South Salem was barely a blip on the radar screen of girls basketball contenders entering this season. The Saxons not only didn't crack the top 10 in the OSAAtoday 6A preseason coaches poll, but they received just one vote.
Through 12 games, South Salem is starting to command attention. The Saxons are 11-1, their only loss against a Washington team, and they have climbed to No. 8 in the coaches poll. Despite their success, they remain a wild card considering they have played only four Oregpn 6A teams, all of them currently unranked.
“I would love to go against any other top-10 team in the state, just to see where we're at,” South Salem coach Adrian Lewis said. “The coaches polls and other social media don't really give us the respect we think we deserve. We kind of use that as motivation. We're dominating when we should, winning when we should.”
Last season, the Saxons went 18-9 and shared the Central Valley Conference title with West Salem. A 65-31 loss at Jefferson in the 6A playoff round of 16 revealed the gap between them and the state's top teams.
They came into this season ready to shrink that gap. They brought back senior forwards Brook Tate (5-11) and Emma Burlison (5-10) – fourth-year starters and CVC first-team picks last season – as well as junior guard Leah Ioane (5-6). And they added senior point guard Chica Casas (5-4), a transfer from West Salem, where she was first-team all-CVC and the conference defensive player of the year.
“With Chica coming in, that just adds a lot more experience,” Lewis said. “She's given us calmness and stability on both ends. It's just kind of putting the pieces together. I think we've done that.”
Burlison (14.9 points, 6.0 rebounds) and Tate (13.5 points, 6.8 rebounds) lead South Salem in scoring and rebounding. Casas fills up the stat sheet, averaging 7.2 points, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals.
“She's incredible to watch out there,” Lewis said of Casas. “She's the only one I let play the whole game because she does so much on both ends and she never gets tired. It doesn't even look like she's breathing hard.
“The cool thing about Chica is it looks like she's been at South for four years. She's blended well with the girls. We want her to be more aggressive.”
Burlison and Casas are tied for the team lead in three-pointers with 16. Senior guard Frankie Hamill has made 11 three-pointers, with nine coming in the last three games.
South Salem won its eight-team bracket in the Capitol City Classic Dec. 19-22, defeating 4A No. 8 Cascade 59-53 in double overtime in the semifinals and 3A No. 2 Amity 55-37 in the final. Against Cascade, Burlison hit a tying three-pointer at the fourth-quarter buzzer.
The Saxons hold two road wins over teams that have appeared in the 6A top 10 this season, beating Century 59-45 in their opener and Oregon City 39-37 on Jan. 6.
According to Lewis, their most complete games are the win over Amity and a 75-40 home rout of 5A Caldera on Friday. In the latter, Burlison scored 22 points and Casas racked up 16 points, nine assists and five steals.
South Salem is most improved on defense, limiting opponents to 41.3 points per game, down from 47.6 last season.
“When we play to our potential, we're pretty scary,” Lewis said. “I think we're a top-five defensive team in Oregon. It's our offense at times that stalls, but I'd rather that happen than the other way around.”
Lewis said it is his best South Salem team since 2020, when the Saxons reached the 6A semifinals before the state tournament was canceled due to the COVID outbreak.
“I see a lot of similarities,” he said. “That COVID team was a little bit taller, but this team is a little bit quicker and faster.”
Mid-Willamette showdown
No. 5 West Albany struck a key blow in what promises to be a hotly contested race in the 5A Mid-Willamette Conference with a 40-34 win at No. 4 South Albany on Friday.
Junior guard Payton Starwalt had 14 points, three assists and four steals, junior guard Natalie Tidwell had nine points, nine rebounds and four steals and junior forward Lola Chamberlain added six points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs (7-4, 3-0). Senior guard Taylor Donaldson put up 21 points for the RedHawks (8-2, 2-1).
“My team played with a ton of passion and heart,” West Albany coach Shawn Stinson said. “It was a rough offensive game for us, but an inspiring defensive performance.”
Tidwell made three three-pointers and Starwalt hit two three-pointers for West Albany. Like most teams, South Albany concentrated much of its defense on the sharpshooting Starwalt.
“Payton Starwalt has taken a focused team effort from our opponents and has continued to perform at a high level,” Stinson said. “Her teammates are continually developing and getting better at learning how to combat this type of effort.”
Last season, West Albany handed South Albany its only conference loss. The RedHawks rebounded to win their next 18 games before falling to Crater in the 5A final.
No. 1 Regis repels No. 2 Western Christian
No. 1 Regis took control early and held on for a 45-41 win at No. 2 Western Christian in a pivotal 2A Tri-River Conference game Friday.
The Rams (11-0, 3-0) led 13-3 after one quarter, 23-12 at half and were up by 13 points early in the third quarter. The Pioneers (9-2, 2-1) rallied to cut the lead to two points in the final minute of the game, but Regis freshman guard Lexi Lulay sealed the win by making two free throws for a four-point lead with 15 seconds to go.
Senior post Hadley Foster and freshman guard Frankie Koehnke scored 12 points each to lead Regis. Lulay and senior point guard Clara Persons added nine and eight points, respectively.
Junior Kinsey Wark made four three-pointers and scored 14 points to lead Western Christian. Junior Allison Chastain and freshman Lola Brown each scored 10 points.
jerryu@osaa.org
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