Each time the Corvallis High girls basketball team takes to the court this season, they expect to get the best shot from their opponent.
That comes with the territory after finishing fourth at the state tournament last year and being ranked in the top 5 in the polls.
That has been the case the past three Mid-Willamette Conference games.
First, Dallas gave the Spartans a run in the first quarter, then South Albany was within three points in the second quarter and finally arch-rival Crescent Valley bolted out to an early lead last Thursday.
In each of those games, the Spartans regrouped and won rather handily.
So when Lebanon used two banked 3-pointers in the first two minutes to take a 10-5 lead, the Spartans knew exactly what to do.
Corvallis clamped down on defense and used their athleticism and speed to swarm the Warriors the rest of the way for a convincing 86-34 rout on Tuesday night.
Because of the experience over the last three games, the Spartans weren't too concerned, and besides, "banked threes aren't going to stop us," senior post Kayla Laney said with a smile.
"Joe (coach Joe Williamson) preps us for it," Laney said of the opening shot the Spartans receive. "It happened against CV, it happened against Dallas. Teams will jump out on us but then I have faith in our team that we'll come back because I know that we're a good team."
At 5-0 in the MWC and 11-2 overall, the Spartans are a good team for sure, and one that could end up being great if they continue to progress as they have the past season and a half.
And if they continue to put together scoring runs that border on the obscene.
The Spartans had an 18-2 run against Dallas to break an 11-11 tie and led 44-21 at the half. At one point they were up 67-33.
Up just 25-22 with 3:29 left in the first half against South Albany, the Spartans closed on a 13-4 run, then scored the first 10 points of the third quarter and 17 of the first 20 for a 55-29 lead.
On Tuesday against Lebanon, the Spartans used a 20-1 run to close the final 6:03 of the first quarter, then outscored Lebanon 25-4 in the second for a 50-15 lead.
All told, the Spartans outscored Lebanon 45-5 over the final 14:03 of the half. That inlcuded a 9:03 stretch where Lebanon dind't score a single point.
Asked about the offensive outburst on Tuesday and Laney dind't have much of an explanation for it: "We just play," she said.
And play Laney was able to do for a change. She was whistled for two quick fouls in Thursday's game against CV and finished with just five points after missing more than 15 minutes of the first half.
Sitting on the bench was motivation enough for Laney.
"It was definitely an eye-opener because I realize how much I can't foul and it definitely really sucks being on the bench for almost the entire first half so I came out tonight promisinig myself I wasn't going to foul anymore," she said.
She kept the promise and was an offensive spark in the first half, scoring 11 of her 13 points. Gabe Johnson also had 11 of her 13 points in the first half and Katie Schrock added nine.
So what was the difference for Laney?
"I guess I just played smarter," she said. "I saw the person and was aware of where they were (and) instead of trying to go through them I got in front of them and just worked that much harder to get around them."
Up 50-15 at the half, Williamson didn't have much to complain about in the locker room. Returning to the school he used to coach at will always be a game where he wants his team to play well and make a statement.
They did that in the first half.
And they kept it up in the third quarter, even without pressing. Katie Schrock scored 10 of her game-high 19 points in the third, and throughout the game made the right decision of when to drive to the basket and when to take the open 3-pointer, something Williamson has been looking for Schrock to do.
That ability by Schrock, Johnson and McKenzie Redberg to penetrate leads to either layups, free throws or easy dishes for layups to the posts.
And the post have done a better job this season of being ready for those dishes, Laney said.
The Spartans were 23 of 33 from the free-throw line for the game.
Corvallis can expect another early shot on Friday when West Albany comes to Spartan Gym for a crucial MWC game. West Albany is 4-1 in conference play and is coming off a 55-44 win over Silverton (4-1) on Monday.
"I'm excited, especially from our loss to them last year to get revenge on our home court," Laney said.
Corvallis 86, Lebanon 34
CORVALLIS 25 25 20 16 -- 86
LEBANON 11 4 10 9 -- 34
Corvallis: Katie Schrock 19, Adams 14, Johnson 13, Kay. Laney 13, Gerner 7, Kar. Laney 7, McGowan 5, Clark 4, M. Redberg 4, Hendrickson, W. Redberg
Lebanon: Steward 9, Parks 6, Kirby 5, Nelson 4, Gabel 4, Luton 3, Duerr 2, Benedict 1, Hudson, Gerson, Newton, King
JV: Corvallis 62-18.
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