Team banquet Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Coach Peeler addresses the girls and their families at the Cardinals' team banquet Mar. 18 at The Old Spaghetti Factory in Portland.

Like most teams, the Lincoln High School's basketball season ends with a banquet. The Cardinals—varsity, JV and freshmen—and their families gathered Tuesday night at The Old Spaghetti Factory for a pasta dinner. Between coaches, athletes, parents and siblings there must have been about 70 people there.

As you might imagine—and I should have anticipated—lighting in the restaurant was less than ideal for photography. Fortunately, I had a pair of speedlights and a set of pocketwizards on hand. Nevertheless, it was a challenge to light the oddly-shaped, dark wood-paneled room with two different ceiling heights (both dark wood), a couple of mirrors, a window, and no center of focus (e.g. a stage or podium).

The aftermath.

I ended up just putting the lights on some serving tables on two sides of the room near the table the varsity team was sitting at, pointed them straight up, and tried to hide them behind someone's head. Most of the time it worked out well enough.

After dinner, Nancy Palmer, the de facto treasurer for the team, counts contributions toward a bill which approached $1000.

Hoops & Hopes Friday, March 14, 2008

I can't exactly say that the Lincoln basketball story is "done," but the season is over, and it (well, some of it) was published today. If you live in Portland, pick up a copy of the Tribune, otherwise check out their website.

The story you see there is a bit more about me than I would have liked, but that's the feel that the editor wanted. It got a full page (not quite as much as we had hoped), in b&w (shame); they ran five good photos.

(I've been using the working title "Nothing but net," but that always seemed lame. They called it "The Lincoln Log," which is a bit corny for my taste, but whatever. I came up with "Hoops & Hopes" this morning, long after the issue went to press.)

And when you're done with that, if you have 12-1/2 minutes to spare, check out the season in review, which I just published on the Trillium Media Services website (here). Broadband connection highly recommended. (Links to the other related stories I've done are also on that page. Those are shorter.)

I have a couple other stories I'd like to put together with this material, but we'll see ... it might be a while.

Lincoln bounces back Friday, March 07, 2008

Tresa Palmer drives in on North Medford's McKenzie Smith in the first quarter of the Cardinals' 47-40 win Mar. 7.

Lincoln bounced back from yesterday's loss in the quarterfinals to beat North Medford 47-40 in the consolation round. With the win, the Cardinals put themselves into Saturday's 4th place/6th place match against South Eugene.

The Cardinals started off flat, shooting only 3-20 in the first half. At the break, they were down 23-17.

They came back strong with a 15-6 third quarter, and held tough in the fourth to secure the win.

Knowing that it would be her last game if they lost, Palmer said she wanted to "leave it all on the court." She played one of her most aggressive games of the season. She only scored two points, but led the Cardinals defensively with five boards and four steals.

Iris Lerch also played much better than yesterday, scoring eight points and grabbing three boards and two steals of her own.

Sunset knocks off Lincoln, 33-31 Thursday, March 06, 2008

Aliyah Green chases Sunset's Laura Stanulis after a turnover in the fourth quarter of the Cardinals' 33-31 loss Mar. 6 in the 6A quarterfinal at the Chiles Center. Stanulis collected 14 rebounds for the Apollos, who will play Oregon City in Friday's semifinal. Lincoln will face North Medford in the consolation round Friday morning.

This was a painful game to watch ... no flow, little scoring and no flow.

With the score tied at 31 with about 3 seconds left on the clock, the refs called a foul on Aliyah Green--her fifth. Anna Johnson made both her free throws to give the win to Sunset and send the Cardinals to the consolation round.

Tresa Palmer gets a hug from her parents, John and Nancy, after the game.

Lincoln faces North Medford Friday morning in the consolation round. The winner of that game will play Saturday for fourth place.

Back to the Chiles Center Saturday, March 01, 2008

It's all smiles for the Cardinals as they beat Reynolds 46-37 Mar. 1 in the second round of the OSAA 6A girls basketball playoffs. Playing in front of legions of Raiders fans bused to Portland for the game, Lincoln came out strong with a 15-6 first quarter and held on from there.

The Cardinals will play Sunset in the first round of the state championship tournament next Thursday at the Chiles Center. Sunset beat Lincoln 50-48 on Dec. 4.

[right] Kelsey Goodell squeezes between Kelsey O'Neil (left) and Rachel Scarpelli Mar. 1 in the first quarter of the Cardinals' 46-37 win over Reynolds.

Getting ready for the playoffs Tuesday, February 26, 2008

The Lady Cardinals scrimmage against the freshmen boys' team as they prepare for the state playoffs. Lincoln will play the winner of tonight's Lake Oswego/Reynolds game on Saturday. (below) Erin Toothaker gets fouled as she goes inside.

Jefferson spoils seniors' night for Lincoln Friday, February 22, 2008

Tresa Palmer poses with her grandparents as her dad takes a picture after the game Feb. 21. It was seniors' night for the Cardinals, on their last regular season home game of the year.

Lincoln's six seniors honored their parents Thursday night with flowers and balloons at the last regular season home game of their high school careers.

Then the PIL(6A) champions took on their undefeated 5A counterparts, Jefferson, in the unofficial city championship for girls basketball.

(right) Jefferson's Arquisha Jackson intercepts Makenzie Blythe's pass to the wing in the third quarter.

Lincoln came out strong against undefeated Demos, leading by four at the end of the first quarter. But Jefferson, who beat Lincoln 65-50 in January, came back with strong play in the second and third quarter, going on to win 62-50.

Kelsey Goodell led the Cardinals with 14 points. Dequise Hammick scored 16 for the Demos.

Both teams have a bye in the first round of their respective playoffs. Lincoln will play the winner of Reynolds vs. Lake Oswego on Mar. 1 in the 6A playoffs. On the 5A side, Jefferson will take on the winner of Pendleton at Silverton on Feb. 29.

(left) Aliyah Green squeezes between Jefferson's Hollisha Watson (left) and Dequise Hammick in the first quarter. Green scored five for the Cardinals.

The end of a perfect (league) season Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Tresa Palmer flies in front of Benson's Diamond Bolden Feb. 19 in the second quarter of the Cardinals' 62-38 win over the Techsters. The win capped a perfect 12-0 PIL(6A) season for the Cardinals. They play Jefferson Thursday, and have a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

I brought my lights over to Lincoln tonight for the final game of the Cardinals' league season. They have two small balconies at one end of the gymnasium which provided the perfect place to mount the lights. They don't have power outlets there, though, so I had to run extension cords to a utility closet across the hallway. And the railings on the balcony are quite large—my superclamps barely fit on them. But I'm pleased with the results, especially tight in on the baseline like these first two shots.

Kelsey Goodell bursts past Benson's Jayonna McKinley for a layup in the second quarter. Goodell scored seven for the Cardinals tonight.

Bouncing the lights off the ceiling, I could shoot at f/4 (ISO400) on the close end, and f/2.8 at the far end of the court. Even shooting from the other end into the light was alright as long as you weren't too wide. Kind of makes a nice rim light effect.

(below) Makenzie Blythe brings the ball upcourt Feb. 19 against Benson.

Lincoln hosts Jefferson (the top 5A team) Thursday. They open the playoffs at home March 1 against the winner of Reynolds vs. Three Rivers League #4.

Another night, another win. Thursday, February 14, 2008

A mess of Cardinals and Trojans scramble for a rebound Feb. 14 in Lincoln's 53-42 win over Wilson.

Lincoln started tonight a little flat. To be fair, they have several sick players right now. But they did fall behind in the first quarter by as many as seven points to Wilson, and didn't catch the Trojans until just before the end of the second quarter.

Leading by three at halftime, they pulled away with a 23-6 third quarter. In the fourth period Wilson scored as many as they did in the previous three. It was, however, too little, too late. The Cardinals hung on for a 53-42 win to stay unbeaten in conference play with just one game remaining.

Kelsey Goodell has started every game for the Cardinals so far, and is normally one of their top three scorers. However, I've found that it's not easy to get a good picture of her in action. The first photo here, is a pretty typical example—one of the taller girls on the team, Kelsey usually plays on the post, bumping and grinding among a pack of knees and elbows.

Tonight, my goal was to get a good picture of her, doing what she does best. The opportunity came in the third quarter (below).

Kelsey Goodell scored 5 points for the Cardinals Feb. 14 against Wilson.

Makenzie Blythe led the Cardinals with 15 points. For the second time this season, all but one of the players made it onto the scoreboard. Free throw shooting for Lincoln was pretty weak tonight—7 for 15 overall.

Lincoln clinches PIL title with win over Grant Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Tresa Palmer shoots a free throw in the second quarter of Lincoln's 56-51 victory Feb. 12 over Grant. With the win, the Cardinals clinched the PIL title for the second year in a row.

Tonight, Lincoln's girls earned a bye in the first round of playoffs with a 56-51 win over Grant. With the victory, the Cardinals improved their league record to 10-0 (17-5 overall) and clinched first place in the PIL(6A) conference.

Lincoln has two league matches left in the season. The Lady Cards play their final road game at Wilson on Thursday before playing Benson at home Feb. 19. They finish the regular season Feb. 21 with a non-conference match against Jefferson.

Retro 70s night at Cardinal Coliseum Sunday, February 10, 2008

Friday night was Retro 70s night for the Cardinals as they took on the Franklin Quakers. The team donned vintage 1970s uniforms they dug out of the closet for the occasion, and Coach Peeler found a tacky tweed jacket and salmon shirt at Goodwill.

I think the girls, who are used to the baggy styles and long shorts of today's uniforms, were a bit uncomfortable in the old-school kit, but they had fun with it.

Not surprisingly, they beat the Quakers 66-23. Alexis Gleason had 16 and Makenzie Blythe added another 14 for the Cardinals.

The surprise star of the night, though, was Mackenzie Lamson. She netted seven points and at least one steal in about seven minutes of "Lamson time" in the fourth quarter.

With the win, Lincoln improved their league record to 9-0 (16-5 overall). They can clinch the PIL(6A) title with a win Tuesday over Grant.

New year, new tools Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Lincoln's Makenzie Blythe jumps for a bucket in the second quarter of the Cardinals' 72-19 win over Cleveland Tuesday night. For the first three or four minutes, the Warriors hung with Lincoln. But the Cardinals finished the first quarter ahead 23-10, and never looked back in the non-conference game.

OK, this post is mostly about my new toy tool: today, I bought a new Nikon D300. One of my D200's is at the shop getting cleaned up for sale. (Want to buy one? Email me!)

Of course the folks at Nikon have been working to improve the camera since I bought the D200 two years ago, and I expected to be impressed. But putting it to the test tonight ... well, I'm impressed. Really impressed.

(right) D200 at ISO3200, 1/400, F/2.8, 200mm

First, for reference, here is a shot from tonight's game between the Lady Cards and Cleveland. This is a 100% crop of the file as it came out of the camera. Without lights, 1/400 at ISO3200 (actually called "HI1.0" on the D200) is as fast as you can shoot at Lincoln. Most of the basketball shots you've seen on my blog from Lincoln's home games were shot at that setting.

Compare that to what the D300 can do at ISO3200 (below, same exposure).

Then, the D300 can go up to its own "HI1.0," equivalent to ISO6400. Below is an image from the D300 at ISO6400, 1/640, f/3.2. Certainly more grain than at ISO3200, but less than the D200, and at twice the shutter speed. So I'm happy on that account. And with 12-megapixel images (compared to 10-MP on the D200), the new camera's images will get compressed more before viewing, which tends to reduce the apparent grain.

And then there's the matter of focusing. Two years ago the D200 seemed pretty impressive with 11 focus points. The D300 blows that away with 51 points to choose from. The points are smaller (therefore more precise), and allegedly the AF software is better too.

One night of shooting isn't much of a test, but the focusing seemed much improved to me, which was my biggest reason for upgrading.

There are a few other benefits with the new camera, like a bigger LCD screen, brighter display through the eyepiece, and an optional "live view" mode that will put the live image onto the LCD like most P&S cameras. I haven't tried it yet, but that will be useful for shooting in awkward situations like right on the floor or perhaps overhead, to give me a better idea of what I'm aiming at.

The D300 can also shoot more frames per second than the D200. That feature, like the higher resolution, is both good and bad—on the one hand the motor drive is more likely to capture the ideal moment. On the other hand, that will mean more, larger files to manage/store on my computer, and fewer pictures on my CF cards. The unprocessed JPEGs are about 6-7 MB.

Now I just have to read the manual to figure out how to use all these new features ... and put up with the D200 as the #2 camera for another year or so.

Lincoln 52, Grant 36 Thursday, January 31, 2008

Tresa Palmer and Paige Harmier trap Jessie Minch in the corner in the first quarter of the Cardinals' game at Grant Jan. 31. Lincoln won 52-36 to improve their league record to 8-0.

With their win over Grant Thursday night, Lincoln has beaten each of the other PIL 6A teams twice now. That puts them firmly in control in their quest for the PIL title, which brings with it a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

The Cardinals play Cleveland next Tuesday in a non-league match.

This and that Thursday, January 24, 2008

Iris Lerch is puzzled as some of her team mates are running a different play than others Jan. 22 in the Cardinals game against Wilson. Leading 20-1 after the first quarter, Lincoln cruised to a 58-43 win.

I've shot a lot of basketball games over the past couple of years, but this was a first for me—a player standing on the outside took the first pass of a set, and then basically stopped because some of her team mates (I don't remember who) were running the wrong play. Iris was confused at first, but figured out what was going on, called it out again and got back in the game. For me, anyway, it was kind of funny.

(below) Mariella Ballato watches from the bench as her team takes on Wilson.

Meanwhile, Mariella Ballato has been out of action for the past couple of weeks with a foot injury. At first she tried to play through it, but it wasn't getting any better so she's on the DL. The rest of the bench—notably Paige Harmier (below vs. Jefferson) and Blair Jones—have been picking up the slack. Mariella hopes to play again in the Cardinals' game against Grant at the end of the month.

Oh, and if you don't already know, this is probably the best source for OSAA basketball scores and stats these days.

Miscellaneous basketball photos Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Lincoln's three "swingers," Erinn Stringer, Jennie Archambault and Mackenzie Lamson, check the scoresheet between the JV and varsity games Jan. 16 at Jefferson.

Here are a few recent images, some of which I could write too much about and others I don't have much to say about ... I guess I'll let them speak for themselves.






[right] Grant freshman Krystal Forthan (in red) was in the stands at Jefferson Jan. 16. [below] The Cardinals change in a stairwell at Benson after their Jan. 18 win.

Lady Demos beat Lady Cards, 65-50 Friday, January 18, 2008

Lincoln senior Iris Lerch shoots a jumper in the second quarter of the Cardinals' Jan. 16 game against Jefferson. The Lady Demos led from start to finish en route to a 65-50 win.

I'm in a bit of a hurry this evening, so I'll try to round out this post with more about Jefferson later.

For me, at least, Wednesday night seemed to be "Iris Lerch" night, especially in the first half. She finished the night with seven points, about average for her, but she seemed to be everywhere my lens was pointed. In a stretch of 12 of my "keepers" from the game, nine of them are her doing something with the ball—jump shots, free throws, driving in, defending, whatever.

Iris Lerch dribbles around Jefferson's Nyesha Sims in the first quarter.

Janita Badon, who has signed with the University of Utah, seems to get most of the press for Jefferson, but she only scored six Wednesday against Lincoln. Nyesha Sims had a game-high 16 points for the Demos, and Tyrisha Blake was deadly from the low post, notching 15.

Jefferson, the top-ranked 5A team in the state, improved their record to 13-0.

Aliyah Green had 13 for the Cardinals and Kelsey Goodell added 12. The Cardinals (10-5 overall, 4-0 conference) get a rematch at home against Jefferson on Feb. 21.

Lincoln boxes out Forthan, Grant Saturday, January 12, 2008

Aliyah Green (left) and Iris Lerch box out 6-foot, 4-inch freshman Krystal Forthan in the first quarter of the Cardinals' game Jan. 11 against Grant.

Lincoln survived its first real test of the PIL season Jan. 11 when they hosted Grant. After giving up the first four points of the game, the Cardinals caught up and led the rest of the way en route to a 53-41 win.

It was my first chance to see Grant this year, and their young star Krystal Forthan. A 6-foot, 4-inch freshman, it isn't surprising that Forthan has already been receiving a lot of attention (e.g. here and here) from the press and scouts.

I haven't seen the boxscore from the game, but Lincoln seemed to contain Forthan pretty well. She did make one nifty move to split a back-court trap set by Paige Harmier and Alexis Gleason in the second quarter, but she didn't play as much of a role as I had expected.

(right) Grant senior Shaquala West runs through the Lincoln defense Jan. 11.

As usual, Patti Polk scored a bunch of points for the Generals, but Lincoln's biggest challenge was stopping Shaquala West. West is typically the third force for Grant (after Polk and Forthan), but she seemed to be having an especially good night on Friday.

In the end, of course, the Cardinals ended up on top. Below-average offense was supported by above-average defense as they grabbed the vast majority of rebounds at both ends of the court.

The win was Lincoln's first home victory of the season, improving their conference record to 4-0 (10-4 overall). Their next game will be another tough test against Jefferson, the top-ranked 5A team in the state.

Friday's loss dropped Grant to (2-1, 8-5).

Lincoln thumps Franklin 70-32 Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Junior Aliyah Green (no. 14) takes the tipoff over Franklin senior Katie Boardman Jan. 8. The 0-0 score was as close as the Quakers would come in the game.

It's been a while since I posted anything, so here are some new basketball pictures. Last night's game between Lincoln and Franklin was never in doubt, and that was hardly a surprise. Lincoln, currently ranked tenth in the coaches' poll, took the opening tipoff (unusual for them) and never looked back against the 1-11 Quakers.

The Cardinals stormed out to a 28-0 lead after the first quarter. Lincoln was already working their bench into the game by the end of that period. The game slowed down considerably in the second quarter, with neither team scoring until Franklin finally got on the board about 3 minutes in. Lincoln slowly stretched their lead from there, ultimately winning 70-32.

The one-sided game gave me a good opportunity to photograph some of the less-played players in action. For the second time this season, all but one of the Cardinals put their name on the score sheet. Strangely, tonight's exception was Iris Lerch, who is usually good for six or seven points. Maybe she got a bunch of assists.

(right) Mackenzie Lamson attacks the basket in the fourth quarter. Lamson scored 5 points for the Cardinals in the second half. (below) Erinn Stringer works against Franklin senior Madelyn Gaines in the third quarter. Stringer scored two points in the game.

Latest basketball pics Tuesday, December 18, 2007

(left) Lincoln's red uniforms stand out against the green hallways at Jesuit High School as the girls' varsity squad makes the surprisingly long walk from the locker room to the gym before their game Dec. 12. Lincoln won the game 49-39. (below) Just about everybody tries to get their hands on a rebound in the second quarter.












(left) Tresa Palmer celebrates the win over Jesuit.







(left) Nobody can get their hands on a rebound in the second quarter of Lincoln's home game Dec. 14 against Southridge. Despite losing 50-25, the Cardinals felt good about the way they played against the state's top-ranked team. (below) Coach Peeler adjusts the team's strategy at halftime.
















(left) Aliyah Green reaches for a loose ball after she tripped over Kiara Tate (left).

I just noticed that, contrary to Weber's First Law of Basketball Photography*, all of these photos are horizontal. I didn't plan it that way. Admittedly, half of them are off-court, but it goes to show that sometimes horizontal images work in this predominantly vertical genre. In the interest of full disclosure, the three action images were shot vertically and cropped to horizontals. Hey, it's hard to anticipate this stuff!



*Gary Weber probably wasn't the first to formulate this law, and he didn't even call it that. But he taught it to me so that's what I'm calling it.

Lincoln 55, McMinnville 46 Monday, December 10, 2007

Lincoln's Tresa Palmer defends against Bailee Niehus (no. 20) Dec. 7 in the Cardinals' game at McMinnville. The Cardinals won 55-46 to improve their pre-season record to 2-2.

Last Friday I had the opportunity to photograph the Cardinals playing in McMinnville. I'd never been to their gym before, but it was a pleasant surprise. Although the sidelines were as ugly as any other high school gymnasium, the end walls made a wonderful background for photos. And, apart from right near the walls, the light was better than most gyms, too.

Kelsey Goodell (center, in red) stretches for a rebound over McMinnville's Lindsay Wickman.

The Cardinals looked a bit shaky at times, but pulled away in the second half en route to a 55-46 win. Lincoln has a 2-2 record in the pre-season. Their schedule gets considerably tougher this week with games against Jesuit and Southridge.

Lincoln begins league play Dec. 18 at Benson.