Fresh off 6A runner-up performance, Barlow girls basketball has plenty to be excited about next winter: ‘I like the girls we have coming back’

By Dave Ball | Photos by Taylor Balkom

The Barlow girls basketball team was the surprise of this year’s 6A basketball tournament, notching wins over No. 2 Jesuit and No. 3 South Medford to reach the state title game. 

Suffice it to say the Bruins won’t be surprising anyone next season.

The Bruins expect to be in the mix again behind a talented junior class highlighted by point guard Kennedie Shuler and wing Annie Koenig — who both received second-team all-tournament recognition. Koenig ranked second in scoring with 18.3 points per game over the championship weekend. Shuler was among the top 10 at 12 points per game. Both players were among the long-ball leaders, hitting eight 3-pointers apiece. 

The talented class also returns shooter Olivia Payne along with post players Rilyn Quirke and Haidyn Sobella, who were a regular part of this season’s rotation.

“They are such hard workers. I know they will put in the time during the offseason,” Barlow coach Nick Hudson said. “The junior class in Oregon is really strong, but I like the girls we have coming back.” 

Barlow has some spots to fill, notably with the graduation of defensive stopper Melanie Hiu and sharp-shooting guard Lindsay Barden — another Bruin on the all-tournament second team.

The Bruins (25-4) put together a 12-game win streak that started during the holiday break and ran off another streak of 10 wins that landed the team in the 6A final.

Barlow fell behind by 22 early in its title-game loss to Beaverton but battled back to within single digits twice in the second half.

“Their resiliency stands out. At halftime they could have mailed it in and said, ‘OK, this is going to be a blowout,’ but they didn’t,” Hudson said. “They came out and went on a good run that put Beaverton on its heels a bit. There was no panic when the chips were stacked against them.”

While Barlow’s comeback ultimately came up short, it did energize the crowd at the Chiles Center — a crowd that included some future Bruins. 

“My seventh-grade daughter’s team was here tonight, our eighth-grade team came out — they look up to those girls on the court,” Hudson said. “These girls are role models.”