COOS BAY – There was one team at the OSAA Class 3A state basketball tournament team that knew it could upset No. 1 seed Salem Academy.
After all, Blanchet was the only team that had done it this season.
No. 5 seed Blanchet used a combination of physical, aggressive man-to-man defense and impressive outside shooting to combat the Crusaders’ zone defense Friday to knock off PacWest Conference rival Salem Academy 51-39 in the state semifinals at Marshfield High School.
Friday’s game was the fourth time the teams had played this season with Blanchet winning the first time and Salem Academy winning the past two.
“Obviously they showed up to play the other few times that we played them and obviously we didn’t,” Blanchet sophomore Ana Coronado said.
“But those are the games that we built up off of, and we prepare ourselves for games like this. Those games mattered coming into state, and with our record and all that stuff, but this game, I think, is a little more important.”
Blanchet’s Sophia Poole dribbles around a Salem Academy defender on Friday, March 3, 2017.
With the win, Blanchet (23-3) advances to Saturday’s 7 p.m. state championship game to play three-time defending state champion Dayton.
It is the first time in school history that Blanchet will be in the state championship game.
“We’re making Blanchet history,” said sophomore Bailey Hittner, who scored 14 points. “This is the farthest any Blanchet team has gotten.
“We were crying as soon as the game was over, and coach said celebrate not, but we’re going to come back later and watch the Coquille and Dayton game and get dialed in. But right now we’re going to celebrate.”
The difference Friday was that while Salem Academy junior Sydney Brown was a force, scoring 23 points and grabbing nine rebounds, Salem Academy’s other star junior, Aimee Smith, was limited to two points.
That’s something few teams have been able to do against the Crusaders this season.
“Sydney and Aimee are going to get their points,” Blanchet coach Ron Hittner said. “You can’t shut them both down. You can really hold one and kind of contain everybody else.”
Blanchet was in the state tournament for the first time since 2012 and was in the state semifinals for the second time, the last coming in 2004.
“It means the world to me,” said senior Sophia Poole. “I know I’ve never been here before, this is my senior year. I know my teammates have fought for me to be here and I fought for them.”
Dayton’s Malina Ray goes up with a shot against Coquille on Friday, March 3, 2017.
Blanchet’s championship game opponent, Dayton, the grit it’s taken to win the past two state championships.
The Pirates put together a strong fourth quarter to beat Coquille 55-45.
“I would definitely say we’re confident, we’re not overlooking them whatsoever, but we’re going to have a game plan and go in and execute,” said junior Kalina Rojas, who scored 21 points and had six rebounds against Coquille.
Dayton started slow, well slow for them, against Coquille.
Against a stark red backdrop of Coquille fans, the Pirates trailed 26-24 at halftime and were down 37-36 late in the third quarter until Shawnie Spink hit two free throws to key a 10-0 Dayton run.
“I think we started to get confident,” said Spink, who scored 18 points. “We started off the first half a little scared because they have a huge student section, but once we came out in the second half and we knew we were in the game and once we started rolling there was nothing stopping us.”
In the boys side of the tournament, Dayton junior guard Tanner Lewis scored 30 points and Zach Bernards scored 21 as the Pirates defeated Cascade Christian 72-62.
With Dayton clinging to a 47-45 lead early in the fourth quarter, Lewis hit a 3-pointer to spark a 10-0 run – including seven points by Lewis.
Dayton’s Tanner Lewis (right) scores the ball against Cascade Christian on Friday, March 3, 2017.
“When you come down here and you play three games in a row, it’s not usually about how many points you can score, it’s usually about how well you play defense and how well you’re digging in,” Dayton coach Ron Hop said.
“Some big guys stepped up and played really good. Last night it was Bailey (West) and tonight it was Tanner. Obviously we’re going to get what we’re going to get from Zach. Whether it’s a groin, a hip, a thumb, it’s been something with him.”
No. 1 seed Dayton (25-1) advances to Saturday’s 9 p.m. state championship game and will play De La Salle North Catholic or Harrisburg.
This will be Dayton’s eighth state championship game appearance and first since 2015. The Pirates have won state championships in 2001, 2002, 2012 and 2015.
In Friday’s consolation semifinals, Jaycen Nelson hit two free throws with five seconds left, and Amity made a key stop on defense to give the Warriors a 59-57 win against Blanchet.
Amity (22-5) advances to Saturday’s 9:45 a.m. fourth place game and will play Salem Academy (22-5).
Mike Bashaw scored 25 points and had eight rebounds for Blanchet and R.J. Veliz scored 22 points.
In the other consolation semifinals, Skyler Williams scored 15 points and had seven rebounds to lead Salem Academy to a 49-42 win against Horizon Christian.
Kyle Haslebacher scored 11 points and had six assists for Salem Academy, and Rylan Stamback scored 10 points.
bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com or Twitter.com/bpoehler
BOX SCORES
Blanchet 51, Salem Academy 39
Blanchet: Bailey Hittner 14, Coronado 8, Poole 7, Collier 6, Phipps 5, Salang 5, Elmore 4, Ostby 2, Archer, Liao, Moore. Totals 16 14-19 51
Salem Academy: Sydney Brown 23, G. Brown 6, Hardy 5, Baker 3, Smith 2, Larsen, Campbell, Standridge. Totals 15 6-8 39.
BLA 13 10 10 18-51
SA 6 8 7 18-39
3-point goals: Blanchet 5 (Hittner 3, Poole, Salang); Salem Academy 3 (Baker, S. Brown, Hardy).
Dayton 55, Coquille 45
Coquille: Morgan Baird 13, Edwards 8, Layton 8, Wilson 5, Renard 4, Wilson 3, Dieu 2, Kaufman 2. Totals 17 7-9 45.
Dayton: Kalina Rojas 21, Spink 18, Ray 7, Cisneros 6, Moore 3, Shadden, Hill, Myers. Totals 19 15-21 55.
COQ 16 10 11 8-45
DAY 11 13 14 17-55
3-point goals: Coquille 4 (Layton 2, Wilson, Baird); Dayton 2 (Ray, Moore).
Dayton 72, Cascade Christian 62
Cascade Christian: Joel McLemore 24, Dunn 12, Cochran 11, Reece 8, H. Schaan 7, Alatorre, Crowl, K. Schaan, Collom, Agnifi, West. Totals 23 8-13 62.
Dayton: Tanner Lewis 30, Bernards 21, Flowers 11, Nowlin 5, West 3, Fergus 2, Rosas, deSmet, Findley, Brodeur, Morales, Capener. Totals 23 17-20 72.
CC 13 20 12 17-62
DAY 17 19 11 25-72
3-point goals: Cascade Christian 8 (McLemore 5, Reece 2, Cochran); Dayton 9 (Lewis 5, Bernards 2, Nowlin, West).
Amity 59, Blanchet 57
Blanchet: Mike Bashaw 25, Veliz 22, Stebner 6, Bogat 3, Conway 1, Torres, Coen, Sindlinger, Copple, Spear. Totals 19 14-27 57.
Amity: Dylan Stearns 20, McShane 14, Hatch 2, Yaeger 8, Wilson 3, Nelson 3, Stearns 2, White. Totals 17-51 19-29 59.
BLA 12 16 10 19-57
SA 14 9 14 22-59
3-point goals: Blanchet 5 (Bashaw 3, Bogat, Veliz); Amity 6 (Stearns 3, Wilson, McShane, Yaeger).
Salem Academy 49, Horizon Christian 42
Horizon Christian: Cody Wyatt 11, Sprauer 8, Zralka 8, Egger 3, Belan 3, Whelby 3, Free 2, Johnson 2, Boone 2, Schiele, Olson, Wakefield. Totals 14 8-11 42.
Salem Academy: Skyler Williams 15, Haselbacher 11, Stamback 10, Mosesr 6, Aldrich 4, Strunk 1, Daniels, Jenkins, Miller, Cuanas, Kenyon. Totals 17 10-14 49.
HC 9 6 10 17-42
SA 10 19 13 7-49
3-point goals: Horizon Christian 5 (Wyatt 3, Egger, Belan); Salem Academy 5 (Williams 3, Stamback, Haselbacher).