Dallas clubs Lebanon in regular-season finale

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The playoffs are next for the girls basketball team.

Sam Scott

DALLAS -- Dallas' girls basketball team closed the regular season Feb. 25 with a 59-40 victory against visiting Lebanon.

The verdict gave the Lady Dragons a share of the Mid-Willamette Conference along with Crescent Valley and West Albany. It was the first league title for Dallas (18-6 overall, 11-3 MWC) in more than 30 years.

"Our kids are really excited," Dallas coach Dave Brautigam said. "They can look back and see where they came from and see how all the hard work has paid off. They really enjoy being able to say they're a league champion. There are little girls running around who are excited about joining Dallas girls basketball, and it's because of the girls we have on the team now."

Dallas made its first postseason appearance in 30 years last season but lost to Marshfield in the first round. The Lady Dragons opened the 2009-2010 playoffs March 2 at home against Mazama, but results were unavailable at press time.

The winner of the Dallas-Mazama game plays Friday, March 5 at Wilsonville (20-4 overall), champion of the Northwest Oregon Conference."

"We're trying to go far, and I think we're very capable of doing that," Brautigam said. "Everybody thinks we can make a run. That's a huge difference between this year and last year. We're excited.

"The thing we've looked at is controlling what we do and doing what we do the best we can. We want to play basketball at a high level, and that'll get us where we want to do."

Dallas, ranked seventh in the Class 5A coaches poll, certainly did that against Lebanon. The Lady Dragons struggled to a 34-32 win at Lebanon during the first half of league play but led comfortably the second time around after taking the lead for good midway through the second period.

"Our intensity was the difference," Brautigam said. "The first time we played them, we made a lot of mistakes. We'd steal the ball and then not finish on the other end. This time, it was senior night, and we had a lot of energy."

Dallas showed plenty of that energy from the opening tipoff, but Lebanon initially stayed right with the Lady Dragons, thanks in large part to three first-quarter three-point baskets by Megan Benedict.

The score was deadlocked 11-11 at the end of the first period. The Lady Warriors (12-12, 5-9) moved ahead 15-11 on back-to-back buckets by Veronica Steward and Sara Parks. Dallas answered with consecutive baskets by Marissa Angulo and Andrea Kutzer.

Lebanon took its last lead when Steward hit a midrange jumper from the left side. Hannah Frederick's basket tied it 17-17 at the 5:31 mark. Dallas forced a turnover and went ahead for good with 5:06 on the clock when Kelsey Bridges scored off a pass from Angulo.

The Lady Dragons outscored Lebanon 7-3 the rest of the quarter, building a 26-20 halftime lead.

Lebanon twice reduced the margin to five points early in the third period. A free throw by Dallas freshman Jessica Mitchell at the 6:20 mark ignited a 13-3 spurt. Frederick's basket with 2:30 left in the quarter capped the surge and gave Dallas a 43-28 edge.

The Lady Dragons led by at least 13 points the rest of the way and twice pushed the difference to 21 points in the fourth quarter.

Bridges led Dallas with 14 points. Mitchell added 12, and Frederick finished with 10.

Dallas seemed headed for a win Feb. 23 at Crescent Valley, leading 25-15 at halftime. But the Lady Dragons were outscored 22-2 in the third period, and the Lady Raiders rallied for a 47-38 victory.

"It was not a good game," Brautigam said. "We played really well in the first half and then just fell apart in the second. We told the kids it was the sort of thing that should motivate them and make them angry and want to get better. The kids responded really well against Lebanon."