Hoop memories will live forever

Her hoops legacy is over, and so are the careers of fellow seniors Tatum Hahn and Chloe Huot, but the memories will remain forever.

“The seniors are proud, yet sad that it’s over,” Davis said. “As every senior does, we wanted to go far and it’s disappointing when things don’t turn out the way you wanted. I really hope the best for these girls over the future years and I’m proud to be a part of the Lady Redsides basketball program.”

For a roster of five underclassmen and dealing with a season-ending injury to standout junior guard Ally Muhleman and a few nagging injuries to Allie Noland and others, South Wasco County nearly doubled its win total from 2014-2015 and saw a boost in scoring from 33.5 to 34.6 points a game, and added better defensive numbers, lowering the totals to 38.5 from 40 a season ago under second-year head coach Bill Mead.

“They kept getting better and better through the season,” Mead said. “I am proud of each and every one of them for everything that they have done and the effort they put in the program. It is just going to give us more depth next year and for years to come. I really appreciate the seniors and their efforts to keep the program the way it should be and playing the game the way it should be played.”

Names like Abby Birman, Madisen Davis, Lindsey Hull, Kyrsten Sprouse, Kiana Moody and Jada Myers were thrown into the varsity fire and performed admirably when asked.

In 11 of their 24 games, the Lady Redsides scored 36 or more points, which was nearly two points higher than their 34.6 point-per-game average.

“We had a very young team this year that consisted mainly of freshmen and sophomores,” Myers said. “Some of the freshmen really had to step up this year and become leaders and play some role positions for our team to play together and push ourselves through every game to have a shot to play in the district tournament.”

SWC finished the first month of the regular season with a 3-3 record, and then started the first six games of Big Sky Conference play with a 2-4 record.

But then, the Redsides went on a hot streak in a 10-day stretch at the end of January with three wins in four games to vault into sole possession of fourth place in league.

They ended the season by losing three of four games to finish fifth in the conference to secure a road district play-in matchup on Feb. 16 in Hood River against Horizon Christian, a 38-32 loss.

“I am very proud of the girls,” Cassie Davis said. “We battled hard all season with a fairly new team. Everyone worked extremely hard and there is nothing to be disappointed about.”

While Davis moves on to college and her new journey through life, she plans on being a huge supporter of teammates she fondly calls her second family.

“I’m super proud of everyone, freshmen-through-seniors,” Cassie Davis added. “The freshmen really stepped up and showed that they are here to play and I’m excited to see what the future holds for them.”

The four freshmen, along with sophomores Ana Popchock, Noland and Moody, earned their stripes and now are better prepared to handle the rigors of a varsity hoops season that spans from November through February.

Myers says the core group has to keep refining their skills, this way they are playing into March.

She said the Redside players could have bright futures if they are guided down the right path.

“Next year, we need to prepare ourselves better and gain some confidence,” Myers said. “After the freshmen have a year behind them, I feel like we will be able to be aggressive on offense and attack the basket with more experience and confidence under our belts. Our girls need some more encouragement in order to be prepared for the game mentally. We need to step up and play like we never have before in order to keep up with 1A schools in and out of our league if we want to carry ourselves to the top.”