Behind the scoring of senior guard Aziza Saad and a suffocating defense, No. 13 seed Jefferson dominated the third quarter and pulled away for a 58-42 home win over No. 20 Burns in the first round of the 3A girls basketball playoffs Wednesday.
Saad scored 15 of her game-high 32 points in the third quarter and the defense, anchored by junior post Luella Campbell, held the Hilanders in check as the Lions (17-8), semifinalists last year, moved one step away from returning to the state tournament.
Jefferson will play at No. 4 Creswell (19-6) on Saturday for a berth in the eight-team state tournament. Last year, the Lions beat Creswell 57-42 in the round of 16.
“I think beating them here last year to go to Coos was really big for us, so they’ll definitely want to get us back for that,” said Campbell, who scored 10 points. “It’s been like this rivalry between us for the last three years and I know that they’ll want to come out hard and really beat us. That’s going to really motivate us.”
In Wednesday's game, Lions coach Zach Maison liked how his team responded in the second half after ending the first half with a 32-25 lead. Jefferson outscored Burns 19-10 in the third quarter to lead 51-35.
“The first half was so back-and-forth that it was going to come down to if anybody could make a run and separate,” Maison said. “We knew that they were a good team, we knew that they were going to make a run, and we were trying to do the same thing. Whoever could do that would take the momentum going into the rest of the third and fourth quarter.”
Campbell provided a spark on defense.
“We knew coming out strong and scoring those first couple of points and really getting momentum will do it for us,” Campbell said. “Making sure we’re talking on defense, making sure we really cover everything and just work hard as a team.”
Junior Bayley Temple scored 17 points for Burns (15-12). Hilanders coach Jamie Rusow credited Jefferson for adjusting to their pressure defense.
“I think we were hoping to get a little bit more out of our press,” Rusow said. “They transitioned very well so we ended up abandoning the press at half in hopes to get back a little more. I just think they just showed up tonight. Shots were falling for them, not so much for us, and that’s sometimes how it goes.”
-- Jeremy McDonald
Highlights from Wednesday's other first-round games:
3A
Brookings-Harbor, the Southern Oregon Conference champion, outlasted visiting Oregon Episcopal 45-42, getting a go-ahead three-pointer from Claire Pieper with 24 seconds left. Freshman post Iris Powers-Schmidt scored 21 points, including seven points in the fourth quarter, for the Bruins, who trailed 33-31 after three quarters. … Santiam Christian went on the road and took out Neah-Kah-Nie 41-31 as Peyton Rahn (12 points), Sophia Smith (12 points) and Celia Chatterton (11 points) combined for seven three-pointers. The Eagles dominated the second half with a team defensive effort, leading by as many as 16 points in the fourth quarter. … Lucy Van Pelt scored 25 points to lead Westside Christian to a 43-34 road win over Harrisburg. The Eagles got 17 points from Maycie Dame.
1A
Top-seeded Imbler handled Ione/Arlington 57-14. Olivia Haddock made two three-pointers and scored 19 points and Whitney Haddock added 11 points for Imbler, which led 30-4 at half and 53-9 after three quarters. … No. 2 seed North Clackamas Christian ousted Prairie City/Burnt River 64-43. Keslynn Turner had 21 points, seven assists and seven steals and Kaylee Turner had 10 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and three assists. … North Lake eliminated Mohawk 62-20 behind a big game from Naomi Roth, who had 18 points, 18 rebounds, seven steals and two blocks. Lindsay McCauley added 15 points, six assists and eight steals in the win. … Hailie Pechanec scored 22 points and Makaila Miller added 14 points for Dufur, which knocked out CS Lewis Academy 57-38. …Country Christian blew out to a 39-11 halftime lead and dispatched Adrian 64-29. Emma Seubert had 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Cara Mulhern and Adelynn Smith added 12 points each for the Cougars. Parker Wynn had 12 points for the Antelopes. ...
Reigning state champion Crane, the No. 12 seed, defeated North Douglas 47-21 in a rematch of last year's quarterfinal. Ava Bowen (14 points) and Kamryn Dunten (11 points) led the way for the Mustangs, who led 32-8 at half. … Powder Valley advanced with a 46-42 home win over Rogue Valley Adventist. Kellee Dixon and Skye Nesser scored 15 and 13 points, respectively, for the Badgers. … Abbi Galvan Mendez scored 15 of her team-high 17 points in the first half as Mapleton opened an eight-point lead and turned back St. Paul 53-44. Lucie Burruss added 11 points, 12 rebounds and six steals in the win. St. Paul's Sienna Meza scored 24 points. … Southwest Christian opened a 24-12 halftime lead and defeated South Wasco County 43-29. Anna Birkemeier made two three-pointers and scored 15 points. Alyssa Anderson added 10 points. …Echo turned back Central Christian 48-26 behind Jaycee Campbell (17 points, eight rebounds, two steals) and Cam Estes (11 points, three steals). Tabitha Terry had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Central Christian. ...
Union led 19-0 after one quarter and 42-5 at half in defeating Alsea 51-25. Millie Miller and Taylor Browning scored 17 and 15 points, respectively, for the Bobcats. … Harper Charter downed Pilot Rock 45-35 behind Holly Rodriguez (17 points) and Lindsay Talbot (14 points). Rodriguez scored 10 points in the second quarter as the Hornets outscored the Rockets 17-7 to lead 29-18 at half. … Danika Bushnell made four three-pointers and scored 24 points to lead Powers past Trout Lake 54-31. Kailey Jo Swenson added 12 points for the Cruisers, who broke open the game with a 23-point third quarter. Eden Anderson scored 12 points for Trout Lake. …Brooke Myers scored seven of her 13 points in overtime as Elgin pulled out a 68-63 win at Perrydale. Carly McLaughlin led Elgin with 20 points. Perrydale got 22 points from Madison Gunther and 18 points from Kaila Gibson. ... Umpqua Valley Christian defeated Crosspoint Christian 51-37. ... Jordan Valley upended Joseph 62-41.
jerryu@osaa.org
Subscribe
