By James Day
The Regis High girls basketball team is under new management, but so far the results have remained sterling. Kyle Tower and Dustin Lulay have replaced the father-son coaching combination of Jeff and Jason Koehnke, who had led the Rams to four consecutive state championships and also had a hand in three boys state titles as well.
This year’s Regis girls are 17-1 overall, 9-0 in the tough Tri-River Conference and ranked No. 1 in Class 2A by the OSAA. The Rams’ lone loss came while playing two classifications up against Sutherlin, which is 17-0 and ranked No. 1 in Class 4A.
“Our season has started out well,” Tower told Our Town. “We are always focusing on improving on the defensive end of the court, and I think we need to continue to improve in order to reach our goals. Our senior leadership has helped to keep our team focused on taking this season one game at a time.”
Regis is one of four Tri-River teams ranked in the top 11 by the OSAA. Santiam is No. 2, Western Mennonite is No. 8, and Kennedy is 11th. The Rams lost twice to Western Mennonite last season before using a suffocating defensive effort to down the Pioneers in the Class 2A semifinals.
“Our league is very strong and this year because of the state playoff structure we could possibly see four teams from our conference at Pendleton,” Tower said. “We have had early success in the Tri-River, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
Tower noted that “last year we were a very young team.” Three of the freshmen on last year’s squad, Erin Malcolm, Ashtyn Chamberland and Emma Vanveen, “have really improved and matured as players. They are making great contributions to our team both in practice and in our games.”
Regis has to play Santiam and Western Mennonite on the road in the second half of the league season and closes the regular year with a Feb. 14 home game against Kennedy.
Regis’ boys team, meanwhile, is 8-1 in the Tri-River and in a three-way battle for Tri-River supremacy with Western Mennonite (9-1) and Toledo (8-2).
The Oregon West Conference girls race also is shaping up as a doozy. Philomath is ranked sixth by OSAA, Central is No. 7 and Cascade is 10th. Also in the mix is Stayton, which is tied with Philomath for the league lead at 2-0. Central and Cascade are 1-1.
The Cougars, 10-4 overall, took fifth at last year’s Class 4A state tournament, and faced Stayton on Wednesday (note this refers to Jan. 28) after Our Town’s presstime.
“We are showing progress as the year continues,” Cascade coach Mark Stevens told Our Town. “It’s always a process, and the key is continued improvement. Our three starters from last year, Austyn Lowder, Mariah Bartlett and Alix Biddington have grown into their new roles this year.”
Stevens, who won a state title in 2011, moved Bartlett to point guard a month ago and said she “is making great strides.”
Cascade’s boys team, meanwhile, is 9-5 overall and 2-0 in the Oregon West heading into the rivalry game vs. Stayton (1-1, 5-10). Cascade, which finished second at last year’s state Class 4A tournament, is ranked No. 12 by OSAA, behind No. 4 Philomath and No. 7 Central.
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