Springfield Falls Short as West Albany Claims First 5A Girls Basketball Title

West Albany's junior sharpshooter Payton Starwalt had the entire Springfield defense chasing her around Linfield University's floor Saturday night, and it didn't matter. Starwalt knocked down four 3-pointers, scored 26 points, and dished out three assists to carry the No. 5 Bulldogs past No. 2 Springfield 51-48 in the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 5A girls basketball final on March 14, giving West Albany the first state championship in program history.

Springfield threw everything at Starwalt, swarming her in an attempt to take away the guard who had already broken the single-season 3-pointers made record this season. The Millers' pressure forced West Albany into a choice: get Starwalt open, or let her make plays for teammates. The Bulldogs managed both. Starwalt's shooting opened driving lanes, her three assists created opportunities for others, and her ability to command defensive attention created the gaps that made the 51-48 final possible.

"It means everything, it just shows hard work is unrivaled and you can do anything you want to," Starwalt said after the final buzzer. "When a team of girls comes together like this, it's something truly special. We felt like we could take on the world by the end of the season. I'm just so happy I get to share it with these girls and my coaches and all of our families."

Tidwell, another member of the winning Bulldogs squad, captured the mood in the locker room with equal clarity. "I'm so grateful I got to do it with my best friends, we're all smiling and we're all happy and we all had the best season ever," Tidwell said. "We will come back next year swinging."

The win carries an extra layer of meaning in West Albany's program history. Before Saturday, the only other time the Bulldogs had played for a girls basketball state title was in 2011, when Springfield beat them 42-40 in that same championship setting. Fourteen years later, West Albany flipped the script against the same program, this time by three.

The Bulldogs' core skews young, built primarily around juniors and sophomores, which means this championship roster returns almost entirely intact next season. Starwalt herself is a junior, and Tidwell's postgame promise to come back "swinging" signals that West Albany has no intention of treating this title as a one-time breakthrough.

The 5A final was the first of three championship games played at Linfield University on Saturday evening. Later that night, Stayton defeated St. Helens 34-26 to claim back-to-back 4A titles, and West Linn captured its first-ever 6A girls basketball championship with a 61-56 victory over South Medford.