A6 BAKER CITY HERALD • TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2022
SPORTS
BAKER GIRLS AT CLASS 4A STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Bulldogs bring back a trophy
Baker holds
off Marist
for 4th-place
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Fouls, a knee and an ankle
conspired to nearly derail the
Baker girls basketball team’s bid
for a trophy.
But the Bulldogs overcame
those obstacles, and a pesky
Marist Catholic squad, to claim
a 57-48 win and the fourth-
place trophy at the Class 4A
state tournament on Saturday,
March 12, at Marshfield High
School in Coos Bay.
“Winning a game on Satur-
day at the state tournament is
pretty special,” Baker coach
Jason Ramos said. “It was a
great team effort.”
And from a depleted team.
Baker, the defending state
champion from 2019 (the
2020 and 2021 tournaments
were canceled due to the pan-
demic), came to Coos Bay
with a goal of playing for a
trophy, Ramos said.
After a 61-46 loss to Cor-
bett in a quarterfinal game on
Thursday, March 10 (the Car-
dinals went on the finish sec-
ond), Ramos said the Bulldogs,
though no longer in contention
for another state title, still had a
trophy to play for.
After beating Cascade 50-39
on Friday, March 11, Baker was
only one win away from realiz-
ing that goal.
But the Bulldogs faced
challenges even before tip-
ping off against Marist Cath-
olic of Eugene.
Starting point guard Taylor
Gyllenberg, who hurt her knee
against Corbett, missed her
second straight game.
That was only the start of the
attrition.
In a tight game against the
Spartans with the fourth-place
trophy at stake, Skylar Roy
twisted her ankle while drib-
bling in the lane during the
third quarter. She finished the
game on the bench with a bag
of ice taped to her ankle.
Then came the pivotal fourth
period.
Brooklyn Jaca, who had 12
points and was one of four
Bulldogs in double figures,
scored on a layin just 9 seconds
into the quarter to give Baker a
36-34 lead.
It was a lead the Bulldogs
wouldn’t relinquish.
Marist tied the score at 36
on Madison Holmes’ two free
throws with 7:21 left in the
game.
That was the start of the
game-deciding stretch.
Baker scored the next 8
points, with four Bulldogs each
getting 2 points.
Makenzie Flanagan hit a
jumper with one foot on the
3-point line to break the tie and
give Baker a 38-36 lead.
Then Rylee Elms, who
matched Jaca with 12 points,
scored off a nifty spin move in
the key, and Baker led 40-36
with 6:15 left.
After a Marist timeout, Syd-
nee Pierce whipped a pass to a
wide open Jaca, who swished a
John Gunther/Contributed Photo
Baker’s Jozie Ramos defends against Marist’s Madison Holmes during the 4th-place game of the Class 4A
state tournament on March 12, 2022, at Marshfield High School.
16-footer to boost Baker’s lead
to 42-36 with 5:46 left.
Macey Moore, who finished
with 10 points, capped the key
run with a 15-footer that gave
Baker a commanding 44-36
lead with 5:06 remaining.
Marist’s Page Doerr, who
led all scorers with 21 points,
ended the streak with a layin to
make it 44-38. But after Elms
grabbed a tough rebound on
a Marist miss, Jaca nailed a
3-pointer to give the Bulldogs
their biggest lead, at 47-38,
with 4:03 left.
“We hit some big shots,” Ra-
mos said.
But he said it was Baker’s play
on the other end of the court
that spurred the fourth-quar-
ter rally.
“We had a really good de-
fensive effort late in the game,”
Ramos said.
The Bulldogs didn’t quite
breeze through the final 4 min-
utes, however.
Baker’s leading scorer, Jozie
Ramos, had already spent con-
siderable time on the bench
after picking up her fourth
foul with 5:32 left in the third
quarter.
Ramos, who finished with a
team-high 13 points, drew her
fifth foul, against Doerr, with
2:09 left in the game.
Doerr made both free
throws to cut Baker’s lead to
50-44.
Flanagan also fouled out,
with 1 minute left.
Jason Ramos said he has
confidence in Baker’s roster,
so even with four players, in-
cluding two starters, unavail-
able, he wasn’t overly worried
about the Bulldogs’ ability to
hold the lead.
Baker made five free throws
in the final 2 minutes, includ-
ing a pair each by Moore and
Pierce, to thwart the Spartans’
comeback bid.
Baker had one of its best
games from the free throw line
this season, making 14 of 19.
The Bulldogs also shot a
season-high 60% from the
field, 21 for 35, including a
torrid 65% (11 for 17) in the
first half.
“We had a great offensive
performance, especially in the
fourth quarter,” Jason Ramos
said. “And we needed it.”
With Gyllenberg unavail-
able, Pierce, who normally
shares point guard duties,
ended up playing 31 of the 32
minutes. Pierce had 6 points, 3
assists and 3 steals.
Elms also played 31 minutes
in part due to Jozie Ramos
missing 11 minutes of game
time due to fouls.
Elms had a game-high 11
rebounds to go with her dozen
points.
Elms, who is one of Bak-
er’s core group of juniors
that also includes Flanagan,
Pierce, Ramos, Jaca, Moore
and Roy, said she hopes to
build on what the Bulldogs
accomplished this year.
“It inspired us as a group to
step it up next season because
being at the tournament and
winning made us hungry to
do better,” Elms said.
Flanagan said the trophy
was a welcome reward for a
season that started in early
December.
“I was so happy to have
won something — that proves
that we worked hard all sea-
son,” she said.
Jozie Ramos, who was an
all-tournament first team
honoree, agreed.
“It’s a reward for the hard
work all of us have put in
throughout the season,” she
said.
The fourth-place game was
close most of the way.
Doerr had a conventional
3-point play to open the scor-
ing, but Baker led 12-9 after
one quarter. Elms and Jozie
Ramos each had 4 points in
the opening quarter.
Moore’s two free throws
gave Baker a 16-11 lead early
in the second quarter, and
the Bulldogs’ lead reached 5
points two more times before
Marist, led by Doerr, rallied to
get within 28-27 at halftime.
John Gunther/Contributed Photo
Makenzie Flanagan scores a key layin in the fourth quarter of Baker’s
57-48 win over Marist in the 4th-place game of the Class 4A state tour-
nament on Saturday, March 12, 2022, at Marshfield High School.
The Spartans briefly led 34-
32 on Holmes’ 3-pointer and
a free throw late in the third
quarter, but Pierce converted
a layin to tie the score enter-
ing the final period.
After Marist made 48% of
its field goals in the first half,
Baker’s defense clamped down
in the second, holding the
Spartans to just 24%, on 6 of
25 shots.
Marist also struggled at the
free throw line, making 13
of 26.
Jason Ramos, who started
the season as an assistant
coach, took over as head
coach in December from
Buell Gonzales Jr. after the
first several games. Gonzales
stepped in after former coach
Mat Sand stepped down due
to conflicts with his business.
Ramos said “adapt” was
the mantra for the Bulldogs
throughout the season.
He said the players em-
braced every challenge they
faced as they compiled a 22-6
record, won the Greater Or-
egon League championship,
and added another trophy for
MARIST (48)
Doerr 8 4-9 21, Williams 1 1-4
4, Randol 0 0-0 0, Fuller 4 1-4
9, Sydow 0 0-0 0, Blansett 0
0-0 0, Holmes 1 7-9 10, Delee
0 0-0 0, Henderson 2 0-0 4.
Totals 15 13-29 48.
BAKER (57)
Elms 5 2-2 12, Flanagan 2 0-0
4, Wilde 0 0-2 0, Pierce 2 2-2
6, Ramos 5 3-4 13, Roy 0 0-0
0, Jaca 5 1-3 12, Moore 2 6-6
10. Totals 21 14-19 57.
Marist 9 18 7 14 — 48
Baker 12 16 6 23 — 57
Baker boys win a
trophy, too
The Baker girls weren’t alone
in bringing a trophy back
from the Class 4A state tour-
nament.
The Bulldog boys, who lost
58-47 to Junction City in the
quarterfinals and lost 67-60
to Philomath in the consola-
tion bracket — after leading
in both games — received
the Sportsmanship Award for
the tournament.
Baker coach Jebron Jones
said the team, which returns
all five starters next season,
benefited from its first ap-
pearance in the state tourna-
ment since 2007.
“It was a great learning ex-
perience for sure,” Jones said.
“I’m glad we were here so we
can see the top teams and
compare and hopefully be
better for next year.”
the display case in the Baker
gym.
“We’ve known the poten-
tial of this team coming into
the season,” Ramos said. “The
girls just did a great job adapt-
ing to the changes. I’m so
happy for the girls and proud
of them. It was a great way to
finish our season.”
in 2023, after losing only one
Baker should be a strong
senior, Katie Wilde, from the
contender for another trophy
varsity squad.
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