the 9 a.m. game Thursday. They can still finish fourth with two wins.

"For me, I feel like this game was just like a wakeup call for what we're really at right now and I'm ready to go win those next two games," Seitz said. "If we don't win them, all hell will break lose."


Hermiston 51, Corvallis 46
CORVALLIS 6 13 11 16 -- 46
HERMISTON 16 9 18 8 -- 51
Corvallis: Gabe Johnson 19, Adams 8, Kay. Laney 7, Seitz 4, Gerner 4, Westly 2, Schrock 2, Redberg, Kar. Laney
Hermiston: Shoni Schimmel 14, Stacona 8, Rowan 7, McCloud 5, Royer 5, Davis 4, Coombs 4, Whitsett 2, Vonarx 2, Cobb