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!!!