Finally healthy, Wilsonville is starting to look like a threat to make a run in the 5A girls basketball playoffs.
Slowed by injuries and illness, the Wildcats opened the season 2-8 against a tough nonleague schedule. By the time they started Northwest Oregon Conference play, they had only two practices with their top seven players from last summer.
Even coach Justin Duke missed two games with illness after sitting out one game in his previous 16 seasons.
“We had all sorts of things happen,” coach Duke “We've definitely gone through it.”
With its starting lineup returning to health, Wilsonville (11-9) has won nine of its last 10 games and risen to co-No. 5 in the OSAAtoday 5A coaches poll. The reigning conference champion Wildcats are 9-0 in the NWOC, winning by an average margin of 47.6 points per game, and hold a one-game lead over La Salle Prep (12-8, 8-1), a team they defeated 69-36 on Jan. 31.
“We're finally starting to get some time together and gel,” Duke said. “We're definitely trending in the right direction. We'd feel a lot better now about going back and competing against some of those teams that beat us.”
Payton Ratcliffe, a 6-foot-3 senior post, missed seven games with a medical issue and a concussion but has returned to play the last five games. Junior guard Kaia Hix (broken hand from soccer) also missed seven games. Senior guard Ryme Jaekel (illness) missed two games during the holiday break.
Backup post Ciana Hockensmith, a 6-1 senior, suffered an ankle injury in the second game and is out for the season.
As a result, Wilsonville has been woefully shorthanded at times. During the holiday break, Wildcats had six players available in games against nationally ranked Faith Family (Texas) and 6A No. 4 Willamette. Still, they led Willamette by seven points going into the fourth quarter before losing 63-53.
“We just ran out of gas,” Duke said. “It does give us the confidence that we can play with anybody if we're all healthy and there.”
Wilsonville is stocked with college-bound players in Ratcliffe (Point Loma), Jaekel (Portland State), junior guard Gabi Moultrie (Utah Valley) and senior guard Audrey Counts (Concordia Irvine). The Wildcats are averaging 65.4 points per game, second in 5A behind No. 1 Crater (71.3).
“We've got a lot of individual talent that can score,” Duke said. “We can score from the perimeter, we can score inside. We just needed some court time together to piece it all together.”
The 5-8 Moultrie is leading the team in scoring for the third consecutive season, putting up 20.3 points, and is among the state leaders in assists.
“She draws so much attention,” Duke said. “She often gets face-guarded by most of the opponents. She just continues to improve every year. She's always been a dynamic scorer, and her defense is really coming along.”
Wilsonville has three other players averaging in double figures in Counts (12.7), Ratcliffe (11.5) and Jaekel (10.1).
“We're able to do some things that maybe we couldn't do a year ago offensively because we have other players around Gabi that can hurt teams,” Duke said. “We don't have to have her force a bunch of shots. She doesn't have to score 30 points for us to win.”
Six of Wilsonville's losses came against 6A teams, including No. 3 Jefferson, No. 4 Willamette, No. 7 McMinnville and No. 8 West Linn. The Wildcats dropped two games to 5A No. 3 South Albany in December, falling 61-59 and 62-45.
“I'm so glad we played those teams,” Duke said. “We would have liked to have a marquee win against one of those great teams, but things just fell the way they did. We're improving. In the playoffs, we feel good about our chances.”
Wilsonville finished 20-8 last season, losing to Redmond in the 5A quarterfinals.
Pioneers pay back Salem Academy
No. 3 Western Christian moved into a first-place tie with No. 2 Salem Academy in the 2A Tri-River Conference on Tuesday with a 51-42 road win over the Crusaders.
With one conference game remaining for each team, the Pioneers (20-3, 14-1) and Crusaders (21-3, 14-1) appear headed toward a co-title. Salem Academy won at Western Christian 49-46 on Jan. 25.
In Tuesday's game, senior Runon Muroya had 19 points and four assists, freshman Kylie Sommer had 10 points and 10 rebounds and siophomore Kinsey Wark had eight points, six rebounds and three assists for the Pioneers.
“The ladies brought the focus and energy that was lacking the first meeting,” Western Christian coach Ben Brown said. “SA is an explosive team, so I was proud of the girls for staying disciplined throughout.”
Stayton tops Cascade
Senior Kenzi Hollenbeck had 15 points, 11 rebounds and five steals as No. 2 Stayton routed No. 4 Cascade 59-29 on Tuesday in a battle between two of the three teams tied for first place in the 4A Oregon West Conference.
Sophomore Kathryn Samek had 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals and three blocks for the Eagles (19-1, 5-1), who remain tied for first place with No. 1 Philomath (16-3, 5-1). Stayton has won both meetings over Cascade (13-5, 4-2) this season.
Saxons rally late
Sophomore guard Leah Ioane made two three-pointers in the final minute – her only points of the game – to propel South Salem to a crucial 51-49 home win over West Salem on Friday.
The Saxons (15-6, 5-1), who extended their winning streak to six games by beating McNary 54-46 on Tuesday, are tied for first place in the 6A Central Valley Conference with West Salem (11-10, 5-1).
South Salem trailed the Titans by seven points midway through the fourth quarter before rallying to take a 47-45 lead on a three-pointer by Ioane with 55 seconds left. After West Salem hit two free throws to tie, Ioane hit another triple to put the Saxons ahead 50-47 with 15 seconds to go.
Junior forward Brook Tate led South Salem with 17 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Senior wing Brez Schwalm added 10 points for the Saxons, who made up for a 55-37 loss at West Salem in the first round of conference play.
Baker gets even
Freshman guard Molly Rasmussen had 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks as No. 6 Baker won 56-53 at No. 5 La Grande on Friday to pull into a first-place tie with the Tigers in the 4A Greater Oregon League.
Junior Gracie Spike had eight points and senior Ashlyn Dalton added five points and 10 rebounds for Bulldogs (14-8, 4-1), who avenged a 60-55 home loss to La Grande (16-4, 4-1) on Jan. 24.
Baker turned a six-point halftime lead into a 15-point advantage after three quarters. La Grande cut the lead to five with 1:30 ledt, but the Bulldogs made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 30 seconds to clinch the win.
Crook County pads Tri-Valley lead
Crook County took a big step toward its first league title since 1992 by going on the road to beat The Dalles 39-35 in a 4A Tri-Valley Conference game Feb. 6. The Cowgirls (11-9, 6-0) own a two-game lead over The Dalles (14-5, 4-2) with four games remaining.
Junior Kacy Wiederholt scored 16 points and senior Chloe McKenzie had 12 points and 11 rebounds in the win over the Riverhawks. Hayden Decker added seven assists, six rebounds and four steals for Crook County.
In 2011, the Cowgirls earned the No. 1 seed in a three-team special district with Portland schools Marshall and Roosevelt. The same season, they played in a hybrid Intermountain Conference.
jerryu@osaa.org
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