MaxPreps Oregon Team of the Week: Westview girls basketball

Following a tough 66-54 loss to the state’s top-ranked team, South Medford, the Westview (Portland) girls basketball team didn’t pout.

The Wildcats, ranked fourth in the state, responded strongly last week with tough, hard-fought wins over Canby (61-52) and Clackamas (51-47) to improve to 8-4.

For their response, Westview was named the MaxPreps Oregon Team of the Week, presented by the Oregon National Guard.

"We went back to the basics," said head coach Lindsay Strothers. "We have three sophomores who are playing significant minutes, who had never really practiced how we play defense. Our past teams had all been veterans, so this year we were lacking in that area. In practice we focused on our defensive footwork and built on what we had learned. We put this to work in our games last week and that's one of the reasons why we won."

Jaime Nared, a 6-foot-2 senior wing, showed why she’s the state’s leading scoring and considered one of the country’s top all-around players by exploding for 30 points in the win over Canby.

The University of Tennessee signee made 14 of 24 shot attempts and added 20 rebounds as the Wildcats pulled away in the second half.

Nared is one of the nation’s top 10 senior recruits and averages 28.3 points, 14.7 rebounds, 4.4 steals and 3.5 assists per game. She averaged 23.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.7 steals last season while earning Metro League MVP honors for a second straight season.

"(Nared) has a lot of patience with the younger players," said Strothers. "She is able to bring in a lot of rebounds, but still has a soft touch on the ball when shooting and is able to score a lot."

She has season highs of 41 points, 25 rebounds, nine assists and nine steals this season.

"Jaime is very unshakeable in terms of her ability to stay focused during the game," said Strothers. "She is a nice young lady in general and she has already challenged our team to go serve the homeless on the weekend. For a coach, she is one of those rare kids who doesn't come along very often. Jaime has the whole package."

Against Canby, senior Dana Bentz added 10 points, Ashley Scoggin, a sophomore, contribute nine points and Bria Thames, also a sophomore, 8.

Against Clackamas, Nared had 22 points and eight rebounds, while Scoggin contributed 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Scoggin, a 5-6 point guard, is the team’s second-leading scorer at 8.1 per game followed by senior Bentz (6.1), Thomas (5.9) and Alia Mahuna (4.4).

Under coach Strothers, the Wildcats are coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons. Their only state championship came in 1999-2000 when they went 27-3 to take the 4A crown.

"We want to win the state championship," said Strothers. "My very first year at Westview, I had the same goal. Our goal is to always get to the championship."

MaxPreps editorial assistant Kirstin Beal contributed to this report.

Do you know a team that deserves consideration for Oregon Team of the Week? Email us with your nominations at ORteamoftheweek@maxpreps.com.