Winslow, Young combine for 58 points as No. 1 Comets click on all cylinders in quarterfinals to snap Wildcats’ 11-game winning streak

Showing the confidence of a team that knows it can reach the championship final — and the tenacity of a group that doesn’t want to let another opportunity slip away — Crater’s girls basketball team looked exactly how a No. 1 seed should look Wednesday afternoon in McMinnville.

The Comets opened the Class 5A state tournament with a statement effort, pulling away early and without a pause to register a 90-62 win over No. 8-seeded Wilsonville at Linfield University.

Five different players scored in the opening frame as Crater cruised to a 24-10 lead through one quarter, and the rout was on from there as the Comets (26-1) steadily picked apart the Wildcats.

“We just came out with a lot of fire today, and I’m just really proud of that group,” said first-year Crater head coach Amber Lease.

Tournament-opening games can be a potluck effort, with afternoon crowds and no other games in the building to settle your nerves, but Crater showed no signs of that after 3-pointers by Sage Winslow, Addi Dippel and Taylor Young were followed by a putback by Winslow for an 11-2 lead about 3 ½ minutes into the contest.

Almost all of the Comets were part of the process a year ago when the team settled for a second-place finish in the same building, so the adjustment process was seamless.

“That was one of our goals today, was to be confident,” said Lease.

Helping the cause was a first-half effort that saw Crater make nearly half its shots (18-for-37) and go 5-for-12 from 3-point range.

Winslow, a senior guard, scored 16 of her game-high 31 points in the first half to help the Comets build a 43-22 cushion, and Young collected 13 of her 27 points in the opening 16 minutes.

Winslow finished 13-for-21 from the field and also collected nine rebounds with seven assists and four steals, while Young was spectacular in her 5A tourney debut by shooting 12-for-17 from the field to go with six assists and six steals in 28 minutes.

Young helped guide South Medford to back-to-back appearances in the Class 6A state tournament — including a championship last year — before transferring to Crater in the summer.

Senior center Lydia Traore chipped in with 10 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals, while Dippel, a senior guard, contributed seven points and two steals.

“I thought that we did an excellent job of playing together and just getting other people involved and being patient on offense,” said Lease, whose team had 21 assists on 39 field goals. “Our reading of the defense offensively today was phenomenal.”

“We had 21 assists, which is huge for us, and we scored 90 points, too,” added the coach. “That just tells you how much the ball is moving around and getting into other people’s hands.”

Defensively, the Comets did a good job of reading passes and collecting 50-50 balls to help stretch the advantage to 29 points at several points in the third quarter. Crater’s lead never dipped below 20 points in the second half.

“Defensively we did a lot of really good things,” said Lease of 17 steals and a 26-13 advantage in turnover ratio.

Maylin Brogren had 19 points and Fareeda Elmanhawy added 18 points to lead Wilsonville (17-10), which entered the tournament on an 11-game winning streak.

Crater will have a day off before facing fourth-seeded Redmond (21-5) in the semifinals at 1:30 p.m. Friday. The Panthers edged Summit, 44-42, in their quarterfinal, and will be looking to avenge a 61-43 loss earlier this year to Crater.

All five of Redmond’s losses came Dec. 22 or earlier, giving the Panthers an 18-game winning streak entering the semifinals. Crater hasn’t lost to a team from Oregon all season, with its lone setback coming Dec. 28 in tournament play against St. Joseph’s of California.

WILSONVILLE (62): Jaekel 10, Counts 11, Hix 0, Elmanhawy 18, Moultrie 19, Brogren 2, Scanlan 0, Chiovaro 2, Smith 0. Totals: 26-55 7-7 62.

CRATER (90): Gugliotta 4, Winslow 31, Dippel 7, Young 27, Traore 10, Jackson 2, Fernandez 3, Griffin 0, Plankenhorn 0, Kitchen 0, Yohner 6. Totals: 39-70 2-4 90.

Wilsonville 10 12 18 22 — 62

Crater 24 19 23 24 — 90

3-point goals — Wilsonville 3-14 (Brogren 3), Crater 10-20 (Winslow 3, Young 3, Yohner 2, Dippel 1, Fernandez 1). Fouled out — Gugliotta.

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