Game Recap: South Albany 42-33 Silverton

Fourth-ranked South Albany (10-4, 6-1 SWC) defeated second-ranked Silverton (12-2, 6-1 SWC) 42-33 on Friday, handing the reigning 5A state champion its first league loss.   Three of Oregon's top-four 5A teams—Silverton, Corvallis, and South Albany—are in a 3-way tie for the Mid-Willamette Conference title. South Albany hosts Corvallis for a tie-breaker game on Tuesday.   Both the Redhawks and Foxes returned starting players with state final-four experience, and both teams aspire to win the league and state title this season, which set the stage for a competitive and high-stakes matchup.   South Albany junior [player_tooltip player_id='832587' first='Taylor' last='Donaldson'] led all scorers with 21 points, including 17 in the first half to push the Redhawks to a 26-14 lead over the Foxes at the break. Juniors [player_tooltip player_id='921633' first='Phara' last='Dickson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='832595' first='Kaylee' last='Cordle'] added 9 and 7 points, respectively.   Silverton senior transfer [player_tooltip player_id='833495' first='Hadley' last='Craig'] led the Foxes in scoring with 15 points, evenly spread across four quarters. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='991259' first='Allie' last='Mansur'] added 7 points.   Here are five of the top performers from the game:    Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='921633' first='Phara' last='Dickson'] is a state champion sprinter. She has a motor and is fast on both ends of the court, blowing by her defender to get to the rim or beating her mark to the spot with her one-on-one defense. Five-foot-7 Dickson is aggressive in attacking the open lane and finishing strong at the basket. Whether taking off on the cut or the dribble, it's tough for defenders to keep up with her. She has a nice shot and can hit from three. Dickson scored a crucial 9 points with 4 rebounds and 2 steals against 5A second-ranked Silverton.     South Albany 6-foot-0 junior [player_tooltip player_id='832587' first='Taylor' last='Donaldson'] is an elite scorer. She's averaging over 20 points per game and scored an efficient 21 points against 5A second-ranked Silverton. Donaldson is tall, strong, and athletic, and can score from all three levels. She can create her own looks all over the floor—a pull up from three, a stop and pop or catch and turn middy, an athletic drive and hang at the basket, and more. She draws an extra defender on the inside and has great touch and vision to find her teammate for the open shot. Donaldson works hard and is a next-level player.     Junior [player_tooltip player_id='832595' first='Kaylee' last='Cordle'] is strong, fast, and athletic, and makes the hustle plays on both ends of the floor for South Albany. She averages over 10 points and 5 rebounds per game. Cordle is a tenacious defender with great help-side awareness and has the ability to make the athletic block against an offensive drive. She frustrates her mark, anticipates the pass, and forces the jump ball. She's involved in a lot of South Albany's defensive stops. Cordle scored 7 points with 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block against 5A second-ranked Silverton.     Silverton's 5-foot-10 senior [player_tooltip player_id='833495' first='Hadley' last='Craig'] is a two-way player who is competitive on defense and can create her own offense. The transfer leads the Foxes in scoring, and is top-three in assists and rebounding. She has a nice pull-up midrange game from the drive or the catch-and-turn with great body control. She can hit the three or drive to the rim and finish through contact and the foul. If the game is down to the wire, you want the ball in Craig's hands. She has the ability to read the defense and make the right play. Craig scored 15 points with 8 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block against 5A fourth-ranked South Albany.     Junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='991259' first='Allie' last='Mansur'] is a quick and athletic 2-way player. Mansur is Silverton's top one-on-one defender and top-three in scoring and assists. She gets assigned to defend the opponent's best guard on the floor. Mansur is quick on and off the ball on both ends of the court. She pushes the pace, getting her team into their offense. Mansur is a great ball-handler with good vision and passing. She moves the ball well and is an active cutter. Mansur has quick feet on defense and fights around screens to closeout and beats her mark to the spot to deny the drive. Mansur scored 7 points with 3 rebounds against 5A fourth-ranked South Albany.

Fourth-ranked South Albany (10-4, 6-1 SWC) defeated second-ranked Silverton (12-2, 6-1 SWC) 42-33 on Friday, handing the reigning 5A state champion its first league loss.