A lackluster win

For as well as the Corvallis High girls basketball team played during it’s trip to California last week, Monday night must have seemed like something out of the Twilight Zone.

The Spartans lost a heartbreaker in the championship game of the Winter Slam Jam last Wednesday. Still, for most of the game, the Spartans played extremely well and had numerous chances to win.

Prior to that game they had dominated three opponents, including a solid Sierra Canyon team 61-40 in the semifinals.

So when the Spartans took the court against an overmatched Woodburn team, there should have been little doubt about the outcome.

Maybe something similar to the 79-12 drubbing of Viewpoint (Calif.), or how about the 92-33 whipping of St. Genevieve (Calif.) the same day in the tournament.

In those two games the Spartans never let up and took it to their opponents from start to finish.

But on Monday night, that was not the case.

Sure, the Spartans won easily 68-37 in a game that was never in doubt, but the effort that was put forth was not close to what they will need against just about any other Mid-Willamette Conference team this season.

“If you play like that you lose four or five games in league,” coach Joe Williamson said in the postgame discussion.

The Spartans appeared rushed and a bit out of sync at times. Part of that could be the absence of point guard Gabe Johnson, who was held out after taking a pounding in California.

It wasn’t a bad start as Alaina Adams hit two technical free throws before the game even began for a 2-0 lead.

It was 9-2, and then 19-4 after back-to-back threes by McKenzie Redberg and Katie Schrock.

At the end of the first quarter CHS led 23-8. It was 29-11 with 5:09 to play in the second quarter when all of a sudden the Spartans couldn’t score.

In fact, they went 3:25 without changing the scoreboard, with Schrock’s three at the 1:44 mark breaking the scoreless streak.

Kayla Laney had back-to-back baskets in the final minute of the half as CHS headed to the locker room with a 36-11 lead.

Williamson told the players they needed to slow down and not rush the offense. Plays they ran perfectly in California were not nearly as fluid.

The offense was better in the third quarter as the Spartans scored 22 points and built a 58-24 advantage.

But one of the goals on the board in the team room was to hold Woodburn to 30 points. It looked like an attainable goal at the half, but 13 points in the third quarter meant the Spartans would have to hold Woodburn to six points or fewer in the fourth.

That didn’t happen as the Bulldogs reached the 30-point mark with just under four minutes to play.

Schrock led the Spartans with 17 points. Syree Gerner had her third consecutive solid offensive game with 15 points and Laney added 10. Redberg and Adams each had eight.

The Spartans have three days of practice, the first practices since Dec. 23, to get ready for a tough road game at Dallas. The Dragons open MWC play against Silverton on Tuesday.

Last year, the Spartans played a sluggish first half before taking the win at Dallas.

Corvallis 68, Woodburn 37
WOODBURN 8 3 13 13 — 37
CORVALLIS 23 13 22 10 — 68
Woodburn: Katie Kalugin 19, Doman 8, Ivanov 3, Ruiz 2, Armstrong 2, Maldonado 2, Best 1, Robles, Harrington
Corvallis: Katie Schrock 17, Gerner 15, Kay. Laney 10, Adams 8, M. Redberg 8, W. Redberg 4, Hendrickson 3, Kar. Laney 3, McGowan, Clark
JV: Corvallis 87, Woodburn 15; Freshmen: Corvallis won