Techsters show off again during PIL Classic

PORTLAND - The expected offensive show by the Benson girls basketball team showed up Thursday in the first round of the inaugural PIL Holiday Classic - eventually.
After being stuck on 14 points midway through the second quarter, the sixth-ranked Techsters raced past No. 3 South Medford for a 54-34 win at Franklin High School.
Junior Tayler Lyday had 16 points, seven assists and seven rebounds to lead Benson, which will play Camas, Wash., in the semifinals of the eight-team tournament Friday night at 5:15 p.m.
No. 8 Sheldon of Eugene will play Kentridge, Wash., in the other semifinal at 7 p.m.
Camas won a battle with No. 5 Tigard, 40-35, hitting 6 of 12 3-point shots as the difference.
Sheldon held off Grant, 58-53, in a game that featured 69 free throws, and the Generals rallying from a 14-point deficit to within two points in the final two minutes.
Kentridge's height and solid play overwhelmed Forest Grove, 60-26, holding the Vikings to just 10 points in the second half.

SHELDON 58, GRANT 53
In the tournament opener, Sheldon cruised to a 27-13 lead in the second quarter and appeared to have the game in hand - even their players admitted that afterward. But, behind junior Daryn Hickok, the Generals mounted comeback after comeback before the Irish survived at the final buzzer.
Junior Fallon Hanson led Sheldon with 19 points, hitting 12 of 19 shots from the line. Senior Macie Reinen added 15 points and five steals, and sophomore Aly Mirabile had 11 points and four rebounds. But, the trio also accounted for 17 turnovers, which helped keep scrappy Grant in the game.
Hickok, a 5-foot-10 guard, found space behind the Sheldon press time and again for lay-ups that cut the Irish lead to 32-22 at the half, then as close as 53-51 with 44 seconds left. But, with the Sheldon shooters suddenly going cold at the line - just 10 of 17 in the fourth quarter, the Generals couldn't take advantage. Trailing by just a basket, the Irish managed offensive rebounds on sucsessive free-throw misses, causing Hickok to look toward the ceiling and mutter "can we please get a rebound?" Eventually Sheldon found its touch and the game ended routinely.
Marin Leonard added 10 points for the Generals, who hit 20 of 28 free-throw attempts. Grant dropped to 4-2.
Sheldon, which improved to 5-1, made 27 of 41 free-throw attempts, although it hit 17 of its first 24.
Both teams finished with 21 turnovers.

CAMAS 40, TIGARD 35
The Papermakers led for most of the game, but also struggled with turnovers - finishing with 15 to just seven for Tigard. But, Camas had seven players who scored to just five for Tigard, and that simple depth played a significant role after Tigard junior post Dani Lyons went out with an ankle injury midway through the third quarter and did not return.
Senior Courtney Clemmer finished with 10 points and nine rebounds to lead Camas, which also got seven points from junior Haley Hanson, and seven points from top reserve Jordan Wilds, a senior.
Junior Paige LaFountain had 11 points, and junior Campbell Gray added 10 points to lead Tigard, which dropped to 5-3.

BENSON 54, SOUTH MEDFORD 34
The Techsters played without normal starting point guard, junior Ciera Ellington, who is out with a hamstring strain, but that was merely a speed bump once Lyday, a 6-foot-1 guard, took control against a team that features seven freshmen, one sophomore and a junior.
Benson's post combo of 6-2 junior Imani Harris and 6-foot sophomore Aujae Yoakum combined for 20 points and 18 rebounds, a tally that limited by Harris hitting just 2 of 10 free-throw attempts.
Benson, which improved to 3-0, shot 21-of 53 from the field, to just 12-of-44 for South, and made five 3-pointers to none for the Panthers, who dropped to 4-2.
Freshman Bella Pedrojetti had 10 points and eight rebounds to lead South, which also got eight points and eight rebounds from Shakia Perry.
Both Lyday and junior guard Makenzy Porter, who hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points, played all 32 minutes for Benson.

KENTRIDGE 60, FOREST GROVE 26
The Chargers, the defending Class 4A state champions from Kent, Wash., dominated the game behind the scoring trio of sophomore Jordyn Jenkins, sophomore Dayla Ballena and senior Tresai McCarver, who combined for 40 points. They also combined for 14 rebounds, 12 assists and 17-of-27 shooting from the field.
Leading 46-16 at the half, Kentridge won the third quarter 10-0.
Junior JaQuaya Miller added with points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Sophomore post Olivia Grosse tallied eight points and seven rebounds to lead Forest Grove, which was coming off a 71-19 win over McKay Friday. The Vikings dropped to 4-2.

Central Catholic meets Norcross for Shootout title

LAKE OSWEGO - Central Catholic wanted to make a statement about its game to the rest of Oregon this weekend, and the Rams did with a 56-47 win over Oregon City Saturday in the semifinals of the Nike Interstate Shootout at Lake Oswego High.

Next, they get a shot at making a statement to the nation as they'll face national power Norcross, Ga., in the final Sunday at 6:30 p.m.

Norcross, pressed to perform in their first two games, pulled away from a 27-20 lead over Clackamas to 31 at the end of three quarters on the way to 82-45 their victory.

The start time got moved from 8 p.m. to accomodate the Lady Blues and their travel plans.

Diamond DeShields had 20 points and Shayla Cooper added 17 to lead Norcross.

Kailee Johnson scored 21 and Jordan Reynolds added 20 to lead Central Catholic. The Rams played in a tournament in Arizona a week ago and lost two of three games, but returned to Oregon motivated to show off what they learned in those three games.

"We definitely wanted to make a statement here," Reynolds said. "Beating Oregon City did that, now we really want to win the tournament."

In other games:
A night after tough losses, Tigard and Westview showed plenty of energy in winning at the Nike Interstate Shootout Saturday at Lake Oswego High.

Tigard held South Salem to one point in the first quater and five points in the first half on the way to a 43-18 win.

Westview, which lost a heartbreaker to Norcross, Ga., in the quarterfinals, outscored Metro League rival Beaverton 22-2 in the first quarter on the way to a convincing 50-41 victory.

Tigard and Westview will meet Sunday at 1 p.m. in the fourth-place final of the 16-team tournament.
South Salem and Beaverton, which both won their first-round games, meet at 8 p.m. in the second of Lake Oswego High's two gyms. One of the teams will wind up at 1-3 for the tournament.

The Les Schwab Bracket final pitting Hermiston against West Salem is set for 8 p.m. in the main gym.

Norcross keeps Georgia alive

LAKE OSWEGO - Facing another deficit in the fourth quarter, the Lady Blues from Norcross, Ga., found a way to move past Westview and into the semifinals of the Nike Interstate Shootout Friday at Lake Oswego High School.

Diamond DeShields scored a game-high 24 points and Shayla Cooper had 18, inluding six big free throws in the closing moments as Norcross outscored Westview 12-6 to close the game on the way to a 60-55 victory.

The win puts Norcross into the semifinals, where it will play Clackamas Saturday at 8 p.m.

Oregon City and Central Catholic will play in the other semifinal at 6:30 p.m.

Westview led 49-48 and had the ball, but suffered a turnover and the Lady Blues got a basket from junior Sydney Marshall and a pair of free throws from DeShields to take a lead it would not relinquish, a day after beating Springfield 45-42. Norcross trailed 38-32 in that game.

Norcross made 14 of 16 free throws in the game.

"They're making us play our best, which is what we were hoping for when we came here," Cooper said of Westview and Springfield. "We can feel there's a state pride thing in there, too with us being from Georgia."

"It's neat the way they hand the banners of all the past winners of the tournament," DeShields said. "We want to be up there."

Jamie Nared scored 22 to lead Westview, which will meet Metro-League rival Beaverton Saturday. Delanie Parry and Sarah Curl added 10 points each for the Wildcats. Westview hit 13 of 20 free throws.

In other games:

OREGON CITY 64, SOUTH SALEM 44 - Oregon City moved along with its usual fast-paced, energetic style past a scrappy effort from South Salem to reach a marquee meeting with Central Catholic.

South Salem, which moved up from the lower bracket last year, trailed just 47-37 in the fourth quarter when the Pioneers hit a 7-0 run and extended it to 17-7 to finish the game.

Johanna Paine and Catelyn Preston combined for 27 points to lead the Pioneers, who improved to 9-0 on the season.

Katie McWilliams had 12 points and Kelsie Gardner added 10 points to lead South Salem.

CENTRAL CATHOLIC 54, TIGARD 38 - Another blistering first quarter helped Central Catholic cruise past Tigard and into a semifinal meeting with Oregon City.

The Rams, who led West Linn 16-2 in the first quarter Thursday, led the Tigers 18-7 Friday and ended the first half ahead 29-10.

Senior post Kailee Johnson led Central Catholic with 17 points, while Jordan Reynolds had 13 and Tyler Upshaw had 11.

Lexi Carter had 14 and Megan Risinger added 12 to lead Tigard, who managed to outscore the Rams 28-25 in the second half.

CLACKAMAS 64, BEAVERTON 42 - For the second-straight game, Clackamas fell behind by a notable margin before waking up and pulling out a victory, this time aided by a 20-1 run in the second half.

After falling behind 11-0 to open the game, the Cavaliers beat a youthful Beaverton squad 64-42 in the quarterfinals, a day after trailing St. Mary's 29-24 in the third quarter of their first round game. They won that 57-45.

"We played well in the second half," said Thomas, who is headed for Weber State. "We just have to get more consistent and not have those stretches like we did in the first half."

Thomas scored eight points in the first quater, which ended with Beaverton ahead 15-12. The lead changed hands eight times in the second quarter, which ended with a buzzer-beating half-court shot that gave Clackamas a 29-27 lead. Beaverton responded with a 3-point shot to open the third quarter, but got its next field goal after Clackamas led 49-31.

Senior guard Deeshyra Thomas led Clackamas with 19 points and Kaitlyn Reiner added 10 points - all in the second half.

Danielle Hartzog had 18 points, while Alexis Montgomery added eight for Beaverton, which scored just 15 points in the second half.

State heads toward big tournaments

   Jesuit continued on its pace toward a fifth consecutive state title with an 88-55 win over South Salem Tuesday night, improving the team to 6-0 on the season heading into a game Firday at Silverton.

  The Crusaders narrowly survived a series of three games against Class 5A schools early in the season, including an overtime win over Jefferson, but have won their past two games by 33 points each time.

   They begin play in the Les Schwab Invitational Dec., 26 against Sheldon.

   Lake Oswego, which lost to Jesuit in the state final last year, is also set for the LSI and will play Sunset in its opener.

   In girls play, Oregon City won the Iolani Classic in Hawaii with a 49-44 victory over Dr. Phillips Academy, whch had been previously unbeaten, in the final.

   The Pioneers begin play in the Interstate Shootout Dec. 26 against Southridge, which it beat 79-38 two weeks ago.

   One team that is skipping out on the Interstate tournament is defending state champion South Medford, which is traveling out of state to to Maryland for an eight-team tournament. The Panthers will play in a four-team tournament in San Francisco in January as well.