Silverton erases 17-point deficit, storms back to beat Crater for 5A girls basketball title: ‘They were tough; we just had to be tougher’

Kyleigh Brown, a Portland State signee, has 22 points and 12 rebounds as Foxes win their fourth OSAA state championship

Author:
Bob Lundeberg
Publish date:
Mar 10, 2024 4:43 AM EDT

McMINNVILLE — Trailing by 17 points midway through the third quarter, Silverton leaned back on two of its pregame talking points.

Grit and toughness.

The top-seeded Foxes were largely out-gritted and out-toughed in the opening half, and Silverton head coach Alyssa Ogle let her team know about it. The second half didn’t start any better, but Silverton eventually found its footing and became the aggressor in Saturday’s 5A state championship game against No. 2 Crater.

Playing with immense grit and toughness down the stretch, the Foxes forced overtime and secured their first state title since 2016 with a 61-60 victory at Ted Wilson Gymnasium. Kyleigh Brown made 2 of 3 free throws late in regulation to tie it, and Olivia Boyd split a pair with 0.3 second remaining to deliver the comeback win.

“We had a really good halftime talk, and we knew we had to get it together,” said Boyd, a senior forward who helped Gervais win the 2A title last season. “We just had to play our hardest. … They were tough, and we just knew we had to be tougher.”

Sage Winslow hit a jumper at the 4:20 mark of the third quarter that gave Crater (26-2) a 45-28 lead. The Foxes (24-4) ripped off an 18-1 run to get back in it, pulling even on two free throws by Brown with 11 seconds remaining in the period.

“It was just about playing smart, taking care of the ball, getting stops and drawing fouls,” Brown said of the run. “It was about knowing who to get into foul trouble and just making smart plays.”

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Sage Winslow, Lydia Traore and Abigail Winslow sat for portions of the third quarter because of foul trouble. Sage, a junior guard and Crater’s leading scorer, fouled out on a charge call with 1:58 left in regulation. Abigail and Addison Dippel exhausted their foul limits in overtime.

Crater head coach Scott Dippel said the foul trouble was difficult to manage during Silverton’s comeback.

“And they hit two big shots in the corner … those were big swing plays,” coach Dippel said of back-to-back 3-pointers by Grace Hayashida — one of which she drew a foul on for a four-point play. “We came back from it a little bit and leveled things out, but by then we had already missed some opportunities.”

The Comets went back up six early in the fourth on Traore’s transition finish, but Traore and Sage Winslow picked up their fourth fouls within seconds of each other and headed back to the bench.

Brown drew a foul on a 3-point attempt with 4.1 seconds remaining and Silverton trailing 56-54. She missed the first — the Foxes finished 16 of 28 from the line — but made the next two to force overtime.

Silverton scored the first four points in overtime, but Crater rallied without the Winslows and pulled even at 60-60 on a basket by Jazmine Fernandez. Both teams had opportunities to score in the final minute before Boyd grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled on a putback attempt.

After missing her first free throw attempt long, Boyd sank the second to ice the game.

“I really wanted to make one of them,” Boyd said. “I knew I had to make one of them, but my legs were shaking. That was … just so much relief through my body when I made that second one.”

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Added Brown: “I’m just so happy for Liv. To come to Silverton and help us throughout the whole season and be able to finish it for us, I’m just so proud of her.”

Brown, a Portland State signee, led the way for Silverton with 22 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Hayashida and Justina Semerikov added 13 points apiece.

Sage Winslow had another big night with 22 points, five rebounds, three assists and five steals before fouling out. At one point in the fourth quarter, all five Crater starters were playing with four fouls.

“What a fantastic group,” coach Dippel said of his team. “We’re going to get back here. I’ve got a lot of confidence that we’ll be back here next year.

“We came up short, but we didn’t do it by not playing hard or making mental mistakes.”

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Crater, which has never won a state title, is a four-time runner-up: 1998, 2000-01, 2024.

Addison Dippel and Sage Winslow knocked down consecutive 3-pointers to give the Comets an early 6-2 lead. Pressure-oriented Crater forced eight first-quarter turnovers and led 17-10 heading to the second.

Four consecutive points by Traore made it 21-10, but the Foxes answered right back with an 8-0 run as the Winslow sisters sat on the bench in early foul trouble. Sage returned and scored Crater’s next eight points for a 29-23 halftime lead.

“The first half was extremely tough,” Brown said. “They scrap all over; they just fly around and cause chaos. I think coming out in the second half, it was really important for us to slow down, find open windows and score.”

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The Foxes did exactly that to claim the program’s fourth state title, joining teams from 1989, 1994 and 2016.

“No one believed in us the whole season,” Brown said. “They ranked us fifth in the (preseason Mid-Willamette Conference poll), they didn’t think we could win our first playoff game or the next one coming in here. I am so proud of everyone. We didn’t play a great game tonight, but we stuck together and just leaned on each other the whole game. I think that really helped us get the win.”