It was late last season when Crater girls basketball coach Scott Dippel realized how much his sophomore-dominated team was ahead of the learning curve.
Heading into the 5A playoffs, Dippel introduced his players to some new concepts, then watched as they put them into play in a first-round win over Wilsonville.
“We were able to execute things that I gave them two days in advance,” Dippel said. “To me it was like, wow, I didn't expect that from them that early.”
Nearly a year later, the Comets are seeking the next level. And with five returning starters from a team that finished 20-8 and lost in the semifinals, they are emerging as a legitimate state-title threat.
No. 2 Crater has opened the season 10-1, losing only to 6A No. 2 Willamette. The Comets get a chance to make a statement Friday when they open Midwestern League play at home against top-ranked and reigning 5A champion Springfield, which beat them three times last season, including in the state semifinals.
Dippel has kept his team's impressive start in perspective.
“There's definitely a long list of things we've got to get better at, and do it pretty quick before Friday,” he said.
Crater is dominating with defense, holding foes to a 5A-low 31.3 points per game, down from 36.0 last season. The Comets are forcing 27 turnovers per game, up from 21 a season ago.
Crater's full-court pressure has overwhelmed opponents. Junior point guard Sage Winslow is averaging 6.5 steals per game and four others – junior guard Addison Dippel, senior guards Addison Vranes and Abigail Winslow and junior post Lydia Traore – have at least 30 steals.
The press is so effective because the concepts are ingrained in the players, according to Scott Dippel, who is in the seventh season of his second stint as head coach.
“I've had this group of kids since they were in the fourth grade,” he said. “The style has changed a little bit, but for the most part, they've learned different pressures at different levels. That takes a lot of time for a coach, so it's been an advantage to have the players before. They're just getting better and better at it.”
It helps that the Comets have the 6-foot-4 Traore and 6-1 senior Chase Weaver to erase mistakes on the back end. They also have a high-flier in 5-11 junior post Alexa Gugliotta, a volleyball standout.
“I can't say enough about how that allows us to pressure people,” Scott Dippel said. “We're able to take more risks defensively because of their play.”
The coach said that Traore is “an intimidating presence inside,” blocking nearly two shots per game and altering many others. She also is versatile enough to play at the point of the press, racking up more than 40 deflections.
“She's more confident in communication,” Scott Dippel said. “She's very long, she's athletic and she can move. That's an improvement in her game this year. I can put her in different spots based on who we're playing and what breaks they run. That's a real luxury.”
Through 11 games, Crater has had six different leading scorers. Sage Winslow is averaging a team-high 17.2 points and 4.5 assists. Abigail Winslow and Addison Dippel are putting up 9.0 points apiece. Traore is averaging 8.0 points and 6.7 rebounds.
Crater h as won seven in a row since a 54-34 loss at Willamette. Extending that streak Friday will be no easy task against Springfield (7-5), which will look to bounce back from a 59-39 home loss to Willamette on Wednesday.
Last season, Springfield defeated Crater 46-41 and 47-42 in league play and 70-55 in the semifinals.
“We were very competitive in the two regular-season games, and then when we got to the tournament, we got in a lot of foul trouble,” Scott Dippel said. “We panicked a little bit, didn't play our best basketball. And that's really been a driving thought for our kids in the offseason.”
The Comets have never won a state championship, finishing as big-school runners-up in 1998, 2000 and 2001.
jerryu@osaa.org
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