No. 4 Benson opened a season of high expectations with a 49-43 win at No. 6 Nelson in a 6A nonleague girls basketball game Friday night.
Sophomore post Jayla Lackey had 20 points and eight rebounds, senior forward Samarah Massey had 10 points and seven rebounds and junior Londyn Dyton added six points and eight rebounds for the Astros.
Benson led from the start, fending off several rallies by the Hawks, who were within two points in the fourth quarter. The Astros piled up points in transition and on the offensive glass.
“Our transition was great, and our defense was awesome,” Benson coach Precious Alex said. “We just kept pushing in transition. The pace was on our side. It worked in our favor, the quick pace.
“I challenged all my guards to get 10 rebounds. They almost made it. Everyone got seven or more.”
The game featured a match-up between dominant posts in Lackey and Nelson junior Love Forde, who scored a team-high 13 points. Both players battled foul trouble, and when Forde fouled out in the fourth quarter, Benson sealed the game by going inside to Lackey.
“We took advantage by getting Jayla the ball,” Alex said.
Dyton drew the assignment of defending Nelson junior sharpshooter Nylah Webster, who finished with five points.
“She played terrific defense on Nylah,” Alex said. “I told her that her job was not to shut her down, but just to contain her.”
Webster and her sister, Hawks freshman guard Payton Webster, are Alex's nieces. They are daughters of Alex's younger brother, former Portland Trail Blazer Martell Webster.
The Astros returned four starters from a team that went 21-5 and reached the 6A playoff round of 16. One of those starters, sophomore point guard Kyoko Solis-Beasley, came off the bench in Friday's game because she was on a minutes restriction after suffering a quadriceps injury a few weeks ago.
“I couldn't play her like I wanted to,” Alex said.
Benson is looking to build on last season.
“I just want them to know, last year was a good year for us, but let's take it up a notch and set our standards for a little better,”Alex said. “Let's make it further than we did. I don't want to set the bar too high and put a lot of pressure on them.”
Panthers roll on road
Senior guard Dyllyn Howell made seven three-pointers and scored 27 points to lead No. 3 South Medford to a 61-48 road win over co-No. 7 Beaverton in the 6A nonleague opener for both teams Friday night.
Howell connected on 7 of 10 shots from three-point range for the Panthers. Senior point guard Jordan Barlow had 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals and senior post Mayenabasi Akpan added 11 points and eight rebounds in the win.
“We had a great performance from our seniors,” South Medford coach Tom Cole said. “There were a lot of good things from kids who have been around a while. There was a lot of maturity.”
South Medford led by 14 points at half and extended the edge to nearly 30 points early in the fourth quarter. Cole liked how his team met the physical challenge of Beaverton.
“Playing a really good team out of the gate, after a long drive, it's a good learning experience,” he said. “It's a great opportunity for us to get back to the drawing board and hopefully get better from it.”
Akpan is returning to full strength after dealing with labrum issues in her shoulder during volleyball season. She was cleared to practice with the team last week.
“She's late getting into basketball mode,” Cole said. “There are a lot of variables with stamina and rhythm.”
Akpan, who has signed with San Diego, is among four Panthers committed to play in college. Howell and Barlow are headed to Sacramento State and senior guard Malia Taulani is going to Division II Metro State (Colo.).
“There's certainly some talent,” Cole said of his team. 'We have a group of seniors who have been part of a lot of meaningful games. Our challenge is how to develop depth when we have some adversity.”
South Medford, the 2024 state champion, went 22-6 and lost in the state quarterfinals last season.
Bailey shoots down 4A mark
Cottage Grove senior point guard Mariah Bailey set a 4A record by making nine three-pointers in the team's season-opening 61-27 win at Newport on Wednesday.
The 5-6 Bailey shot 9 of 19 from three-point range and finished with 33 points, six steals, five assists and three rebounds. She broke the previous 4A record of eight three-pointers, set by Mariah Stacona of Madras in 2015.
Bailey followed up Friday by making three three-pointers and scoring 25 points as the Lions defeated visiting Scio 55-25. In both games, she took advantage of zone defenses.
“She's got a pretty quick trigger, but mostly she's just got great shooting form,” Cottage Grove first-year coach Kim Beer said. “It's probably as good as I've seen with the girls. She's mostly catch-and-shoot, but she can do it off the dribble. We have plays set up for her to catch and shoot.”
Makya Alsup, a 6-0 senior post, scored 18 points in each of the two wins for Cottage Grove. Bailey and Alsup have accounted for 94 of the Lions' 116 points so far.
Last season, Cottage Grove went 7-5 through nonleague play but finished the season with 12 consecutive losses in the Sky-Em League.
jerryu@osaa.org
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