HILLSBORO, OR – The 7th seeded Sutherlin girls, behind the 25 points and 11 rebounds from Kayce Mock, knocked off top-ranked Cascade 45-40 Saturday night at Liberty High School in Hillsboro for their third straight 4A state title. Mock was 9-for-10 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the line and played all 32 minutes of the game.
The game was tied 8-8 after a quarter and Cascade pulled out to a 16-13 lead at the half. In the third period, the Bulldogs outscored the Cougars 14-6 to take a 35-30 lead.
In the fourth period, 5-foot-11 sophomore Halle Wright, who was first team last year for the Cougars and again this year, made a 3-point play with just under two minutes left to tie the game at 40. Sutherlin sophomore Harlee Baker hit a pair of free throws to give the Bulldogs a 42-40 lead.
Then a Cascade turnover gave the Bulldogs the ball with just 9-seconds left in the game and Mock was fouled hard with a tick under two seconds left. The foul was ruled intentional. She made one of two free-throws and the Bulldogs got the ball back.
Mock got the ensuing in-bounds pass behind the defense and hit the layup and the Bulldogs exploded in celebration for the third night in a row.
Taylor Stricklin was the only other Bulldog in double figures, with 10 points including 6-of-8 from the line. She added nine rebounds. Wright had 23 points and seven rebounds to lead the Cougars.
The game was tied eight times and there were eight lead changes. The Bulldogs finished the season 27-1 and Cascade, which got knocked out by Sutherlin for the second year in a row, ended the season with a 26-2 mark.
Sutherlin was already thin on the bench going into the tournament, but senior Megan Bradley who had started every game this year, broke her wrist taking a hard charge against Mazama Friday night and was out for the championship game. Eliza Sorenson, who hit the game-winner on Friday night, got 4 fouls early, and sophomore Taylor Moser came in for her first action of the tournament and gave them some good minutes until Sorenson could come back in. Four players played all 32 minutes including Mock, Stricklin, Harlee Baker and Sam Tilley. It was a brutally rough game, and the Bulldog players were bruised and scratched from the heavy contact, and collisions on the court.
10th year coach Coach Josh Grotting, who has four state titles to his credit at Sutherlin, said after the game, “that’s the best one of all” after winning the championship despite all the injuries and other adversity they faced this year and the fact that nobody expected them to compete for another title. Grotting said it was one of the most balanced and strongest state tournaments fields he’s seen.
Brookings head coach Chris Schofield, a Riddle High School graduate said “that may be the best number 7 seed in the history of the state tournament.” His team lost in the 4th place game to Banks, but lost by 26 to Sutherlin in a non-league contest in January.
Congratulations to the Bulldogs for their third state title in a row, and fourth in the school’s history.
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— 1490 The Score (@KSKRTheScore) October 24, 2024