By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
MCMINNVILLE, Ore.– Those early morning, breakfast games are tough.
But both Silverton and Crater were able to knock off the day one rust to pull it together and gave us a battle that echoed that of their 5A State Title game two years ago.
The Foxes led 13-12 over the Comets after the opening quarter, Silverton taking the lead off a three-quarter shot by Chloe Kuschnick. Crater drew some fouls in the second quarter to pull ahead at the half 28-27.
Both teams had minor runs, but couldn’t pull any further ahead than four during the third quarter with the Foxes leading the Comets by two going into the fourth quarter. Both teams were hungry to keep their season alive for one more game and to bring home a trophy.
“Our kids did a good job bringing the energy and I’m proud of them for that. The second half was big for us, unfortunately down the stretch the ball didn’t fall in the hoop enough for us, but I was proud of us in the second half,” said Silverton Head Coach Alyssa Ogle.
Crater’s defense was tough all game long. The Foxes had their moments throughout the game where they found cracks in the Comets defense to capitalize, as they did in the fourth quarter, but Crater’s defense came in clutch when the Southern Oregon squad needed it to be.
Silverton led 49-43 with 3:30 left in the game, they seemed to have momentum in their favor as they were finally able to get that one run going against the Comets. But as Crater did throughout the game, they had one more wrinkle, that one more curveball, to throw Silverton’s way.
And over the final 3:30 of the game, that curve ball worked as they were able to use an 8-0 run to close out the victory and advance to Saturday’s fourth-place game against Crook County on Saturday.
“They’re always great, it’s always a battle with Crater. We enjoy it,” Ogle said of the Crater defense.
Though it wasn’t the ending they were hoping for coming off a State Title win two years ago and a third-place finish last year, but the Foxes are returning some big names into next year.
They may be losing names like Allie Mansur, Maggie Davisson and Susie Efimov, but return some talent like Marley Wertz, Karlee Martirano and Chole Kuschnick. Martirano and Kuschnick each had near double-doubles in the defeat. Martirano finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Kuschnick with a team-high 13 points and eight boards as the Foxes will look to retool and reload following their 19-9 season this year.
“It was a great experience and we’re just going to keep building on what we continue to build every year. Every season is not the end, it’s just another way to build off to the next year. Players come and go, but the program stays the same,” Ogle said.
Taylor Young led the Comets with 29 points with six rebounds and four steals.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
