One of the more notable transitions in Oregon girls basketball this year is happening at Central Catholic.
Sandy Dickerson has stepped down as coach after going 492-211 in 27 seasons. She has been replaced by Garold Howe, who most recently coached the boys team at Union of Vancouver
Under Dickerson, the Rams won 14 Mt. Hood Conference titles and made 26 state playoff appearances, reaching the quarterfinals 12 times. They made the state final twice, losing in 2005 and winning the 6A title in 2013.
It became difficult for Dickerson to perform her coaching duties last season, though, after she suffered a herniated disc last winter. She plans to undergo surgery in late July.
“It's kind of kept me from being mobile,” she said. “Coaching this year was really a struggle. I couldn't have done summer this year. The pain is pretty intense.”
Stepping down as coach also will allow Dickerson to spend more time with her daughter, Parker-Simone Kirkpatrick, who will be a freshman at Central Catholic this year. Kirkpatrick does not play basketball but plans to run cross country.
“That had a big impact,” said Dickerson, an assistant coach in cross country.
Dickerson was a standout high school runner at Springfield, taking third at state in the 3,000 meters in 1979. She helped Lane Community College win back-to-back national cross country titles, claiming the individual championship in her second year.
She graduated from Oregon and began her career in education and coaching. In basketball, she was the head coach at Valley Catholic for two seasons and assisted at Aloha, La Salle Prep, Jesuit and Central Catholic before taking over as the Rams head coach in 1999-2000.
Her 2013 Central Catholic team was one of the best in state history. It featured forward Kailee Johnson and guard Jordan Reynolds, who went on to college careers at Stanford and Tennessee, respectively.
“In every game, somebody else stepped up,” Dickerson said. “Once you add a couple all-Americans to your team, it's amazing what you can do. It's amazing what a great coach you are when you have a couple all-Americans.”
The Rams were a perennial state power, in one stretch winning at least 20 games in 12 of 13 seasons. They struggled in recent years, though, going 65-74 in the last six seasons. They went 12-13 in 2025-26.
“COVID really set us back quite a few years,” Dickerson said. “The wheels fell off. Kids were missing so much time. Most of our kids don't play club ball. They didn't go touring during those times.
“So coming back off of it, we were a step behind. And once you're a step behind, sometimes you don't get some of those kids that you're looking for because they go somewhere else.”
The job of rejuvenating the program now falls to Howe. He assisted the Warner Pacific University men's team for 11 seasons and spent the last three seasons at Union, compiling a 38-33 record. He is active at the club level, serving as a coach and trainer for Oregon Top Prospects.
“He's going to be great. He's amazing,” Dickerson said. “We had a two-hour talk, and it was great. I'm excited for the program to flourish. I'm going to do some stuff in the background and try to help him a little bit.”
Dickerson will continue teaching in the wellness/PE department and assisting in cross country at Central Catholic. As for coaching basketball again, she didn't rule it out.
“Hopefully I'll be healthy enough to do more biking and running again, and just take care of me for a little while,” she said. “Once I get healthy, you never know.”
jerryu@osaa.org
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