GIRLS HOOPS: Panthers roll past Pacers at POA Classic
Dec. 29—PORTLAND — As the South Medford girls basketball team departed for Portland, head coach Tom Cole described his team's participation in the POA Holiday Classic as a nice late-December measuring stick.
The Panthers certainly started things off quite well Wednesday afternoon.
Donovyn Hunter scored a game-high 20 points and led a defensive charge that had No. 7 Lakeridge flustered the entire first half, as third-ranked South Medford rolled to a 79-33 victory in a top-10 matchup to open play in the POA's platinum bracket at Grant High School.
"I thought we started off pretty focused and did a lot of little things right," Cole said. "And this was the first game we really had everybody healthy since Hawaii. We finally got everybody back and healthy — which I think made a big difference for chemistry. We have a lot of experience and the younger kids are on a learning curve. There's a lot of great signs and we hope depth continue to be asset for us."
South (8-1) has won five straight following its lone loss of the season back on Dec. 10 against the country's No. 1-ranked team, Incarnate Word, at the Iolani Classic in Honolulu.
The Panthers will face No. 4 Beaverton (5-5), the defending Class 6A state champion, at 3 p.m. Thursday.
"Even though they lost some games at the Nike TOC in Arizona, they also played in the top bracket and played some of the nation's best," Cole said of Beaverton, "so I don't know if those loses were a reflection of what they're not more than just the kind of teams they competed against. That's a big game and a good measuring stick of where we're at."
South set the tone early on the defensive end of the floor, limiting Lakeridge (7-2) to just eight points in the first and second quarters.
That allowed the Panthers to see their lead grow quickly, as they went into the half with a commanding 42-16 lead.
South finished with 18 steals as a team, with Sara Schmerbach recording a team-high six steals and Hunter adding three of her own to go with seven rebounds.
"Our defense really created a lot of pressure and forced a lot of turnovers," said Cole. "Donovyn created a lot of that and so did Sara Schmerbach with her steals in the first half. "
Tatum Schmerbach hit 75% of her shots on her way to scoring 15 points, while Kim Ceron also finished in double figures with 12 points and Kendall Fealey and Sara Schmerbach each had eight points.
"Tatum came out and was really efficient," said Cole. "They were all able to create places of scoring. ... We finished with 23 assists and when they're playing well together, the brand of basketball is fun. They share the basketball and play for one another."
SOUTH MEDFORD (79): Richardson 0, Taulani 2, Hunter 20, Young 6, S. Schmerbach 8, Ceron 12, Barlow 0, Howell 6, Akpan 2, T. Schmerbach 15, Fealey 8. Totals: 33 7-10 79.
LAKERIDGE (33): Roberts 3, Weiler 0, Perry 3, Langer 5, O'Hollaren 10, Levrets 0, Davis 6, Harrell 6. Totals: 13 5-13 33.
South Medford23191522— 79
Lakeridge8898— 33
3-point goals — South Medford 6 (Howell 2, T. Schmerbach 3, Fealey 1), Lakeridge 2 (Roberts 1, Langer 1).
NORTH MEDFORD 56, ALHAMBRA (CALIF.) 50: At Martinez, Calif., sophomore Caileigh Raines poured in a game-high 22 points and North Medford received some clutch play from first-time starter Shyannah Jackson down the stretch to beat host Alhambra at the West Coast Jamboree.
Raines also amassed 11 rebounds, four steals and two blocks for the Black Tornado (4-4).
Jackson, a senior, scored all five of her points in the fourth quarter over the 90 seconds, including a key 3-pointer to give North a 54-50 lead.
North sophomore Olivia Boger finished with 13 points and four rebounds, while senior Ali Stevens had six points, three rebounds and three steals off the bench.
NORTH MEDFORD (56): Raines 22, Boger 13, Patel 3, Stevens 6, Jackson 5, Lane 3, Harris 2, Hamlin 2, Heese 0, Taylor 0, Brownlee 0, West 0. Totals: 20 8-28 56.
ALHAMBRA (50): Islas 19, Apalit 18, Barnes 8, Gutierrez 3, Blake 2, James 0. Totals: 22 6-11 50.
North Medford9161912— 56
Alhambra8101319— 50
3-point goals — North Medford 8 (Raines 5, Jackson 1, Lane 1, Patel 1), Alhambra 5 (Islas 3, Apalit 1, Barnes 1). Technical foul — Alhambra coach.
GRANTS PASS 58, RIVERSIDE 53: At Sunnyslope, Ariz., Mia Thompson had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds to help lead Grants Pass in the Cactus Jam.
Brooke Anderson finished with 18 points, four assists, four rebounds and four steals for the Cavers (7-1), while Brooklyn Wakefield added six points, 12 rebounds and two steals against Riverside (B.C.) of Canada.
GRANTS PASS (58): Brandes 0, Kleiner 6, Anderson 18, Thompson 11, Bruner 5, K. Wakefield 0, Pastrell 0, Mock 2, Vainuku-Johnson 8, B. Wakefield 6, Hull 2. Totals: 26 3-6 58.
RIVERSIDE (53): Neufeld 2, Park 0, Sussex 21, Jacobsen 0, Curley 11, Hughes 0, Hart 15, Wheatley 4. Totals: 19 9-13 53.
Grants Pass11121718— 58
Riverside209159— 53
3-point goals — Grants Pass 3 (Anderson 2, Bruner 1), Riverside 5 (Sussex 3, Curley 1, Hart 1).
CRATER 65, WOODBURN 18: At Corvallis, sophomore Isabel McCauley scored 12 of her career-high 19 points in the second quarter, allowing Crater to distance itself from Woodburn and earn a spot in the championship game of the Spartan Holiday Showcase at Corvallis High.
McCauley also pulled down eight rebounds and was 6-for-6 from the free throw line in that second period where the Comets (6-4) built a 41-10 halftime advantage.
The Comets recorded 14 of their 32 steals in the first quarter, six of which were snagged by sophomore Lydia Traore, who added six points and eight rebounds.
Sophomores Sage Winslow and Addison Dippel deposited 13 and eight points, respectively, while junior Abby Winslow chipped in five points and five steals.
CRATER (65): Gugliotta 0, S. Winslow 13, Gish 0, Vranes 3, Snow 2, Dippel 8, Munroe 0, Simmons 9, McCauley 19, A. Winslow 5, Traore 6, Valencia 0. Totals: 23 12-25 65.
WOODBURN (18): Marquez 0, Salinas 2, N. Rodriguez 1, Velazquez 0, Sanchez 0, Ramirez 2, Te 2, Dai. Rodriguez 2, Bryant 6, Dar. Rodriguez 3. Totals: 6 5-12 18.
Crater22211012— 65
Woodburn3753— 18
3-point goals — Crater 7 (Dippel 2, Simmons 2, McCauley 3), Woodburn 1 (Dai. Rodriguez 1).
EAGLE POINT 61, HIDDEN VALLEY 28: At Murphy, Thianna Deng-Gomes scored 14 points to lead a balanced Eagle Point offense in a runaway nonleague win over Class 4A Hidden Valley.
Kady Lindstrom finished with 13 points and Jill Garlitz had 12 points to also finish in double figures for the Eagles (9-1), who have won eight straight games.
Eagle Point led 38-9 at the half.
Jia Bents scored a team-high 12 points and hit three 3-pointers for Hidden Valley (4-7).
EAGLE POINT (61): Dole 9, Schauffler 5, A. Baldwin 2, Garlitz 12, Lindstrom 13, Ledbetter 4, Cabrera 2, Deng-Gomes 14, Hanan 0, Challender 0, R. Baldwin 0. Totals: 28 3-9 61.
HIDDEN VALLEY (28): Rommes 2, Tiffin 4, LaPan 2, Kelsey 8, Bents 12, Keller 0, Yunker 0, Rice 0. Totals: 10 3-10 28.
Eagle Point2117177— 61
Hidden Valley63109— 28
3-point goals — Eagle Point 4 (Dole 2, Garlitz 1, Lindstrom 1), Hidden Valley 5 (Kelly 2, Bents 3).
SHELTON (WASH.) 52, ASHLAND 44: At Fort Vancouver, Wash., Flannery Lundgren scored a game-high 14 points but Ashland couldn't complete the second-half comeback against Shelton (Wash.) in the opening round of the Holiday Classic.
Abbey Lambert added nine points for Ashland (1-3), which trailed 42-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
Gabi Munro also had 14 points to pace Shelton.
SHELTON (52): Henry 12, Squire 3, Bayley 4, Munro 14, Ruiz 12, Cordova 3, Wily 4. Totals: 21 4-8 52.
ASHLAND (44): Montgomery 2, Sayre 3, Lambert 9, Vara 7, Lundgren 14, Jarvis 2, Adain 4, Kiekhaefer 3, Losinski 0. Totals: 20 0-1 44.
Shelton11181310— 52
Ashland1210139— 44
3-point goals — Shelton 6 (Henry 2, Squire 1, Ruiz 2, Cordova 1), Ashland 4 (Sayre 1, Lambert 1, Vara 1, Kiekhaefer 1).
SALEM ACADEMY 53, CASCADE CHRISTIAN 31: At Salem, Jordynn Jones scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds but Cascade Christian couldn't keep up with host Salem Academy in the opening round of the Crusader Classic.
Emma Coats had seven points and five steals while Grace McCauley added six points, five rebounds, three steals and three assists for the Challengers (3-4).
The Class 2A Crusaders were led by Aly Herber's game-high 19 points.
CASCADE CHRISTIAN (31): Akins 1, Lane 0, Ferreira 0, Folin 2, Coats 7, Jones 13, Law 0, Roberson 2, McCauley 0. Totals: 8 6-10 31.
SALEM ACADEMY (55): Sullivan 2, Pass 0, Brewer 0, Hinkle 3, James 10, Fridley 0, A. Herber 19, L. Herber 12, Ferry 7, Robnett 0. Totals: 22 5-8 55.
Cascade Christian46912— 31
Salem Academy1612222— 55
3-point goals — Cascade Christian 1 (Coats 1), Salem Academy 3 (A. Herber 1, L. Herber 2).
