By Jacob Graves
Sports Editor

On March 7, the Clackamas Cougars lost to a 1-seeded Walla Walla squad 57-44 in the NWAC semifinals.

The day before, Clackamas entered the Sweet 16 round of the NWAC Women’s Basketball Championship in Pasco, Washington and came out with a win in dominant fashion.

The 3-seeded Cougars of the South conference took on the 2-seeded Skagit Valley of the North, and gained victory by a score of 82-58. The game was relatively close at halftime, with Clackamas edging out Skagit Valley 36-30, but with a 28 point outburst in the third quarter by CCC, the game was all but finished by the fourth quarter.

Clackamas shot 56.9% from the field and commanded the paint, scoring 46 points from inside. The Cougars also showed up defensively, holding Skagit Valley to a 27.4% field goal percentage and taking advantage of turnovers, cashing them in for 14 points.

Standouts for CCC include star freshman guard Mollie Miller, who eclipsed her previous career-high of 36 with 44 points, shooting 8/13 from three-point range and 18/27 overall from the field. This marks her fourth 30+ point game on the season. Other notable performers include standout sophomore guard Toni Coleman (13p/13r/8a/3stl) and freshman guard Braylee Riturban (13p/4r/6a).

Regarding the team win and her career-best performance, Miller said, “I feel that my team played very well together. We were looking for the open shots and backdoors and just all around taking the right shots. I think just realizing that it could be the last game we play together made me personally want it more for myself and my team.”

Stat Leaders:

• PTS: Mollie Miller – 44 (CCC), Sarah Cook – 20 (SKV)

• REB: Toni Coleman – 13 (CCC), Camryn Kerr, 10 (SKV)

• AST: Toni Coleman – 8 (CCC), Maddy Fischer – 4 (SKV)

• STL: Toni Coleman – 3 (CCC), Catherine Greene – 2 (SKV)

• BLK: Jaycee Stiegeler – 1 (CCC), Madisyn Butenschoen, 1 (SKV)

Clackamas posted an overall record of 21-8 in the regular season, scoring 74.0 points per game on the year (72.2 ppg in 2023-24), with the highest scoring output being a whopping 101 points in a win against Mt. Hood on Jan. 29. Additionally, the team averaged more total rebounds (39.7) and assists (16.4) per game on the court than the year prior.

This team has also brought in a lot of fresh faces, with only five returning sophomores compared to seven incoming freshmen representing CCC this season. Nonetheless, this years’ freshman output has been above and beyond, with guards Miller and Riturban solidifying themselves as key performers in the starting lineup.

Miller detailed what the Cougars improved on during the year. She said, “The biggest areas of improvement since the start of the season would be finding the open shooters in transition and executing our offense. Some of the most notable moments from this year for the team would be when we played Portland away. We battled the whole game, went into overtime and my team knocked down important free throws to get us that win. Honestly just competing with those high ranked teams and sticking together until the end was a key to our success.”

Miller said this team is trending upwards.

“The future for this team and program is bright,” said Miller. “This team personally has a very strong connection all around. We know when people are down and how to pick them up. This team is one to remember.”

Toni Coleman said the Cougars battled adversity all year long.

“I think some notable moments were sticking together regardless of low numbers and injuries,” said Coleman. “We learned how to succeed and overcome adversity together a lot this season.”

Coleman has high hopes for the future of this team, saying “I think this team has the ability to be special. I think with coaches who put well-being and happiness before winning makes for an even more successful and positive program. I can’t wait to see what they accomplish in the years to come, because the capability is so high.”

The 2024-25 season for Clackamas has been one to remember, and signifies that this is only just the beginning of an exciting era of Cougar women’s basketball in the near future.

Women’s basketball coach Jim Marteneau was reached out to but did not respond for comment.