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Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 4, 2015 11A Polk County Sports CLASS 1A PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL Falls City’s run comes to an end Mountaineers fall in the first round of OSAA Class 1A state playoffs By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer PORTLAND — Falls City’s girls basketball team etched itself into school history, but on Feb. 25, the Moun- taineers saw their historic run come to an end. Falls City lost to Portland Lutheran 50-39 in the first round of the Class 1A state playoffs. But the under- manned squad proved its regular season success was no fluke. “I told the girls that you can’t fear failure if you want to be successful,” Moun- taineers coach Micke Kidd said. “I saw girls doing things I haven’t seen them do this season. I saw girls attacking the rim, taking good shots and playing al- most a full game of solid defense.” Falls City came out strong, leading 17-16 at the half, and trailed by just one after three quarters in a game that saw the crowd split between Blue Jays and Moun- taineers fans. Junior Brittany Varney Va r n e y scored a team-high 17 points, including hitting three 3-pointers in the first quarter, while senior Shea Coker scored all eight of her points in the third quarter to give Falls City an offensive boost to start the second half. “For how strongly we started the game, I knew that I needed to come out and bust my butt and do everything I can,” Coker said. Senior Tierra Reynolds played through an unknown illness that caused her to vomit each time she left the game, but she refused to sit out. Reynolds finished with six points. “I knew there was a chance it could be our last g a m e,” Reynolds said. “I did- Coker n’t want to walk out knowing I didn’t give it my all.” In the end, Portland Lutheran’s Danica Roady was the difference, scoring 30 points. She made 12 of 13 free throws in the final peri- od to seal the victory. “It was an emotional time for me,” Coker said. “When I woke up at the beginning of the day, I couldn’t believe that we made it and this ex- perience has been amaz- ing.” Falls City will lose two seniors to graduation, but Kidd hopes the team’s two freshmen, Drew Ellingson and Sarah Ziola, will build a winning tradition. “I told the freshmen that they have a long ways to go (in high school),” Kidd said. “I hoped they enjoyed this and that they want to get back to this. The freshmen got better every game this year. I’m excited about their potential.” While Kidd is excited about the future, players knew the current season has been special. The only difficult part was having to say goodbye after such a special season for the players. “This was our best game, hands down,” Reynolds said. “We put everything out there and we showed how badly we wanted it. We had a few minor mistakes that caught up to us. … I’m not going to take any regrets. It was my senior year and we made the state playoffs. That’s something that Falls City’s never done. I just wish it could have lasted a little bit longer.” LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Falls City’s Allison Kidd drives down the court against Portland Lutheran on Feb. 25. Kidd scored two points. CLASS 5A PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL CLASS 5A PREP BOYS BASKETBALL Dragons, Panthers Dallas clinches MWC’s third seed enter play-in round Dragons to face Eagle Point in OSAA play-in round Itemizer-Observer staff report POLK COUNTY — Dallas and Central’s boys basketball teams competed in the OSAA 5A play-in round Tues- day after press time. The third-seeded Dragons hosted Eagle Point, while the fifth-seeded Panthers played at Crater. The winners advanced to the first round of the state playoffs scheduled Friday. Dallas (12-11 overall, 8-6 Mid-Willamette Conference) closed out its regular season with a 51-48 loss to Lebanon on Feb. 24 and a 52-45 defeat to Silverton on Friday. Everett Minahan and Hay- den Broadus scored 15 points each against the War- riors, while Minahan scored 16 points against the Silver Foxes. Central (13-10 overall, 7-7 MWC) recovered from a 58- 36 loss to Corvallis on Feb. 24 to defeat Woodburn 37-30 on Friday. Kevin Cable scored 16 points against the Spartans, while Kyler Fleming recorded 12 points against Woodburn. Follow the Itemizer-Ob- server on Twitter and Face- book for results and future schedules. SPORTS BRIEFS Local grad qualifies for NAIA meet LA GRANDE — Tanner Yarbrough will compete at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships Thursday through Saturday. Yarbrough, a 2011 graduate of Dallas High, is a junior at Eastern Oregon University. Yarbrough will compete in the weight throw. He set a season-best mark of 55 feet, 6¼ inches, at the Jackson’s Invitational in Nampa, Idaho, on Feb. 6. The mark also hit the NAIA’s qualifying mark for the indoor track and field championships. Youth softball umpire clinic Thursday POLK COUNTY — Dallas Kids, Inc. and West Valley Little League will hold a youth softball umpire clinic Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the LaCreole Middle School cafeteria. There is no cost to attend. The clinic will go over Little League rules, umpire mechanics and how to handle various situations. Volunteers are needed for Dallas, Falls City, Perrydale, Mon- mouth and Independence. For more information: Kids, Inc., 503-623-6419. Itemizer-Observer Athlete of the Week Tanner Swinehart Central High Swinehart, a senior, capped off a per- fect 2014-15 campaign, going 47-0. Swinehart won the OSAA Class 5A state championship at 170-pounds on Satur- day. Swinehart, who qualified for the state championships in each of his three years prior to this, had never placed before this weekend. Swinehart was one of four Panther wrestler to reach the state finals in their re- spective weight classes. Matt Hofenbredl Dallas High Hofenbredl, a senior, won his third OSAA state wrestling championship on Saturday, defeating Hood River Valley’s Christian Marquez for the 132-pound title. The match was a rematch from last year, when Marquez took home the championship. This time, Hofenbredl earned a 7-1 decision to become the sec- ond wrestler in Dallas High history to win three state titles during a high school career. To submit nominations for the Itemizer-Observer Athlete of the Week, contact Sports Editor Lukas Eggen at 503-623-2373 or leggen@polkio.com by 9 a.m. on Monday. By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer Play-in Round DALLAS — For years, Dallas’ girls basketball team has been told the best is yet to come. The Dragons’ group of seniors of Sarah Mitchell, Makenzie Davis, Taylor Fen- nell, Brianna Classen and Eva Ronco have helped form the core of Dallas’ lineup since they arrived as freshmen. Now, they have one final chance to make a run at a state title. Dallas, the Mid- Willamette Conference’s third seed, hosts Eagle Point Wednesday (today) at 7 p.m. in a Class 5A play-in matchup. The winner advances to the first round of the bas- ketball state championship on Saturday. The Eagles earned the Midwestern League’s sixth seed after finishing 12-11 overall and 3-9 in league play. But Dallas coach David Brautigam said Eagle Point’s is better than its record. “They have a couple of What: Eagle Point at Dallas; Churchill at Central. When: Wednesday, 7 p.m. Cost: $6 adults, $4 stu- dents. Of note: The winners of the play-in round ad- vance to the first round of the OSAA girls state bas- ketball playoffs. Follow the Itemizer-Observer on Twitter and on Facebook for updates. AARON YOST/for the Itemizer-Observer Dallas players watch during the Dragons’ 54-30 victory over Lebanon on Feb. 25. good scorers, they play good defense and rebound t h e b a s k e t b a l l w e l l ,” Brautigam said. “They’re a solid team.” The Dragons and Eagles posted similar numbers on defense. Dallas gave up 41.4 points per game, while Eagle Point allowed 42.4 points per contest. The Dragons (14-9 over- all, 9-5 MWC) clinched the conference’s third seed after defeating Lebanon 54-30 on Feb. 25. Sarah Zwicker scored a game-high 14 points, but it was Dallas’ 52- 43 double overtime loss to Silverton on Friday that helped the Dragons the most. “It was difficult to lose, but it was a great game with a great playoff atmosphere,” Brautigam said. “It was real- ly good for us to play in that kind of environment with the pressure on and every possession counts. That ex- perience is going to help us (tonight). This last month, we’ve been resilient. We did- n’t drop our heads, even after losing a close one to Corvallis, and had good leadership step up.” Dallas enters the play-in round scoring 51 or more points in five of its last seven matchups. Zwicker and Mitchell give Dallas an inside-out threat, but Brautigam said players must continue to show their resolve if they want to ad- vance. “They’re going to contin- ue to fight,” Brautigam said. “You can see it in our char- acter. They care about each other and will do what they can to be successful. We’re ready to go on Wednesday (today). We’re excited.” CLASS 5A PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL Panthers host Churchill Central defeats Woodburn in regular season finale By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer INDEPENDENCE — The Central girls basketball team hopes a difficult league schedule pays big dividends in the postsea- son. The Panthers host C h u r c h i l l We d n e s d a y (today) at 7 p.m. for a Class 5A play-in showdown. The winner advances to the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs on Saturday. The Lancers finished 9-15 overall and 4-8 in Midwest- ern League play to earn the league’s fifth seed. Churchill played three Mid-Willamette Conference squads during the regular season. The Lancers defeat- ed Lebanon 49-38 on Dec. 9, lost to Crescent Valley 60- 51 on Dec. 12 and fell to Corvallis 53-29 on Jan. 6. Churchill gives up 48 points per game, the most in the Midwestern League, but Central coach Julie McDon- ald said stats mean little when it comes to the post- season. “(Churchill) is a team that is beatable, but is going to come ready to fight,” Mc- AARON YOST/for the Itemizer-Observer Central junior Kylie Nash looks to drive past a Wood- burn defender on Friday. Nash scored 24 points. Donald said. Central (13-10 overall, 8-6 MWC) clinched the league’s fourth seed prior to last week’s regular season finale. The Panthers earned a 62- 52 win over Woodburn on Friday. Kylie Nash scored 24 points, while Sai Tapasa added 20 points to lead the Panthers. Central began its week by falling to Corvallis 37-36 on Feb. 25. Ryanne Huffman scored a team-high 15 points for the Panthers, which led 36-34 before the Spartans’ Hannah Creswick hit the game-winning 3- pointer with nine seconds left in the final period. The Panthers enter the play-in round with a num- ber of offensive weapons, both inside (Tapasa, fresh- man Krista Omlid) and out- side (Nash, Huffman). McDonald hopes the MWC prepared players for whatever Churchill throws at them. “Our league this year, you had to come ready and p re p a re d e ve r y s i n g l e game,” McDonald said. “That’s going to help us going into our play-in game. Every game has been a dogfight for us. Even a team like Lebanon with four (league) wins, I wouldn’t be surprised if they upset Marist Catholic (in the Warriors’ play-in matchup). We’re starting to understand what it takes to be consistent through- out a game.” Physically, Central has the talent and athletic ability to compete with any team, McDonald said. The team’s biggest battle, however, may not be any- thing that happens on the court. “We’ve been working on our mental toughness and staying mentally focused for four quarters,” McDonald said. “We are working to stay within our game plan, move the ball on offense and play good defense.”