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In this article, Dante will talk about the Lady Cavers' post-season run.
Lady Cavers
Lady Cavers
By Dante' Pierce
By Dante' Pierce
The Grants Pass Lady Cavers season came to an end on Mar. 9, 2024 after a trip to State. During the season, the Lady Cavers went 16-9 and placed number 14, solidifying themselves in the top 16 teams in the state and securing a home playoff game against Barlow. Fortunately for the Lady Cavers, they won their first two playoff games to punch their ticket to state. In the end, the Lady Cavers ended up placing number four in the state championship bracket after losing their first game to Benson but winning their last two against number 10 ranked Jesuit and fourth-ranked Jefferson, Portland.
The Lady Cavers' first loss in the state championship bracket came from Benson, who ended up second to South Medford. The score of the game may not have been that close, but the logistics of the situation did not go in the Lady Cavers' favor. Benson High School is located in Portland where the state championship tournament is held. Grants Pass is about a four-and-a-half hour's drive on a bus and the team had to play on the same day they traveled. Troy Osborne, a senior at GPHS said, “Being an athlete, nothing else is worse than having to get off a bus after four to five hours and then go play a game. It's unfair for the traveling team.” The game against Benson would be the only game that the Lady Cavers would have to deal with that kind of trip for the tournament.
Although the next game against Jesuit was played in the morning, the Lady Cavers didn't just get off of a bus and play, they stayed and got an equal chance. Gage Blay, a Lady Caver basketball fan and GPHS senior said, “With fair conditions, I think the first game against Benson could have gone very differently.” According to how they played, an equal chance was all they needed because they came out and beat Jesuit 37-26, even though Jesuit was ranked higher than the Cavers, allowing them to advance to the game to finish in fourth place.
oregonlive.com
In the final game that the Lady Cavers played, they had to face their biggest challenge in the tournament so far, and that was taking on fourth-ranked Jefferson, Portland. And to say the Cavers executed would be an understatement. They came out and proved that ranking means nothing. They pulled out the biggest upset in the entire tournament by beating a team that was ranked 10 seeds above them. At the sound of the final buzzer, the score was 54-52, putting the Cavers as the fourth-best team in the state for the 2024 season. Even though the Lady Cavers did not win the state championship, they still defied the odds and came in fourth place while being ranked 14th in the state. Congratulations to the Lady Cavers' on the magical run.
@grantspasswbb
Sources:
Sources:
Interview with Gage Blay
Interview with Troy Osborne
Oregon Live
@grantspasswbb
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