Wilsonville takes down South Eugene in first game of the season
The Wildcats defeat the 6A Axe 62-44 behind sophomore Karina Borgen’s outstanding performance.
Junior Maura Schramm battles against South Eugene. Schramm got significant minutes as the backup for junior Emi Bishop.
The Wildcats opened their season against the South Eugene Axe of the 6A Southwest Conference. Going into the game, Wilsonville was preparing for a battle, knowing that South Eugene would be on their third game of the season while the Wildcats had yet to play.
South Eugene was 1-1 before Wednesday night, with a victory over a solid South Salem squad under their belt. The Axe fell 44-65 to St. Mary’s Academy on Monday night before coming to take on the Wildcats.
It was a slow start with Wilsonville ahead 7-6 after one quarter, but the game picked up quickly. Sophomore Karina Borgen was particularly effective, shooting lights out from beyond the arc and finishing 3-3 from three with 11 points and a monumental effort on the defensive end. Senior Maddie Giese was in attendance, and she noticed the standout performance by the sophomore guard, “Karina’s defense was stellar last night. Renee hit multiple threes, and the crowd went wild.”
Senior wing Renee Lee was impressive offensively, as was senior Angela Morris, who hit a stepback three late in the game that got the bench going crazy. The Wildcats went deep into the bench last night, and all twelve players who suited up saw the floor. It was the first varsity game for three players, and everyone looked strong in their debut. Junior starting point guard Sydney Burns played more than anyone else and led the Wildcats to the 62-44 win at the end of the night.
Wilsonville’s next game is an away game against district rivals West Linn on Friday. The girls’ varsity team plays at 6:00, and the boys play at 7:00 in this season’s first doubleheader. It will be the first game for the boys, while the girls are looking to continue their strong start. West Linn will pose more of a threat than South Eugene did, with standout post Aaronette Vonleh down low and lots of speed on the perimeter.
The Wildcats will look to improve on both ends of the ball over the course of the season, but Wednesday’s performance suggests that the team is in a good place, and has enormous depth and potential.