By JOHN GUNTHER/for OSAAtoday
COOS BAY — Corbett’s girls basketball team lost in the final of the 3A tournament the past two years. Sisters Ally and Lilly Schimel weren’t about to let it happen again.
The two scored their team’s first 70 points and the Cardinals topped Amity 77-51 on Saturday night in the final of the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 3A tournament at Marshfield High School.
“We just wanted to come out hard,” said Ally, a senior and the older of the two. “This was really special to us.
“We really wanted to get our defense going. We didn’t know if we were going to make shots.”
It was immediately apparent there was no risk of that.
Both sisters had 10 points in the first five minutes as they built a 25-11 lead through one quarter and Ally’s 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer gave them an even 50.
It was obvious to both coaches quickly that they were going to have a big night.
“We haven’t had our best shooting in the finals the last two years,” said Corbett’s Bill Schimel, the father of the sisters. “Ally takes it personally.
“Once we saw those first few go in, there was no stopping them.”
“We ran into a buzz saw,” said Amity coach Jed McMullen. “They were determined.
“They lost in the last two finals and you could tell from the get-go they were having it again. Did they even miss in the first half?”
Yes, they missed some, but not many.
By the end of the game, Ally Schimel had set 3A tournament records with eight 3-pointers and 42 points. Lilly added six 3-pointers and 30 points. Together, they scored Corbett’s first 70 points and when Ella Holwege finally scored with 3:40 to go, it came on a pass from Lilly.
Ava Blatchford later added another 3-pointer for Corbett and the team’s 15 3s also was a single-game tournament record.
“That was a great team, with great shooting, and they were locked in tonight,” McMullen said.
Neither sister was aware they were doing all the scoring, but they knew they were in a groove.
“I was just feeling good tonight and she was, too,” Lilly said.
Holwege had a front row seat as her two best friends and longtime teammates lit up the nets and said it was fun to watch.
“I was so happy to see them making their shots, having smiles on their faces and the crowd getting into it,” she said.
“We don’t care who scores. We are just out there having fun.”
The Cardinals overwhelmed Amity early and led by as many as 30 in the first half.
“Our nerves got to us a little bit early on and they were hitting shots,” McMullen said.
But the Warriors started making some of their own, and their big crowd got into it, too, as they pulled within 20 a few times.
“There was a couple times I thought we might get it to a manageable spot,” McMullen said. “They kept burying shots.”
Corbett fulfilled a dream the Schimel sisters and Holwege have had since they were young. Corbett’s last girls basketball title was in 1987 and their last title in any sport was a boys basketball crown in 1995.
“I am so proud of this team,” Lilly said. “That was amazing.”
“It doesn’t even feel real,” added Holwege. “This is what we’ve been working for forever.
“We did it together. I couldn’t be happier.”
Bill Schimel was hugging or shaking hands with everyone in red after the game, a huge smile on his face the entire time.
“It’s a giant weight just lifted off us,” he said. “We had to earn it. It didn’t come easy.
“Their determination tonight — you saw it right away.”
The Cardinals finished an unbeaten season that saw them ranked No. 1 all year.
They did it with the three best friends and key reserve Malaya Cannon-Peterson, who have been playing together since they were young, and a whole bunch of recruits.
Blatchford and the team’s fifth starter, fellow senior Carly Hardie, were recruited by Ally and Holwege from the soccer team and have been playing just two years. Blatchford’s key sub as defensive stopper, Kai DeBruin, is a freshman.
In all, six of the players are seniors, including Emmalia Younker and Caroline Granberg, two more recruits who joined the team in the past few years.
“Now we have to dig up some more soccer players,” Bill Schimel said.
On the other side, Amity is a young squad that now should be hungry. The team has just two seniors and neither are starters.
Sophomore Alyssa McMullen led the team in the championship game with 14 points and Junior Saralynn Grove and sophomore Eliza Nisly added 13 points each.
“We bring almost everybody back,” Jed McMullen said. “We’ll be back here.”
He hopes the championship game loss drives his players like the previous two did Corbett.
“We need to get better,” he said. “Hopefully this builds a fire in them.”
Saturday's other trophy games:
Third place
Vale burst out to an 8-0 lead and never looked back while beating Sutherlin 49-26 in a game featuring two squads that lost semifinal games decided in the final seconds Friday.
Vale pestered the Bulldogs with its persistent pressure and shared the ball well leading to good looks.
Kesley Stepleton had 14 points, Halle Peterson 13 and Hailey Cleaver eight for the Vikings.
“We were out of gas — on empty,” Sutherlin coach Josh Grotting said. “Credit to Vale. They beat us in every aspect of the game.
“They had a tough loss last night, too. Maybe tougher than ours. They came back and did a super job.”
Addyson Clark had 10 points and Madison Wagner seven for Sutherlin.
Sutherlin lost in the semifinals for the third straight year. Vale’s current players had never been to the tournament and the team’s three seniors — Peterson, Cleaver and Kacie Jacobs — had to endure a few lean years after starting their career during the COVID pandemic.
“I’m happy for them to get that success,” Vale coach Randy Seals said. “It’s a reward for all their hard work.”
Fourth place
Banks, which won the title last year, beat Creswell 44-37 in a battle of tenacious defenses that featured numerous turnovers and a total of 12 jump-ball situations.
A 12-0 run that included back-to-back 3-pointers by sisters Jade and Jocelyn Janecek helped the Braves to a 33-22 lead through three quarters and Creswell was never able to get closer than six down.
Jocelyn Janecek, the team’s only returning starter, had 12 points and McKenna King 10 to lead Banks. Elliette Kinney had 15 points and Brooke Moehlmann eight for Creswell, which earned a trophy at state for the first time in a decade.
All-tournament teams
The all-tournament first team included the Schimel sisters, Amity twins Adie and Eliza Nisly and Sutherlin’s Clark.
The second team included Corbett’s Holwege, Vale’s Cleaver and Peterson, Nylah Vanthom of Banks and Creswell’s Dakota Carson.
Westside Christian won the sportsmanship trophy.
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