Jefferson Girls Beat Wilsonville 50-40 for Title

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- Jefferson's defense set the tone early and sisters Ariel and Jordan Reynolds carried the Democrats on offense to their second title in three years.
Senior Ariel Reynolds scored 19 points and had nine rebounds and freshman Jordan Reynolds added 13 points as No. 1 Jefferson beat No. 2 Wilsonville 50-40 on Saturday in the Class 5A girls basketball title game at McArthur Court.
The Democrats, who won the title in 2008, placed third last season.
"I'm speechless right now," Ariel Reynolds said. "It feels amazing. A lot of people thought we weren't even going to make it this far. But we did it."
Wilsonville closed within 45-38 on Emily Dungey's 3-pointer with two minutes left. But Ariel Reynolds responded with a layup to start a 5-2 Jefferson run to end the game and clinch the title.
"The reason we are where we are is because they believed in my system," said first-year Democrats coach Ikeya Newton, a 1996 Jefferson graduate. "We became a family. I had to build trust in them and they had to build trust in me."
Senior Megan Arnoldy scored 13 points to lead the Wildcats, which had won 19 games in a row and was playing in its first title game since 2002. Both Jefferson (23-3) and Wilsonville (23-5) entered Saturday's game undefeated against Class 5A teams.
The Democrats took control of the game in the second quarter, when Ariel and Jordan Reynolds scored 10 of Jefferson's 16 points. The Democrats closed the second quarter on a 13-3 run to take a 30-14 halftime lead.
Jefferson forced 25 Wilsonville turnovers, including 15 in the first half. The Democrats opened the game with a 10-0 lead as the Wildcats turned the ball over on their first seven possessions.
"Defense wins championships," Ariel Reynolds said. "It was all about defense. Defense won this game."
Jefferson also received eight points each from senior Arquaezia Jackson and junior Denaya Brazzle. Wilsonville received eight points each from juniors Kellie Krueger and Emily Dungey. Senior Ashley Walters, who will play at Idaho next year, had a game-high 13 rebounds for the Wildcats.
"Jefferson is really talented," Walters said. "We felt like we were ready, but they were big, long and quick. Some of our passes were a little off."
Ariel Reynolds, the Portland Interscholastic League player of the year, wishes she had another game to play with her younger sister Jordan. Jordan Reynolds had eight of Jefferson's 17 steals and three of its seven assists.
"She's going to be so good next year," Ariel Reynolds said. "But I'm glad we had this chance to play together. It's going to be the most memorable between and my sister, ever."