Final Score: Central Linn 46 Nyssa 41
Central Linn is a scrappy bunch, have to hand it to them. Even giving up a tremendous size advantage against the Bulldogs, they efforted and physicalled their way into the W.
The Cobras certainly aren’t a physically imposing team, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a more efficient team in 2A girls basketball. Obviously there will be a rebounding disadvantage when you match up with Nyssa–Gracie Johnson will hit double digit boards simply by recovering her own misses–but Central Linn shut down a lot of opportunities for second chance buckets for Nyssa and created a lot of redemption possessions for themselves. Outside shooting, where one would assume it is safest to attack Nyssa, actually skewed against the Cobras (Nyssa hit eight three-pointers compared to Central Linn’s six), only further underscoring Central Linn’s performance in the paint.
A performance like this one is huge for one reason specifically: Salem Academy. If Central Linn is going to win the 2A title–nonetheless win the Salem Academy Tournament–they have to be comfortable going against, and inevitably beat, teams with more size than them. No team will give you a greater challenge on being successful in the paint than Nyssa, winning this game could be a gigantic reason for post season success.
Leading Scorers: Maya Rowland (CL) 25, Gracie Johnson (Nyssa) 16, Clarita Arizmendi 14, Gemma Rowland (CL) 12
