By: Oregon3aPredicit A little over a week has gone by in Oregon 3a Girls Basketball, and the similar suspect is leading the way once again after two shaky games to start the season Clatskanie once again is the team to beat in 2019. However, this year, a traditional powerhouse is looking to capture the crown once again, but in 3a after dropping a classification two years ago and a few 2019 top-ranked teams are looking to contend for the Title if Clatskanie slips up. The biggest surprise of the 2019-2020 season so far is the resurgence of the Sutherlin Bulldogs, after a mediocre 14-12 record last season Sutherlin is looking to turn things around and already have started 4-0 in 2019. In the mid to late 2010s, Sutherlin won 4 straight 4a State Championships. That being said, this year's team looks very similar to the last group that brought Sutherlin a State title in 2017. This team returns four starters from a year ago but also brings in a spectacular playmaker in Freshman Micah Wicks, who is the starting Point Guard and 6'1" Transfer Amy Dickover who appears to be one of the best Centers in that league and maybe even in 3a. Everything looks to be trending upwards for Sutherlin Girls Basketball right now, and hype around this program is growing each game. The biggest game of the season will be when they play Brookings Harbor (4-1), who made a nice splash in Coos Bay last year and returned vital players that most likely will lead them to Coos Bay once again in 2020. They will play twice during the League schedule, and home-court advantage might be the edge in each of these games. Clatskanie once again is the Title favorite and is lead by three dynamic playmakers in Olivia Spraque, Shelby Blodgett, and Alexis Smith. This team runs the floor better than anyone in 3A and can out sprint teams to wins night in and night out. The fast, aggressive defensive they play and quick offense attacks leave you down in double figures before you realize what happened. This team is almost identical from the organization last year but seems to be a little rusty as they started the first two games off slow before coming back in both and securing victories in each. They are shaking off the rust fast, and each game they look just like the 2019 team that won the State Title. Brookings Harbor is another team that has a legit chance at making the Semifinals this season if the pieces fall into place. After an excellent performance in Coos Bay last season, things are moving in the right direction and around its star Lexi Schofield. This year's team might rely on Schofield a bit more than they did last season, but that doesn't look to be a problem as she shoots very well from three-point range and can finish well inside and in transition. This season they need to find adequate pieces that can compliment Schofield and keep the offense running smoothly even if she has an off game, which is a rare occasion. More consistency in this group will go along ways, and when they hit league, they should be in great shape to compete for a league title. Burns is the last team that we think has a real shot to be in the Semifinals, last year they made the Semifinals and lost to the State Champions Clatskanie by only 8. This year's team requires another star player stepping up, last year they relied on Shai Skinner a lot. Still, she graduated, it's early but someone other than Junior Allie Hueckman will need to contribute consistently for this team to compete with the big dogs when the games matter (Coos Bay). This team is a Coos Bay team. I can almost 100% say that with confidence and Allie Hueckman will carry this team to the State Playoffs and if 2-3 others start to contribute, look out because they could just make a deep playoff run.
