Benson had no fear entering semifinal showdown with mighty Clackamas: ‘They’ve got to worry about us’

PORTLAND — There was no big secret plan for the Benson Techsters to beat the defending state champions. 

“Coach said, ‘If you don’t know how Clackamas plays by now, then you don’t know basketball.’ We’ve seen Clackamas so many times,” Benson senior Mahogany Chandler-Roberts said Friday night at the Chiles Center. 

“We know their style of play. It’s basketball. Just go in here and play our game.” 

The Techsters did just that and ended Clackamas’ 45-game win streak against Oregon squads, beating the Cavaliers 51-47 in the semifinals of the OSAA 6A girls basketball state tournament.

And now it is No. 6 Benson (23-4) going to the state championship game. The Techsters will play No. 1 South Medford at 8:45 p.m. Saturday in the Chiles Center.

Chandler-Roberts had 19 points and 16 rebounds, Mauriana Hashemian-Orr had 17 points and eight rebounds, and the entire Benson squad put on a defensive clinic to take down Clackamas. 

“We played the best version of ourselves,” Benson coach Eric Knox said.

He was wearing a splashy suit, as is his tradition. But he also had a new shirt. That was a huge part of the team’s pre-game before Friday’s final four matchup. 

“You know what our strategy was? Nothing. Absolutely nothing,” Knox said. “I did something unprecedented. I didn’t do film. We did a half-ass shootaround. The closest we prepared for Clackamas was me going to Clackamas Town Center today to buy this shirt. That’s the only preparation we did for Clackamas.” 

There was a method to such madness. 

“The reason why is that sometimes we over-prepare and we make them larger than life,” Knox said. “I don’t want our kids to get psyched out. (The Cavaliers) put their shoes on, their socks on, just like us. I told our girls we’re not doing film. We’ve played them enough. We know who they are. We’re not going to worry about them. They’ve got to worry about us. 

“We’re enough. We’ve got enough to beat them, and we proved it tonight.”

It was a four-point win, but it was a decisive four-point win. Clackamas (22-4) never had the ball with a chance to tie the score after Benson took an 8-4 lead midway through the first quarter. 

The lead grew to 20 before the defending champions started to rally. 

Jazzy Davidson’s 3-pointer with 38 seconds left made it 50-47, but Clackamas would not get the ball back until after a free throw from Chandler-Roberts pushed the Benson lead to four with eight seconds remaining. The Cavaliers did not foul for 30 seconds after pulling to within three points. The one free throw gave the Techsters the winning cushion.

“This is my first time being here out of my whole high school career,” Chandler-Roberts said of the Chiles Center.

She was injured her sophomore year and the team missed reaching the elite eight last season. 

“I’ve been praying on this moment,” she said. “This is just the beginning. This is our come-up right now.”

Benson’s defense held Clackamas to 2-for-10 shooting and forced five turnovers in the first quarter, setting the tone. By halftime, Benson was up 31-16 and Clackamas was still struggling, shooting 21 percent. 

Benson’s Trinity Alex was fired up after her defense forced a rare five-second call, another one of Clackamas’ turnovers. She let her emotions out after that play.

“In that moment, I was so excited. I wanted to let people know,” Alex said.

Benson was going to be here, with that intensity, all night. 

“Defense is something we strive for, we prioritize,” Alex said. “Personally, my role as an individual on this team is to be a defender. I’m fine with that. I love playing defense. That’s my strength. I just knew my challenge was to shut down whoever I was on.”

Still, Benson knew the defending champions were not going to go away quietly. That meant every possession mattered, even with a big lead. 

The Cavaliers had cut a 20-point deficit to 15 late in the third quarter and were on a fast break that appeared to lead to two more points.

Nope.

Samarah Massey sprinted for the chase-down blocked shot, keeping the lead at 15. Just one more defensive gem in a game full of them for the Techsters.

“I told myself, ‘I've got to do something to help my team out.’ I had the rhythm, and I got the block,” Massey said.

In the fourth quarter, after another Clackamas run, Massey’s exceptional entry pass led to a basket by Chandler-Roberts to give Benson a nine-point lead.

“We’re all about teamwork, everybody playing together,” Massey said. “That’s what we’ve been focusing on this season. When we get it together, we’re unstoppable. You see it on the court. Everybody, we’re connected together. We’re amazing.”

Clackamas’ will to defend its title was still strong, though. The Cavaliers kept getting closer.

Davidson started the game 2 for 11 from the field, but she made 7 of her final 9 shots and finished with a game-high 24 points.

Allie Roden, who had 13 points for Clackamas, made a free throw with 2:41 to play to make it an eight-point game. Sara Barhoum’s drive to the basket made it 50-44 with 1:55 remaining.

Davidson’s 3-pointer with 38 seconds left got the attention of everyone in the building. 

“We were just hyping each other up. ‘Do we want to go out on a 20-point loss, or do we want to battle our way back into this game?’ I’m super proud of my teammates,” Davidson said. “They did a great job just getting us back into the game. Just one possession difference. It could have been a different game.”

The Cavaliers had to be thinking, what if? 

“I think there’s a lot of disappointment that we all are feeling from not achieving our goals,” Clackamas coach Korey Landolt said.

Clackamas, the No. 2 seed, will face No. 5 Willamette in the third-place game at 1:15 p.m. Saturday.

The Techsters know that while Friday’s victory was special, they are not done. After beating Clackamas, No. 1 South Medford awaits in the final. The Techsters likely will take a similar approach. 

“We weren’t really worried about ‘Clackamas, the defending champs,’” Massey said. “We treated this as any other game.”

Saturday’s “any other game” is for a state championship.

Benson will be ready, no matter how the Techters prepare. 

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Photos by Taylor Balkom