Bulldogs hope to make deep run.

Byline: Curtis Anderson The Register-Guard

The North Bend girls basketball team hasn't had much luck at the state tournament since shifting to Class 3A in 2002.

The Bulldogs have gone two-and-out in each of the past two seasons. To make matters worse, both of those performances were preceded by a severe ankle sprain to one of North Bend's best players on the eve of the state tournament.

Thus, when Bulldog standouts Janee Olds and Heidi Davison cracked heads during the third period of last Saturday's playoff game against Wilsonville, coach Mike Forrester thought he must be perpetually jinxed.

`There was blood everywhere,' Forrester said. `I figured they would each miss the rest of the game.'

Instead, both players got stitched up - 10 for Olds and one for Davison - and finished the game. The Far West League champions won, 64-41, to clinch a third straight trip to the OSAA tourney, which begins its three-day run at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis on Thursday.

North Bend (24-1) opens the tournament at 3:15 p.m. against Cascade (23-1), the Capital Conference champion, in a matchup featuring the two clubs with the best overall records in the eight-team field.

The Bulldogs, who have already posted the `best season in school history,' are eager to make amends for their past two early exits.

`The biggest difference between this year and the past two seasons is that the girls have a quiet confidence about them,' Forrester said. `They don't get rattled. We were down by eight points in the second quarter against Wilsonville, and the girls kept playing, and things eventually started to click.

`We've gone up (to Corvallis) and gone two-and-out the last couple of years, and Heidi and Janee are both pretty adamant about not letting that happen again.'

Olds, a 5-foot-7 senior guard who was named Far West League player of the year, leads the Bulldogs in scoring (18.9 points), rebounding (8.0) and steals (5.5). Davison, a 5-9 senior guard, adds 14.0 points and 5.3 assists per contest.

They are joined in the starting lineup by 5-10 senior Ashley McCrea and 5-7 sophomore Kellie Holmstedt, and 5-11 sophomore Alysha Moore and 6-0 junior Kaila Morris rotate as starting posts. Forrester calls Holmstedt the `unsung hero' of the team with her ability to put pressure on the ball.

North Bend has benefited from a tough nonleague schedule this year.

The Bulldogs were 5-0 against 4A competition - including wins over Roseburg, Crater (twice), Grants Pass and Marshfield - and they beat Marist, Siuslaw and Cottage Grove of the Sky-Em League. Their only loss was a 44-35 setback to Tillamook, a game that Davison missed with a broken nose.

`I think that's paid off in huge dividends for us,' Forrester said. `The girls had to play at a higher level right off the bat. I also think our league was a lot tougher this year, especially Douglas, Coquille and Sutherlin.'

North Bend is a guard-oriented club with speed to burn and terrific ball movement, and Cascade counters with one of the best players in the state in 5-11 senior Emily Kindle, a second-team all-tournament selection last year when the Cougars advanced to the title game before losing to Burns.

`Kindle is such a great post player. She's strong, moves well and her team has a lot of confidence in her,' Forrester said. `What separates Cascade from most teams is that they also have guards that can shoot the ball.'