TURNER, Ore.– The Cascade press kept the fire to the feet of Jefferson. That press helped create turnovers that resulted in points on the other side of the court as shown when they led 18-3 after the first quarter over the Lions.
It was their second 3A PacWest Conference opponent in as many games played this season as they took the 2024 3A State Runner-Up Amity to Overtime back on Saturday. And once again, that press that they had rose to the occasion.
“With the team we have, the athleticism we have, we need to thrive in it versus everyone. That’s going to be who we are the next couple of years,” said Cascade’s Olivia Bennett of the press.
Jefferson, a 3A playoff team the last two seasons, held the Cougars honest to their defensive principles. They took advantage of their opportunities that they had as they clawed back into the game, a 13-0 run by the Lions made it a 18-16 game by the 3:20 mark of the second quarter following a Gretchen Orton three-pointer.
Cascade turned up the defensive heat again as they rebuilt the lead to 27-18 before Jefferson’s next run to 27-23 early in the third quarter. The Cougars tried to push their lead once more to a solid double-digit margin as they did in the first quarter, but the Lions scrapped and battled to keep it within reach going into the fourth quarter.
It was 38-30 going into the final eight minutes.
Cascade’s used to these battles, Jefferson’s getting a taste of it this offseason in hopes it’ll help them reach Coos Bay in March.
Jefferson’s Gretchen Orton (Left) and Lions Head Coach Zach Maison (Right) trading a few words during Thursday’s Game (Picture By Jeremy McDonald)
Pleasant Hill, Corbett. Banks and now the Cougars. All playoff teams, all final site teams. And for a program which won their first-ever playoff game two years ago, they’re hanging around while looking to improve.
“They’re putting us into a position where we’re playing really tough teams on the road and we’re able to learn from those spots of where those tough teams take it to us like Cascade did to us tonight,” said Jefferson Head Coach Zach Maison. “We’ll come back and talk about a few things. We’ll pick out some things that we really need to work on, we’ll watch a little bit of film. Fortunately for us, we play tomorrow night so we won’t have to think about things too much, we’ll turn around and we got to go again. We know what we need to do.”
But the Cougars. Looking for a deep 4A run and Forest Grove for the final site themselves again this season, they brought the hammer down to start the fourth quarter. Within 90 seconds of the final frame, that eight point lead was now 20 as they led 50-30 en route to a 61-33 victory Thursday night.
“It was huge, we all wanted to pull this off. We talked in one of our timeouts, our intensity was coming down on defense and we needed to keep pushing and focus on that. That was keeping us in it, our defense and not allowing (Gretchen Orton) and them to score,” said the Cougars Cassidy Crabtree. “It was a really big quarter for us and I’m glad we could come together and figure it out.”
“(Cascade’s) aggressive. We need to learn how to play aggressive teams, Amity’s aggressive. It’s really good for us to learn how to break presses and go through contact and I think that’s something we learned tonight,” adds Orton. “Our communication is a big thing, we have a tough time with that. We got some young players that are still getting going, it’s only our fourth game. So that’s a big thing and just being aggressive.”
Orton finished with a team-high 17 points for Jefferson while Bennett led Cascade with 20 points. Both teams return to the court of play Friday, the Cougars host Astoria before entering the Capitol City Classic on December 19 while the Lions host Rainier before starting PacWest Conference play.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
Jefferson’s Gretchen Orton (Left) and Lions Head Coach Zach Maison (Right) trading a few words during Thursday’s Game (Picture By Jeremy McDonald)
