WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016
APPEAL TRIBUNE
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3B
Silverton's Hailey Smisek pushes past the
Springfield defense during the team's
championship game at Gill Coliseum on
Saturday.
Undefeated
Continued from Page 1B
Early on, the Foxes simply couldn’t
hit a basket. They started off the game
0-for-16 from the field. Still, the pesky
Silverton defense didn’t give up much as
the Millers held the lead throughout the
opening half. By halftime, Silverton
trailed 17-12.
“We didn’t shoot it well and that’s not
like us,” Silverton coach Tal Wold said. “I
don’t know what it was, but we had great
shots. At halftime, we made a couple of
small adjustments, but I told the girls to
keep shooting because they were getting
great shots.”
Silverton trailed by nine points to
start the third when Wold made a bold de-
cision. He decided to employ a full-court
press on the Millers.
It worked.
Springfield’s offense evaporated as
its only field goal of the quarter came
with 7:21 to play. Silverton went on a 16-7
run to open the quarter, capped by a jum-
per in the key by Hannah Munson with
2:56 to play that tied the game, 37-37.
With Silverton clinging to a 39-38 lead
after a Parsons free throw, the Foxes
seemed as if they were going to put away
the game at the foul line. With 12 seconds
left, Hailey Smisek stepped to the foul
line, but missed both foul shots.
After Springfield’s Hannah Eddens
rebounded the miss, she threw an outlet
pass to a teammate, but there was Par-
sons, who stepped in the lane for a steal.
With 4 seconds left, it was Silverton’s
game to put away as Brooke McCarty
had two free throw attempts. She missed
both. Springfield’s Cielo Gonzales got a
shot off at the buzzer, but it failed to hit
the rim as Silverton put the finishing
touches on the state championship.
“Every time we were down, we found
a way to get our momentum back,” said
Parsons, who finished with a team-high
16 points and was a unanimous first-team
PHOTOS BY SHELDON TRAVER/SPECIAL TO THE APPEAL TRIBUNE
Silverton High School’s state championship title came exactly 22 years to the night after Silverton’s last state title in 1994.
all-tournament selection. “That was
awesome.”
The title came exactly 22 years to the
night after Silverton’s last state title in
1994. On top of the title, the Foxes fin-
ished 28-0 — the first undefeated season
in the program’s history.
“To win every night, though, it says a
lot about how the kids feel about each
other,” Wold said. “When practices come
and games come, it’s a grind. You’ve got
28 games and it’s easy to have an off
night and just don’t play well, but these
girls kept finding a way. It’s that old ad-
age of aptitude versus attitude. We have
aptitude, but we also have great atti-
tude.”
Silverton finished the game shooting
11-for-52 for 21 percent, compared to 11-
for-37 from the field for the Millers for
30 percent. The Foxes were out-rebound-
ed 50-27, but forced 26 Springfield turn-
overs while only committing eight.
The Silverton Foxes outscored Springfield 18-8 in the final period and scored a 39-38 win. The
Foxes were out-rebounded 50-27 but forced 26 Springfield turnovers.