Fourth-seeded Challengers ride veteran, balanced effort to earn third win over No. 13 Sutherlin

Achieving anything worthwhile rarely comes easy, and the fourth-seeded Cascade Christian girls basketball team certainly earned a 53-44 win over Sutherlin in the second round of the Class 3A state playoffs Friday evening.

Battling to reach the final state tournament site for the first time since 2012, the Challengers put everything they had into making that a reality in a physical affair that brought them nothing but smiles once the final horn sounded.

Players gathered in a huddle, leaping with joy over their accomplishment after falling just shy of their goal in the same round a season ago.

“I am feeling so excited,” said Cascade Christian senior Isabel McCauley of the post-game mood. “It’s been one of my goals since coming to Cascade last year to reach the state tournament. I was really disappointed after last year not getting to make it to state, so this year I’m really happy.”

McCauley produced 21 points, five steals and four rebounds to help propel Cascade Christian (22-4) in a game that saw the Challengers build a 15-point lead in the third quarter but have to withstand a frenzied comeback bid by the Bulldogs (19-8).

“Our coaches told us it was going to be a battle and that they were going to come out here and try hard to win,” said McCauley. “The fouls were a little unexpected — I didn’t expect that many — but we were able to fight through it.”

The teams each were called for 20 fouls to go with a technical foul with five minutes remaining on Sutherlin head coach Josh Grotting, leading to a combined 52 free-throw attempts in a game played in all-out fashion.

Through it all, though, more team balance and experience helped carry the Challengers to a third win this season over the Bulldogs.

“Like our coach said, we were more battle-tested than this team,” said McCauley. “We played all the hard 4A teams like Henley — they’re one of the top-five teams in 4A — and I think, ultimately, we were just more prepared.”

Cascade Christian point guard Emma Coats scored six of her 14 points in the fourth quarter to go with three assists and two steals, and fellow senior Jordynn Jones supplied five points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks.

Senior guard Angelia Arce added seven points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists, and Juila Brehm came off the bench for five points, three rebounds and two steals.

“As the season has gone on, we’ve gotten so much better about sharing the ball and getting everybody opportunities to score instead of just one or two people,” said McCauley. “It makes it a lot harder for other teams to guard us, they can’t just focus on a couple of us, they have to do all of us.”

The Challengers had already secured their first Southern Oregon Conference title since 2012 and eclipsed the school record for single-season victories set by that same squad, but there was that lingering carrot of a tournament berth that allowed for extra satisfaction Friday night.

The fact that Cascade Christian was put through the ringer to accomplish its goal was of no bother for the players or first-year head coach Monte Coley afterwards.

“It was something that we’re going to see at the state tournament so I’m glad that they had to go through this,” said Coley. “They went through a lot this year and I couldn’t be more happy for them. They’re an unbelievable group and I’m very blessed to be able to coach this team.”

A 3-pointer by Isabel McCauley with five seconds to go in the first quarter off an assist by junior sister Grace McCauley allowed the Challengers to regain the advantage heading into the first quarter.

It was back-and-forth in the ensuing quarter — with Sutherlin’s Addyson Clark hitting two 3-pointers in the final 35 seconds — and a 3-pointer by Allison Waechter to start the third quarter allowed the Bulldogs to pull within 25-24.

That’s when Coats, Jones and Arce stepped up to help steady the ship, and a three-point play by Arce allowed Cascade to balloon its lead to 42-27 with 1:39 to play in the third quarter.

Sutherlin tried to save its season with a spirited comeback effort in the fourth quarter — closing the gap to 47-43 with 2:30 to play — but the Bulldogs ran out of gas and couldn’t keep up after starters Madison Huntley and Makaila McClatcher fouled out.

Huntley picked up her fifth foul with 5:05 to play on a block-charge call that went in Isabel McCauley’s favor — leading to the technical on an already frustrated Grotting over officiating by a Klamath Falls crew — and McClatcher bowed out with 1:43 to play. McClatcher was 10-for-12 from the foul line in the second half to spur Sutherlin and finished with 17 points, Huntley joined Clark in scoring 11 points as the duo also added four rebounds apiece.

“We had to endure a lot,” Coley said of Friday’s tension-filled win. “We’ve played them two times already, but we knew if we kept playing our game that eventually we would be able to break them down. It was a tough game. Any time you play a team three times in a season, it’s tough.”

It won’t come any easier in the coming week as Cascade Christian travels to Coos Bay for the state tourney, which begins for the local girls at 3:15 p.m. Thursday against No. 5 seed Jefferson (21-6) in the quarterfinals at North Bend High School.

“We’ve fought for this all season, and it’s their time to do it,” said Coley. “Why not us? On any given night, anybody can get beat, so we’ve just got to go in with the belief that we can win. It’s going to take teams to have to look at us now and realize that we’re going to come at you with more than just one or two people, we’re going to come at you with five or six.”

The 2011-12 Cascade Christian team, coached then by Marvin Denman, placed third at the 3A state tournament.

SUTHERLIN (44): McClatcher 17, Cross 0, Grotting 0, Lopez 0, McK. Huntley 0, Manson 0, McKnight 0, Gandy 2, Harris 0, Clark 11, Ma. Huntley 11, Waechter 3. Totals: 11 18-24 44.

CASCADE CHRISTIAN (53): Brehm 5, I. McCauley 21, Samhammer 0, Coats 14, Jones 5, Arce 7, G. McCauley 1. Totals: 16 19-29 53.

Sutherlin 10 11 12 11 — 44

Cascade Christian 12 13 17 11 — 53

3-point goals — Sutherlin 4 (Clark 2, McClatcher 1, Waechter 1), Cascade Christian 2 (I. McCauley 2). Fouled out — Ma. Huntley, McClatcher. Technical fouls — Sutherlin coach Grotting.

Reach sports editor Kris Henry at khenry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035