The Regis girls basketball team won the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 2A state championship on Mar. 7 by defeating Stanfield 55-35 at the Pendleton Convention Center.
The victory marks Regis’s first state title in twelve years, with their last championship coming in 2014. The Rams finished the season with a record of 29-1.
“I am super proud of these girls,” Regis coach Tim Manning said. “They have worked so hard all season. We were fortunate to close it out with a win and make the blood, sweat and tears this season worth it.”
Stanfield matched its best finish in school history by placing second for the second consecutive year. “You look at where we started to where we ended, we were written off as a maybe,” Stanfield coach Dan Sharp said. “We knocked off a couple of good teams to get to the championship game. It’s never fun to lose, but the journey was great.”
Regis led after each quarter, pulling away in the second period and maintaining control throughout the rest of the game. Hadley Foster led Regis with 21 points and 15 rebounds, while Frankie Koehnke contributed 16 points, five steals, and four assists. Lexi Lulay added eight points and seven rebounds for the Rams.
Sharp credited Regis’s guards and Foster’s rebounding as key factors: “They got offensive rebounds, putbacks and free throws,” he said. “We stood around watching at times instead of getting after it. Their two guards (Clara Persons and Frankie Koehnke) are super tough, and No. 30 (Hadley Foster) was the X-factor. She got the offensive rebounds and second-chance points.”
Manning praised Stanfield’s effort: “Stanfield is a scrappy team with really good shooters,” he said. “They play good defense. Our goal was to drive to the hoop and make some free throws.”
For Stanfield, Kayla Monkus scored 14 points along with five assists and nine rebounds; Kahleigha Haney had nine points and eight rebounds; Taylor Sperr added six points and ten rebounds.
Looking ahead, Manning expressed optimism about his team’s future: “Hopefully there is more to come with this group,” he said. “It is very talented. We hope to be back in the future.” Sharp also recognized his players’ efforts: “Taylor and Kayla had great tournaments,” he said. “Kahleigha puts her heart into everything.”
