By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
MILL CITY, Ore.– Colton turned to their strength to turn things around against Santiam in Thursday’s Tri-River Conference Third-Place Game:
Defense.
The past few years, the Vikings have relied on their defense to finish sixth in 2A two years ago and reach the 2A State Playoffs again last year. A win on Thursday would send them back to the postseason once more. And in Thursday’s game, with their season on the line down 18-11 entering the second half, Colton looked to their defense to turn things around.
It worked.
By the end of the third quarter, the Vikings trailed the Wolverines 24-22 and, in one point in the fourth quarter, held a 28-27 lead over Santiam thanks to Taylor Quintana’s basket. It was grit, determination, and willpower that had them knocking on the postseason for the fourth-straight year.
“Just like gritty, we’re just really gritty. Just trying to stay up, trying to get them not to hit threes. It’s just a lot of mentally strong plays to stay up on them,” said Colton’s Addison English.
The Viking defense held Santiam to two three-pointers in what would be a 38-35 double overtime victory for Colton, both three’s coming the way of Maizy Downey who led the Wolverines with 16 points.
Santiam had their own grit and determination. They didn’t let Colton’s second-half push weigh too heavily on their minds as they responded to Quintana’s points with a Downey basket with 2:53. The Vikings responded with Rylee Beach splitting her free throws that had the game knotted up at 29 with 1:35 left in the game.
That was the last point of regulation. Both teams defense’s clamped up over the final 95 seconds to force overtime. And though both teams had their chances in the first overtime, the game marched on into a second overtime tied at 33.
“They’re a group of kids that give 110 percent every day. I couldn’t be more proud of them in the way that they fought. It wasn’t the outcome we wanted. It’s the way basketball is sometimes. The ball doesn’t bounce your way. The calls don’t go exactly your way. The game doesn’t end the way you want,” said Santiam Head Coach Hannah Thompson. “I’m super proud of the girls, they’ve grown so much this season and just competed. They’re a gritty group, I’ll miss our seniors definitely.”
Colton hit a three early in the second overtime that pushed them ahead 36-33. That three, by way of Chayse Smith, proved to be clutch. Santiam cut it to 36-35 by way of Averie Peterson with 2:28 left in the second overtime period. The Wolverines had a chance to retake the lead moments later off a steal and lay-in, but couldn’t finish the opportunity. Colton couldn’t add much to their lead outside a pair of free throws late, but their defense kept Santiam off their footing to keep this game from possibly going towards a third overtime and closed out the 38-35 victory.
For a team who had to win the four-five match-up and the third-place match-up this week alone to qualify for the playoffs, the emotions were high post-game for the Vikings.
“This meant so much to us. We didn’t think we’ll make it this far,” said English. “It took a lot. It took a whole lot of mental and physical, so we had to get it together and hype each other up to win this game.”
English finished the game with ten points, and Smith finished with another eight points.
Brooke Massey and Reese Longfellow each contributed six points each in their final basketball game as Wolverines. Santiam finished the season 14-10 and only graduated five seniors from this squad.
“I’m excited for the group that we have returning. That sophomore group that I have, they’ve been waiting for their turn. They’ve been battling in practice, and it doesn’t always show. They don’t play as many minutes in the games, but they’re the reflection of this team, too. They don’t get to show it all the time, but they show up every single day and make each other better too,” said Thompson.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
