Ridgeview girls, Crook County boys head to state tournament
First-ever trip for Raven girls; first in decades for the Cowboys
REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Two Central Oregon high school basketball teams are making history as they head to the 5A state tournament this week.
It's the first time in Ridgeview history that the girls basketball team is heading to the state championships. It's also the first time in decades the boys basketball team from Crook County has advanced to the tournament.
The Ridgeview girls go into the Class 5A tourney with a record of 18-7 after defeating Putnam 56-52 on Friday night.
Ridgeview students staged a rally Monday in the school's gymnasium, cheering the girls on as they left for the tournament Gill Coliseum in Corvallis.
It's the first year at Ridgeview for Head Coach Alicia Love, and she credits the girls for their hard work and dedication. The coaching staff also won Intermountain Conference honors this season.
"It's my first year ever being a head coach. It has been an amazing experience," Love said. "It has been unreal. It's unbelievable that we've made it this far, and we're making history in the school. It's a lot of fun, but honestly, it's all the girls, it's all them -- they've done it."
First up: Top-ranked Silverton, at 1:30 Tuesday. The Ravens girls say win or lose, they plan to leave everything on the floor.
Guard Paige Pentzer, the Intermountain Conference Player of the Year, said, "We've just made sure to work hard and compete every practice and really put our teammates first and give it all we've got, because we have nothing to lose."
Forward Alaina Clark said, "I hope it sets a tone for the rest of the season and next season that we'll continue to keep playing."
The Crook County boys, holding a 17-6 record, leave for Corvallis Tuesday afternoon, having defeated Milwaukie 81-66 on Saturday night to advance to the playoffs for the first time since 1948.
The Cowboys begin the playoffs Wednesday afternoon, also taking on a top-seeded team in Churchill in the quarterfinals.
Crook County Head Coach Jason Mumm said the team made a plan and executed it well to get to state.
"We actually had over the summer, made the team set some goals," Mumm said. "One of the goals was they wanted to win the league, and we accomplished that. And the second goal was that we wanted to get to Corvallis and play in the Final 8. Early in the league (play), when we started playing well, I knew there was a shot, a chance that we could get there."
The Cowboys players told NewsChannel 21 on Monday what they attribute their success to.
"I think it's just off-season work, in-season work is just bringing positivity to the team," post player Jordan Graydon, said. "Everyone working hard and making sure we have our arrows facing the same direction, and as a group, working hard together."
Small forward Hogan Smith said, "It's plain and simple, it's just a lot of hard work and compromise, growing up with your teammates. Knowing what your role is and what you need to do, just a whole lot of that."
