Defeating Sandy and Milwaukie in their first two league games of the season, the #3-ranked La Salle girls basketball team is off to a strong start to the season, with the team hoping to once again return to the state championships.

In the first league game of the season, the girls defeated Sandy by an impressive 55 points, 81-26. Senior captain Colby Jansen says, “I think that win was a really good confidence boost for some of the younger girls.

Last night at home against Milwaukie, the team won 53-27.

In the last several years, the girls have been a dominant force at the state tournament, making an appearance in each of the last four years, and taking home the title in both 2015 and 2017.

During the preseason, the team participated in two tournaments over Christmas Break. From December 18 to 22, they traveled to Phoenix, Arizona to compete in the Tournament of Champions. There, the girls played four games, where they won twice against teams from New York and Nebraska and lost twice against teams from Colorado and Georgia.

Senior captain Taycee Wedin notes that the team “faced really tough competition this preseason with going to Arizona and playing top teams from all around the country.”

At the second tournament, the Lake Oswego Nike Shootout, at Lake Oswego High School, the team also went 2-2. The girls won against Skyview and South Salem, while losing against Clackamas and North Medford, both of which are 6A teams.

Wedin adds that though “[they] knew all of the teams there, they were still all tough. The games we played definitely made us as a team better.”

Sophomore Emily Niebergall agrees, saying, “We had one of the toughest preseason schedules and I think overall we did really good and became better because of the tough competition.”

With twelve league games remaining in the season, six away and six at home, Wedin admits that the team “struggled a little in the beginning.” However, she is more confident going into the rest of the season after “playing all of these teams that have so much experience.”

Potential top competitors for the team this season in the remainder of league play are Wilsonville, currently ranked 8th, and Hillsboro, currently ranked 17th. (La Salle is ranked third.)

Niebergall says, “I’ll always be confident with our team… we just go out there and play hard every game, no matter who we’re playing, which is one of the things I love most about us.”

Come support the girls at their next game this Friday at Putnam at 7:15pm. Their next home game is next Tuesday, January 16 against Parkrose at 7:15pm.