Tualatin defeated state runners-up from California and Arizona in the Section 7 Showcase last weekend in Arizona.

Reigning 6A girls basketball champion Tualatin made a strong showing against some of the top programs in the western region at the prestigious Section 7 Girls Showcase tournament in Arizona last weekend.

Powered by their suffocating zone defense, the Timberwolves won three of their four games in the AIA bracket, regarded as the second-highest of the nine 16-team brackets at the tournament. Tualatin was the only Oregon team at the event.

“We didn't shoot all that well, so we left a lot of points on the table, but defensively we caused teams a ton of problems,” coach Wes Pappas said. “Teams hadn't seen our unique 2-3, and our 1-3-1. It kind of confirmed, it doesn't matter where you go, there's nobody that's prepared for that. Even these big-time schools, we locked most of those teams up pretty good.”

In four 32-minute games over two days, Tualatin defeated Sage Hill (Calif.) 54-49, Gilbert (Ariz.) 43-33 and Nevada powerhouse Bishop Gorman 41-32 and lost to Oak Park (Calif.) 53-46. Sage Hill and Gilbert were state runners-up last season. Oak Park was a sectional champion.

The game against Sage Hill featured a matchup between Tualatin freshman point guard Love Lei Best and junior Amalia Holguin, a four-star recruit who played for Kobe Bryant's Mamba Academy.

“Love Lei made some big-time plays,” Pappas said.

The Timberwolves came back in the fourth quarter to overtake Sage Hill.

“It was kind of like we did in the state championship game,” said Pappas, referring to the rally to beat Clackamas.

Tualatin played four starters from the state final in Best, freshman wing Kendall Dawkins and junior guards Ries Miadich and Maaya Lucas. Junior post Alex Padilla replaced senior post Jordyn Smith in the starting lineup, and freshman guard Bella Amens got significant minutes off the bench.

“We've got a ways to go,” Pappas said. “Right now we're right where we left off, minus a huge factor, which is Jordyn Smith. Offensively and defensively, we need to fill that hole. I don't think we lose if we had Jordyn down there. Everybody we played were just bringing everybody back. You only sign up for that if you're fully loaded.”

Pappas raved over the play of Dawkins.

“Kendall Dawkins was almost super human,” Pappas said. “She was grabbing rebounds way outside her area and getting loose balls that she had no business getting for nearly 32 minutes a game, game after game. She's one of the hardest-working athletes you'll ever see at any level.”

Padilla also stood out on defense.

“Alex caused all kinds of problems from the top of our 1-3-1,” Pappas said. “Big-time kids, high-level recruits, and she just caused them all kinds of problems. Forced a lot of turnovers.'

Pappas said that Best and Dawkins picked up scholarship offers from Arizona State at the tournament. Best has double-digit offers, including Oregon, Oregon State, Louisville, SMU and Harvard. Dawkins also has offers from SMU, Portland State and Utah State.

“This was great for our girls,” Pappas said. “Our girls got to play top-level competition in front of a massive amount of college coaches, and we got to come together and bond as a high school team.”