Nike Interstate Shootout Notes as Ritter leads Panthers Past Oregon City in Title Game

Andee Ritter and Ashley Bolston. Remember those names. With point guard Yaremi Mejia benched with a bad wheel, South Medford's Tom Cole was concerned his team might struggle against the suffocating full court pressure of Oregon City. The freshmen and sophomore, respectively, made mincemeat of the Pio Press and the 5'10 Ritter made quite an impression with a 25 point performance as South Medford  (10-0) validated themselves as the state's top ranked team with a 69-50 win in the title game on Friday night.

For the past several years, Cole's squads have been good. Two years ago they came up to the Interstate with Mejia and sharp shooting guard Kylie Towry as just freshmen and played well but not great. Anchored by senior and Stanford bound 6'5 post Tess Picknell, this really looks like their year to make a serious run at a state title with the additions of some excellent underclassmen. Even with the departure of Picknell, they'll be a top program for several years to come as a nice talent spike comes rolling into the program.

This years South Medford's team is as fun a squad as I've watched. Their vivisection of the Oregon City press was startling. Their length and athleticism was troublesome for Oregon CIty's coach Kurt Guelsdorf. Ritter was a demon at midcourt as the Panther press had her picking off passes and coverting them into layups. The mayhem that ensues on the court is usually reserved for Oregon City opponents. Usually its the other teams that are buckling under the relentless pressure that embodies their storied program. This time it was chaos and confusion that sat with Guelsdorf and his team. And then there is South Medford's Cole.

There are a fair share of Oregon high school coaches that stop coaching their players once a game starts and start attempting to coach the referees (and usually fail miserably). There are those that continue to coach their kids during a game but just crank up their animation like they're playing 'charades' with their team. There are yellers and screamers and red-faced baboons. Then there is Cole. He is the Perry Como of Oregon high school coaches. Never animated and often appearing almost passive. I remember watching the Panthers a few years ago lose their momentum while the other team went on a huge run. Coles sat in his chair the entire time without changing expressions. He might have been sitting in a Catholic Wedding ceremony. His players seem to enjoy his easy going style and like their coach, it shows on the floor as they don't easily get rattled. We had Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention years back. This year on the Oregon Girls High School Basketball concert tour we have Perry Como and the Mothers of Mayhem.

Don't feel bad for Oregon City. They lost a key cog in Jade Lowery to a knee injury and looked out of sorts all night with poor shooting and an uncharacteric turnover filled night usually reserved for their opponents but they'll no doubt be a good bet to be challenging for that state title come March, Johanna Paine is one of the best true posts in the state and pound for pound there might not be a better player than Montana Walters who's style of play screams of great court intelligence and a deadly shooting touch. Oh...and their well of depth ain't running dry anytime soon either. There are girls hoop junkies who feel the OC eighth grade team would be sitting toward the bottom of the 6A Top Ten if they were eligible. That's scary but should give plenty of fodder for the Anti-OC obsessed to rant about for the next several years.

My surprise team of the tournament was South Salem who I'd grossly underestimated. Coming in they were sitting at 2-4 and I'd penciled them into the breakfast bracket. Coach Nick McWilliam's punked my prognostications. They ran the table going 4-0 while capturing the Swoosh Bracket title with a convincing 47-27 win over Crescent Valley. Junior wing Payton Wilcox looked good and frosh post Katie McWilliams may be one of the best posts coming out of the Salem area in some time.

I caught the opener of Hermiston and Tigard because two of my favorite points guards in the Bulldogs senior Malloree Moss and Tiger super-soph Lexi Carter made for a great watch. Carter looks like she's added a few inches to her resume and is a taller and leaner version that last years edition. She has an innate ability to control the tempo as much as any player in the state. Moss has her team in the hunt for a 5A state run and has developed a great shot to go with the court vision. Tigard ended up holding off Steve Hoffert's team 45-40. Malloree's grandmother Kathy Moss summed it up best as fans headed out, "Those darned third quarters!" Hermiston was outscored 10-2 in that period.  

Last year, Sam McCracken, visionary of Nike's N7, brought in Standing Rock, a tiny North Dakota Indian school that was the Cinderella of the tournament as Shauna Long obliterated the tournament's scoring records. This season he brought up Santa Fe Indian School from New Mexico. Its a great story every time as many of the girls have never been on a plane or traveled much. For most of them, its a chapter they'll always treasure. Playing in the tougher Les Schwab bracket, Southridge ran them out of the gym in the opener and then they battled McNary in the breakfast bracket but Coach Cindy Roybal's Lady Braves blundered through miserable 4-18 from the free throw line in a four point loss. (Can you hear Bill Shonley and his famous line resonating in your head?). Last year's New Mexico large school state champ rebounded with a 44-38 win over a good Lincoln team before falling to Clackamas 37-32 on Friday. They were a few breaks from going 3-1 and I thought they played a great tournament.  

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