Clovis West (California) girls basketball team uses ‘chaos’ to leave Portland with tournament victory over Tualatin (Oregon)
To say that the Clovis West girls basketball team had a rough shooting night might be a bit of an understatement.
The Golden Eagles struggled with their shots throughout the contest.
So what?
Clovis West, out of Fresno, Calif., with its swarming, pressing defense, and pulling down offensive rebound after offensive rebound, more than made up for its shooting woes, as it was able to battle its way past Tualatin to get a 48-41 victory in the Portland Office Automation Holiday Classic Diamond Bracket championship game, played Saturday at Franklin High School in Portland.
“It means a lot,” Clovis West senior guard Ariyah Smith said of winning the bracket championship. “All of our hard work, coming from out of town, staying in a hotel, it just all came together, and it was really nice.”
“I think we played really good this tournament,” said Clovis West junior guard Keegan Medeiros, who scored a game-high 14 points. “We grew within our defense and our offense, and I think it really helped us build as a team.”
The Golden Eagles, who defeated Springfield 83-40 and McMinnville 78-60 to get to the Diamond Bracket championship game, improved to 15-2.
“It went really well,” Medeiros said. “The first game, we kind of blew them out. The next two games were really tough. We really had to use our defense to pull them out.”
Tualatin, which tipped Grants Pass 43-41 to open the tournament and bested Roosevelt, Wash., 52-37 to reach the title tilt, moved to 6-3.
“I thought that it went pretty well,” said Tualatin junior post Jordyn Smith, who scored a team-high 12 points on her 16th birthday. “We put up a good fight. We stayed in the game.”
“It went pretty good,” Tualatin sophomore guard Maaya Lucas said. “It was just us working as a team, rebounding, keeping each other together. That was what was working.”
Clovis West, in the bracket final, definitely had to work as a team — especially when it came to defense and rebounding — as it had to make up for a 20-for-68 (29.4 percent) shooting night from the field.
“I think that really applying our defense and sticking to that, making that a staple for our game, was really important, and that was going to get us to where we needed to be and translate into our offense,” Ariyah Smith said of the key to the Golden Eagles’ victory.
“Our rebounding has really gotten us to where we are,” said Medeiros, who was Clovis West’s tallest starter at 5-foot-10. “We’re not really the tallest team, but going up against the big girls and boxing them gives us some extra possessions, which we really needed this game.”
With their flying around all over, especially when it comes to pressing defense and rebounding, the Golden Eagles, simply put, seem to cause chaos all over the court.
“Yeah, we like that,” Medeiros said with a smile. “We’re always out there pressing and running around. It’s fun because we generate our offense off of our defense. It’s fun getting the steals and transition layups.”
Still, with their shooting woes, and going up against a scrappy, determined Tualatin squad, the Golden Eagles found themselves facing an early deficit in Saturday’s title tilt.
Clovis West shot 3 of 17 in the opening period. The Timberwolves, with Jordyn Smith scoring eight points, claimed a 12-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“We started off strong in the beginning, and we kept up the fight all game,” Jordyn Smith said.
Clovis West missed its first four shots in the second quarter. The Timberwolves, with sophomore post Alex Padilla converting a 3-point play, took a 15-6 lead 5 minutes and 41 seconds before halftime.
That's when the Clovis West-ignited chaos started. The Golden Eagles forced 10 turnovers in the period, and Medeiros ended the team’s shooting slump — in a big way.
Medeiros sank three 3-pointers, all coming from the left corner, coming in a span of 4:42.
“It’s just getting my feet set and shooting with confidence,” she said. “That really helped me this game.”
Ariyah Smith added back-to-back steals and layups, and senior point guard Athena Tomlinson connected on a 3-pointer, helping the Golden Eagles rally to claim a 24-23 halftime lead.
The third quarter saw Clovis West make just 5 of 20 shots from the field, but, again, it didn’t matter, as the Golden Eagles pulled down 11 rebounds and forced seven turnovers in the period. Medeiros sank another 3-pointer, and Tomlinson had five points in the period, helping Clovis West increase its lead to 36-31 going to the fourth quarter.
Clovis West opened the final period with a short-range banker by junior Mia Reyes and a 3-pointer by sophomore Malohni Warren, both coming off assists from junior Riley Walls. Tomlinson added a 3-pointer, and Walls had a follow-up basket, as the Golden Eagles pushed the lead to 48-36 with 3:44 remaining.
Tualatin, fighting to the end, got five consecutive points from sophomore Ries Miadich to end the game, making the final score 48-41.
“It was applying what our coaches are expecting of us, and our defense,” Ariyah Smith said of the victory. “We stuck to our game plan.”
Part of that game plan must have been causing all sorts of having with a pressing defense.
Smith and the ultra-quick Tomlinson spearheaded that defensive attack.
“We’re in the front row (of the press), so we kind of contain, and I know she’s going to be there if I’m not, and I’ll be there for her,” Smith said.
Smith, who had six points, five steals, five rebounds and four assists, said she enjoyed her stay at the tournament — at least most of it.
“It was really nice, but it was really cold, though,” she said with a laugh. “I’m not used to this, living in California.”
Medeiros had four rebounds and two steals to go with her game-high 14 points. Tomlinson had 13 points and five rebounds. Walls contributed four points, seven rebounds and six assists. Junior Jordyn Ybarra had six offensive rebounds.
The Golden Eagles are going to look to build on the successful stay at the tournament.
“We got to play against a lot of bigger girls, taller than us — we’re not the tallest team — and it’s really nice to see what we can do against that,” Ariyah Smith said. “I think that will translate over for us when we’re deeper into our season.”
“Seeing these different teams running different press breaks will really help us with our defense,” Medeiros said.
For Medeiros, the trip was more about getting better on the court.
“It was really fun, especially away from the tournament,” she said. “Going to Nike Headquarters (in Beaverton) was great, practicing on the Duke court was really fun.”
For Tualatin, Jordyn Smith scored her 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting. She had seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Lucas had six points, seven rebounds and two assists. Miadich and senior Jaylyn Arosemena each scored seven points. Padilla had four points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Photos by Leon Neuschwander
The Timberwolves, like Clovis West, are looking to benefit from getting to play in the tournament.
“We’re going to take our heart, knowing that we did our best and tried our best, and build on the experience,” Lucas said. “It was good to get more experience playing teams from different states. It was fun for all of us. I think we all had a good time.”
“I thought we grew a lot as a team. We bonded a lot and learned a lot about how each other plays. I think it went really well,” Jordyn Smith said. “I think we learned that we’re a tough team. We’re aggressive, but we need to keep going and get even more aggressive. We need to fight a little harder. But I think we’re pretty good.”
Photos by Leon Neuschwander
Photo: Leon Neuschwander
Photos by Leon Neuschwander
Leon Neuschwander, SBLive Sports
Photo by Leon Neuschwander
File photo: Leon Neuschwander
