From the archives ... Saturday, April 04, 2009

Franklin's Shoni Schimmel drives the basket Mar. 4 in the Quakers' 76-42 loss to Oregon City in the 6A girls quarterfinal match at the University of Portland. Schimmel, who sat out most of the season with a foot injury, led the Quakers with 21 points but also gave up 13 turnovers in the loss. It was the team's first appearance at the state tournament since 1988.

We're backtracking a bit in this post to publish some photos that didn't make it onto the blog last month during the girls basketball tournament.

One of the more anticipated games of the tournament was the quarterfinal match between Shoni Schimmel Franklin and Oregon City. For those of you not familiar with the story, let me recap:

Shoni Schimmel is probably the top-rated girls basketball player in Oregon today. In her first two years of high school, she carried Hermiston to the 5A tournament, finishing fourth and second in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Over the summer her family moved to Portland, and she and her sister Jude now play at Franklin High School, where their mother is now the coach.

However, Shoni injured her ankle early in the season and sat out most of the team's games. Fortunately for her and the team, Franklin plays in the PIL league, traditionally one of the weakest in the state. With a bunch of other players graduating or transferring out of that league this year, Franklin was virtually assured a berth in the state tournament.

Franklin's Jude Schimmel brings the ball upcourt in the Quakers' quarterfinal match at the University of Portland. The 2009 tournament was the sophomore's first real opportunity to show off her skills to a statewide audience. She shot just 1-14 in the game and gave up 10 turnovers as the Quakers were overmatched by Oregon City.

Oregon City, meanwhile, is a traditional powerhouse in girls basketball, holding more state titles than any other school. So when the two teams met in the first round of the state tournament, it was a chance to see whether Schimmel had recovered well enough to play 100% and whether her supporting cast was able to hold back the Pioneers.

As it turns out, this was not the case. Schimmel led the Quakers with 21 points (mostly from 3-point range) but cause 13 turnovers. Her younger sister Jude shot 1-14 in the game (including 0-10 from beyond the arc) and gave up 10 turnovers. Oregon City won 76-42, and three days later won their 11th state title in the last 18 years.

Hopefully Shoni Schimmel will be injury-free next year and show the state what she can really do on the court. And with more experience behind her, Jude should make that easier by giving the opposition something else to worry about.

Taylor Belmont of Oregon City (no. 31) puts in a layup in the third quarter of the Pioneers 76-42 win over Franklin at the Chiles Center.