Coos Bay Day Two: Willamina beats Harrisburg; Amity, Dayton eliminated
COOS BAY – Willamina’s girls basketball team stands as the only remaining Yamhill Valley program still competing in the Class 3A state tournament in Coos Bay after today’s consolation semifinal contests. The Bulldogs advanced to the fourth/sixth place match tomorrow with a 32-24 victory over Harrisburg.
Both Amity boys and Dayton boys were eliminated from the postseason during today’s consolation contests.
The Warriors faced number-one ranked De La Salle North Catholic, which was upset in the quarterfinals by Oregon Episcopal School, and the Knights used a motivated performance to win 81-60.
In the other boys’ consolation, Dayton dropped a 67-51 result to PacWest Conference foe Salem Academy.
Willamina’s gritty defensive effort limited Harrisburg to 16-percent shooting and forced 24 turnovers in the consolation semifinal, which the Bulldogs won 32-24. The Eagles scored only two points in the third quarter and nine total in the second half as Willamina seized control of the contest.
Kaya McLean, Willamina’s starting power forward, bounced back from a rough quarterfinal outing against Brookings-Harbor. After tallying a mere six points against the Bruins, McLean hit three three-pointers and recorded a game-high tying 11 points in the win over Harrisburg.
The Bulldogs overcame 21 turnovers and 30-percent foul shooting with timely buckets from McLean, Bahley Scranton (eight points, two treys) and Grace France (eight points, five steals).
Willamina plays for fourth place tomorrow against Vale at 9 a.m. at Marshfield High School.
Amity’s run in the state tournament concluded with an 81-60 blowout loss to the Knights in the consolation semifinals. The Warriors trailed 24-9 after one quarter of play and never recovered against an inspired De La Salle North Catholic side which avenged its upset loss to OES in the quarters.
The Knights swarmed the Amity ball-handlers, forcing 21 total turnovers. Amity couldn’t mount any serious comebacks while their outside shooting grew cold (8-27) and star forward Josh Wart faced double teams in the post.
Wart ultimately finished with a double-double – 18 points and 14 rebounds – despite the defensive pressure.
Isaac Watcherson, named Player of the Game for Amity, also notched 18 points with six made threes.
Landon Distler also scored in double figures for the Warriors, recording 10 points on 4-6 from the field.
Dayton followed Thursday’s surprising quarterfinal defeat to Cascade Christian with a 67-51 loss to Salem Academy in today’s consolation match. The Crusaders grabbed an early 20-11 lead in the first quarter, then extended their advantage to 12 at halftime.
Defending open three-point shooters proved difficult for the Pirates in today’s game. Salem Academy hit eight of their 21 outside attempts, while Dayton made only three on 11 tries.
Junior guard Dawson Ashley led the Pirates with 16 points, three assists and three rebounds. Tyler Spink contributed 15 points, including 12 in the second half to earn Player of the Game, while Justin Morales and Payton Garrison both added six points.
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