It’s early in the season, but both Tigard basketball coaches are pleased with the energy and cohesiveness they are seeing from their respective teams.
The girls team kicked off their season with two straight wins at home in the Tigard Memorial Kickoff Tournament, one win coming in a blowout and the other coming in a close game down to the wire.
The boys lost their opener, then bounced back with a road win at Century, and sit at 1-2 as of our press deadline.
The girls team opened the year with a massive 68-10 win at home against Parkrose. The 68 points was higher than any scoring total by a Tigard girls team since the shortened spring 2021 season as a makeup for the 2020 Covid season.
“I’m actually really excited about how they’re looking,” said Anna Johnson, head coach of the girls team. “The chemistry is awesome, and their basketball IQ feels really high this year. They’re going through the plays, and then they’re using the plays to score. It’s not just running through the motions this year.”
In their second game of the year, the Tigers jumped out to an early lead against Sunset, leading by 14 at the half. In the third quarter, Sunset started to press more of the full length of the court, and managed to force some turnovers and get back into the game.
Sunset cut the lead to single digits in the fourth, trailing by eight with around four minutes to go, Tigard’s smallest lead since the first half.
With the game getting close, Tigard was led on a few drives by senior Kiarra Belli, who made a big lay-up to bring the Tigers’ lead to 42-35 with about two-and-a-half minutes to go. In the final minute, sophomore Keaton Sweeny and junior Isabella Harms had huge blocks on defense to keep Tigard ahead for good.
Belli was voted one of the team captains this year by her teammates, and when they voted for her, Johnson asked them to share words to describe Belli and explain why they wanted her as captain. Her teammates described her as “calming and hardworking,” Johnson said.
“It flows to the rest of the team,” she added. “If they see her calm in those close situations, they automatically have a calmness to them, as well. It’s the way she plays and her leadership ability that the team follows.”
The other team captain selected was senior Emily Clinch, who was picked for her heart, energy, and effort, Johnson said.
The Tigard boys also received some big plays with time winding down from a senior guard in their early-season win.
The Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 lead against Century, which battled back to tie the game with a little more than a second left in the first quarter. Senior Kingston Hunter took the in-bounds pass and heaved a full-court shot from near Tigard’s own basket and drilled it to give Tigard a lead it never relinquished.
At the end of the third quarter, Hunter pulled down a few offensive rebounds and hit a lay-in as time expired to give the Tigers a 32-26 lead entering the fourth.
“He has our most varsity experience,” said Stu Bailey, head coach for the boys’ team.
“He’s been playing a lot since his sophomore year. He’s used to it. He doesn’t get as wide-eyed when the lights come on as some of our other kids do that have a little less experience. We trust him with the ball a lot.”
Bailey praised his team’s effort through the first two games. He said he wants to get back to the program’s cornerstone, which is defense. He said that has led to some foul trouble for players early in the year, but noted that’s going to happen sometimes when you’re putting forth a high effort on defense.
“We play super, super hard. In fact, sometimes so hard, we’re just a little bit out of control,” he said. “They’re all really nice kids, and I love them to death. We’re going to have a great time.
