Benson turns back Grants Pass, rides suffocating defense to Oregon 6A girls basketball state semifinals

PORTLAND — A year ago, Benson unceremoniously saw its season come to an end one game short of reaching the Chiles Center. 

While injuries to key players played a role in their disappointment, the Techsters recognized this was the season to put it all together with the current group.

Benson started its tournament mission on a high note, using a suffocating defense to overwhelm Grants Pass in a wire-to-wire 51-30 victory in the Class 6A state quarterfinals Thursday night. 

“We took that very personal (missing the state tournament last year), especially for me,” said Benson senior Mahogany Chandler-Roberts, the three-time PIL player of the year. “I took that very personally. We should be making it here every single year. We did what we had to do, and that was to make it here this year.”

The Techsters’ defense was impenetrable from the opening tip. In the first half, Grants Pass was coerced into 15 turnovers, shot just 7 of 18 from the field and was held without a field goal for the first 4:50. 

Benson set the tone early and never let up, leading by 11 points after the first quarter and extending its advantage to 31-19 at halftime.

“That’s who we are,” Benson coach Eric Knox said. “Hair on fire, 94 feet, like Nolan Richardson and John Thompson. Those are my (coaching) heroes. Old school, get in your face and make it hard on them. We know at the end of the day, our identity is defense, not offense. If we’re not shooting well, we’re going to work our butts off to make sure you’re not shooting well, too.” 

Benson received a huge lift from senior guard Maruiana Hashemian-Orr, who nearly recorded a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and seven steals. The all-PIL second-team selection energized her team with two 3-pointers in the opening quarter and displayed her two-way ability by consistently causing havoc defensively.

“Mauriana is just tough,” Knox said. “She plays much bigger than her size. When Mauriana gets going, I always tell people she’s got the prettiest game in the state. Her game is beautiful. When she’s knocking down jumpers, there’s not much you can do with her. She’s shifty, she’s crafty, she can get to the bucket, she can hit floaters, and she can hit pro threes. She got us going today.”

Chandler-Roberts described Hashemian-Orr as an “amazing player” and couldn’t have been happier for her best friend. 

“We started playing basketball together, so it’s really good to see our games grow together,” said Chandler-Roberts, who signed with University of Central Florida. She finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

“She’s a great, great player. She’s a very key player to our team as well, so of course, she killed, for sure.”

The Techsters elevated their game in the second half, leading by 23 in the fourth quarter. They held the Cavers to 11 points after halftime and to 28.9 percent shooting (11 of 38) with 25 turnovers for the game.

Grants Pass coach Scott Wakefield said it just wasn’t his team’s night.

“We took a pretty good whooping right there,” said Wakefield. “Benson was firing on all cylinders. We caught them on a night where they weren’t missing, and we were making several mistakes. Our kids never really calmed down, so you get a result like that.

“(Their defense) affected us big-time. A lot of turnovers in the first half. You’re not going to win games when you have 15 turnovers, so a lot of self-inflicted wounds due to their pressure. Hats off to them — they played a great game.”

It was an unforgettable season for the Cavers (18-10), who knocked off No. 3 McMinnville 54-45 in the second round to reach the state tournament for the first time since 2006. 

Grants Pass was led by senior point guard Brooke Anderson, the Southwest Conference player of the year, who finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Fellow senior Brooklyn Wakefield, a first-team all-SWC selection, had six points, six rebounds and three steals

“I’ve been the coach for 15 years now, and we’re working hard every year to establish a good program, establish a culture,” Scott Wakefield said. “We don’t have the luxury of having a transfer walking in the door. If we don’t create it at Grants Pass, it’s not coming through the door. So, it’s been really cool creating the culture and having it end up in this fashion. This is the best team I’ve ever had, so I'm super proud of them.”

Benson (22-4) moves on behind its stingy defense that hasn’t allowed more than 34 points in its past nine games. But there’s still a feeling that the Techsters haven’t played their best, as they shot just 30.4 percent and had 15 turnovers Thursday.

“We could’ve played crisper,” Knox said. “Our ball movement got stagnant for a while. We have a thing called ping, ping, zip, zip, and that means the ball needs to be pinging off your hand and your feet need to be zipping. We weren’t pinging or zipping tonight as well as we typically do. I think we’ll get crisper as we go hopefully deeper into the tournament.”

Sophomore Samarah Massey added seven points, three rebounds and three steals off the bench, and senior Eboni Clay had six points, three rebounds and two assists.

Expectations have risen high around the Benson program since winning the 2019 state title, and Knox is confident with the group he’s got. 

“We feel like this is our year to put it together,” he said. “And this is the right group to do it.”

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Photos by Naji Saker