Baker Girls Basketball Finishes Fifth at Class 4A State Tournament

Henley's Makayla Schroeder single-handedly kept the Bulldogs at bay Saturday at Forest Grove High School, scoring 29 points to lift the Hornets to a 67-51 win in the third-place game and drop Baker to fifth at the OSAA Class 4A state tournament.

Baker had last year's third-place finish to its name heading into the game, but the 6-foot sophomore made that benchmark unreachable almost from the moment Henley steadied itself. The Bulldogs came out with an uncharacteristic offensive burst, pushing the ball inside and jumping to an 8-2 lead in the first three minutes. Molly Rasmussen converted two interior baskets in that stretch and Gwen Rasmussen added one, a sharp contrast to the slow offensive starts Baker had shown in its two previous tournament games. The lead didn't hold. Schroeder scored six straight points to tie the game at 8, and the teams swapped the lead several more times before halftime approached. Then Henley opened the second period with an 8-0 run, and the Hornets never trailed again.

Foul trouble compounded Baker's struggles. The Bulldogs were whistled for 27 fouls to Henley's 14, and Schroeder exploited every opportunity at the line while her teammates kept launching from beyond the arc. The Hornets connected on 17 of 35 three-point attempts, a volume and accuracy that overwhelmed Baker's defense. The Bulldogs shot more efficiently from deep, hitting 8 of 14, but couldn't match Henley's sheer output.

Molly Rasmussen led Baker with 16 points, earning a unanimous first-team all-tournament selection alongside Schroeder. Macey Morgan added 13, while Gracie Spike and Jaxyn Ramos contributed 9 apiece. Ramos earned a spot on the all-tournament second team for her performance across the tournament.

Baker left Forest Grove with a fifth-place trophy rather than the bronze it claimed a year ago, but Molly Rasmussen's all-tournament honor and Ramos's second-team recognition signal that the program's core will have more chances to contend in Class 4A.