By James Day
The Silverton High girls basketball squad continues its unbeaten ways.
The top-ranked Foxes improved to 15-0 overall and 5-0 in the Mid-Willamette Conference, with a 55-28 win Jan. 22 against Central, which came into the contest 4-0 in league.
But Silverton rode its stifling defense and the shooting touch of Alia Parsons and Elena Smisek to a 25-0 run in the first half. The Foxes led 35-10 at halftime and were never seriously threatened.
Parsons, the defending Mid-Willamette player of the year, scored 21 points and Smisek added 12 on four first-half 3-pointers. Smisek’s fourth long-range bomb gave the Foxes a 30-5 lead and left the Panthers reeling.
“It was all great passing,” said Smisek, a 5-2 junior wing. “We talk each other up a lot and everyone is always positive.”
Parsons, a 5-10 wing and the lone senior on the squad, added three 3-pointers, a couple of them from the NBA distance.
“That’s the way we do it,” Parsons aid. “If you are open you shoot it.”
The Foxes already hold wins over Corvallis and Central, which are tied for second at 4-1. Silverton and Corvallis tied for the MWC title a year ago and also met in the state Class 5A quarterfinals. The Foxes and Spartans face off again Feb. 9 in Corvallis, but Silverton has four other games in the interim and coach Tal Wold is not looking that far ahead.
“The girls are ultra-competitive, but we just want to go 1-0 in the next game,” said Wold, who added that squad has plenty of things to improve on. “We gotta keep working on defense, in the post and on rebounding … just work on getting better. They work hard, our practices are crisp, and they are good at not being satisfied, having that edge.
“That’s important because we have a lot of basketball left.”
Kennedy’s girls also are ranked No. 1 and took a seven-game winning streak into Jan. 26 home showdown with defending Class 2A champion Western Mennonite (results were after press deadline). The Trojans are 6-0 in league and all three of their losses are to teams in higher classifications.
Kennedy won at No. 3 Western Mennonite by a 44-41 score in the Dec. 16 Tri-River league opener and the Trojans also have beaten No. 5 Regis, taking a 56-38 victory Jan. 19 in Stayton. The Rams, who won five consecutive state titles from 2010-2014, are 4-2 in league play. Kennedy, Western Mennonite and Regis seem likely to claim the Tri-River’s three state playoff spots.
Boys hoops: The Silverton boys are 3-2 in the Mid-Willamette and 9-6 overall heading into the week after splitting their last four games, scoring wins against Crescent Valley and Central and losing to South Albany and Corvallis. The Foxes, the defending Class 5A champions, are ranked 15th by the OSAA and are tied with Lebanon and Crescent Valley in league, two games behind undefeated Corvallis. Silverton gets another shot at Corvallis on Feb. 10 when the Spartans come to Silverton. The Foxes need to finish in the top two in league to earn a first-round state playoff bye.
Wrestling: Silverton placed seven wrestlers in the top four in their weight classes at the Jan. 9 Bretthauer-HilHi Invitational at Hillsboro. Jacob Whitehead (106), Austin Reed (132), Braden Sinn (160) and William McMahon (195) all finished second, with Valentin Garcia (3rd, 106), Tabor Tarpley (3rd, 145) and Chaz White (4th, 126)) also turning in strong performances.
In addition the Foxes took 11th in Class 5A at the Jan. 15-16 Oregon Classic duals at the Deschutes County Expo Center in Redmond. Silverton went 2-3 in the tournament, defeating St. Helens and Summit and falling against Sandy, Redmond and Bend.
Running: The 5K run/walk and 10K run events at Wurstfest start at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 6 at the Festhalle in Mount Angel. Register for $26 at www.racenorthwest.com/wurstrun/ or for $30 starting at 8 a.m. on race day. The entry fee includes a beer stein (coffee mug or running socks for those under 21), a drink ticket and festival entry. T-shirts are available for an additional $11.
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