In the fall, South Albany won the school's first state championship in any sport when its volleyball team captured the 5A title.
Now the girls basketball team, with many of the same athletes, is gunning for Title No. 2.
After an impressive 42-33 win at reigning state champion Silverton on Friday, the RedHawks are 10-4 overall and 6-1 in the tough Mid-Willamette Conference. South Albany, ranked third in the OSAAtoday 5A coaches poll, is tied for first place in the conference with No. 2 Corvallis (10-3, 6-1) and No. 4 Silverton (12-2, 6-1).
The RedHawks are doing it with four starters who played on the volleyball team in juniors Taylor Donaldson, Kaylee Cordle and Maddie Angel and senior Taelyn Bentley. Coach Marc Cordle said the winning mentality from the undefeated volleyball team has carried over to basketball.
“I think it gives you a little bit of an edge once you have that confidence, especially in basketball,” he said. “If the game is too fast, you have to be confident. You can't play scared. It definitely helped out a lot just rolling into basketball from what they did in volleyball.”
The RedHawks were dominant in volleyball, not dropping a set to a 5A team all season. The 6-foot Bentley, a transfer from conference rival Crescent Valley, was the 5A volleyball player of the year and was joined on the all-state first team by Donaldson and Angel.
Donaldson, a 6-0 forward, is the catalyst for the basketball team. A 5A first-team pick last season, she is averaging 24.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game this season. She is shooting 35.2 percent from three-point range on 8.9 attempts per game.
“Basketball has always been her sport,” Marc Cordle said. “She's loved it ever since I coached her in the second grade. She can fill it up. If you leave her open, she'll knock it down. She's gotten a lot better at her post game, too. She's diversified her game.”
Donaldson, Cordle (12.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists) and Angel (5.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.8 steals) -- third-year starters – are the building blocks for the team's success. Prior to their arrival, South Albany had recorded only three winning seasons, the previous one in 2011.
Their freshman season, when Marc Cordle took over as coach, South Albany improved from 5-17 to 22-6 and made the state tournament for the first time in school history, losing in the quarterfinals. Last season, the RedHawks finished 22-7 and reached the state semifinals.
“The first two years, we had everything to prove,” Marc Cordle said.
South Albany graduated two starters from last season in Ava Marshall and Ryleigh Parker, but with three starters back, and the addition of Bentley, expectations soared. At the start of the season, the RedHawks had to adjust to opponents gearing up to play them.
“We had that bullseye on our back, and everyone was playing maybe a little bit scared and not as loose as we should be,” Marc Cordle said. “We've been trying to get back to the way we like to play. We're still trying to find that a little bit, but we're almost there.”
In their second game this season, the RedHawks lost 69-47 at No. 1 Crater, the team that beat them 54-47 in last year's semifinals.
“They took it to us,” Marc Cordle said. “I was trying this new offense, and if we could figure it out, I thought it was going to be good. But we scrapped that and went in a different direction, and the girls are a lot happier. We're getting back on the same page now.”
Bentley, who grew up playing with South Albany girls in the Clutch Time Hoops club program, not only has brought size to the RedHawks, but senior leadership and an infectious winning attitude. She won two 5A volleyball titles at Crescent Valley before transferring.
“She fits in perfect,” Marc Cordle said of Bentley, who is averaging 11.5 points and 8.8 rebounds. “She's one of the best kids I've ever coached.”
Just like in volleyball, Bentley has been a positive influence on Donaldson.
“They push-pull off each other,” Marc Cordle said. “It's been really special to watch.”
The RedHawks beat 4A No. 1 Philomath 47-44 at home and boast two wins over 5A No. 8 Wilsonville. Their nonleague losses came against Crater and 6A teams West Salem and McMinnville. Their only conference setback is a 50-49 loss at No. 5 West Albany on Jan. 10.
In the win over Silverton, South Albany scored the first 10 points and led the rest of the way. Donaldson scored a game-high 21 points.
The RedHawks play host to Corvallis in a first-place showdown Tuesday.
Redmond wins IMC showdown
No. 7 Redmond extended its winning streak to seven with a 53-40 home win over No. 9 Summit in the 5A Intermountain Conference opener for both teams Thursday.
Senior guard Dylan Cheney and junior guard Mylaena Norton scored 14 and 11 points, respectively, to lead the reigning conference champion Panthers (10-5). Junior Kalyn Christ scored 14 points for the Storm (11-5).
Both teams struggled with their shooting. Summit did not make a field goal until midway through the second quarter, scoring its first seven points on free throws. Redmond missed eight free throws in the first half.
The Panthers led 18-15 at halftime before pulling away.
Cheney, who made a school-record eight three-pointers in a win over La Grande on Jan. 18, caught fire from deep in the second half. She made two three-pointers late in the third quarter to push the lead to nine points and hit another triple early in the fourth quarter to stagger Summit.
“It felt so good,” Cheney told the Bend Bulletin. “I knew early on they were going to try and cut off my shot. In the second half, I got a little more actions to shoot. So I just let it fly.”
Crook County bouncing back
Crook County, co-champion in the 4A Tri-Valley Conference last year, is starting to find its footing after losing sophomore point guard Anna Bales to a season-ending knee injury in the second game of the season.
The Cowgirls (7-9) opened conference play last week with two narrow wins, beating No. 9 The Dalles 32-30 at home and Molalla 53-51 on the road. The wins ended a four-game losing streak.
Bales was a Tri-Valley first-team selection as a freshman, when she averaged 12.7 points and 9.8 steals per game. Without her, Crook County has had to shuffle its lineup.
“Everything has been a domino effect,” coach Bob Boback said. “She led us in every category.”
The win over The Dalles, in which the Cowgirls held the Riverhawks to a season-low point total, showed progress. Crook County got key contributions from junior Harper Smith (nine points), freshman Hayden Decker (11 rebounds), senior Chloe McKenzie (10 rebounds) and sophomore Gracie Henderson, who came off the bench in the fourth quarter for two pivotal put-back baskets.
The Cowgirls came back Friday to win at Molalla, using a 23-point second quarter to open a 14-point halftime lead. Smith and senior Emily Henderson scored 15 points each and McKenzie had 12 rebounds.
“It took us a while to get over the loss of Anna,” Boback said. “It's amazing to see the transformation. We were terrible in December. It's really cool to see how the girls have adjusted. We're finding a way to win.”
jerryu@osaa.org
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