SPRINGFIELD – The Springfield girls beat the Canby Cougars 58-46 at Miller Pavilion on Monday, picking up where last year’s team left off – playing outstanding basketball.
Coach Joe Williamson noted that facing a team with the Cougars’ strength and history was a special challenge in the first game of the season.
“They won 16 last year, are a playoff team, and have 10 seniors in there,” he said. “We expected them to be a formidable opponent. This is a really good win and helps us down the road for Silverton.”
Williamson said the game gave him an outline of one crucial area of improvement: fitness.
“We stopped communicating on the defense and I think that goes back to how we got tired,” Williamson said. “Our bottom defenders had to do a better job of getting back and getting to the baseline and speaking. And when they got tired, they stopped doing that. So we’ve just got to keep working on getting in that game shape.
“We do talk, it’s just harder to talk when you’re tired. I think we kind of hit a wall with running. We’ve done a ton of running in practice, so we thought we’d be in great shape, and then we hit our first game and we’re like, ‘Okay, we’re not in great shape,’” he said.
Williamson still praised his team’s notable performances in their first game, particularly with shooting.
“Sailor (Hall) shot the ball like she always does,” he said. “It was Darissa (Romero-Ah Sam) who was getting her hands on a lot of passes, getting out in the break, finishing fast breaks, leaving our team goodies in our offense. She did a good job of balancing looking to be aggressive, but also making sure that we got into an offense and then Ryan (Kelley) had a great first game back after her injury.”
Kelley recorded 11 points and 16 rebounds, Romero-Ah Sam had 16 points, 7 steals, and 4 assists, and Hall had 20 points with 5 rebounds.
Williamson said he’ll prepare for the upcoming Silverton game by emphasizing the need to improve on defense, particularly in securing rebounds and not giving opponents second chances. Communication and locating shooters will be crucial against Silverton, which has good shooters throughout the team.
“We’ve got to do a better job than we did tonight on defense,” Williamson said. ”We have to allow one shot and not allow second chances with a rebound. So when we make them shoot a shot, if they miss, we’ve got to secure the rebound, take care of the ball, and not give them second opportunities. That’s going to be key.”
