The talk inside the Corvallis High girls basketball team’s locker room prior to Saturday night’s 5A state playoff game was about leaving a lasting impression.
Not just on Bend, Saturday night’s opponent and the team that stood between the Spartans and a return trip to the Chiles Center and the state tournament.
No, the Spartans wanted to make the the rest of the teams that would advance to the state tournament take notice.
“We wanted to send Bend a message that we’re not going to go down easy, we’re going to fight for this because it’s our home court, and for the seniors this is our last home game so we’re going to out on a strong note,” senior Kayla Laney said.
And for a five-minute stretch of the first quarter, the Spartans did exactly that.
Gabe Johnson, McKenzie Redberg, Karly Laney, Kayla Laney, Katie Schrock and Syree Gerner each scored during an 18-0 run that put the Spartans up 20-3.
It was the cushion the Spartans needed to put Bend behind the 8-ball and help them advance to the state tournament for the second straight year.
It was anything but easy from that point, though, as the Spartans had to battle for a 54-44 victory.
Corvallis (21-3) will face North Eugene on Wednesday at noon in the first quarterfinal of the tournament.
North Eugene (17-7), the second seed from the Midwestern League, dispatched Marshall 58-13 on Saturday.
The 18-0 run was impressive not only in that six players scored, but in how the Spartans worked the ball to get open shots from all over the floor.
Short and mid-range jumpers, rebound baskets, 3-pointers and a drive to the hoop highlighted the run.
“It definitely was a really good start and it was very key because we start off slow at times, but this game we started off big and got a big lead and I think everyone just jumped from that,” Johnson said.
Despite allowing the Lava Bears to get back in the game a bit, the Spartans pretty much controlled the tempo most of the game.
They were able to spread the floor and find the open player for easy shots, especially after that patience broke down the defense.
“It worked really well, especially with being patient,” Johnson said. “Time was on our side because we were ahead so we didn’t want to rush any of the passes.
“It’s just smart basketball. We’ve gotten to the point where we all know that if we’re up, just take care of the ball.”
That is one of the areas the Spartans have improved as the season has gone on.
Kayla Laney mentioned the Oaks Christian game in the Slam Jam tournament in California as a learning experience. The Spartans had a seven-point lead late and lost it by not taking care of the ball down the stretch before falling in double overtime.
“I think the Oaks Christian game was an eye-opener because, yes, we get ahead because we’re that good, but we need to learn how to keep that lead,” she said.
“We work pretty hard on (being patient). It’s taken a while because I don’t think we did it as much last year, but that is one of our key aspects, especially in the fourth quarter. We’re used to being ahead by that much and when we are, we need to know what to do and we need to know we can’t drive to the basket and give up the ball with two minutes left. That’s not very smart basketball.”
Back to that smart basketball idea, Johnson showed that she would take what the Bend defense gave her on Saturday.
Johnson, who hasn’t taken a lot of 3-pointers this season, hit three in the first half on her way to 13 points.
“It’s just what I was given,” she said. “Like (coach) Joe (Williamson) said, shoot when you’re open and I was. I was confident. I really wanted to go to Portland, go to state and that’s what we did.”
Still, Bend was able to cut the Spartans’ lead to eight points in the fourth quarter.
But Karly Laney and Schrock each scored easy baskets after a patient offensive set to push it back to 12 with three minutes left.
Then Schrock, Karly Laney and Kayla Laney hit six free throws to seal the deal.
“It’s definitely a relief,” Kayla Laney said. “It’s one of those things where we can celebrate tonight but tomorrow it’s game time and you have to come to the floor ready and you’ve got to come with that mentality that we’re going to state and we need to leave it on the court. Every game is serious. This is it.
“Especially for the seniors, we don’t have another year. Monday we’ve got to come to the floor ready to go and ready to play.”
Last year’s experience may be a key for the Spartans to go farther than a fourth-place finish.
“I’m super excited,” Johnson said. “It’s flabber ghasting. Last year we were here but we didn’t really know what to expect at state and now we do. We’re all really, really excited to get back there.”
But their work is far from over.
“It’s not going to be easy at all,” Kayla Laney said. “All of these other teams are going to want it just as much as we do and they’re not going to be like, ‘Oh, hey, it’s Corvallis. Let’s let them win.’
“We wanted it so much and we wanted to get back to state because we want to be state champions, we want to win that game.”
Corvallis 54, Bend 44
BEND 8 10 14 12 — 44
CORVALLIS 23 9 12 10 — 54
Bend: Ali Friesen 15, Schatz 11, Taylor 9, Danforth 8, Penington 1, Evers, Whitehurst
Corvallis: Gabe Johnson 13, Kayla Laney 13, M. Redberg 9, Schrock 8, Kar. Laney 7, Gerner 2, Seitz 2, Adams, W. Redberg, McGowan
No comments:
Post a Comment