Crusaders Crush Valiants, 91-63, behind Artz' seven 3-pointers

(SALEM) After seven attempts, host Salem Academy finally won its own tournament with a dominating 91-63 victory over Valley Catholic in the 7th annual Crusader Christmas Invitational. After back-to-back years of tournament underachieving, the Crusaders averaged 76 points per game in a 3-game sweep to the school’s first tournament championship. Leading the onslaught was a remarkable performance by Stefanie Artz, who made seven of ten 3-point attempts – a feat most high school boys have never accomplished in a regulation game.

In the 3rd place game, Umatilla rolled past Santiam Christian, 59-46, for the Vikings’ best finish since reaching the championship game two years ago. Umatilla senior guard Kassie Kennedy scored 13 points in her final SAC tournament game, dating back four years when she first appeared in the 2007 tournament as a freshman.

Championship Game: Salem Academy 91 – Valley Catholic 63

The Crusader Christmas Classic, while one of the state’s premier small school holiday tournaments, has not been kind to the host team. Two years ago head coach Rene Houle’s team lost all three tournament games to Willamina (36-30), Cascade Christian (62-23) and Rainier (53-36). Last year, Houle missed the tournament due to illness, which figuratively spread to his listless team as his Crusaders lost its first two games to Rainier (46-41) and Cascade Christian (63-47). Fortunately, the Crusaders rebounded from that low point to finish the season strong with a 3rd place trophy at Pendleton.

The 2010-2011 Crusader team, now playing in the 3A Pac West league, was determined to end that embarrassing home court tournament drought and did so in convincing fashion. Coming off its only loss of the season – a 50-27 defeat to defending 3A (now 2A) champion Regis – the Crusaders opened the Classic with a 62-38 romp over rebuilding Portland Christian. In the semifinals, SAC rolled to a 76-53 victory over a very good Umatilla team to set up Thursday’s championship game against Valley Catholic, itself a well-coached perennial guest at the Crusader Invitational.

Unfortunately, Valiant coach Jon Innes would have needed to bring back Jena Sepich, Emily Anctil, Jeni Picken, and Lisa Gallinet to have a chance against this year’s Crusaders, who bolted to a quick 8-0 lead and never looked back. Salem Academy led 24-9 after one period, 47-33 at the half and 76-45 after three periods. The Crusaders stayed early in their patented 1-3-1 zone with senior Hanna Flores on point, senior post Daniel Vander Stoel in the middle, senior Teresa Tribbett and junior Rachel Peters on the wings and senior Stefanie Artz on the baseline. However, when Vander Stoel picked up her third foul with 5:52 in the 2nd period, Houle benched his senior post and switched to man defense with no noticeable drop off in defensive effectiveness.

The Crusaders love to run in transition, with Flores usually leading the rush. But the first half belonged to Artz, whose high-arcing 3-point set shot found the mark five times in the first half alone. The senior wing hit 7 of 10 attempts from beyond the arc, a stat any player – boy or girl – would love to post. Flores (24), Artz (23) and Vander Stoel (13) combined for 60 total points as the Crusaders made 38 of 64 shots from the field (60%), including 8 of 12 3-point attempts.

Valley Catholic would normally be satisfied putting up 63 points in a game, though that total was nearly 30 points short against SAC. But there were some bright spots for Innes’ young team that only has one starting senior, Ayesha Khader, who led the Valiants with 12 points. Junior post Rebecca Baglai mostly held her own against Vander Stoel, scoring 11 points before fouling out midway through the 3rd period. Sophomore guard Chelsea Alsdorf scored 10 points in the losing effort.

Salem Academy improves to 12-1 overall and remains tied with Santiam Christian at 4-0 in Pac West play, which resumes with the two league leaders meeting in Adair Village on January 7. Santiam Christian coach Melissa McLain stuck around after her Eagles lost to Umatilla and watched SAC dismantle Valley Catholic in a preview of what is heading her way next week.

(L) SAC senior Hanna Flores (4) led all scorers with 24 points; (R) Valley Catholic's Rebecca Baglai (54) is blocked by SAC's Danielle Vander Stoel (42).

Photos by Bruce McCain

SAC vs Valley Catholic game photos here

3rd Place Game: Umatilla 59 – Santiam Christian 46

The 3A Vikings from the Eastern Oregon League have now made four straight appearances at the SAC tournament and have become somewhat of a local crowd favorite and welcome addition to the annual eight-team field of teams. Third-year coach Scott Bow has used the SAC tournament as valuable experience against West Side opponents not often seen in the drier side of the state. In his first appearance at SAC two years ago, Bow reached the title game, but fell to Santiam Christian, 65-30. Last year, the Vikings dropped to the left side of the bracket and lost in the consolation final to Cascade Christian, 54-42. This year, Umatilla came back strong with essentially the same team and opened the tournament with a 60-49 win over Cascade Christian before falling to SAC, 76-53.

In the 3rd place game, the Vikings trailed Santiam Christian 15-14 after one period before pulling ahead 31-28 at the half. Umatilla extended its lead to 45-38 after three periods and finished strong with the 13-point margin of victory. The Vikings had a very balanced scoring offense, led by junior Jessica Siler (15), senior guard Kassie Kennedy (13) and seniors Catherine Routson and Naomi Castanon (9 points apiece). Umatilla leaves the SAC tournament with a 12-1 overall record and 3rd place trophy before opeing EOL play Janaury 14 with a big game against perennial power Burns.

Santiam Christian is a far cry from the Tayla Woods team of last year, though junior Darcy Woods did her best to pick up where her sister left off, leading the Eagles with 16 points, followed by junior guard Janelle Land (12). The Eagles fall to 6-3 overall, though they are tied with SAC at 4-0 atop the early Pac West standings.

(L) Umatilla senior guard Kassie Kennedy scored 13 points in Vikings' win; (R) Santiam Christian's Janelle Land (with ball) drives against Umatilla's Naomi Castanon (42) for two of her 12 points in Eagles' 56-49 loss.

Photos by Bruce McCain

Umatilla vs Santiam Christian game photos here