Another
Scarlett Shines
Portland man does
well at Stanford
Emotions Raw
PSU Board
considers pleas
to disarm
See Local News, page 3
See story, page 2
‘City
of
Roses’
Volume XLVIII • Number 10
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • March 13, 2019
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
The Benson High School girls basketball team and Coach Eric Knox celebrate the program’s first state championship after dethroning two-time defending champi-
on Southridge, 66-42, Saturday at the state 6A tournament at the University of Portland Chiles Center.
Crowned Champions
Benson girls
first in state!
The Benson High School girls basket-
ba ll team are state champions, a first
for the school’s female team after they
defeated two-time defending champion
Southridge, 66-42, on Saturday at the 6A
tournament at the University of Portland.
The Techsters dominated Southridge
throughout the contest, showing perfect
team execution under coach Eric Knox.
It marked a reversal from last year, when
the Beaverton school defeated Benson,
46-27, in Benson’s first trip to the finals
in school history.
The tables seemed to turn Saturday,
when Benson secured an early lead and
kept it the whole game. Senior Ciera
Ellington, the Portland Interscholastic
League Player of the Year, led Benson,
with 20 points, eight assists, six re-
bounds, three steals and a blocked shot.
“This means a lot not just to Benson,
not just to the PIL, but for young girls
that look like us, black and brown girls
in Portland, this is for them,” Ellington
said.
Senior Lyday added 15 points and
eight rebounds for the Techsters, and
junior Aujae Yoakum had 13 points
and eight rebounds. Benson finished
the season with a 26-4 record, with its
only in-state loss to Southridge in De-
cember.
Also at the UP Chiles Center, the Jef-
ferson boys basketball team reached the
6A final for the second year in a row, but
lost to Jesuit 71-66 to finish runner-up.