By Jeremy McDonald
jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
AMITY, Ore.– Cascade and Amity Girls Basketball lived up to the hype Saturday night at Amity High School. The speed of the Warriors went up against the physicality of the Cougars. It’s something you normally see at a mid-season showcase or a final site game at Coos Bay or Forest Grove, but normally not the first game of the season.
And despite the rust, both teams battled. The contest came down to who made the least amount of mistakes.
The 4A Cascade squad had a chance to win it in regulation when Olivia Bennett drove for the game-winner, only to see the Warriors clutch up to force overtime with the game tied at 35 apiece. It gave the packed house, something reminiscent of a rivalry game instead of a non-league game with how well the Cougars fanbase traveled from Turner and the Amity faithful that came in, something to stay in the game with.
For Cascade, to come into that environment. First game of the year and against the 3A State Runner-Up from last year and 3A State favorites again this year, they rose to the occasion.
“It’s a tough one to start with, they’re an elite caliber team that’s going to have a great season and we knew that coming in. We knew we’re going to be right there too, just knocking at the door.” said Cascade Head Coach Nick Randall. “What I love about playing a team like this, at this level, it’s a great indicator of where we’re at and where we need to go. I thought our girls played very physical, we rebounded the ball very well. If we can hang our heads on our helpside, our hard-nose defense and rebounding, all the other stuff will come.
“When you complete that kind of high-level game Day One, it’s only up from here. It’s weird, in a loss, that we’re motivated, which is fantastic. I’m super proud of my girls and hats off to (Amity), they run a great set, they are well coached, they play hard, they’re really quick and at the same time, so are we. We were right there with them.”
It was high-level basketball to kick-off the season as the two teams tipped it off for overtime. Bennett put the Cougars ahead 37-35 before Amity tied it up at 37 as fatigue was sinking in for both teams.
“It was super hard, we were tired with the overtime. It was a good test, we came out on top and it showed that we can power through even if we’re struggling mentally and physically,” said the Warriors Alyssa McMullen.
McMullen’s three-point shots at the 2:53 and 1:30 mark proved to be the deciding factor for Amity in their 45-42 victory as it turned a 37-all tie into a 43-37 cushion and gave the hometown squad a bit of a extra pep in their step to close out the victory over Cascade.
“Those were crucial at the end of the game, obviously for the points but it also picked our team up. We were able to work hard on defense to get some steals and it really brought the energy up, so we can finish out the game, even though we were really tired,” said McMullen.
Adie Nisly led Amity with 12 points, Eliza Nisly contributed another 11 as Amity will be off until December 16 when they play at Taft to open PacWest Conference play. Rozalynn Schmunk scored 13 points to lead the Cougars and Bennett finished the game with ten points as Cascade will head home on Thursday to play 3A Jefferson.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
