MARCH 04, 2022, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A21
McNary girls lacrosse becomes only team in district
Becca LaFramboise (middle) instructs the McNary girls lacrosse team, which has become the
only lacrosse team for the entire Salem-Keizer district.
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes
BY JEREMY MCDONALD
For the Keizertimes
The McNary girls lacrosse team has
been around since its inception during the
2016 season but entering this season they
got a unique title in the Salem-Keizer area.
They're the only Salem-Keizer School
District squad to have a girls lacrosse team.
In recent years, West Salem, Sprague, and
South had squads along with the Celtics,
but they've slowly lost numbers and had
to join other teams, as Sprague and South
Salem did a few years ago in girls lacrosse
– or fold all together.
As practice started on Feb. 28, running
alongside with the OSAA Spring season
because it's a club sport, McNary brought
on players from South and West to help
grow the sport in the area.
"Having girls from all over the differ-
ent high schools in the Salem-area is won-
derful. We've been making connections,"
said sixth-year Celtic Head Coach Becca
LaFramboise. "We started it in the 2020
season. We continued it, and the girls have
been loving playing together. They've
loved getting to know each other.”
"We're just growing the girls lacrosse
community in Salem,” she added. “By hav-
ing the community and having all these
girls with different experiences [means]
the world. I know that at McNary we got
the support from the board and at the high
school to help us with these girls."
Lacrosse has long been a popular intra-
mural sport in the Midwest and on the East
Coast, but has been gaining popularity out
West, as well. Rain or shine, lacrosse athletes
can be found playing all over Oregon as the
sport has grown through the years. Players
from McNary have gone on to compete as
student-athletes at Willamette University
and Corban University’s lacrosse programs,
such as Katie Bebee. Bebee is currently on
the team as a sophomore attacker (similar
to a forward in soccer), with the Warriors
and Kendyl Jennings is a sophomore with
the Bearcats as a Middie (midfielder).
"It's pretty awesome,” said Laframboise.
“A lot of colleges in the area have started
a girls lacrosse team ... the two colleges in
the Salem-area literally just started one. I've
had several girls from the past few years
who've gone to Corban to play. I've had a
couple of girls who went to Willamette as
well to play after high school. So it's been a
really cool experience for them.”
The first day of practice brought out 13
girls for the official start of the season as
they prepared for their season opener, Mar.
16 at Churchill High School.
"We're definitely going to have a great
season,” said the coach. “All of the girls here
are really excited to play, they're excited for
the season and pumped. They've gotten all
of their friends to play, so we're going to
try to continue to grow the sport. We want
South to have their team back, we want
West to get a team and we want Sprague to
get a team. We want McKay to get a team,
that's the end goal – once these girls leave
me, I'll be sad, but that's the end goal."
McNary’s schedule can be found at:
http://www.oregongirlslax.com/Bulletins.
asp?MyTeam=710214&org=oregongirslax-
com
Celtic girls basketball caps 12-3 Spring season
BY JEREMY MCDONALD
For the Keizertimes
It's been a season of growth and devel-
opment for the McNary girls’ basketball
team as they wrapped up their season on
Thursday, Feb. 24 at South Salem High
School.
Their 12-3 Spring season saw them
lose some key starters from that squad
entering this year, but it saw some girls
6-8 in MVC play.
South Salem had slowly come around
thanks to taking advantage of McNary
turnovers and turning them into points.
They finished the opening half of the
game on an 8-0 run, leading 22-15 going
into the break.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” head
coach Elizabeth Doran said.
The Saxons had their run and the
attempting the tying 3-pointer that
missed its mark as the Saxons grabbed
the defensive rebound to eventually hold
on to the win.
Despite the defeat, Doran was proud
of the way her team competed.
"This was a good game to end on.
We've played one of our best defensive
games. It's sad to see them go, but not a
lot of teams could end in a game where
you didn't win, but you had a really great
game. This is when basketball is fun."
Coach
Elizabeth
Doran
(masked) talking to her team
prior to the start of Thurs-
day's game.
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS
of Keizertimes
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step up this winter, laying the foundation
for a promising 2022-23 season.
In their season finale, the Celtics rose
once more to the challenge of the Saxons,
who finished second in the Mountain
Valley Conference, holding leads of 7-2,
11-10 and 15-14 entering the final minute
of the opening half of the game before
eventually falling to the Saxons by a
score of 45-42 in the season finale.
Avery Buss led McNary with 12
points, Kylie Nepstad added seven and
Hailey Schwinof contributed six in the
loss. The Celts finished 8-16 overall and
Celtics answered with a run of their own
in the third quarter following a Avery
Buss three-pointer at the 2:03 marker of
the frame.
After McNary tied the game at 29-all,
South Salem's Maddie Dustin scored a
basket that had the Saxons up 31-29 at
the end of three quarters.
With the Saxons up 42-40 with 37.2
left. Dustin pushed the lead to 44-40
with a hoop and then 45-42 with 15.2 sec-
onds left after a made free throw. Even
then, the Celtics had a chance to force
overtime down the stretch with Nepstad
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