Jazzy Davidson, Clackamas fall short in quest for back-to-back titles: ‘We just weren’t ourselves’

Clackamas shows fight to the finish, but Benson holds on to knock Cavaliers from their perch atop Oregon 6A girls basketball

Author:
Alex Tam
Publish date:
Mar 9, 2024 3:58 AM EST

PORTLAND — As the defending state champions, the Clackamas players and coaches knew the target was on them.

And rightfully so — they deserved it. The Cavaliers entered Friday’s 6A semifinal riding a 13-game win streak, having not lost to an Oregon team this season and considered by many to be the favorite to win back-to-back state titles.

But after a stunning first half that saw Clackamas down by 15 and a deficit that grew to 20 in the third quarter, the Cavaliers’ late push proved to be too little, too late, in a 51-47 defeat to Benson at the Chiles Center.

“We’re really disappointed,” said Clackamas junior Jazzy Davidson, who finished with a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds. “A lot of things were really uncharacteristic of us in the first half. We just got it going too late, really. I think we really let some of the calls affect us and it played into our play a lot, and we just weren’t ourselves. (Benson is) a great team and they took advantage of it.”

Nothing much went right for Clackamas in the opening two quarters. Its normally potent offense that entered Friday averaging 72.9 points per game was limited to 16 points at halftime. The Cavaliers shot just 20.8 percent from the field (5 of 24) and 18.2 percent from 3-point range (2 of 11).

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“It was definitely out of character that we missed wide-open layups, missed free throws and we missed kick-out 3-pointers,” coach Korey Landolt said. “That’s our identity and who we are and how we move the ball. When we started getting the looks we wanted, then not being able to execute and not get anything out of it, that was frustrating for the players.

“I think they did a great job picking each other up during halftime. They came out in the second half and looked a little more like ourselves.”

Landolt described the first half as a snowballing effect, where missed shots and missed defensive rotations impacted their energy.

“They decided after halftime that they weren’t going to take it anymore and decided to fight,” Landolt said. “That’s my group. That first-half team wasn’t really who we were, so that’s a frustrating way to lose that game. …

“Credit to Benson — they played their butts off and they made us do things that was maybe a little uncharacteristic of who we are, like rushed shots, that kind of stuff. So, I think we’re frustrated with feeling we maybe beat ourselves a little bit, too.”

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Clackamas battled back and cut the deficit to three at 50-47 on Davidson’s 3-pointer with 42 seconds left. The Cavaliers’ defense then scrambled defensively to force a turnover on the next possession but fouled Benson’s three-time PIL player of the year, Mahogany Chandler-Roberts, who made 1 of 2 free throws with eight seconds to go to seal the game.

In the postgame locker room, Landolt said the message was simple: They can choose to finish the season strong or not in the third-place game against Willamette on Saturday at 1:15 p.m.

“I just told them that they have a choice to make, right?” Landolt said. “If we want to just go home, then that’s a choice they can make. Or, if they want to continue fighting together as a group, then do their best tomorrow.”

But it was clear there was obvious frustration in not achieving their goal.

“We’re just disappointed,” Davidson said. “I think we really wanted to go back-to-back this year, but we have an opportunity to get third tomorrow, so we’re more focused on that right now.”