COOS BAY — Amity’s girls were riding high as defending state champions when they met Vale at a tournament in Salem back on Jan. 3 and lost to the Vikings 31-27.
The Warriors avenged that loss on the biggest stage Saturday, beating the Vikings 47-44 in the championship game of the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 3A State Championships at Marshfield High School.
“It gave us extra momentum for this game,” Amity senior Lyli Rideout said. “After that loss, we had to learn a lot about ourselves.
“It’s all right to lose the first one if you win the second, especially if it’s this one.”
Rideout and her five senior teammates were able to celebrate back-to-back titles after Amity held off a furious comeback in the final moments by the Vikings, who entered as the top-ranked team based on their earlier win against Amity and a regular season that saw their only loss coming to Henley, one of the teams playing in the upcoming 4A tournament.
“We made that hard on ourselves,” Amity coach Jed McMullen said, after watching his team go from up eight with just over a minute left to almost tied when a wild shot by Vale’s Kesley Stepleton in the final seconds was just a two-point basket because one of her feet was just inside the 3-point line.
Haley Miersma made a pair of free throws for the final margin after Stepleton’s shot that capped a 9-0 run by the Vikings.
Until then, Amity looked comfortably in position to coast to its second straight title.
McMullen was left breathing a sigh of relief and complimenting the Vikings.
“That’s a phenomenal team,” he said. “Great kids, coached well. They work hard. They don’t quit. My hat’s off to them.”
Vale coach Randy Seals wasn’t surprised by his team’s late rally, only disappointed it wasn’t quite enough.
“That’s what they do,” he said. “They never give up. They just kept battling, got a few shots to drop, got a few turnovers.
“I wanted it so bad for them. They’ve worked so hard. It just didn’t turn out.”
Until the final moments, Amity had been in front most of the game, stifling the Vikings with its tough defense and getting enough offense, especially from twins Adie and Eliza Nisly.
Eliza Nisly’s drive to the hoop with 2:21 to go gave Amity a 44-34 lead and the margin stayed there until Brooklyn Maag had a rebound bucket for the Vikings with 1:11 to go.
Then Stepleton had a steal and a bucket with just under a minute to go to trim the lead to 44-38 and Amity missed a pair of free throws and Izzy Maag scored inside while being fouled with 29 seconds to go. She missed the free throw, but Amity’s lead was down to four points.
A few seconds later Miersma hit one of two free throws, but missed the second and Vale raced the ball downcourt for another bucket by Izzy Maag and the lead was down to three.
Amity missed two more free throws with 15 seconds to go, leading to Stepleton’s shot that almost tied the game.
Miersma hit the final two free throws, Vale wasn’t able to get a good shot off and Amity was celebrating a second straight title.
“It’s crazy,” Miersma said. “Just being able to do it with the seniors I love. I couldn’t ask for a better group of girls.”
All five Amity starters — Miersma, the Nisly twins, Alyssa McMullen and Kyle Wilson — along with Rideout, are seniors who were key parts of last year’s team as well.
They also had a chance in the fall to lead Amity to its first girls soccer title and the first-ever title by a public school in the 3A-2A-1A classification, when they beat Valley Catholic.
“It’s crazy — three championships in a row — and it’s all the same girls,” Rideout said.
“I don’t even know what to think,” Alyssa McMullen said. “I’m so excited. I just love my team so much.”
Amity put itself in position for the victory with its typical relentless defense, which stymied the Vikings much of the night.
“Defense wins championships,” Miersma said. “That’s what our coach always says.”
Amity held Vale to nine points in the first quarter, 10 in the second and 13 in the third.
But because the Vikings also thrive on defense, Amity never had a particularly large lead and led by just eight heading into the final quarter.
But Amity was in front, making Vale play from behind, because of offensive contributions from multiple players.
The Nisly twins led the way, with Adie scoring 16 points with two 3-pointers and Eliza added 13, mostly from inside. Rideout also had two huge 3-pointers and seven points and McMullen added five. All of Miersma’s four points came at the line, but they were huge as well.
“It’s a team game,” Miersma said. “We all contribute to the offense.”
Still, every Amity player referred first to the team’s defense.
“Our defense was great again tonight,” Alysssa McMullen said. “We were so resilient tonight. Our mental confidence from freshman year to this year is so much better.”
Most of the seniors were part of a team that reached the tournament as freshmen, placing fourth, and reached the title game as sophomores before winning the past two years. Miersma actually won her third basketball title, having been part of Western Christian’s champion 2A team as a sophomore.
“You can’t say enough about them,” Jed McMullen said of the seniors. “It’s a special group. I’ve coached them since kindergarten.
“I am so blessed to be able to ride their coat tails on a couple of championships.”
While disappointed with the outcome, Seals tipped his hat to Amity for doing what it needed to do to win another title.
“Amity executed well,” he said. “They hit shots they didn’t hit against us earlier in the year. That’s what champions do. They make shots.”
Vale was trying for a title after just missing the championship game the past two years. Counting Saturday, the Vikings have lost three games in three years at the tournament by a combined total of seven points.
“I’m really proud of the girls,” Seals said.
Stepleton led Vale with 20 points and also grabbed 14 rebounds. Izzy Maag added 10 points.
Like Amity, Vale was a senior-heavy roster, including all five starters — Stepleton, Izzy Maag, Elli Jacobs, Bailey Blake and Karlee Crane.
And while Amity had a huge and vocal crowd, Vale also had a big and loud fan base, especially considering how much farther the Viking faithful had to travel.
“I want to thank the fans for making the 9-hour trip here and thank the Coos Bay and North Bend communities,” Seals said. “They are making memories for the girls.”
THIRD PLACE
BANKS 55, CRESWELL 23: The Braves shook off the disappointment of a semifinal loss to Vale by seizing control early and running away from Creswell.
“I’m proud of them for playing so well in what I think is the hardest game to play in in this tournament,” Banks coach Nick Rizzo said. “They played their hearts out.”
The Braves overwhelmed Creswell with their pressure, forcing the Bulldogs into 19 first-half turnovers and 30 for the game.
Creswell didn’t score until nearly five minutes into the game and by that time Banks led 11-0. The Braves were up 16-6 after one quarter and shut out the Bulldogs in the second, building a 28-6 halftime lead. Creswell shot just 1-for-14 from the floor in the first half and 4-for-30 for the game.
“They did their traditional locking down on defense,” Rizzo said.
Clarissa Shurts had a game-high 20 points for the Braves and Nylah Vanthom added 10. Emily Graham, the team’s only senior starter, had six points and seven rebounds.
“I’m super proud of my team,” she said. “I love them so much. I’m really proud of everyone and how they battled back.”
The Braves were their typical extremely tough on defense. And they did well pushing the ball on offense.
“We were having fun,” Graham said, explaining one sometimes forgotten key to success.
Mila Nguyen had 11 points to lead the Bulldogs.
Creswell coach Tyler Hollingsworth said the Bulldogs didn’t handle the Banks pressure early and gave up too many easy baskets off turnovers.
“I wish we would have handled it better,” Hollingsworth said. “We didn’t get out of our little funk and the pressure kept mounting and mounting.”
He was pleased, however, with his team’s effort.
“I don’t think they quit fighting, which is awesome,” Hollingsworth said.
FOURTH PLACE
VALLEY CATHOLIC 59, SISTERS 36: The Valiants used transition offense and tough defense to build an early lead and stayed out front.
“What a game,” Valley Catholic coach Pat Thomas said. “I told them at halftime, often coaches talk about making adjustments. We didn’t change anything.
“That’s the first time we’ve played like ourselves down here.”
The Valiants led 12-6 through one quarter and scored 22 points in the second.
They got 3-pointers by Katelyn Sheridan, Brooke Wilson and Rachel Pippin in the quarter. Pippin’s gave the Valiants a 34-17 lead and Valley Catholic led 34-19 at the half, in part because of 14 forced turnovers.
Thomas said Valley Catholic was worn down in a quarterfinal loss to Banks, and though the Valiants beat Pleasant Hill in the consolation semifinals, they were tired from the night before and didn’t play like themselves.
“I told them we were going to play better today,” he said. “That’s how we play. We transitioned well and we made shots.”
Pippin finished with 14 points, Emmee Kinder added 11 points and nine rebounds, Calista Everson had nine points and Sheridan scored eight. Wilson, Kinder, Ava Henry and Everson, all starters, had lost in the playoff round one game short of the state tournament the past three season.
“My four seniors, it’s maybe the best class I’ve ever coached,” Thomas said. “They wanted to get down here so bad. Fourth place for these kids is so great.”
While Valley Catholic has been a mainstay at the tournament, Sisters was at the final site for the first time, and got a chance to take home a trophy, which coach Kevin Cotner had said was his biggest goal this week.
“Just to be here, these girls have blazed a path, set a new standard for girls basketball at Sisters,” Cotner said.
As for Saturday’s game, he said the Outlaws couldn’t keep up with Valley Catholic’s deep bench.
“I think we just ran out of gas today,” he said. “(Valley Catholic) is so deep,. Running eight or nine girls out there.”
Maddie Durham had 11 points to lead the outlaws and Audrey Corcoran added seven.
ALL TOURNAMENT
First Team: Kesley Stepleton, sr, Vale (unanimous); Eliza Nisly, sr, Amity; Elli Jacobs, sr, Vale; Clarissa Shurts, jr, Banks; Adie Nisly, sr, Amity.
Second Team: Nylah Vanthom, jr, Banks; Alyssa McMullen, sr, Amity; Bailey Blake, sr, Vale; Calista Everson, sr, Valley Catholic; Elliette Kinney, sr, Creswell.
Sportsmanship: Pleasant Hill.
dorklefin2003@yahoo.com
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