No. 5 seed St. Paul turned back No. 4 Country Christian 37-32 in a defensive struggle in the quarterfinals of the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 1A girls basketball tournament Thursday at Baker High School.
Gracie Koch had 14 points and three steals and Audra Rose added nine points, offsetting 2-for-17 shooting by collecting 22 rebounds, as the Buckaroos (22-6) advanced to Friday's semifinals to face top-seeded Crane.
St. Paul shot 22.4 percent (11 for 49) but held Country Christian to 20.7 percent (12 for 58). The Buckaroos led 13-5 at half as the Cougars shot 1 for 26.
St. Paul was up 20-9 midway through the third quarter before Country Christian rallied to within 21-17 late in the third quarter on a jumper by Cara Mulhern. But Koch hit a three-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer to make it 27-19, and the Cougars could get no closer than five points the rest of the way.
Lilly Garfield had 12 points and seven rebounds to lead Country Christian (21-8), which lost in the quarterfinals for the second year in a row.
No. 1 Crane 60, No 9 Imbler 23: The Mustangs (28-0), runners-up last year after winning three consecutive titles, scored the game's first 11 points and eliminated the Cougars (20-8).
Freshmen Kaitlyn Siegner and Taya Nelson had big games for Crane. The 5-10 Siegner had 23 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and three assists. The 5-8 Nelson made three three-pointers and finished with 17 points and six rebounds.
Senior guard Kortney Doman, the reigning 1A player of the year, added 10 points, six rebounds, nine assists and seven steals for the Mustangs, who led 24-5 after the first quarter.
Rachael Stirewalt had seven points, five rebounds and three steals for Imbler, which made its first state-tournament appearance in seven years.
No. 6 Powder Valley 45, No. 14 Echo 38: The Badgers (22-6) recovered after losing a 14-point lead to oust Old Oregon League rival Echo, a team it defeated 55-51 in the district tournament Feb. 17 at Baker.
Powder Valley went on a 15-1 run to open a 23-9 lead in the second quarter, but Echo came back to tie 25-25 on a jumper by Ally Brown midway through the third quarter.
The Badgers' Ayla Bingham made a three-pointer for a 30-27 lead with 3:14 left in the third quarter, putting her team ahead to stay. Powder Valley went up 39-31 in the fourth quarter and held on to make the semifinals for the second time in four seasons.
Kellee Dixon had 12 points and seven rebounds and Bingham added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Badgers, who won despite committing 26 turnovers and shooting 11 of 25 on free throws. Jaycee Gray had seven steals in the win.
Kenzie Hendrix scored nine points to lead Echo, which had 18 turnovers and made 9 of 19 free throws.
No. 2 North Douglas 53, No. 7 North Clackamas Christian 43: The Warriors (26-3) used a 15-1 run in the second half to pull away from the Saints (22-5) and advance to the semifinals for the second time in three seasons.
North Clackamas Christian came back from a 19-7 deficit to get within 29-27 on a layup by Keslynn Turner in the third quarter. But North Douglas responded to restore the lead to 44-28, getting a three-pointer from Graycie Rodgers at the third-quarter buzzer and a jumper from Brooklyn Cyr at the start of the fourth quarter to finish the run.
Cyr finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, making 4 of 9 from three-point range. Brooke McHaffie added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Warriors.
Kaylee Turner had 14 points and eight rebounds and Keslynn Turner had 10 points for the Saints, who were playing in their first quarterfinal since 1999.
