‘Class doesn’t really matter with this group.’ Freshman-led Clackamas storms past Lakeridge in 6A girls basketball quarterfinal, earns rematch with No. 1 Beaverton

By Paul Valencia | Photos by Dan Brood 

The Clackamas Cavaliers have arrived. 

Maybe early, or maybe, just maybe, right on time at the 2022 OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union Class 6A Girls Basketball Tournament.

The Cavaliers, who start four freshmen and a junior, have made it to the state semifinals, and they say they are not satisfied. 

Clackamas, the No. 5 seed, had no trouble with No. 4 Lakeridge on Thursday, taking down the Pacers 70-48 in the Chiles Center. The game was played under a running clock in the fourth quarter after the Cavaliers took a 30-point lead. 

Clackamas will face No. 1 Beaverton at 6:30 p.m. Friday for the right to play for a state championship Saturday.

Beaverton beat Clackamas by six points in December.

“We came out really slow the last time we played them,” freshman Avery Peterson said. “I think if we come out like we did tonight, I think it will be a breeze for us.” 

If that were a text, the next part of the thread could be the wide-eye emoji.

But Peterson has a point. If Clackamas does, indeed, play like it did Thursday, it could be a tough night for the top seed.

The Cavaliers scored 28 first-quarter points. At halftime, they were up 48-24 and were shooting 63 percent from the field. 

“Twenty-eight points in the first quarter? I gotta be honest with you, I didn’t know that we had scored that many until right now,” said junior post Eliza Buerk. “We were just going out there, we had a scout on offense and on defense, and we just executed it to the best of our abilities, and that ended up in buckets for us.”

A lot of them, too. 

Peterson finished 6 of 8 from the field and scored a team-high 17 points. She was 4 for 5 from 3-point range. Buerk ended up with a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Jazzy Davidson, a freshman who was recently named the Gatorade State Player of the Year, also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. And Sara Barhoum made three 3-pointers en route to her 12 points. 

Go down the box score, and there are a bunch of contributors to this run for the Cavaliers.

“It’s a phenomenal opportunity,” Buerk said of this freshman-dominated team. “We have a really young core, but all seven freshmen have really stepped up and risen to the occasion. Class doesn’t really matter with this group. We all have great respect for each other. At the end of the day, we really care for each other and we’re there for each other.” 

Clackamas put this one away with a 22-3 run to end the first quarter.

“Everyone was just making all of our shots,” Peterson said. “We were just hyping each other up. It felt really nice being out there. Just feels like we were gliding and connecting, and it was awesome.”

Lakeridge never recovered.

“Obviously it didn’t go the way that we wanted, but it didn’t change what we accomplished this season. It doesn’t change that we belong here,” Lakeridge coach Jason Brown said. “We just didn’t play as well as we’d like to. Not to take anything away from Clackamas. They played extremely well. They went after us hard.”

Keelie O’Hollaren made four 3-pointers and scored 18 points to pace Lakeridge. Reese Ericson added 13 points.

This Lakeridge team still won a Three Rivers League title and still has a shot at taking home a trophy from state. 

“Nobody can take that from us,” Brown said. “We worked really hard all season, and that’s what we earned. We’ve got a chance to play again (Friday) morning. If we take care of business, we play Saturday. Still a lot of opportunity there. We have to bring it.”

Lakeridge will face West Linn at 9 a.m. Friday in the consolation round. The winner will play in the fourth-place game.

Clackamas, meanwhile, is looking for more than just a final four appearance in the championship bracket.

“Our goal, it’s not to beat Lakeridge,” Buerk said. “It’s to win a state title. We made it here, and that’s great. But our goal is state. Period.”