Southridge Skyhawks girls basketball team is winning — and having plenty of fun

The first-place Skyhawks are on a six-game win streak as they chase a Metro title and a return trip to the 6A state tournament

Southridge juniors Addison White (left) and Sara Mangan are all smiles after the Skyhawks’ 60-29 victory at Westview. / Dan Brood

For the Southridge girls basketball team, so far this season, things are going exactly to plan.

The Skyhawks are working hard.

They’re getting better.

They have a bit of a different look this season, but they’re coming together as a team — and they’re having fun at the same time.

“We’re getting better,” Southridge coach Michael Bergmann said after the Skyhawks’ 60-29 win over Westview in a Metro League game Tuesday at Westview High School. “It’s a different group this year. We’ve got some younger kids, and they’re starting to jell together pretty well.”

“It’s been going really well. I really love playing with this team, and we’ve taken big strides forward from our very first game to this game tonight,” Southridge junior forward/center Addison White said. “Our overall play as a team has gotten better. We have a lot of new people, but we’ve done a really good job of executing, playing as a team, and getting better overall.”

All of that is very important, as the Southridge squad has some lofty goals this season.

Among those goals — the Metro League championship.

Last year, the Skyhawks shared the league title with Jesuit and Beaverton, with all three teams going 10-2 in Metro contests.

This year, Southridge wants that title all to itself.

“It would mean a lot. It’s our goal,” standout junior point guard Sara Mangan said. “All of these other teams are really good, of course, but we need to win the next quarter.”

The next quarter — that seems to be a theme with the Skyhawks, who are making sure to take things step-by-step and not to overlook anything or anyone.

“It’s going to take us winning the next quarter, winning the next game and working hard every practice,” White said.

Southridge junior Addison White looks to make a move to the basket during the team’s 60-29 win at Westview in Metro League play. / Dan Brood

“We’ve got to win our next game first, but that would mean a lot,” Bergmann said of winning the Metro League championship. “That was our first goal.”

With their dominant win over Westview on Tuesday, their sixth consecutive victory, the Skyhawks improved their Metro League-leading record to 6-1 (14-7 overall), keeping them ahead of Beaverton, Jesuit and Mountainside, who are all 4-2 in league games entering Friday’s scheduled contests.

Southridge, while setting its sights on the league title, is reveling in the chase for the crown.

“It’s really fun,” Mangan said. “Jesuit came and watched us play Beaverton, and we watched them play Mountainside. It’s a really good rivalry.”

Mangan, who earned first-team all-Metro League honors and honorable mention Class 6A all-state accolades as a sophomore, has been a driving force for the Skyhawks in those league rivalry battles. She averaged 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game, sinking a total of seven 3-pointers in back-to-back wins over Jesuit (59-51) and Beaverton (69-58), with those two victories propelling the Skyhawks to first place.

“Sara is amazing to play with,” White said. “She’s a great facilitator. She helps everybody on the floor. She helps everyone get open shots, and she’s always working to encourage her teammates, and she helps everyone around her.”

Southridge junior guard Sara Mangan looks to get a play in motion for the Skyhawks in their 60-29 victory at Westview. / Dan Brood

“It’s been good,” said Mangan, who is averaging more than 18 points per game to lead the team. “These guys have been great and super helpful.”

White, another key returnee for the Skyhawks, said she has been working hard on her game.

“This year, I’ve been striving to improve my outside game, so I could be a threat both inside and outside,” she said. “I think I’ve taken some big strides in that.”

That showed in the victory at Westview, as the 6-foot-1 White sank a couple of 3-pointers on her way to scoring 13 points, which tied her for game-high honors.

Other returnees for Southridge include seniors Brinley Lyden and Faye Scott (the only two seniors on the roster) and junior Alex Lytchani. Scott and Lytchani were in the starting lineup Tuesday.

The Skyhawks’ other starter was talented, do-it-all freshman Camryn Herzberg.

“She’s added a lot. She’s so athletic,” Mangan said of Herzberg. “She does all the hard stuff. She makes a lot of things easier for everyone around her.”

Herzberg has made a quick impact for Southridge. She stepped up with 22 points and seven rebounds in the key victory over Beaverton.

Southridge freshman Camryn Herzberg races to the ball after coming up with a back-court steal during the Skyhawks’ 60-29 win at Westview. / Dan Brood

“It’s been good, with all the support my teammates have given me, including me and bringing me into the community,” Herzberg said.

She’s also quick to credit her teammates for helping her with the fast start to her high school basketball career.

“I struggled with my confidence a lot last year, but with my teammates building me up all the time, they’ve really helped me a lot,” Herzberg said. “I’m having so much fun just bonding with my teammates both on and off the court — team dinners, team brunches, everything.”

Other newcomers to the varsity roster include junior Olivia Jones, sophomores Evie Steele, Katrina Janowski and Lydia Strayer and freshman Bailey Griffin.

As for the returnees, last year, they got to play in the Class 6A state tournament. That said, it’s no surprise what one of the team’s other goals is.

“It would mean a lot,” Mangan said of getting back to the state tournament. “We lost six seniors (from last season), but we’ve really come together as a group. I think that experience has carried over to here, and we want to get there again.”

“I think it made them hungry to get back there. I think they’re working hard, but we’ve got a long way to go before we start thinking about that,” Bergmann said. “Absolutely, it’s motivation. It’s always fun to get there. But if you think about that too much, you lose a game that you should have won.”

Southridge coach Michael Bergmann watches the action during the Skyhawks’ 60-29 victory at Westview on Tuesday. / Dan Brood

It sounds like the Skyhawks are ready to put in all the work needed to get back to the tournament.

“I think the experience was great, seeing all these other teams and where we want to be,” White said. “I think as a team, it’s really motivated us this season to go even farther than we did before. We’re going to keep working hard — every practice, every game. It would mean a lot to us to get to go back.”

The Skyhawks also have a motivated freshman who wants to make her first state tournament appearance.

“It would mean a lot to me, especially with this team, in my first year,” Herzberg said. “It would be special.”

With all of that in mind, Southridge entered Tuesday’s game with the youthful Wildcats not just content to cruise to a victory, but the Skyhawks wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to work hard and improve.

“We want to get better at the things we’re not great at yet. We want to build each other up and play as a team,” Mangan said. “It went really well. I think we really played well as a team. We moved the ball and did things we have been working on in practice.”

“We’ve struggled with rebounding this season, so we’ve been working hard at it every game,” White said. “We want to just go at it and be more physical.”

“It went really well,” Herzberg said. “We played well as a team and shared the ball. We had great energy.”

Mangan, despite playing less than half of the game, scored 11 points on a 5-for-6 shooting night from the field with one 3-pointer, four rebounds, two assists and a steal. White had seven rebounds and a steal to go with her 13 points. Herzberg, in limited minutes, had 13 points with two 3-pointers, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Griffin added six points, and Scott had four points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Southridge made 23 of 53 shots from the field, with five 3-pointers, and 9 of 11 free throws. The Skyhawks helped force Westview into an 11-for-43 shooting night from the field and 23 turnovers. Southridge outrebounded the Wildcats 30-21.

Southridge sophomore Evie Steele looks to go up to the basket for the Skyhawks in their 60-29 Metro League win at Westview. / Dan Brood

“We’ve been working on our rebounding, trying to get stronger at it,” Bergman said. “I think defensively, we’ve still got a ways to go, but at times, they’re clicking on it.”

Spencer McLagan, one of six freshmen on the Westview varsity roster, led the Wildcats with 11 points. Junior Avery Nelson added eight.

The Skyhawks, No. 9 in the latest Class 6A coaches poll, won’t be in action again until Feb. 21, when they play in a league contest at Sunset. They will finish their regular-season schedule with key Metro League games against Jesuit and at Mountainside.

No matter the outcome, you can count on the Skyhawks to keep their season going as long as they can.

“It’s been so fun, and I love this team so much,” Mangan said. “It’s just been fun to play together.”

“This season has been so fun,” White said. “I love this team, I love playing with this team, and I think everyone can say the same.”

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