Alameda Women's Basketball Finish 2024 with Win at POA Holiday Classic

Portland OR, December 27, 28 and 30 - The Alameda Hornets built a 15 point lead in the second half against the Silverton (OR) Foxes in the opener of the POA Holiday Classic, only to lose in the last few minutes as the Foxes came back through a combination of trapping defense and some questionable calls favoring the Oregon-based team, 55-50. Silverton, last season's 5A Oregon state champions, raced to a 12-4 early first quarter lead, but Alameda then went on a 13-0 run to end the quarter at 19-12. Alameda continued to play well increasing their lead to 32-22 at the break.

Alameda built their lead to 15 points, 41-26, with 2:40 left in the third quarter. It was at that point Silverton began to use their height to their advantage and began to press and cause turnovers. However, after a Desi Shoblo basket with 4:10 to play Alameda pushed the lead to 48-36. It went downhill from there with Silverton outscoring the Hornets, 19-2 for the rest of the game. Alameda could not handle the double teaming by the taller Foxes and went stagnant on offense.

While credit should be given to Silverton for their comeback, they were helped by at least three calls that went the Oregon's team way in the space of 50 seconds. At 1:16, a pass clearly thrown out of bounds by Silverton was ruled to have been touched by Juliana Johnson. With 59.1 seconds left, after a drive to the hoop that resulted in contact and perhaps a foul, there was a scramble for the ball on the floor and Johnson was called for traveling as she came up with the ball, to which one of the announcers on the stream of the game said, "remember you are in Oregon." The most egregious non-call came at 26.6 seconds, when a foul shot missed the rim completely which would have given possession to Alameda down 2 points. No call was made and in the resulting chaos Silverton retained possession. Per the announcer: "How can three refs miss that call?" Alameda played a tremendous game through three and half quarters, but needed to retain their lead in order to not be subject to hometown refereeing at the end.

Less than 19 hours later, a flat Hornets team fell to a strong Auburn team from Washington, 70-34, after being down 47-33 after three quarters. Coach Hipol gave an opportunity for the bench players to play in the second half, resting his starters and primary players off the bench.

The Hornets turned it around in the final game of the tournament on Monday December 30, showing poise and grit in defeating the La Salle Prep Falcons, 53-47, a traditional power in the state of Oregon. Alameda used their pace and speed to get off to a 23-16 lead after the first quarter. They led 31-28 at half as La Salle kept the game close. Taking lessons from Friday's disappointing loss, Alameda was able to hold onto their lead in the fourth quarter, maintain their composure and finish with a six-point victory against another taller opponent. Senior Johnson reached a milestone in the early part of the game, crossing the 1,000 points mark for her high school career. She finished with 26 points, 7 rebounds and 6 steals for the game.

Next up are the Jefferson Democrats of Oregon at Saturday, January 4th's Sabrina Ionescu Classic, taking place at 2pm at Carondelet High School. Jefferson will be another tough test for the Hornets, coming in ranked #4 in the state of Oregon. The following game for the 8-3 Hornets will be at home against NCS Division I #1-ranked San Ramon Valley High School (9-2) on Tuesday at 7pm. Alameda is currently ranked #6 in NCS Division I.