South Wasco girls qualify for state playoffs

Monday’s winner advances to Tuesday’s quarterfinals; the semifinals are Wednesday, and the championship game is scheduled for Thursday.

It marks the fifth straight season that South Wasco has qualified for the state playoffs.

The Lady Redsides concluded the short 10-game spring season with a 61-40 loss to the Valley 10 League Champion Country Christian Cougars (12-1) June 14 at Country Christian High in Molalla. That contest was a rematch of a first-round playoff game from last year, which the Cougars won 69-52 on Feb. 25, 2020 in Molalla. Sophomore Kylie Iverson led the Redsides in scoring with 18 points, senior Jade McCoy had 17 and senior post Destiny Mora-Lopez added eight.

The Lady Redsides, guided by the husband/wife coaching duo of Carly and Codey Johnson, took fourth place in the 10-team Big Sky League with 4-2 league mark and 5-3 overall record. Trout Lake (6-0 Big Sky, 9-0 overall) won the league title, followed by Dufur (5-3 Big Sky, 6-4) and Ione (4-0 Big Sky, 4-2). Ione also is competing in the state tournament.

“It’s an honor always to be able to go to the state tournament and play against the best teams in Oregon,” said Codey Johnson. “I believe our girls are going to try their best and I think they’re going to continue to get better, and they realize that this is an opportunity to enjoy a successful conclusion to the season. We have a young team with only two seniors, so this will be a great experience for our team.”

Led by the trio of Mora-Lopez, McCoy and Iverson, the Redsides have a highly proficient and No. 3 ranked Class 1A offense, averaging 47 points per game. McCoy’s sister, Sadie, freshman Julie Hull and junior Holly Miles are also capable of making key contributions to the Redside offensive attack.

“Destiny can really lock down the middle for us and she is really a big force for us offensively and defensively,” said Codey Johnson. “Carly and I started coaching this team four years ago when Destiny and Jade were freshmen. So, to be able to help these girls reach the state tournament is really a blessing and it’s always a goal as a coach to get a team to this tournament. The fact that we were able to reach the tournament and have our team playing here is really all that I can ask for as a coach and we’re very proud of them.”

Dufur concluded its season with a split of its final two games. The Lady Rangers lost on the road 42-40 at Ione June 14. Dufur won its last game of the season 49-38 over the Trinity Lutheran Saints June 15 at Dufur High School. The Rangers decided that they wouldn’t compete in the state tournament. Trout Lake also elected to forego the tournament even though they won the Big Sky League with an undefeated record.