Lakeridge Tops Oregon City as TRL Playoff Picture Heats Up

<!-- wp:acf/box-score {"name":"acf/box-score","data":{"game":["1484046"],"_game":"field_6a1b2c3d4e5f7"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6986f2a29b16e"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lots of eyes were on the Three Rivers League Tuesday night. Of course, the main event saw Tualatin laid all "who's number one" debates to rest with a triumphant road win at West Linn. But behind those two juggernauts, the rest of the conference has been jockeying for a third-place finish that guarantees a playoff spot. The Oregon City Pioneers had held third place outright for the first three weeks of league play — until Tuesday's 60-53 loss to Lakeridge caused a major shift in the standings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Pioneers have largely spent their season winning games they were supposed to win. Their only four in-state losses to that point were to the top three OSAA-rated teams in 6A — South Salem, Tualatin, West Linn — and 5A no. 1 Redmond. But when Lakeridge's [player_tooltip player_id='1321458' first='Kaylee' last='Bjorkgren'] led off Tuesday's game with a corner three, it was clear that the Pacers weren't going to lay down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lakeridge guard [player_tooltip player_id='486480' first='Charlotte' last='Conyers'] took over the opening quarter, nailing two threes of her own. Conyers and Bjorkgren scored 18 of Lakeridge's 20 first-quarter points and propelled the Pacers to an eight-point lead. Oregon City was then able to cut its deficit to 29-26 at the half thanks to triples from Kamryn Muth and [player_tooltip player_id='1229051' first='Livie' last='Carns'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Conyers and Carns, the star guards for each team, both picked up three fouls in the first half, and it looked like they might have to be deployed conservatively in the second half. Those questions got even louder when Conyers was called for a moving screen early in the third quarter, putting her one foul away from disqualification. But somehow, Conyers played the entire rest of the game without fouling out, and she did so with the same relentless aggression. She exploded for another 17 points in second half to finish with 30 points on 11-of-25 from the field, dashing Oregon City's hopes of a comeback.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bjorkgren also made a consistent impact from beginning to end, finishing with 16 points, three steals and three blocks while pushing the pace with the ball in her hands. Oregon City's [player_tooltip player_id='1509019' first='Reese' last='Weygandt'] did her best to keep the Pioneers in it, pouring in 12 second-half points. She would finish with 18 points, three three-pointers and a game-high five steals. Carns struggled to protect the ball and finished with eight turnovers, but still managed to knock down four of her seven three-point attempts to finish with 14.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This marks the first time this season the Pioneers have lost to a team ranked below them, and it created a three-way tie for third place in the league between Oregon City, Lakeridge and Lake Oswego. Those three teams will have the rest of the month to separate themselves and decide their playoff seeding come March.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->