Jesuit's Jean Parker puts up a jumpshot in the second quarter of the Crusaders' 72-61 win over Oregon City Mar. 11 at the Rose Garden in Portland. The Pioneers loss ensures that someone other than Southridge or Oregon City will win the girls big-school championship for the first time since 2000. Jesuit will play the winner of Clackamas vs. South Eugene tomorrow for the title. (Photo by Matthew Ginn © 2011)

I shot two high school basketball games at the Rose Garden today: the 6A girls semifinal between Oregon City and Jesuit, and the 6A boys semifinal between Central Catholic and Jesuit. I love shooting hoops at the Rose Garden because the light is so much better than anywhere else in town. Not only is it brighter (3+ stops brighter than PCC, for example), but the court is basically lit from the sides. That’s a refreshing change from the Chiles Center (University of Portland), where almost all of the light comes from the middle of the court. That means that the baselines–where all the action is–are really dark and back-lit. At the Rose Garden, you can get decent light from just about any angle.

I’ll post more photos later, but here are a few from Jesuit’s 72-61 win over Oregon City (girls) and Jesuit’s 77-61 win over Central Catholic (boys).