The Tualatin girls basketball team saw its season end in heartbreaking fashion in the state semifinals.
The Timberwolves were a game away from defending their state title from a year ago when they took on South Medford in the semifinals of the playoffs at the Chiles Center on March 13.
Medford led late, but Tualatin made a late surge and jumped ahead by one point with 5 seconds to go after two free throws from sophomore Love Lei Best. Medford senior Dyllyn Howell received a pass in the backcourt, took the ball a bit beyond the halfcourt line and lobbed the ball toward the basket.
Senior Mayen Akpan skyed over a few Tualatin defenders, caught the pass and laid it in as time expired to pull out the 56-55 win.
“It’s a heartbreaking loss to end a great season for us,” Tualatin Head Coach Wes Pappas said.
The loss was Tualatin’s first loss to a team in Oregon all season. The Timberwolves’ only previous loss came in a holiday tournament against Etiwanda, a nationally-ranked team from California. Even though the season ended earlier than the team had hoped, Pappas said he was proud of his team’s effort during the title defense season, when everyone was gunning to take them out.
“The girls fought like crazy,” Pappas said. “Love was amazing. She tried to put us on her back and did, especially at the end. We’re happy to be a part of the tournament. This is such a great showcase for girls and high school sports.”
It was another impressive season for Best. The sophomore was named Player of the Year for Three Rivers League and Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year for the state. Pappas was named All-Three Rivers League Coach of the Year, and Best, Ries Miadich, Kendall Dawkins, and Maaya Lucas were all named to the All-League First Team.
Liv Barron and Bella Amens were both honorable mentions for the All-League, and Alex Padilla earned a spot on the All-League Second Team.
Padilla tore her ACL in a game against West Linn on Feb. 3, missing the rest of the season. Pappas had called her the best defensive player in the state prior to the injury, and the team really missed her presence in the back half of the season.
“Injuries are part of the game,” Pappas said. “But if Alex doesn’t go down, I think healthy we’re the best team in the state.”
Padilla played all over the court, but a bulk of her time was spent down low. When she got hurt, Pappas moved Amens, another guard, into the starting lineup.
“Alex is big, but you can use her anywhere,” Pappas said. “You can’t replace that. Bella is a totally different player. Bella really improved as a player after she moved into the starting lineup, and she’s all ready to go next year. She really shined in that situation.”
Oddly enough, the day after the heartbreaking loss, the Tualatin boys dished out their late-game heroics, when Pat Vialva Jr. hit two massive three-pointers in the last nine seconds of the state title game to clinch a championship for the boys team.
“We saw two of the most amazing endings in two days in girls and boys history,” Pappas said. “We were on the wrong side of it, but happy our boys were on the right side of it.”
