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Cascade dominates Bonanza Mail Tribune / Alex Szlachtianshyn Cascade Christian�s Kayleen Conley, center, slips through Bonanza�s Katie Hitt, left, and Ivy Nelson in Cascade's victory against Bonanza on Friday. By Greg Stiles The Bonanza Antlers hoped to vex Cascade Christian with its press and seal off Kelly Clarke and Kristin Salamone with tough inside defense. It didn�t quite work that way, however, Friday at Superior Gym. Clarke scored 15 of her 19 points in the first half and the Challengers rambled to a 34-point second-quarter lead in dismantling the Antlers 67-36 in a Southern Cascade League girls basketball playoff game. The Challengers secured their fourth trip in five years to the Class 2A state tournament in Pendleton, Feb. 27-March 3, with the victory. Cascade (21-4) travels to Merrill today for a 2 p.m. seeding game against regular-season SCL champion Lost River. Bonanza finished the season 13-9. "They were ready and we weren�t. They�ve really improved," said veteran Bonanza coach Ed Vieira before acknowledging his plan to stop Clarke and Salamone. "But Kelly started strong and really took it to the hole against us, and they were hitting from the outside, too." The Challengers nailed 13 of their 21 (.619) first-quarter shots. They then turned it on further by connecting on 9 of 10 to start the second quarter "This was one of our best games," Clarke said in an understatement. "We just came out hard and strong." Bonanza�s full-court press perplexed Cascade Christian in two previous meetings, although the Challengers prevailed in both cases. This time, the press proved little more than a welcoming committee rolling out the red carpet. "We walked through the way we were going to attack their press a bunch of times," Cascade coach Loren King said. "We wanted them to see what the rotation was going to be and give them a heads up. We told them when you have two players coming to trap, don�t panic, be happy, because if we rotate the ball, we�re going to get a three-on-two at the other end." The Challengers responded by scoring 17 of the game�s first 18 points. Fifteen of them came from Clarke and Salamone. Janelle Conley converted a steal for the other basket. Cascade then worked its way to a 27-13 lead after one quarter. "We wanted to attack down low, get their defense to collapse and then get the open outside shots," said sophomore point guard Hannah Gettman. "We have good outside shooters." The Antlers scored their first field goal when Katie Hitt bombed in a 3-pointer at the 5:03 mark. The 5-foot-9 senior added another trey and Jessi Carpenter scored from the lane as Bonanza pulled within in 19-9. But Gettman canceled the comeback as she scored eight straight for the Challengers. "We worked on getting good passing angles," said Gettman, who finished with 14 points. "We wanted to get the ball upcourt as fast as possible and go to the basket. People were getting open." Junior Whitney Brookins started what turned into a 20-0 run with 20 seconds left in the first quarter. After three quick turnovers, the Challengers extended their lead to 45-13 as seven players took turns scoring "The kids were on roll," King said. "And that�s always fun." BONANZA (36) � Carpenter 8, Bouchal 0, Beck 6, Callahan 0, Collier 6, Wiseman 3, Hitt 9, Nelson 4, Bennett 0, Lee 0. Totals: 11-52 5-11 36. CASCADE CHRISTIAN (67) � R. Gettman 0, Brookins 8, Kelley 2, Fischer 0, H. Gettman 14, J. Conley 4, K. Conley 4, Roseberg 2, McCandless 2, Roos 6, Clarke 19, Salamone 6. Totals: 30-65 6-7 67. Bonanza......................................................13 4 7 12 � 36 Cascade Christian..................................27 22 10 8 � 67 3-point goals � Bonanza 5-11 (Carpenter 1, Wseman 1, Hitt 2, Nelson 1). Cascade Christian 1-16 (Clarke 1). Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4483, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.