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Butte Falls girls heading to state CENTRAL POINT � Jessica Dunlap made up for lost time and almost single-handedly ushered Butte Falls into the Class 1A girls state basketball tournament. Dunlap, a junior whose playing time diminished as the season wore on, came off the bench and made two huge plays in the final 1� minutes of a 36-32 victory over North Lake Saturday. The win in the Skyline A League district tournament at Crater High School sends Butte Falls to the Feb. 28-March 3 state tourney in Baker City. It�s the Loggers� first trip to state since 1997. They open against the Casco League�s No. 1 representative Feb. 28. Dunlap, a point guard, started for about three-quarters of the season. But the emergence of freshman Brianna Smeltz and a flu bug that idled Dunlap for the better part of the past two weeks limited her contributions. Until Saturday. With the score tied at 32-32 in the waning moments, Dunlap twice stole the ball and drove in for easy layups that produced the game�s final points. In about 2� quarters of play, Dunlap led the Loggers (18-4 overall) with 11 points. In addition to her two steals, she also made a key free throw in the fourth quarter. "She�s a real team player," said Butte Falls coach B.J. Rodgers. "She pumps everybody up and never has anything bad to say about anybody. This just shows that good things happen to good people. This is the kind of kid that anybody would love to have as a daughter." On this night, Rodgers loved to have her on the floor, this time opposite Smeltz. The two rarely took the floor together before Saturday, but with North Lake employing a smaller, quicker lineup, Rodgers countered by inserting Dunlap at the wing while Smeltz manned the point. Together, they limited North Lake�s best players, Staci Collins and Kristy Robey, to nine and seven points, respectively. "They both played super defense," said Rodgers. "They complemented each other so well." Seven of Collins� points came in the fourth quarter, when North Lake took advantage of what Rodgers considered a coaching boo-boo to rally from a nine-point deficit. With the comfortable lead and only four minutes left, Rodgers had the Loggers slow the pace and try to draw the Cowgirls out of their zone defense. "That was a big coaching mistake," said Rodgers. "We should have kept going at them because we were rolling right then." Dunlap�s heroics made it moot. With the guards clamping down on the perimeter, Butte Falls� inside trio of Sarah Matthews, Elizabeth McLauchlan and Krystle Rowley were able to control their territory. "Our tall people did a hell of a job, too," said Rodgers. "They controlled the boards." Matthews, a freshman, collared 13 rebounds and McLauchlan had nine. Rodgers believed the Loggers needed to get to state this year to lay a foundation for the future. Butte Falls has only three seniors. "We�re not going to go up there and lay down for anybody," he said. "We�ve got potential." When the tournament begins a week from Wednesday, the Loggers might be healthier than they have been all year. They were without leading scorer Lindsey Stockton, one of the seniors who has been slowed by an ankle sprain, for most of the tournament. She played only three minutes Saturday. NORTH LAKE (32) � Warmington 0, Collins 9, Borlak 0, Nofzinger 0, K. Robey 7, H. Robey 0, Sprague 4, Castile 6, Schmidt 6. Totals: 14 2-6 32. BUTTE FALLS (36) � Mullion 0, Dunlap 11, McClanahan 2, Hamilton 3, Matthews 6, Stockton 0, Smeltz 2, McKibben 3, Rowley 3, McLauchlan 6. Totals: 15 6-20 36. North Lake..................................................6 6 7 13 � 32 Butte Falls.................................................4 13 8 11 � 36 3-point goals � North Lake 2 (K. Robey 1, Castile 1). Fouled out � K. Robey. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.