Wilsonville girls basketball team overcomes obstacles to punch ticket to 5A state tournament: ‘No doubt’

Despite a slow start and a key injury, the never-say-die Wildcats fight off Corvallis for a first-round win

Wilsonville’s (from left) Audrey Counts, Fareeda ElManhawy and Gabi Moultrie are all smiles after the Wildcats’ 53-41 win over Corvallis in Friday’s Class 5A state playoff game. / Dan Brood

WILSONVILLE — Sure, the Wilsonville girls basketball team has plenty of momentum going for it.

And yes, the Wildcats sure seem to be peaking at the right time.

But there’s something to say about good, old determination and self-belief.

Wilsonville senior guard Audrey Counts needed just two words to sum it all up.

“No doubt,” Counts said.

The Wildcats, despite a slow start and a game-ending injury to starting post Payton Ratcliffe, left no doubt as they powered their way to a 53-41 win over Corvallis in a Class 5A state playoff game Friday at Wilsonville High School.

“We’re super excited. We’re a team that’s been together a long time,” said Wilsonville junior guard Gabi Moultrie, who led all scorers with 25 points. “We’ve got a lot of juniors and seniors, so this is a really important thing for us. It was fun to win at home; now we’re trying to reach our goal of winning a state championship, so we’re excited.”

Wilsonville junior Gabi Moultrie shoots for two of her game-high 25 points in the Wildcats’ playoff win over Corvallis. / Dan Brood

“This means a lot,” Counts said. “We’re just super excited to see how the future unfolds.”

“This is a great accomplishment,” said Wildcats senior Ryme Jaekel, who sank some key 3-pointers on her way to scoring 13 points. “I think we were expected to win, but actually winning was great for us. We worked so hard in practice the last two weeks for this. We were really locked in to win this game. It was so nice.”

With the win, its 10th in a row, the No. 8 seed Wilsonville squad improved to 17-9. The Wildcats earned a berth in the Class 5A state tournament, which will be held at Linfield University in McMinnville.

Wilsonville, the Northwest Oregon Conference champion, will open the tournament Wednesday, when it faces top-seeded Crater, which moved to 25-1 with a 63-30 playoff win over Lebanon, in a quarterfinal contest at 1:30 p.m.

But with their determination, the Wildcats say they’re ready for any challenge.

“We want to win state, and I think we can. We just need to go in, compete hard and play good defense like we did tonight,” Moultrie said. “I think teams all the way through are really good. I mean, we’re the eighth seed, and I think we’re one of the best teams in the tournament. So, don’t doubt anybody, don’t doubt yourself. Just go into it like you can beat anybody, but everybody is a good team. I’m excited.”

“Win. Championship. No. 1 in the state,” Jaekel said with a smile. “It’s going to be tough. I think we need be focused at practice. We have the skill; we have the hard work.”

Wilsonville senior Ryme Jaekel keeps the ball from Corvallis senior Nalia Wagar in Friday’s Class 5A state playoff contest. / Dan Brood

Counts again was succinct when talking about the team’s goal at the state tournament.

“Win!” she said. “It’s going to take staying focused at practice, knowing the game plan, executing it, and never, ever doubting, any second in the game, that we’re going to keep running fast, doing the small things and getting it done.”

Wilsonville’s self-belief might have been put to the test early in the playoff contest against the Spartans. The Wildcats missed their first 11 shots from the field, and less than two minutes into the game, Ratcliffe went down with a possible ankle injury. Soon after that, Wilsonville found itself looking at a 6-0 deficit.

But all of those early misgivings seemed to motivate the Wildcats even more.

“That completely fired us up,” Counts said. “We wanted to prove that nothing was going to stop us.”

“We’re all really competitive,” Moultrie said. “And when Payton went out, we wanted to win for her. We knew they had a good start, and we were a little nervous, but we got our nerves out and we just competed so hard — we out-competed the nerves.”

Wilsonville trailed 8-6 at the end of the opening period. But the Wildcats got back-to-back 3-pointers from Counts and Jaekel to open the second quarter, and they led the rest of the way.

Wilsonville’s defense was a big reason for that.

The Wildcats limited Corvallis to five points in the second quarter, and for the game, they helped force the Spartans into an 18-for-51 (35.2 percent) shooting night from the field.

Wilsonville junior Kaia Hix (left) and Fareeda ElManhawy double team Corvallis senior Sofie Robel during Friday’s state playoff game. / Dan Brood

“I think that was the best defensive game we’ve played all year,” Moultrie said. “We’ve been working on that so much this year, and it was really nice to see that pay off.”

“I think this was the best defensive night that we’ve had in a long time,” Jaekel said. “We’ve been working extra hard at practice.”

Moultrie scored eight points in the second quarter, helping the Wildcats take a 20-13 halftime lead.

The talented guard showed her determination in the second half, scoring 15 points after halftime to help Wilsonville hold off every Corvallis rally attempt.

“I didn’t want to lose, especially with Payton out,” Moultrie said. “That changes a little bit how we play, but I felt like they couldn’t guard me, and we could guard them. I knew we could win this game.”

In addition to her 25 points, Moultrie had six assists, five steals and four assists.

“We all just wanted to win so bad, and it all just clicked because we all wanted it so bad,” she said.

Jaekel’s 3-pointers also proved to be a key factor in the victory.

Wilsonville’s (from left) Addi Smith, Maisy Scanlan, Elise Chiovaro, Finley Blankenship and Payton Ratcliffe yell out after a 3-pointer by Ryme Jaekel. / Dan Brood

“I’ve been working on my three-ball, and for that to fall tonight definitely built my confidence, and I felt good that I could contribute that way,” she said.

Counts had a strong all-around performance with nine points, six rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block.

“We were just staying in the game the whole time,” she said. “We didn’t let any doubt creep in. We were just making sure to stay together and — no doubt. No matter how far we were down, we would have kept fighting until the end.”

Junior Fareeda ElManhawy had a crucial 12 rebounds, as well as four points, helping the Wildcats claim a 37-28 edge in rebounds. Junior Kaia Hix added two points in addition to playing some pressure defense.

Wilsonville juniors Fareeda ElManhawy (15) and Gabi Moultrie celebrate after the Wildcats’ 53-41 state playoff win against Corvallis. / Dan Brood

“I think we proved ourselves tonight, and that should give us more momentum going into these bigger games,” Moultrie said. “It’s been great going undefeated in league. That got our momentum going. And today proved that we could beat a good state playoff team and showed how good we are. I definitely think it’s propelling us.”

Propelling the Wildcats right to the Class 5A state tournament, where they’re hoping to make even more noise.

“I think that, 100 percent, we’re peaking at the right time, and we can still improve. But I think we’re right where we need to be,” Jaekel said. “We’re ready for anything, 100 percent.”

Corvallis, the No. 9 seed, finished its season 16-9. Senior Sofie Robel had a huge performance for the Spartans with 20 points and 17 rebounds. Senior Kate Rueck added 12 points.

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