By Jeremy McDonald
jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
SALEM, Ore.– It was one of those mentally challenging games for both the Cascade and McNary Girls Basketball teams in the Capitol City Classic Camry Bracket Consolation Finals Sunday afternoon at Chemeketa Community College.The shots weren’t falling, the game was tied at five apiece after one and the 4A Cougars led 15-7 by the halftime break. It was one of those games in which the negative thoughts could start filtering in fast as you go back on defense. But for the most part, both teams kept that at bay as they kept playing defense and kept putting shots up.”It was a rough first quarter for sure, but we talked about it, and we knew we could play better than that. We dug in on defense, changed the little things, and we started doing better and backing the rebounds, and we just started executing on our offense,” said Cascade’s Cassidy Crabtree. ” It’s not over in the first quarter. It’s not over in the second quarter. It’s over when the buzzer goes off, and we need to keep going until it’s over. It feels good to know that we can do this again like last year, show up again, and show the big schools that we’re a 4A school, but we can hang with you guys. We’re here and that we’re not just a little school in a cornfield.”Fatigue was evident. Three games in three, four days is a lot. But tournament’s like the Capitol City Classic prepares you for moments like that in league or playoffs where you could be playing three games a week with minimal rest.And as the two squads fought through the fatigue, the basket’s began to fall. Cascade led 24-12 going into the third, and the fourth quarter saw both teams crack double-figures on offense for the first time all game. The Cougars won the game 35-26, but the Celtics finished the game with a 14-11 frame going into the Christmas break.”I told them after the game that I was proud of how we ended that game because there were moments in there…shots that we normally would make, shots that we would make in games and in practice weren’t falling,” said McNary Head Coach Brittany Dunn. “Our mental game, every single game, is getting better. We’re getting tougher mentally, and I think with this tough preseason, that’s what we’re hoping for as we move forward into league. It’ll be a way to finish the season even stronger mentally.”
Asia St. John led the Celts with nine points, McNary heads to McDaniel High School Friday to start the POA Holiday Classic against Skyview of Washington. Rozalynn Schmunk led the Cougars with 11 points. Cascade will have a quick turnaround as they head to Medford to play in the Cascade Christian tournament starting on Thursday.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
