Milwaukie senior point guard Cali Denson is finishing her high school career on a high note.
In a 51-point performance against Parkrose on Feb. 26, the 5-foot-8 Denson set a state record for three-pointers made (14) and tied the mark for points in a half (36). She broke the school record of 46 points that she established as a freshman.
She followed that game by making 10 three-pointers and scoring 36 points as the Mustangs (13-11) won at La Salle Prep 56-49 on Feb. 28. Prior to her hot streak, players had made at least 10 three-pointers in a game seven times in state history.
Denson made 14 of 29 shots from three-point range against Parkrose and was 10 of 17 from behind the arc against La Salle Prep.
“She's been on a tear,” said Milwaukie coach Michael White, her father. “And it was all while she had like two or three people on her. It was just nuts, just crazy.”
Denson's 14 three-pointers against Parkrose broke the previous state mark of 11, held by Franklin's Shoni Schimmel (2009), Hillsboro's Kylie Fernstrom (2020) and Sutherlin's Kiersten Haines (2020). Her 36-point half tied for the record with Philomath's Sage Kramer (2022) and Grant's Cindy Brown (1982).
Denson's 51-point outburst in the 88-24 win over Parkrose marks the 18th time a player has reached the half-century mark in state history. She hit 51 points midway through the fourth quarter and was well within range of the state record of 56, set by Brown in 1982, but dialed back her offense the rest of the way for the shorthanded Mustangs.
“I slowed her down,” White said. “I was like, 'You're so close to the record, you probably should do it,' but it was like, 'Nah, just hold off, it's fine.' She just kind of facilitated a little bit.”
Denson is averaging 24.1 points per game for the Mustangs, who play at Willamette in the round of 16 on Saturday. She is up to 2,284 career points, passing Brown (2,278) to move into No. 6 on the state's all-time list.
The top five are Triangle Lake's Kiana Brown (2,894), Westview's Jaime Nared (2,485), St. Helens' Maddie Holm (2,484), Philomath's Trisha Stevens (2,483) and Gaston's Sheri Van Loo (2,306).
Kramer reaches milestone
Philomath's Sage Kramer, a 5-11 senior guard, surpassed the 2,000-point mark in a nonleague loss to Ridgeview on Feb. 25.
Kramer scored 33 points to hike her career total to 2,004, making her the 22nd player to reach the plateau. She is averaging 24.0 points per game this season for the Warriors (18-4), who play host to Henley on Friday in the 4A round of 16.
jerryu@osaa.org
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