Oregon’s best high school girls basketball players: Meet the top stars in the 5A Northwest Oregon Conference
We’re taking a conference-by-conference look at some of the state’s top high school basketball players. Here’s the Northwest Oregon Conference girls list.
Every league has numerous standout players, and these lists are not intended to be comprehensive. Let us know which other players you think should be added to the list.
Emma Buchanan (La Salle Prep) photo by Taylor Balkom
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WILSONVILLE
Sophomore post player Zoey Davis leads the first-place Wildcats with 12 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
“”She’s really strong and protects the paint on defense,” Wilsonville coach Justin Duke said. “She commands a double team almost every time, but she has taken on the scoring load for us.”
The Wildcats also feature fourth-year point guard Karina Borgen, who is putting up 8.5 points and 3.8 assists per game.
“She is giving up some of her scoring this season to manage the point guard spot, but she really runs the show,” Duke said. “She has played in a lot of big games and understands what we are trying to do. She is one of the best team leaders I’ve had come through the program.”
Senior forward Grace Gatto gives the Wildcats a third scoring option, averaging almost eight points per game.
“She’s our best shooter and can play three different spots on the floor,” Duke said. “She’s hit five threes twice for us this year, and when she’s hitting like that it takes a lot of pressure off Zoey inside.”
LA SALLE PREP
Senior point guard Mia Skoro is directing the Falcons’ attack, while also leading the team in scoring at 18 points per game. She put up a season-high 32 in an early-season win over Central Catholic. Skoro has signed to play at George Fox.
“She makes really good decisions with the ball,” La Salle Prep coach Kelli Wedin said. “She is shooting the three well, and she finishes at the hoop, which makes her hard to guard.”
Junior Ella Wedin also packs a scoring punch for the Falcons, putting up a season-high 28 points against Central Catholic in a game that saw her go 8 for 10 from three-point range.
“She gets a lot of shots up in practice and is our best three-point shooter,” Kelli Wedin said. “She gets face-guarded every game and doesn’t get many clean looks.”
Junior Emma Buchanan gives La Salle Prep a solid third option in the offense.
“She is our most athletic guard,” Wedin said. “She handles the ball well and has a nice intermediate game that relieves some of the pressure on Mia.”
PUTNAM
The Kingsmen are led by the backcourt of senior Maddie Olma and junior Emma McDonald.
“Maddie leads by example and has a calming presence on the court, which has been great with our younger players. She’s a good finisher around the basket and hits the three well,” Putnam coach Max d’Auvergne said. “Emma spent a lot of time playing club over the summer and has become a dead-eye jump shooter. That puts a lot of pressure on the defense and forces them to stretch out.”
McDonald put up a season-high 31 points in an early-season win over Liberty.
Putnam also looks to junior Kayla Kasubuchi to keep the machine running.
“She makes the right decisions and knows where to be and where her teammates need to be,” d’Auvergne said. “She gives our team a boost of energy.”
MILWAUKIE
Senior guard Cali Denson has been the team’s main scorer throughout her prep career, putting up multiple 30-point games early this season with a shooting range that extends almost to half court.
“She’s very polished — an unstoppable scorer,” Mustangs coach Michael White said. “She can go to her left or her right and split defenders. Teams throw two or three people at her and she can still score.”
Denson is one of 21 players in state history to surpass 2,000 career points. She averages better than 25 points per game.
The Mustangs look to 5-foot-10 center Ayonna Nyong to produce in the paint. She had a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds during a game at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas over the holiday break.
“She’s a great rebounder and great in the high post, where she is attacking the basket downhill,” White said.
SCAPPOOSE
Junior Maddie Swadley leads the team, putting up a season-high 23 points in a win over rival St. Helens.
“She’s our vocal leader, and she gets after it,” Scappoose coach Sarah Mann said. “She plays a physical game with a good attack mentality.”
Junior Adi Stoddard directs the attack from the point guard spot, which she stepped into as a freshman.
“She takes very good care of the basketball and allows us to play at a higher tempo,” Mann said.
Junior Dylan Mann is a force on the defensive end of the court and she can find the hoop, accounting for 15 of the team’s 22 points in a recent loss to first-place Wilsonville.
“She has a high basketball IQ and does all of the little things,” Sarah Mann said. “She has good instincts on defense and that has brought us a lot of success with our trap.”
Junior Sydney Liao provides another consistent scorer in the lineup.
“She’s not super flashy, but she’s all-in and consistently gives us that 10 points a night and that makes a huge difference,” Mann said.
HILLSBORO
Senior point guard Margaret Shively directs the Spartans’ attack.
“She’s our floor leader and top scorer,” Hillsboro coach Sara Harsin said. “She drives, she shoots — she does it all for us.”
Freshman wing Braxtyn Ellsworth is another top contributor, working mostly in the paint.
“She has great vision and is a hard worker,” Harsin said. “She’s strong under the basket and is only getting better.”
ST. HELENS
Senior point guard Sarah Vanderwerf was the Lions’ leading scorer through the first half of the season.
“She’s a slasher with a nice pull-up jumper, and we give her the toughest defensive assignment most nights, as well,” St. Helens coach Kyle Brayton said.
Senior Sarah Robinson, a transfer from Glencoe, provides a presence in the post, collecting several double-doubles this season with her ability on the boards combined with a shooting touch that extends to the three-point arc.
Sophomore Maisy McDole gives the Lions another scoring threat in the backcourt.
“She is a skilled passer who generates offense,” Brayton said. “She is the future of our program and will be a force to be reckoned with.”
