The Dalles Chronicle
TheDallesChronicle.com
Weekend of February 29 - March 1, 2020 A9
SPORTS
TD veterans wrap up regular season on a high note
Hawks honor
nine seniors
before 56-25
win against
Hood River
Valley
Rodriguez
■ Ray
The Dalles Chronicle
gave praise to a group that he
considers his daughters.
They have all gone through
their share of battles over
the years, and the fruits of
that work have turned into a
playoff berth.
“All of them are very
special to me,” Stevens said.
“When we say family, we
really mean family. These
girls have formed a tight
bond over the years. They
have been through so much,
and they keep battling, and
The Dalles girls basket-
they keep going after it.
ball players Kilee Hoylman,
After being tied for second
Rainie Codding, Lauryn
Belanger, Jenna Miller, Grace place and not making the
Schatz, Mercy I’aulualo, Pearl playoffs last year, it would
have been easy for them to
Guzman, Dalia Mondragon
quit, but they chose not to,
and foreign exchange
and I love them for that. I
student, Esther Ortiz, were
showered with flowers, candy love the battle and fight that
they have.”
and balloons Tuesday night
Given the emotions of the
in an emotional pregame
night, The Dalles struggled
ceremony before action
The Dalles High School honored nine seniors before the start of Tuesday’s Intermountain Conference game versus Hood River Valley,
early with a 21-13 halftime
against Hood River Valley at
a 56-25 win, at Kurtz Gym. In the photo are, from left to right, Mercy I’aulualo, Jenna Miller, Kilee Hoylman, Rainie Codding, Grace
Kurtz Gym.
Schatz, Esther Ortiz, Dalia Mondragon, Pearl Guzman and Lauryn Belanger. Sprawled out in the front row is head coach Brian Stevens.
Head coach Brian Stevens
See TD HOOPS, page A10
Ray Rodriguez photo
Resilient Rangers pull off road playoff shocker
Darden hits game-
winner with 1.9
seconds left in
overtime to give
Dufur a 62-61 victory
Rodriguez
■ Ray
The Dalles Chronicle
The moment was not too
big for the Dufur Rangers.
Many of the players have
been on the big stage before
in football, but facing No.
3-ranked Life Christian in
a hostile environment, on
the road, was a new level of
challenge.
Trey Darden scored a
basket with 1.9 seconds left
in overtime, and Max Morelli
misfired on his three-quarter
court desperation 3-point-
er as time expired and the
Rangers pulled off the upset,
62-61, in 1A state sub-round
hoops action in Aloha.
“It was a pretty great win
for us, and it really showed
what we can do as a team
if we put our minds to it,”
Darden said. “With this
momentum we have going
for us, I don’t think there’s
anything we can’t do as a
team.”
With the win, Dufur
advanced to a second sub-
round contest versus No.
4 Crosshill Christian (24-2
overall) Saturday in Salem
for the right to secure a Baker
City berth.
On Wednesday, the Lions
led 25-24 at halftime, but
Dufur regained control with
a 20-16 third-quarter spurt,
as Cooper Bales exploded
for 14 points and the trio of
Caleb Olson, Darden and
Jacob Peters tallied two points
apiece.
Both teams were knotted
at 49-all with three minutes
left in the final frame, and
at the 12-second mark, Life
Christian (23-3) had posses-
sion and missed two poten-
tial game-winning attempts.
Dufur (16-11) managed just
four fourth-quarter field goals,
while Life Christian countered
with two baskets and 8 of 10
from the line to tie the score,
54-54, at the end of regulation.
With less than a minute re-
maining in the extra session,
the Lions were up by a 58-56
margin, until freshman guard
Josh Taylor drained two
pressure free throws to tie the
score.
Later, Bales sank 1 of 2
from the line, which moved
Dufur ahead by a 60-59 score.
Following a timeout,
Morelli had an isolation play
called, and he made the
basket and drew a foul to
inch the Lions ahead, 61-60,
but he missed his free throw,
so the Rangers pulled down
the rebound, pushed the ball
downcourt and dished the
ball to Darden, who sank the
eventual game-winner with
1.9 seconds left.
“Going into the game, I
knew our team had what it
took, and I think it was just
the confidence we went in
with that pushed us over the
top,” Bales said. “We thought
they were going to underes-
timate us because we were
ranked low, which gave us a
chip. Now, this makes us feel
like we can beat anyone on
any night as long as we show
up and play hard.”
Dufur totaled 23 field
goals, five 3-pointers, and
went 11 of 22 from the line, 6
of 12 in overtime.
Bales scored 16 of his
team-high 24 points in the
second half and had two
points in the fourth quarter
and none in the extra period.
Peters finished with 12
points, Darden added 11,
Taylor and Olson chipped in
six each, and Gabe Petroff
totaled three points.
“It was a big win, and I
learned that we could push
through and even push hard-
er in overtime,” Peters said.
“The environment at the gym
was so loud that it was cool
that it didn’t bother us, and
we could just keep playing.
Overall, this was a big win,
and we needed it, and it gives
us confidence going into our
next game.”
Life Christian hit 22 field
goals, five 3-pointers, and
drilled 12 of 18 free throws,
11 of 14 in the fourth quarter
and overtime.
Morelli dropped 20 points,
Blake Lambert ended up with
17, and Kobe Jenson, who
was whistled for a technical
foul in overtime after fouling
out, netted 12 points.
Dufur post Trey Darden goes up for a paint shot in 1A basketball
action this season. Wednesday in Aloha, Darden hit the eventual
game-winning field goal with 1.9 seconds left in overtime to lift
Dufur to a 62-61 triumph over No. 3-ranked Life Christian. The
Rangers will be in Salem Saturday against No. 4 Crosshill Christian,
where a Baker City berth is up for grabs.
Ray Rodriguez photo
SWC girls can’t sustain their edge in state sub-round loss
Redsides have
early lead
vanish in 69-52
loss to Country
Christian
WEBER
■ By For MIKE
The Dalles Chronicle
girls left everything out on the
court, and they gave it every-
thing that I could ask for.”
Trailing 4-2 at the outset
of the game, South Wasco
sophomore Holly Miles (sev-
en points) helped ignite an
impressive 12-0 run, as she
fired in a three-point jumper
to make it 5-4.
South Wasco’s duo of
freshman Kylie Iverson (12
points) and junior post
MOLALLA – It certainly
Destiny Mora-Lopez (seven
appeared that the South
Wasco County Redsides were points) each followed by
on the verge of an upset in an sinking short jumpers,
making it 9-4 and forcing
OnPoint Community Credit
a Cougar timeout with five
Union/OSAA Class 1A girls
minutes and 40 seconds left
basketball first round state
in the opening quarter.
playoff game.
“Early in the game, I think
The Lady Resides (7-5 Big
that we definitely felt like
Sky League, 12-13 overall)
led by 10 points over the No. we had a chance to win the
game,” said Mora-Lopez, who
7 ranked Country Christian
earned a Big Sky First Team
Cougars (9-3 Valley 10
League, 19-9) and had all the All League Award. “Things
can change so fast though,
momentum in their favor.
and I knew that we had to be
However, the Cougars
ready for them (Cougars). We
showed that they were well
all gave it our best shot, but it
deserving of their high rec-
seemed like it hurt us when
ognition as they came back
I couldn’t play in the third
to get a 69-52 win over the
Redsides ending their season quarter, and I felt bad that I
couldn’t help my team. I had
on Tuesday at Country
trust in my teammates, and I
Christian High School in
knew that they would give it
Molalla.
everything they’ve got, and I
The Redsides, in the state
felt proud of them.”
playoffs for a third straight
After the timeout, Mora-
year, seemed quite comfort-
Lopez scored and Iverson
able in their role as a title
capped the rally with a
contender.
three-pointer, making it 14-4
Guided by second-year
midway through the first
coach Carly Johnson, The
Redsides, demonstrated that quarter. Country Christian
responded with a rally, out-
they were definitely famil-
scoring South Wasco 15-5 to
iar with the high-pressure
knot it 19-19 at the end of the
atmosphere of the playoffs
as they came out and played quarter.
“We did have a chance, but
with a high-intensity level
offensively and defensively in we just couldn’t maintain our
intensity level for the entire
the first half.
“I’m so proud of the team, game,” Johnson said.
The Redsides were
we had a super fun time all
determined to regain the
season and we worked so
momentum, and that’s
hard in the district tourna-
exactly what they did in the
ment to get here,” Johnson
said. “Our entire season was second quarter. Mora-Lopez,
building up to this point and Jade McCoy (team-high 15
points), Iverson, and Hailey
we peaked at a good time.
Ocacio (nine points) each
Our team came together at
scored baskets in an 8-0
the end and gave us a good
Redside run that lifted South
chance in the state playoffs.
It was a tough loss, but all our Wasco in front, 27-21, forcing
another Cougar timeout with
6:08 remaining until halftime.
“We all worked very hard
all year to get here, and so
I was very excited and very
happy to help our team
reach the state playoffs,” said
McCoy, who capped the year
by earning a Big Sky Second
Team All-League Award.
“It was fun to have the lead;
we were playing with a high
energy level, and at that point
we felt like we had a chance,
because anything can
happen in the playoffs. They
(Cougars) are a very good
team, and they’ll probably
go far in the playoffs. I think
the highlight of the season
though was when we beat
Ione (a 54-50 win on Feb. 22)
to earn a playoff berth that
enabled us to be here.”
After the Cougars trimmed
the margin to 27-26, South
Wasco senior Laurynn Davis
(two points) sank a jumper to
put the Redsides up 29-26.
Davis, the only Redsides
senior, was playing the final
game of her South Wasco
County High School career,
and she definitely provided
her team with a momentum
boost at that point of the
game.
“Laurynn had a little bit
of a rough season with some
injuries that limited the
number of games that she
was able to play,” Johnson
said. “She played in the last
four games, and she helped
us a lot with her leadership,
and we’re really going to miss
her. She did a real good job of
helping the younger girls stay
focused all year and helping
the team play together.”
Country Christian again
came back with a 14-3 run
to take a 40-32 halftime lead
and the Cougars never trailed
again. The Redsides then had
a rough start in the second
half, as the Cougars took
control of the game in the
third quarter.
It was a tough situation for
the Redsides when Mora-
Lopez was whistled for a
fourth foul just 17 seconds
into the quarter and she had
to sit on the bench and didn’t
return until the start of the
fourth quarter.
Her absence hurt the
Redsides as the Cougars
capitalized with her out of
the lineup and outscored the
Redsides 18-10 to build a 58-
42 lead after three.
The Cougars, led by Valley
10 Player-of-the-Year Lizzy
Grandle (19 points) and
freshman Annie Bafford (26
points) had the momentum
in their favor and extended
the margin to their largest
Dr. Cullen’s
Student of the week
lead of the game at 69-46 late
in the fourth. The Redsides
scored the final six points to
trim the final margin.
Athlete of the Week
Katie Beal
Dufur High Senior
Alma Garcia, Senior:
She is working very hard. She is sticking to
getting her goal of graduating. She sits down,
gets her work out and gets what she needs
done. She has had pretty good attendance
and will readily do make up work when she
misses school.
Congratulations
South Wasco sophomore Holly Miles (No. 20) shoots a jumper in
the fourth quarter against Country Christian on Tuesday. The Lady
Redsides had their season cut short by a 69-52 margin Tuesday in
sub-round play in Molalla.
Mike Weber/Contributed story
Alma Garcia, TDHS
On any given night, the Dufur Rangers can have diff erent
players help the team. In last Saturday’s Big Sky Confer-
ence championship, the Rangers were without injured
post presence Brooke Beachamp, so senior Katie Beal rose
to the challenge and put up seven points, six rebounds,
three assists and a steal to boost her squad to its fi rst
district title since 2005. She had a steal and had a rebound
and putback for the fi nal basket to seal Dufur’s 50-44 vic-
tory over Echo. In two district contests, Beal averaged 6.5
points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and one steal a game.
The Athlete of the Week will receive a large 2 topping pizza from Papa Murphy’s. Congratulations to our winner 2-29-20
Columbia View Dental
1915 E. 19th Street | The Dalles
Victor Cullen, DDS
541-296-5677 | Se habla español
1323 W 6th St. • The Dalles • 541-296-1141
