Coach Schofield and his #5 OSAA ranked Lady Bruin basketball team stepped on the hardwood Thursday afternoon as the 3A State Championship Tournament got underway at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay. On the other side of the court stood the #4 OSAA ranked Willamina Lady Bulldogs coming off a 50-31 win over Cascade Christian last Friday evening.
Both teams started quickly off the tip as the Lady Bulldogs ran to the paint to take advantage of their six foot one-inch center, junior Kallie Schoenbachler. But the Lady Bruins last two match-ups featured opponents with a distinct height advantage in the middle only to have his 2-3 trap defense nullify it by disrupting the opponents’ offensive ability to establish a half-court offense and eliminating easy fast-break baskets and cheap fouls.
The Lady Bruin defense allowed only two Lady Bulldogs on the scoreboard in the first led by Willamina junior guard Kera Rankin #12 who hit for 6 of the Lady Bulldogs 8 points in the first. But the Lady Bruin senior guards Avana Pettus #10 and Sidney Alexander #11, who had 5 Lady Bruin points in the first 5 minutes of play, both carried the Lady Bruins in the first hitting 3 pointers and combining for 8 of the Lady Bruins 10 first quarter points.
With a 10-8 Bruin lead going into the second the Lady Bulldogs drove into the lane and passed over the top of the Lady Bruin defense to get to the hoop forcing the Lady Bruins to foul. The Lady Bulldogs were 6 of 8 from the line for 6 of their 14 second quarter points.
The Lady Bruins were relentless on offense and wasted no time pushing the ball to beat the Lady Bulldogs defense to the basket. Lexi Schofield #1 led all Lady Bruin scorers in the second period with 8 points in the period. But again senior guard Sidney Alexander rose up from behind the arc and buried two big 3 pointers before junior forward Shelby Jirsa sunk a 25 foot buzzer beater as time clicked off of the first half of play.
With a 6 point lead going into the second half of play 28-22, the Lady Bruins, notorious for low energy after the break, came out aggressive and on point in the third. The 2-3 man-trap defense was in full force holding the Lady Bulldogs to just 5 third quarter points, but the Lady Bruins knew they needed to score to keep the pressure on Willamina going into the fourth period. Senior guard Avana Pettus #10 hit a bucket and went 2 for 3 from the line for 4 of the Lady Bruins 9 points in the fourth extending their lead to 10 points 37-27 with just 8:00 minutes left to play.
With a 10 point lead and control of the tempo, the Lady Bruins dared the Lady Bulldogs to challenge the outside shot, and then drove into the paint for the foul. Lexi Schofield #1 hit a 3 pointer and a basket and went 3 for 4 from the line as the Lady Bruins got to the line 12 times going 9 for 12 and added 16 more points to the scoreboard to take the 53-37 win to advance to the next round.
Talking with Coach Schofield after the game he told us “Girls were Rock solid today…Defensively, we really clamped down in the second half. We committed too many fouls in the first half so we adjusted because we believed it would be a key for us in the second half. Our pressure defense really factored in and they really struggled to string together good shots against us. Late in the game we kept up the pressure and their legs seemed to wilt as the game went on and we were able to keep the tempo up.”
The Lady Bruins now move on to a next round match-up against the #1 OSAA ranked Clatskanie Tigers riding a 9 game winning streak and a 60-47 win over $8 OSAA ranked Harrisburg Eagles. The Lady Bruins are expecting a big, talented and well coached Lady Eagle team in their 1:30pm match-up Friday afternoon (today).
