Henley girls basketball advanced to their first state championship game since 2015, the Klamath Union girls advanced to their second fourth place game in program history, and the Henley boys’ season came to an end in the consolation round of the OSAA 4A Basketball Championships at Forest Grove High School Friday. Here’s how each game unfolded.
No. 5 Klamath Union 42, No. 9 Stayton 36
Klamath Union (18-4) did just enough to overcome 4A’s top defense and advance to the 4A fourth place game, benefitting heavily from bad shooting by Stayton (19-6).
The Eagles turned the ball over eight times in the first quarter, which ended in a 7-7 tie. They took better care of the ball in the second (turning it over three times) but shot 1-of-13 from the field, allowing the Pelicans to take an 18-11 lead into halftime.
Stayton erased Klamath Union’s lead in the first 1:19 of the second half, tying the game at 18-18, but the Pelicans got it back on their next possession with a pair of Bella Armijo free throws and never gave it up again. After a three by Brookelynne Morley brought the Eagles back within 24-23 with 4:24 left in the third quarter, the teams combined to miss their next 10 shots. Klamath Union then made three straight buckets in the last 1:35 to go up 31-25 heading into the fourth.
The Pelicans kept it a two-possession game until a Kenzi Hollenbeck three cut it to 34-33 with 5:13 remaining. Stayton made just one more field goal after that; Kathryn Samek answered Dakota Neese’s jumper on the next possession to get it back to a one-point game at 36-35 with 4:43 left. In total, the Eagles missed their final seven shots–including three that would have tied the game or given them the lead–while Klamath Union made two of their last four. Hollenbeck, who led Stayton with 12 points, fouling out with 3:04 to go and her team trailing by three only compounded the Eagles’ struggles down the stretch.
The win puts the Pelicans in the fourth place game for the second time in program history. They previously made it there in 1989, losing 52-35 to Corvallis (who’s now in 5A).
Dianara Peña was named the Klamath Union player of the game after leading the Pelicans with 11 points (on 4-of-8 shooting), 9 rebounds (all defensive), 5 assists and 2 steals; Kshalee Thomas had 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals; Erin Garcia had 6 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists; Keely Hall had 5 points and 5 rebounds; Dakota Neese had 4 points and 2 rebounds; Farrah Zumwalt had 2 points and 4 rebounds; Andi Harmon had 2 points and 3 rebounds; and Bella Armijo had 2 points.
Kenzi Hollenbeck’s 12 points (on 3-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-2 from three) and 3 rebounds earned her Stayton player of the game honors. Haley Butenschoen had 8 points and 2 rebounds; Brookelynne Morley had 7 points and 5 rebounds; Liv Smart (the Eagles’ lone senior) had 6 points, 5 steals, 5 rebounds and 3 assists; Kathryn Samek had 2 points and 5 rebounds; and Zuri Andersen had 1 point and 5 rebounds.
Klamath Union shot 34.8% from the field and 26.7% (4-of-15) from three over the course of the game. Stayton shot 25.6% from the field and 14.3% (3-of-21) from three. The Eagles finished with 15 turnovers and the Pelicans finished with 14. Klamath Union also outrebounded Stayton 38-31.
The Pelicans will face No. 11 seed Marist Catholic (13-12) in the fourth place game at 10:45 a.m. Saturday. The Eagles’ season is over.
No. 14 Crook County 63, No. 7 Henley 56 (Boys)
Henley (16-9) rallied from a 9-point fourth quarter deficit to take a 54-52 lead with 3:58 left in the fourth quarter but missed their next five shots, allowing Crook County (18-8) to close the game on an 11-2 run and deal the Hornets a season-ending loss in the 4A consolation round.
The Cowboys also went on a 12-0 run over a nearly three-minute span in the second half of the first quarter, building a 22-9 lead with 1:48 left in the period. Henley scored the next four points to cut it to 22-13 heading into the second, where Crook County answered with a 6-0 run to take their largest lead of the game with 5:24 remaining. The Hornets were able to put together another quarter-closing run, outscoring the Cowboys 7-0 (including five points from Luke Bennett) over the last 1:08 of the first half to go into the break trailing 35-28.
The third quarter was fairly even; Henley drew within three points once, but Crook County largely maintained the gap. Up 49-43 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Cowboys got a three from 6-foot-6 sophomore Bryce Lowenbach to go up 52-43 with 7:53 remaining in the game. The Hornets responded with an 11-0 run that consisted of a pair of triples from Bennett and five points from Markus McCreadie.
McCreadie completed an and-one to give Henley the lead before Crook County sophomore Jace Jonas scored the next six points and Lowenbach hit a dagger three from the top of the key to make it 61-54 with 1:04 to go.
Luke Bennett was named the Henley player of the game after leading the Hornets with 18 points (including four triples), 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists; Markus McCreadie had 16 points and 6 rebounds; Aiden Hayes had 8 points and 5 assists; Owen Harper had 6 points and 9 rebounds; Chris Janney had 5 points and 2 rebounds; Lane Frank had 3 points; and Joe Janney had 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
Bryce Lowenbach was named the Crook County player of the game after leading the Cowboys with 20 points (including four triples), 6 rebounds (all defensive), 4 steals and 3 assists; Jace Jonas had 16 points (of 5-of-9 shooting), 4 rebounds and 3 blocks; Logan Mathews had 14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals; Garrett Stefanek had 6 points and 5 rebounds; Kiernen Teasdale had 5 points and 3 rebounds; Hoyt Kudlac had 2 points; Gabriel Lopez had 2 steals; and Zach Levesque had 2 rebounds.
Crook County shot 46% from the field (including 52% in the first half) and 42.9% (6-of-14) from three, while Henley shot 37.3% from the field (including 43.5% in the second half). The Hornets outrebounded the Cowboys 34-32 but were outscored 34-26 in the paint. Both teams had 15 turnovers.
Friday’s game was the last for Henley’s seven seniors: Hayes, Harper, Frank, TJ Chavez (who suffered a season-ending injury at the Sisters Shootout in December), Chris Janney, Bennett and McCreadie.
The win sends Crook County to the fourth place game for the second year in a row. They’ll face No. 8 seed Madras (19-7) at 9 a.m. Saturday.
No. 2 Henley 61, No. 3 Philomath 44 (Girls)
Henley (23-2) went on a 26-4 run over an 8:44 span in the latter half of the second quarter and first half of the third to book a spot in the state championship game.
The Hornets led 11-9 after the first quarter and were up 17-15 midway through the second before they really began to figure out Philomath’s (21-6) defense, which entered the semifinals allowing 32.2 points per game (the second-fewest of any 4A team). They outscored the Warriors 9-2 over the rest of the period to take a 26-17 lead at halftime.
Henley came out of the break even hotter than they entered it; the Hornets made seven of their first eight field goals in the third quarter to extend their lead to 43-19 with 3:33 remaining. Philomath managed to stop the bleeding soon after and trim the deficit to 48-29 entering the fourth.
The first half of the final period was largely uneventful, but the Warriors put together a 10-1 run starting with 4:39 to go that brought them within 52-41 with 2:50 on the clock. Henley regrouped after a timeout and knocked down 9-of-12 free throws down the stretch as Philomath missed their next four shots.
Annie Campos was named the Henley player of the game after finishing with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting. She also had 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Anna Harper had 17 points (on 6-of-9 shooting), 5 rebounds (all defensive) and 2 steals; Jewell Northcutt had 7 points and 2 rebounds; Prestyn Schade had 7 points; Kennedi Modin had 4 points; Lily Fussell had 3 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals; and Mya Mauch had 3 steals and 2 rebounds.
Freshman Reagan Heiken was named the Philomath player of the game after leading the Warriors with 16 points (on 7-of-13 shooting), 9 rebounds and 5 steals; Zoee Howard had 9 points and 4 rebounds; Anneka Steen had 7 points, 6 rebounds (all defensive), 4 steals and 4 assists; Emily Taunisila had 6 points and 4 steals; Mica Boynton had 4 points and 2 rebounds; Ahnika Tryon had 2 points and 2 assists; and Aspen Russell had 7 rebounds (all offensive).
Henley shot 45% from the field, including 9-of-12 (75%) in the second half. The Hornets were also 2-of-8 (25%) from three and 23-of-32 (71.9%) from the free throw line. Philomath shot 30.8% from the field and 2-of-18 (11.1%) from three. The Warriors were 10-of-16 (62.5%) from the free throw line. The teams finished even on rebounds with 33 each, and Philomath had 24 turnovers to Henley’s 22.
The Hornets’ 61 points is the most the Warriors have allowed this season. Their previous high was 52 in their first round game against No. 14 seed Baker.
The win sends Henley to their first state championship game since 2015, when they lost 51-46 to Sutherlin (who’s now in 3A). The Hornets last won the 4A championship in 2012, beating Sutherlin 41-35. They’ll face No. 1 seed Astoria (23-4), who enters the final on a 22-game winning streak, at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. The Fishermen have never played in a state championship game.
Philomath will face No. 4 seed Cascade (18-8) in the 4A third place game at 2:15 p.m. Saturday.