March 14, 2023

HS Girls Varsity Basketball
Coach Felton

"This year began with the typical challenges as the team tried to balance basketball and drama schedules as well as overcome illness. After a rough first game, the Royals rebounded with a win, which showed that they would not be outworked and no team would show more determination than them. They also found that the work put in over the off-season by our freshman point guard had paid off as Juliet Wachsmuth led the team with 15 points and six steals at Columbia Christian. By the end of the year, she had 8 games with multiple 3-pointers made, including 5 made versus Gaston and 6 made versus Mannahouse. 

That game against the Knights showed that PC could play with some controlled chaos and disrupt what other teams wanted to do, demonstrated by Susie Asaya’s seven steals. As the season progressed, the team played with more control and less chaos. Anna Humphrey led the team with 14 points and Wachsmuth, Leah Zallee, Isobel Espinor, and Zewdi Lampi all had six or more rebounds in their first league win at Mannahouse. The trip to Gaston was highlighted by season highs of 18 points for Zallee and 15 rebounds for Espinor. In the first matchup with first-placed Nestucca, Kyra Schleining grabbed seven rebounds and Zallee added 17. Lampi became a defensive star with multiple games of over six points and over six rebounds, including 10 rebounds at Faith, a game punctuated by a made three by Zallee with under a minute to play. 

PC played their best basketball at the end of the season. After the must-win Faith game, they had a 21-6 first quarter vs. Clatskanie and nearly spoiled Nestucca’s undefeated season. They also sent their seniors off with a win in their final home game as Zallee had 13 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks, Humphrey had 10 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, and Espinor overcame an injured knee to add 8 points and five rebounds. The underclassmen proved that there is still hope when the seniors are gone as Wachsmuth led the team in scoring with 15 points, Lampi had 11 rebounds and five steals and Stephanie Goldsmith had an important save to seal the win.

In the Royals' last game, Zallee scored 19 points and had 10 rebounds and 3 blocks against Knappa, who eventually won the conference tournament.

The Northwest League honored Zallee by naming her to All-league 2nd team and All-defensive team. Wachsmuth was named all-league honorable mention and the team received the Sportsmanship award. At the beginning of the year the team talked about having the end in mind. The goals were that as individuals, they would improve as basketball players and together they would improve as a team. The goal was to play hard throughout every game and that every player, coach, official, and fan with whom they interacted would see something different in them.

This season was a success!"

PC Boys Varsity Basketball
Coach Lyslo

"Coming into the season, my staff and I really didn’t know what to expect from our group here at PC. Having not been around 2A basketball or the Northwest League, we didn’t know what the level of play would look like or where we compared to the rest. All we knew was we had a group who finished 2-23 last season and we had a team made up of mostly Freshmen and Sophomores. The goal at hand was to elevate the play from previous years, create a JV program again, where we could make sure our younger players were receiving the playing time they needed, develop kids into basketball players and introduce as much as we could to a very young group of players for the 22-23 season.

The results were incredible to watch!

Compared to a lot of teams I’ve coached, the buy-in from these players, the chemistry these kids formed and the competitive nature they brought to the floor each day made this one of the most enjoyable teams I’ve coached. The varsity team finished with a 15-11 record, 9-5 in conference play, which was good for third place, a second-round playoff win over Faith Bible and a sweet 16 state playoff appearance for our varsity kids where they came one game away from playing in Pendleton.

What stood out to me was the unselfishness this group showed each day, the togetherness, and bonds they formed and the overall chemistry, which led to a tremendous experience for both players and coaches. Ethan Larner, Sam Fundak, Graham Calhoun and Jack Mazurowski were all recognized as all-league players, but this was a group that played for each other and won games together. 

The future is very bright for this group of players if they continue to work hard, improve and push each other. Competition is the key for us to get better and we know our 7th and 8th grade players are coming fast and have shown they can dominate at their levels in a short amount of time.

I anticipate a lot of success at PC over the next four years and this group will go down as the group who started the rebuild of PC basketball, which is very exciting."

PCS Athletic Department (Ryan Burnison, Athletic Director and Elaine Kempenich, Elementary Athletic Director) are thrilled to have a successful and exciting basketball season from our elementary to high school levels!

• 1st & 2nd graders (Hot Shots) coached by Lindley Bynum & Josh Guisinger
• 3rd & 4th boys basketball coached by Jensyn Lown & Michelle Lown
• 5th grade boys coached by John Felton & Jason Duclos
• 5th grade girls coached by Brian Allen, Bryan Voss & Daniel Myron

• Junior High Girls A and B teams coached by Demi Guild & Anthony Delucia

 

 

• JV team coached by Erik Lyso & Ben Kittleson

 

• Junior High Boys A and B teams coached by Ben Kittleson (Coach Cutty) & Erik Calhoun

• Junior High Boys 6th grade coached by Ben Kittleson (Coach Cutty)
  
  

GO ROYALS!!