West Albany secured a spot in the semifinals of the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 5A girls basketball state tournament after defeating defending champion Crater 69-62 on March 12 at Linfield University.
The victory marks West Albany’s first quarterfinals win since 2012 and comes after a season where they finished as Mid-Willamette Conference champions. The Bulldogs will face top-seeded Redmond at 6:30 p.m. Friday in McMinnville for a chance to reach their first-ever finals appearance.
“It just means so much because we haven’t had this in 15-20 years,” said junior Natalie Tidwell, who led West Albany with 22 points. “Alongside my best friends, there’s so much love. We love practice, we love each other and doing it with the people I love most means so much to me.”
Crater focused its defense on limiting Payton Stalwart, who recently broke the single-season record for three-pointers made. Despite this, Tidwell and Lola Chamberlain stepped up offensively for West Albany. Head coach Shawn Stinson praised Chamberlain’s versatility, saying, “We call (Chamberlain) a point-forward because she really helps us out with ball handling in the open court. She’s a heady, smart player and she’s come a long way since last year.”
Crater’s Taylor Young scored 36 points but fouled early in the fourth quarter, allowing Stalwart more opportunities to contribute down the stretch. “It is almost impossible I would say,” Stalwart said about trying to slow down Young. “She is crazy and I know she’s going to do so good at Oregon State… She works so hard on the court and I’m really happy for her.”
As the game neared its end, key plays from Tidwell and Stalwart helped secure the win for West Albany. “Natalie is clutch, she’s a gamer, the kid can absolutely shoot,” Stinson said.
In other quarterfinal action, Redmond defeated Silverton 67-51 to advance to its third consecutive semifinal appearance; South Albany edged Wilsonville 47-43; and Springfield beat Crook County 67-47. The semifinals are set for Friday night at Linfield University.
Looking ahead, West Albany aims for only its second-ever finals appearance while Crater moves into consolation play against Silverton.
