Two years ago, a group of talented Jefferson freshmen was thrown into the fire and showed tremendous promise.
Now, the junior-led Democrats – who came within one win of the 6A girls basketball tournament the last two years– expect to take the next step in their development this season. And the early signs were promising Tuesday when No. 7 Jefferson went on the road for a 52-44 win over No. 6 Tualatin in its opener.
“We want to win this year,” said junior guard Chauncy Andersen, who led Jefferson with 24 points. “We've been grinding all offseason. Everybody's been putting their head down and working. We just all want to win it this year, and we know that we can get it.”
Junior forward Leila Nunez scored 11 points and junior guards Charisma Johnson and Abrianna Lawrence added eight and seven points, respectively, for Jefferson. The Democrats used their length and quickness to force 24 turnovers, twice as many as reigning Three Rivers League champion Tualatin averaged last season.
“We want to be a defensive team, being long, being active, getting ball tips,” Jefferson coach Andre Lawrence said. “We want to get 15 to 20 ball tips a game. We just want to use our athletic ability as a plus for us.”
Jefferson repeatedly beat the Timberwolves to rebounds and loose balls.
“We're not the biggest team physically, but we're long and we're athletic, and we're going to go for every ball and we're going to anticipate,” Andersen said. “Us being really fast, and really quick, that's what makes us different.”
The Timberwolves (1-1), who beat Glencoe 61-25 in their opener Friday, struggled to adjust to Jefferson's quickness, taking rushed shots and forcing passes.
“They're super quick. It's hard to simulate that in practice,” Tualatin coach Wes Pappas said. “We need to get the boys in here and practice with them a little bit. … We were very loose with the basketball. It's going to take some growing up to do.”
The Democrats went up 17-7 early in the second quarter, and after Tualatin pulled ahead 31-30 in the third quarter, they responded with a 19-1 run to lead 49-32 midway through the fourth quarter. Andre Lawrence liked how his players kept their composure and regained the upper hand.
“They stopped and relaxed and they pushed through,” he said. “I seen that today. I wanted to see if that's what they're bringing, and that's what they brought.”
Andersen said it reflects on the mental growth of the Democrats.
“When anybody makes a mistake, they're picking their head back up themselves,” Andersen said. “Just being able to grow. Us growing is a huge part. Not us moping and having attitudes. We're just super positive getting over ourselves, and playing as a team.”
After opening-game losses to Clackamas and Beaverton the last two seasons, Jefferson already senses that this year is going to be different. The Democrats avenged a 44-36 loss to Tualatin in last year's POA Holiday Classic.
“It's nothing against them, it's something against everybody,” Andre Lawrence said. “Right now we're motivated to beat whoever's in front of us, so we can get better each time, so we can make it to the Chiles Center. And that's what our goal is, to make it to the Chiles Center.”
Andersen was the catalyst for Jefferson on Tuesday, scoring 11 points during the decisive 19-1 run. After Tualatin took the lead in the third quarter, she hit a three-pointer and made two free throws to restore order. She made another three-pointer and added two baskets early in the fourth quarter.
“Man, she's just a great player,” Andre Lawrence said of Andersen, a Portland Interscholastic League first-team pick last season, when she averaged a team-high 16 points per game. “She slowed down, she relaxed, she let the game come to her. Once she does that, it's hard to stop her.”
Jefferson hasn't made the state tournament since 2010, when the Democrats won their second 5A title in three seasons. They reached the round of 16 the last two years but lost to PIL power Benson 64-62 in 2022 and state champion Clackamas 72-42 last season.
No. 2 Benson, the seven-time reigning PIL champion, presents a major obstacle for Jefferson. The Techsters are 101-3 in the PIL in the last seven seasons, winning 46 in a row.
“We're not thinking about Benson,” Andre Lawrence said. “We're fans of Benson. We want Benson to win every game they play, and then we'll think about it when they get here.”
Andersen said she loves the Techsters, “but it's always a competition. It's always fiery there. I'm so excited for that game. We're just going to go into it with our heads right.”
T-Wolves work in progress
Tualatin is working to develop chemistry after graduating five of its top eight players from last season, including two TRL first-team selections in posts Tabi Searle and Olivia Poulivaati.
The biggest improvement the Timberwolves need to make is with its vaunted 2-3 zone defense, which held teams to a 6A-low 28.3 points per game last season. Jefferson's 52 points was 10 points more than they allowed in any game last year.
“This team is pretty inexperienced in terms of our zone, and that's a foundational piece for us,” Pappas said. “We did not play a great game. We had a lot of missed assignments. We weren't as focused as we should've been for a game like this.”
Tualatin returned two starters from a state quarterfinal team in sophomore point guard Ries Miadich and senior wing Jaylyn Arosemena. The Timberwolves also picked up an impact transfer in 6-2 junior post Jordyn Smith, who made the TRL first team at Tigard last season.
Pappas said the team is still learning how to get the ball to Smith, who scored team highs of 14 points against Glencoe and 15 points against Jefferson.
“Jordyn is great. She's a star for us,” Pappas said. “But we just haven't played with her. She was a late transfer in the summer, so this is the second game she's ever played with our team. There's no doubt she's going to be big-time for us. She's a game-changer.”
Pappas said he believes the Timberwolves can get to the same level as last season, when they went 24-4, but they need to “weather the storm” early in the season. Tualatin plays at No. 2 Benson on Friday and will see some of the state's top teams in the POA Holiday Classic in late December.
“I think we've got tremendous potential, we've just got to grow up fast,” he said.
3A showdown
No. 1 Corbett held off a fourth-quarter rally to win 55-51 at No. 2 Amity in a 3A showdown Tuesday night.
The visiting Cardinals (4-0), state runners-up last season, outscored Amity 17-5 in the third quarter to open a 44-31 lead. But the Warriors (3-1) fought back to get within 47-44 with 2:30 left in the game.
Corbett junior Lilly Schimel responded with two three-pointers to extend the lead to 53-46 with 1:27 to go, and the Cardinals held on the rest of the way.
Schimel scored a game-high 18 points, making four three-pointers. Seniors Ally Schimel and Ella Holwege added 16 and 13 points, respectively, for Corbett. Amity got 15 points from sophomore Eliza Nisly and 14 points from sophomore Alyssa McMullen.
Both teams entered the game off big wins Saturday. Corbett defeated 4A No. 1 Astoria 51-49 in the final of a tournament at Madras. Amity won 47-41 at No. 3 Sutherlin in the final of the Bill Spelgatti Invitational.
Other highlights from the past week:
Jesuit's Kendra Hicks, a 6-1 senior post, collected 26 rebounds – 14 offensive – as the Crusaders beat Oregon City 55-36 in their opener Friday. Hicks also had 14 points. … South Salem junior Brezlyn Schwalm nailed eight three-pointers and scored 27 points as the Saxons rolled past Woodburn 63-44 on Friday. … Senior Adelle Otter made two free throws with 6.1 seconds left to lift 2A No. 4 Regis over 3A Jefferson 45-44 on Nov. 29. Otter finished with 19 points. …
Cascade Christian junior Isabel McCauley made six three-pointers and scored 26 points in a 72-37 win over Etna (Calif.) on Saturday. … Franklin senior Maya Sanders put up 31 points to lead her team past Century 60-31 on Friday. … Creswell senior Dakota Carson hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give her team a 50-47 overtime win over Lakeview on Saturday. Carson finished with 18 points, four rebounds and six steals. …
Crater junior Addison Dippel hit 10 three-pointers in helping her team to a 2-0 start. She connected for six triples and scored 19 points as the Comets dropped Redmond 70-58 and made four from deep and had 12 points in a 69-12 win over Hidden Valley. … Willamette, ranked No. 3 in 6A, edged 5A No. 2 Crescent Valley 62-59 in the opener for both teams Friday. Junior Isabella Harms led the visiting Wolverines with 24 points, seven steals and six rebounds. … Pendleton senior Hailey Schmidt made six three-pointers and scored 28 points as the Buckaroos topped St. Helens 50-44 on Friday.
jerryu@osaa.org
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