GIRLS HOOPS: Hunter leads South past Benson

Dec. 31—There was very little time for the South Medford girls basketball team to rest on their laurels after a tough loss in the POA Holiday Classic semifinals.

How did the Panthers respond?

With one of their biggest margins of victory of the season.

Behind senior guard Donovyn Hunter's game-high 28 points, third-ranked South Medford ended its trip to Portland on a high note as it overwhelmed No. 6 Benson in a 71-28 runaway victory in the POA Holiday Classic platinum bracket's third-place game Friday evening at Franklin High School.

"We all had to sorta digest the woulda, coulda, shoulda about (Thursday's loss to Beaverton), but there's nothing you could do about it other than change who you are today," South Medford head coach Tom Cole said. "We knew that we were capable of being better and learning from that, and today we came out with some really great energy. It's a tough game to play in after you lose a competitive one and obviously Benson felt the same way. I was really happy we came out with energy and we knew we needed to be better — and we were."

Hunter, an Oregon State signee, led a South Medford (10-2) charge that limited Benson (2-7) to just 20% shooting from the field. The Panthers built a double-digit lead over another top-10 opponent before the first quarter was over, leading the Techsters 23-11 after the first quarter and 37-23 at the half.

Hunter, who was just 6-of-20 from the floor against Beaverton, was an uber-efficient 13-for-19 and recorded five steals, four rebounds and a pair of assists.

"She was tired yesterday and we were able to get her some more moments and I thought the bench really helped sustain the momentum in her absence," Cole said. "In hindsight, those breathers helped her be better today. Donovyn has always been a kid that in big moments she shines. Today, she just got into a great rhythm and when she starts becoming a catalyst, that energy really helps the rest of the team get motivated."

A big key for South was its ability to contain Benson junior forward Mahogany Chandler-Roberts, who had 16 points and 13 rebounds in Thursday night's loss to La Jolla Country Day, which is ranked fifth in the nation.

Throwing a wide range of looks at the Techsters' versatile 6-foot-2 standout, Chandler-Roberts finished with just nine points and attempted only three shots, scoring nearly as many points from the free throw line (4) as she did from the field (5).

"We knew that she was going to be a load and the game plan was to really show her pressure and not let her plot at the block and be ready to come with backside help," Cole said. "I thought how the kids responded to that today was really good and we threw a lot at her. We had Kim Ceron defending her, Mayen Akpan came in and gave us huge minutes and did big things on the rebounds and provided us with inside presence. (Chandler-Roberts) is a Pac-12 kid and really tough and the plan was to make other kids beat us and not let her get what she wants on the block."

Taylor Young added eight points off the bench, while Akpan had five points and seven rebounds. Kendall Fealey and Tatum Schmerbach each finished with seven points.

South finished with 18 assists and 19 steals as a team.

"Kendall, Tatum, Sara (Schmerbach) just got a lot of deflections and we transitioned really well tonight and didn't give (Benson) many second-chance points," Cole said. "That was our curse (against Beaverton) — we just couldn't rebound well. Tonight, I thought we were much more active. When we can do that, especially on the defensive end, it allows us to transition really well and attack."

SOUTH MEDFORD (71): Hunter 28, S. Schmerbach 2, Ceron 4, T. Schmerbach 7, Fealey 7, Richardson 2, Taulani 4, Young 8, Barlow 0, Howell 4, Akpan 5. Totals: 30-57 9-13 71.

BENSON (28): Hashemian-Orr 0, Hinck 0, LeSueur 8, Massey 9, Chandler-Roberts 9, Clavy 2, Alex 0, McKelvey 0, Young 0, Kennybrew 0, Drummond 0. Totals: 9-45 7-21 28.

South Medford23141915— 71

Benson111223— 28

3-point goals — South Medford 2-11 (T. Schmerbach 1, Fealey 1), Benson 3-16 (Massey 2, Chandler-Roberts 1).

CASTRO VALLEY 55, NORTH MEDFORD 44: At Martinez, California, Caileigh Raines recorded a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds but North Medford was outscored 19-5 in the fourth quarter by Castro Valley in the quartz bracket's third-place game at the West Coast Jambroee at Alhambra High School.

North's Olivia Boger finished with eight points, eight rebounds and six steals, while Olivia Harris also chipped in eight points.

Ali Stevens pulled down 10 rebounds for the Black Tornado (4-6).

After a strong showing in all three games, Raines — who also had two blocks and three assists against Castro Valley — was named to the all-tournament team.

CASTRO VALLEY (55): Hinrichsen 13, Jiao 12, Estebanez 12, Chew 8, Guzman 6, Tom 2, Kim 2. Totals: 19 14-23 55.

NORTH MEDFORD (44): Raines 20, Boger 8, Harris 8, Stevens 6, Hamlin 2, Hesse 0, Patel 0, Taylor 0, Jackson 0, Brownlee 0, Lane 0, West 0. Totals: 21 0-8 44.

Castro Valley7131619— 55

North Medford1411145— 44

3-point goals — Castro Valley (Chew 2, Estebanez 1), North Medford (Raines 2). Fouled out — Boger. Technical foul — Stevens.

LAKE WASHINGTON (WASH.) 60, GRANTS PASS 35: At Sunnyslope, Arizona, Grants Pass was outscored 36-12 in the second and third quarters combined and fell to Lake Washington in the championship of the Cactus Jam.

Grants Pass (7-2) got seven points from Brooklyn Wakefield and six points each from Brooke Anderson, Raegan Bruner and Antianna Vainuku-Johnson.

Rae Butler-Wu scored a game-high 15 points for a Lake Washington team that hit eight of its 12 3-pointers on the day in the first half.

GRANTS PASS (35): Brandes 3, Kleiner 0, Anderson 6, Thompson 4, Bruner 6, K. Wakefield 0, Pastrell 0, Mock 0, Vainuku-Johnson 6, Jimenez 0, B. Wakefield 7, Hull 0. Totals: 12 7-9 35.

LAKE WASHINGTON (60): Hani 3, Citron 2, Butler-Wu 15, Helf 3, Roberts 5, Sim 12, Av. Uusitalo 6, As. Uusitalo 14, Burke 0. Totals: 21 6-9 60.

Grants Pass116612— 35

Lake Washington1921155— 60

3-point goals — Grants Pass 4 (Bruner 1, Vainuku-Johnson 6, B. Wakefield 1), Lake Washington 12 (Hani 1, Butler-Wu 5, Helf 1, Sim 2, As. Uusitalo 3).

EAGLE POINT 59, GRESHAM 42: At Eagle Point, Eagle Point sophomores Kadence Lindstrom and Thianna Deng-Gomez each scored 16 points and the Eagles hit the throttle in the third quarter to pull away and claim their ninth straight victory.

The Eagles (10-1), off to one of their best starts in school history, outscored the Gophers 21-11 in the third quarter — five each from Lindstrom and Deng-Gomez — to grab a 46-30 lead.

Deng-Gomez added six rebounds and Lindstrom came away with four steals. Morgan Dole had eight points and 10 assists, while freshman Jill Garlitz scored six of her nine points in the third quarter and finished with six steals. Fellow freshman Kady Ledbetter also dropped in eight points.

GRESHAM (42): Cardell 5, Schenk 11, Edwards 3, Foster 4, Hansen 7, Kagawa 8, Miller 4, Gaffney 0, Greenfield 0, Hanson 0. Totals: 10 7-17 42.

EAGLE POINT (59): Dole 8, Garlitz 9, Lindstrom 16, Ledbetter 8, Cabrera 2, Deng-Gomez 16, Schauffler 0, R. Baldwin 0, Hanan 0. Totals: 26 2-2 59.

Gresham7121112— 42

Eagle Point1692113— 59

3-point goals — Gresham 4 (Schenk 3, Hansen 1), Eagle Point 1 (Garlitz).

JV result — Eagle Point won.

FORT VANCOUVER (WASH.) 42, ASHLAND 41: At Fort Vancouver, Ashland's late rally came up just short as the Grizzlies chipped away at host Fort Vancouver's lead but couldn't get a potential game-winning shot away in their final game at the Fort Vancouver Holiday Classic.

Ashland (1-5) trailed by as many as 10 in the fourth quarter, but was able to get some solid late defense in limiting Fort Vancouver to just seven points in the final period.

Ashland senior Abbey Lambert scored a game-high 18 points, while junior Loane Adaine also finished in double figures with 10 points.

FORT VANCOUVER (42): Cruz 9, Ghormley 2, T. Clark 16, Lewis 1, Juwara 6, Kalamason 2, Weinmaster 6. Totals: 17 7-21 42.

ASHLAND (41): Montgomery 2, Sayre 3, Lambert 18, Vara 8, Lundgren 0, Jarvis 0, Adaine 10, Kiekhaefer 0, Losinski 0. Totals: 17 2-9 41.

Fort Vancouver147127— 42

Ashland961115— 41

3-point goals — Fort Vancouver 1 (T. Clark 1), Ashland 5 (Sayre 1, Lambert 2, Vara 2). Technical foul — Cruz.

WESTERN CHRISTIAN 37, CASCADE CHRISTIAN 22: At Salem, Cascade Christian was unable to generate consistent offense and fell to Class 3A Western Christian in the Challengers' final game at the Crusader Holiday Classic at Salem Academy.

Jordynn Jones scored seven points to lead Cascade Christian (4-5), which trailed 18-9 at the half.

Western Christian (6-2) got a team-high 14 points from Madeline Nicoli.

WESTERN CHRISTIAN (37): A. Miersma 8, H. Miersma 2, Ellis 0, Slaughtery 0, Nicoli 14, Muroya 13, Stratton 0. Totals: 14 6-9 37.

CASCADE CHRISTIAN (22): Akins 0, Lane 3, Ferrera 3, Folin 0, Coats 4, Jones 7, Law 0, McCauley 5. Totals: 6 7-14 22.

Western Christian414109— 37

Cascade Christian3683— 22

3-point goals — Western Christian 3 (Muroya 3), Cascade Christian 2 (Lane 1, Coats 1).