Vale High School’s girls basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 3A basketball championships after a decisive 58-20 victory over Sutherlin on Thursday at Marshfield High School.
“At the start of the season, we said, ‘We were this close last year, we want to work that much harder to get there,” said Vale’s Kesley Stapleton, one of six seniors for the Vikings playing in their third tournament.
The Vikings established an early lead and maintained control throughout the game. They will face Creswell in the semifinals, marking Vale’s third consecutive appearance at this stage. Creswell reached its first semifinal by defeating Sisters 52-40.
The other semifinal features a rematch between defending champion Amity and Banks. Amity secured its spot with a 48-26 win over Pleasant Hill, while Banks overcame Valley Catholic 51-24.
“We’ve kind of been on a mission,” Vale coach Randy Seals said. “There’s so many teams here, you can’t overlook anyone.”
Vale encountered challenges breaking through Sutherlin’s match-up zone defense but improved as the game progressed. “We cleaned up our scheme a little bit,” Seals said. “Once we got the ball moving, we got better shots.”
The Vikings shot 43 percent from the field and made 40 percent of their three-point attempts. Elli Jacobs contributed significantly during her birthday game, hitting two three-pointers early as Vale took a commanding lead.
Sutherlin narrowed the gap briefly in the first quarter but struggled offensively afterward. Makaila Mcclatcher led Sutherlin with nine points but her team managed only one more point in the first half after her jumper late in the opening period.
“Our defense really dug in after the first quarter,” Seals said.
“Early in the game, Sutherlin did a good job of beating our press and getting to the basket. Mcclatcher is so fast. During a timeout I told the team we’ve got to keep in front of them and make them take tough shots. We did that.”
Sutherlin scored just six field goals on 27 attempts for 22 percent shooting overall and converted only one field goal over three quarters.
“I think that our defense is what we always do well,” Jacobs said. “That’s what we focus on.”
Stapleton led all scorers with 14 points for Vale; Jacobs added 11 points while Karlee Crane recorded four points along with seven rebounds and four assists.
Thursday’s result brings Vale closer to its goal of winning a state championship. “We’ve played since we were in kindergarten together,” Jacobs said. “We’ve wanted it all our lives.” Stapleton added: “I think all of us contribute. It makes it fun to play together. We all want to try hard for each other.”
Sutherlin will play Sisters in Friday morning’s consolation semifinals at North Bend High School.
In other quarterfinal games:
Creswell defeated Sisters by pulling away in the fourth quarter for its first-ever trip to the semifinals. Coach Tyler Hollingsworth credited defensive stops and key plays: “That was really awesome… That was a dogfight… Somebody’s got to make plays.” Elliette Kinney scored all 17 of her points after halftime; Raelee Green had 12 points and Kylie Leonard added 11 as Creswell hit eight three-pointers for a second straight game.
Banks used an effective third quarter—outscoring Valley Catholic by sixteen—to secure its win without making any three-pointers; Clarissa Shurts led with 22 points.
Amity built an early lead against Pleasant Hill behind Alyssa McMullen’s six three-pointers (20 total points). Both teams combined for thirty steals as turnovers impacted play throughout.
