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.
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