The wait is over. The playoffs are here. As Karl Kemper might say, it’s a great day to be a Grizzly.
The No. 3-ranked Ashland High girls basketball team (22-5) takes on No. 4-ranked and defending state champion Willamette(20-4) on Wednesday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state tournament. The eight-team, double-elimination bracket wraps up Saturday night with the championship game, scheduled to tipoff at 6:30 p.m. Up for grabs are six OSAA trophies.
Top-ranked Jefferson (20-3) is the clear favorite. The Democrats have pummelled opponents this season by an average score of 68-32. That’s not a typo. Can you imagine watching a 50-25 game and thinking, ‘Wow, that was a close one!” The Democrats can.
So the real question at state may be, which team is most likely to upset Jefferson? The good news for the Grizzlies is, if they do end up facing Jefferson, it won’t be until the finals. By then, the Grizzlies already will have locked up the highest place in team history and therefore, according to the law of sports cliches, can play free and loose because they’ll have nothing to lose (except a state title, a parade down Siskiyou Blvd. a lifetime of memories and possibly a Fox reality show).
Here’s a few reasons why Ashland may be that team:
1. Experience. The Grizzlies start five seniors who know what it takes to win big games – Ashland has advanced to the state quarterfinals three years in a row, including a semifinal appearance last season.
2. Allison Gida. Forget about classifications, the 5-foot-10 senior point guard is one of the best in the state. She scores, rebounds, passes and plays defense, and she’s a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses.
3. The press. The Grizzlies blanket teams with a 2-2-1 press after every made basket. It’s an unconventional strategy that can make a good team – Sherwood, for instance – look out of practice.
Now, a few more links. Here’s the Eugene Register Guard’s state tourney preview, and here’s the Oregonian’s.
Lastly, somebody from the OSAA interviewed me about the game Monday and said that the OSAA plans on streaming video from every game. The videos will be available here immediately following each game.
