BEAVERTON – The last three seasons, Valley Catholic came within one game of making the 3A girls basketball tournament, only to lose on the road against state powers in the round of 16.
Saturday, the sixth-seeded Valiants returned to the brink, only this time with a more favorable match-up at home. They delivered with a 45-36 win over No. 11 Taft to punch their ticket to the eight-team tournament in Coos Bay.
“It means so much,” Valley Catholic coach Pat Thomas said. “The last three years we went to Amity, to Sutherlin, to Amity, and that was no fun. All we wanted was a winnable game. Home game was a bonus. The kids have wanted to go to Coos Bay for four years.”
Senior guard Brooke Wilson scored a game-high 13 points, hitting three three-pointers, and senior post Emmee Kinder added nine points for the Valiants (21-5). They will play No. 3 Banks (21-4) in the quarterfinals March 5.
The last time Valley Catholic earned a spot in the final eight was in 4A in 2020, but the COVID outbreak wiped out the tournament. The Valiants, who start four seniors and one junior, savored their achievement.
“It's been a long time coming,” Wilson said. “It feels good to be a senior and finally going there. Everyone's been working so hard for this. Fully believing that we belong in Coos Bay really pushed us forward today.”
Taft fell short in its bid to return to the quarterfinals. Tigers all-league senior guard Laney Lee scored a team-high 12 points before fouling out with 5:04 left in the game. Junior Olivia-Kate Davis added 10 points for the Tigers.
To get past Taft (19-9), Valley Catholic had to deal with an imposing Tigers frontline of the 6-foot-1 Davis and 6-0 sophomore Aida Lupo, With Davis and Lupo shutting down the paint, the Valiants countered by making eight three-pointers, getting three from Wilson, two each from senior Ava Henry and freshman Rachel Pippin and one from junior Mia Verzani.
“Being able to drive and kick it out opened up opportunities,” said senior guard Calista Everson, the Lewis & Clark League player of the year. “Their defense was good but we were able to knock them down on the outside.”
It took a while for the Valiants to warm up from behind the arc. They made one three-pointer in the first quarter and trailed 7-6.
“I felt like the first quarter, we got a lot of great shots that didn't go in,” Thomas said. “We shoot it pretty well, but this is the playoffs. I kept telling them if we get good shots, they're going to go in. Second half, our kids kept shooting it with confidence. Our biggest kid is 5-9, maybe, so we've got to make our outside shots.”
Taft rallied from down seven points to pull even at 25-25 in the third quarter, but Valley Catholic outscored the Tigers 16-4 in the next seven minutes to lead 41-29 with 6:52 left in the game. Kinder had a three-point play and Wilson and Henry dropped three-pointers during the surge.
When the Tigers closed within 41-34 with 4:20 left, Wilson answered with another triple to give the Valiants some breathing room at 44-34 with 3:38 on the clock.
Wilson said Valley Catholic knew that three-point shooting was going to be a big X-factor Saturday.
“The pressure was on a tad bit more today,” Wilson said. “I think it was just not putting too much pressure on it, letting it come with me, and letting the shots fall when they fall, not getting too much in my head. Just keeping with it.”
Playoff success is nothing new for Everson, an all-state soccer player who has played in three soccer state finals, winning a title as a freshman. But she said making the basketball state tournament with her classmates is “super special” for her.
“This group has been the backbone to our team,” Everson said. “I'm just so proud of us for fighting through everything. All the adversity we've gone through, it means so much. After almost making it every single year in soccer, it's been my goal to make it to Coos Bay in basketball all these years.”
The Valiants face a tall task against Banks. The Braves won at Valley Catholic 46-25 on Dec. 15.
“I don't think that's going to deter us whatsoever,” Wilson said. “I think we're going to give them a run for their money. As soon as we get down there, I think we're definitely going to dial in and let Banks know that we're also there to compete with them.”
jerryu@osaa.org
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