WEST LINN – The way things started Friday night, No. 4 Tigard appeared to be headed straight into an ambush in a Three Rivers League girls basketball game at No. 7 West Linn.
The host Lions, league runners-up to the Tigers the last three seasons, were operating at high efficiency as they hit their first six shots and built an eight-point lead. It also didn’t help Tigard that its best player, senior guard Campbell Gray, wasn’t at full strength as she battled an illness.
The veteran Tigers quickly got things straightened out, however, scoring 17 consecutive points to establish control and pull away for a 63-46 win. It wasn’t unlike Tuesday, when Tigard fell behind Canby 13-2 before recovering for a 20-point win.
“We kind of have a pattern of starting slow, and we need to work on it,” said junior guard Delaney Leavitt, who accounted for seven points in the 17-point surge. “But we always get better at keeping composure, at understanding that we’ll get the rhythm, we’ll get going. It has a lot to do with our experience.”
Having fourth-year varsity players such as Gray and senior point guard Paige LaFountain – key members of the 2016 state runner-up team -- is a calming influence for the Tigers (11-2, 2-0).
“I think three of us have played on this court three of four times,” Gray said. “It definitely helps having people know what they’re doing out there.”
West Linn coach Brooke Cates praised the Tigers, who have beaten four teams in the top 10 of the OSAAtoday 6A coaches poll, including No. 1 Southridge, the two-time reigning state champion.
“They’re really good. They’re well coached,” Cates said. “They’ve got a lot of experience, a lot of maturity. They’re hard to stop. They can all score, and they were just really hot. The came right back at us.”
The UC Davis-bound Gray continued her sterling season by scoring a game-high 24 points. She made 10 of 19 shots from the field, repeatedly driving through West Linn’s defense to convert or dish.
“She had some great attacks to the rim, and some great passes,” Tigard coach Steve Naylor said. “Sometimes she’s a point, sometimes she’s a two. Tonight she wasn’t feeling well before the game, so we tried to ease up, but she just keeps on going hard.”
The Lions played without their starting point guard, sophomore Cami Fulcher, who missed her second consecutive game with a high ankle sprain. Cates said she expects Fulcher to be out another week.
Still, West Linn (8-4, 1-1) came out blazing against Tigard. The Lions hit three three-pointers – two by junior Elisabeth Dombrow and one by sophomore Audrey Roden – as they took a 13-5 lead. Aaronette Vonleh, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, also had three baskets before West Linn missed a shot.
“It wasn’t like we were playing bad. They were just making good passes, good shots,” Naylor said. “I think we did a good job of not panicking. We didn’t call timeout. We’ve got a veteran crew. We try to play through it, and hit some shots, and tonight we did.”
Gray, Leavitt and senior post Dani Lyons made three-pointers as Tigard turned a 15-8 deficit into a 23-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. Gray finished off the 17-0 run with two free throws to start the second quarter.
“I don’t think we feel much stress at all when we get down,” Gray said.
Tigard led 30-22 at half, then used a 12-0 run to extend the advantage to 48-26 in the third quarter. West Linn was unable to mount a consistent attack as it committed 22 turnovers, compared to seven for Tigard.
“It hurts to not have your starting point guard,” Cates said. “But they played really well. They’re just a really good, seasoned basketball team. They’re going to be one that’s in it at the end, somewhere along the line.”
Dombrow and Vonleh scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, for West Linn. In addition to Gray’s 24, Tigard also got 13 points from Leavitt and 12 from junior guard Kennedy Brown.
The win gives Tigard an early edge in the Three Rivers, which also includes No. 9 St. Mary’s Academy and Oregon City. The Tigers play host to West Linn on Feb. 5.
“There are some other good teams in the league, as well, but they’re definitely top three,” Gray said of the Lions. “Cami’s out, but they’ll be a little better next time we play them.”
