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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 2017)
Polk County Sports Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 8, 2017 15A DALLAS GIRLS BASKETBALL Dragons show resiliency during win By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Dallas senior Olivia Nelson attempts to track down a loose ball against Lebanon. DALLAS — If there’s one characteristic that’s defined Dallas’ girls basketball team it’s this — resiliency. “You can talk about the x’s and o’s, but our kids are just resilient,” coach David Brautigam said. “They may get down, but you know they’ll battle back. We’re seven deep. We have no post, but the kids are scrap- py.” Dallas defeated Lebanon 55-46 on Feb. 1 before falling to Crescent Valley 66-52 on Friday. That resiliency was on full display against Lebanon. The Dragons fell behind midway through the first quarter. By the start of the second, Dallas was rolling on offense and defense and on its way to a victory. “What I love about this team is if we’re not doing something, we’re able to fig- ure it out,” Jordan Dippel said. Unselfish play means that no one player puts personal stats ahead of teamwide success — leading to easier buckets for everyone. “No one is afraid to step up and fill the job they need to,” Olivia Nelson said. The Dragons have had a number of players step up in big ways this season, Brautigam said. “Jordan has been awe- some,” Brautigam said. “Ste- fani (Tallon) is one of the best defenders in our league. Against Lebanon, Stefani had two quick fouls. Olivia (Nelson) had two fouls, but we had kids step up. We have to keep that going.” The Dragons may not use a deep bench, but the fact that anyone in the rotation could break out on any given night makes them danger- ous. “It’s nice to know if some- one can’t do something, you have six other people who can come in and do the exact same thing and do it just as well,” Dippel said. The Dragons face a criti- cal stretch of games. Dallas entered the week in third place in the MWC. Cor- vallis and Silverton entered tied for first. The top two Basketball • Dallas’ girls basketball team plays at Corvallis Wednesday (today) at 7 p.m. before hosting Cres- cent Valley Friday at 7 p.m. and Silverton Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. • Corvallis and Silverton lead the Mid-Willamette Conference standings. teams earn an automatic berth in the state playoffs. The third seed hosts a play- in game. “I’m excited for the next game,” Brautigam said. “We can’t look too far forward. That’s been a big thing for us. We have to look at what is in front of us.” The Dragons know they can’t afford to get off to slow starts too often and finding that intensity from the opening tip may be the dif- ference between a close vic- tory and defeat. “We have to come out with intensity and need to bring it every game,” Nelson said. “We have to bring it like we’re down by 20 every game.” Glade: Holstad also a state contender Continued from Page 13A Glade will compete in the 50- and 200-yard freestyle races at the district champi- onships on Friday and Sat- urday in Corvallis. He will also take part in the 200 m e d l e y re l a y a n d 4 0 0 freestyle relay. The winner of each event automatically qualifies for state. Any remaining open lanes will be filled by the next fastest time from the district meet finals up to a total of 12 participants. It’ll be a busy slate for Glade, but he’s confident he’s prepared physically to tackle the races. Now, it’s making sure he’s well-rested and properly fed. “Making sure I’m sleeping the right amount of time,” Glade said. “That definitely does affect the way you per- form. You have to be hydrat- ed and have to get food in your body. You can’t skip any meals. Skipping meals is the worst thing you can do.” Central’s swim team likely won’t see many qualify for state. But Glade is one of the few who could see them- selves extend their season. “I think Grace Holstad and Daniel Glade have a chance for state if they re- ally focus and push hard in their races,” coach Jennifer Tress said. “We also have a medley relay team that is looking good. It’s all about safe relay exchanges and finishing hard.” With the time for in- creasing endurance over, the focus turns to the little details that can make a big difference — and getting everyone as healthy as pos- sible. “We’re working on fast, tight flip turns, and fast, far dives,” Tress said. “We’re re- ally amping up the taper this week, so we will have lots of time to work on starts, relay starts and turns. I will also be encouraging swimmers to take care of themselves. We’ve had a lot of sickness on the team, and we don’t have time for that with dis- tricts this week.” As for Glade, while quali- fying for state seems possi- ble, he’s not coming in with that solely on his mind. In- stead, he’s looking to swim his fastest and let the chips fall where they may. “I’m definitely trying to be more relaxed,” Glade said. “I don’t want to stress out too much. A success would be to PR in my races. If I can do that, it’d be a very good suc- cess.” Tress wants to see all her swimmers swim the best races they have all season. If that is accomplished, she’ll be proud no matter what. “If the team gives 100 per- cent and leaves everything they have in the water, I’ll be a happy coach regardless of the results,” Tress said. CENTRAL ROUNDUP Panthers roll to victory over South Albany Itemizer-Observer staff report INDEPENDENCE — Central’s girls basketball team defeated South Albany 69-56 on Friday. The Pa n t h e r s built a 53- 22 lead en- tering the fourth. Elizabeth Chavez scored a Chavez game-high 25 points to lead the Pan- thers. Annika Riddell recorded 13 points. Meagan Mendazona and Alexis Barba each scored nine. The Panthers opened the week with a 59-38 loss to Silverton on Feb. 1. Central ( 7 - 9 ove ra l l , 4 - 5 Mi d - Willamette Conference) hosts Cres- cent Valley Wednesday (today) at 7 p.m. before playing at Wilsonville Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Riddell T h e Pa n - thers return home to host Lebanon on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. BOYS BASKETBALL SPLITS: Central’s boys basketball team defeated Silverton 55-31 on Jan. 31 before falling to South Albany 58-46 on Friday. Andrew Barry scored a team-high 14 points against Silverton, including the Pan- thers’ first nine points of the game. Peter Mason and Alec Barba scored 13 points each. “I was really proud of the focus we had,” coach Tim Kreta said. “We carried out our game plan and got back to playing solid defense.” Mason scored 22 points against South Albany, but the Panthers trailed 32-20 at the half and couldn’t rally for a vic- tory. “We couldn’t get the stops we needed down the stretch to keep it close,” Kreta said. “You need to bring your best each and every night. This is a great league to play in and re- ally allows the kids to experi- ence the emotions and situa- tions of excitement, disap- pointment, game preparation and mental toughness.” Central (9-8 overall, 5-3 MWC) played Crescent Valley Tuesday after press time. The Panthers host South Albany Friday at 7 p.m. before play- ing at Lebanon Tuesday at 7 p.m. PERRYDALE BASKETBALL Boys clinch league title Itemizer-Observer staff report PERRYDALE — Perry- dale’s boys basketball team clinched the Casco League regular season title after de- feating Toledo 64-61 on Feb. 1; Jewell 46-31 on Thursday; and Mapleton 79-49 on Sat- urday. The Pirates (19-3 overall, 12-1 Casco League) played Damascus Christian Tues- day after press time. Perry- dale closes the regular sea- son out at Oregon School for the Deaf on Thursday at 7 p.m. Then, Perrydale will be off until Feb. 18, when the Pi- rates face the winner of the No. 2 vs. No. 3 seed in the Casco League tournament title game at Corban in Salem. “I was impressed with the way the kids came out and made a statement against Toledo,” coach Brian Domes said. “We got out to a lead and let them back into it, but held on throughout the game.” With more than a week between games, Domes said they’ll focus on defensive ex- ecution and being ready to come out strong on the 18th. “I’d just as soon keep playing, but it seems like these kids find the energy to play well from the begin- ning,” Domes said. “There’s just something about them.” Perrydale has its trip to the state playoffs locked up, but seeding remains up in the air. That should give the Pi- rates plenty of motivation to play hard. “There’s a really strong league (Skyline) that will carry two teams with high rankings in the state play- offs,” Domes said. “I told the kids we don’t want to be ranked seventh or eighth when the final rankings come out. We want to be sixth or higher.” While the boys focus on seeding, the girls likely won’t know where they rank in the league tourna- ment until Saturday. If the Pirates and Jewell end up tied, Perrydale will be ranked fourth in the league, coach Terry New- ton said, and play fifth- seeded Falls City in the first round of the league play- offs with the loser being eliminated. If Perr ydale finishes third, the Pirates will face the second seed in the league tournament with the winner advancing to state and the loser getting one more shot to go to state against the winner of the l e a g u e ’s f o u r t h / f i f t h matchup. “I’ve explained to the girls its playoff time now,” New- ton said. “We will be in some serious games. We have to show up and play and com- pete against good competi- tion, not just beating teams that are bad.” The Casco League tourna- ment begins Feb. 16 at Cor- ban University. LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Central’s Elizabeth Chavez drives to the hoop against South Albany on Friday night. DALLAS BOYS BASKETBALL Dragons drop two games Itemizer-Observer staff report DALLAS — Dallas’ boys basketball team lost to Lebanon 58-56 on Jan. 31 and Crescent Valley 55-50 on Friday. Jason Richey scored more than half (26) of the Dragons’ points against Crescent Valley. Richey also scored 26 points against Lebanon. Dallas (6-11 overall, 2-6 Mid-Willamette Confer- ence) played Corvallis Tues- day after press time. The Dragons play at Milwaukie Wednesday (today) at 7:15 p.m., at Crescent Valley Fri- day at 7 p.m. and at Silver- ton Tuesday at 7 p.m. Visit our website, www.polkio.com for local news, sports and community events. WE’RE ALSO ON FACEBOOK! Check us out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/ polk-county-itemizer-observer /205062686252209