After winning the 3A-7 Southern Oregon Conference league championship with a 9-1 record last Tuesday evening, Head Coach Kara Miller and the OSAA #16 ranked Bruin girls varsity basketball team was matched up with the OSAA #17 ranked Oregon Episcopal Lady Aardvarks.
The 10-2 Lady Aardvarks made the long trip from Portland Wednesday to challenge the 9-1 Bruin girls in match that would leave the loser at home, and send the winner on to the next round of post-season play.
The stands were full, and you could feel the energy in the gym at tip-off. The Bruin girls came out high energy, aggressively pressuring the ball handler on the inbound which would be matched by the Lady Aardvarks as both teams worked to settle into their offenses.
The Bruin girls would work themselves to a 6-4 lead midway through the first period as the referees let them play in the paint setting the tone for a physical night. But the Bruin girls defense would establish a nine point 17-8 lead off of Oregon Episcopal turn overs to end the first period.
However, the Lady Aardvarks would settle in matching the aggressive man to man defense and began to take advantage of the physical play inside after the Bruin girls extended a 20-10 lead halfway through the period. Oregon Episcopal would turn the tables in the second, going on an unanswered 10 point scoring run to tie the Bruin girls at 20-20 with 1:30 left the half after taking advantage of Bruin girls turnovers before the Bruin girls would go on to hold on to a 24-22 lead at the half.
Both teams went into the break knowing they were in a fight and made adjustments to slow the other down and control the pace and scoring opportunities. The physical play in the paint continued as the Bruin girls worked to keep their small lead midway through the third. But the Bruin girls offense would go cold, managing only 4 points to close the period as the Lady Aardvarks took a 31-33 lead into the final period.
The fourth period turned into a track meet in the middle a basketball game with play extending from end to end as both teams raced to against the clock to get a lead with Oregon Episcopal taking a one point 38-39 lead at the halfway mark of the fourth. Bruin center, freshman, Iris Powers-Schmitz took over the inside in the second half, dominating the paint with rebounds while getting to the foul line keeping the Bruin girls close, trailing 40-41 with less the 1:00 on the clock.
As time wound down, the Bruin girls found guard Claire Pieper open on the left side for a 3 pointer that put the Bruin girls up 43-31 with less than thirty seconds on the clock. The Lady Aardvarks drove down into their half as the Bruin girls turned up the intensity, forcing a turnover sending sophomore Kaiya Evans to the line with just seconds on the clock. The Bruin girls would force another foul sending sophomore Sawyer Adams to the line to put the game out of reach and take the 45-42 win.
Talking with Bruin girls coach Kara Morris after the game, she told the Compass “the beauty of our team is that every girl is a threat. The leadership from our seniors has been huge as they continue to be coaches on the floor. We know we can compete with the best in the state,” she continued, “we’ve proven that this year in multiple games. We need to put together a complete game like we did tonight, where we play great defense and take advantage of our strengths… We are looking forward to Saturday.”
The Bruin girls earned their next stop in post season play, drawing the OSAA #1 ranked Vale Lady Vikings. The OSAA #16 ranked Bruin girls will make the over 9 hour 500+ mile trip to the eastern Oregon town of Vale to challenge the 10-0 Lady Vikings with tip-off scheduled for 2:00pm Saturday afternoon.
