MCMINNVILLE – Redmond sophomore post Freya Snow made a layup with one second remaining to thwart Summit’s upset bid, sending the fourth-seeded Panthers to the 5A state semifinals with a 44-42 win Wednesday afternoon at the OSAA / OnPoint Community Credit Union 5A Girls State Basketball Championships at Linfield University.
Redmond will next take on top-seeded Crater, a 90-62 winner over Wilsonville in the first game of the tournament. That game will take place on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
Redmond led for most of the game with Summit, but fell behind, 42-40, on a three-pointer by Storm sophomore Kennedy Bollom with 1:51 to play.
Summit, the tournament’s No. 5 seed, had an opportunity to extend its lead from the free throw line but missed two with 1:09 remaining.
Redmond then converted 1-of-2 from the stripe to get within one and had a chance to go ahead when Snow rebounded a Summit miss and was fouled.
Snow could not covert either free throw – she was 2-for-8 in the final period from the line – but Redmond got another chance when, after a Summit timeout, Dylan Cheney stole the inbounds pass and was fouled. She made the first free throw to tie the game with 39.9 seconds left, but the second attempt was too strong.
Aspen Morris fought for and secured the rebound for Redmond, giving the Panthers the opportunity to hold for the last shot. Redmond coach Alex Carlson called time out with 4.9 seconds left to set up a final play.
Snow was the first option on a play taken from boys high school coaching legend Bobby Hurley Sr. A back pick opened up Snow for a lob and Azlynn Ure delivered a perfect pass. Snow leapt, caught the pass, head faked, took one dribble and got to the goal. All that remained was for her to finish off the glass, which she did.
“It was a matter of pump faking and going up strong and finishing,” she said. “My whole team believed I could make that shot. I just had to go up strong and be confident.”
“It was a huge shot for Freya,” Carlson said. “It was good to see her finish like that. It's the type of character she has. She had a rough game but to finish it like that says a lot about her.”
Summit (20-7), playing in its first state tournament game in 16 years, started the game hot, leading 3-0. Redmond outscored the Storm, 12-2, the rest of the way to take a 12-5 advantage to the second quarter.
The game tightened up before halftime, thanks to six first-half blocks from Summit junior Kalyn Christ and tough interior defense from both teams, which forced outside shots that neither team was able to convert.
Redmond, which shot 23 percent from the floor in the first half, started the second half 4-for-4 from the floor, including triples from Ure and Morris; but the Panthers could not sustain the offense. Summit finished the third quarter on a 10-3 run, scoring mainly from the free throw line, to get within 34-29 heading to the fourth quarter.
Summit, which lost both regular-season games to Redmond by double digits, kept up the defensive pressure in the fourth quarter and limited the Panthers to just two field goals over the final eight minutes. Meanwhile, Bollom’s first triple, from the top of the key, and another trey from Emerson Williams, made it a three-point game with 3:21 left in regulation.
Poor free throw shooting from Redmond prevented the Panthers from extending their lead. Two freebies from Christ and the Bollom three gave Summit that late lead before Redmond’s rally to win.
Mylaena Norton scored 13 points, including going 8-of-10 from the free throw line; to lead Redmond. Morris added nine points and 10 rebounds.
Redmond (21-5) won despite shooting 26 percent from the field, 17 percent from beyond the arc and 54 percent from the free throw line.
Christ, Bollom, Lucy Cross and Jade Durfee combined for 35 of Summit’s 42 points in the loss. Christ finished with seven blocks. The Storm committed 19 turnovers and shot less than 27 percent from the field for the game.
In other Wednesday girls quarterfinals…
No. 1 Crater 90, No. 8 Wilsonville 62
Sage Winslow scored 31 points and Taylor Young contributed 27 in top-seeded Crater’s wire-to-wire win.
The Comets (26-1) solved Wilsonville’s box-and-1 defense with three early threes, then used pressure defense to create steals leading to easy buckets as part of a first-quarter siege in a confident, workmanlike Crater win.
Crater led by as many as 18 in the first quarter and extended its advantage in every quarter. The Comet lead was 21 at halftime, 26 after three and grew to as many as 30.
Winslow and Young also combined for 13 assists and 10 steals. Lydia Traore contributed 10 points and eight rebounds. Addison Dippel scored seven and held Wilsonville’s high-scoring guard, Gabi Moultre, to just two first-half points.
Moultre scored 17 after the break when the outcome was no longer in doubt. She and Fareeda ElManhawy combined for 37 for Wilsonville in the loss. The Wildcats (17-10) were done in by 26 turnovers, 19 in the first half.
Wilsonville played the game without Payton Ratcliffe, its 6-3 standout senior post. She broke a bone in her right foot in Friday’s playoff win over Corvallis and was ruled out of this game late last night.
No. 3 South Albany 59, No. 6 Springfield 36
Taylor Donaldson scored 35 points, including 7-of-11 on three pointers; in the convincing win for third-seeded South Albany.
South Albany rattled off 10 straight points to end the first half, including successive threes from Kaylee Cordle and Donaldson; to turn a close game at 15-10 into a 25-10 runaway.
The teams were tied, 8-8, after a mostly indifferent first quarter. Donaldson had two three pointers to pace South Albany, while Ikunaday Felipe had two three-pointers for Springfield, one of the conventional “and-1” type.
South Albany got off to a fast start to the second quarter, starting with a triple from Taylor Bailey. Iyahna Woodard scored to break South Albany’s 7-0nstreak only to see the RedHawks finish with an even more impressive scoring run.
Donaldson, who had 13 at the break, added 16 in the third quarter as the RedHawks extended their lead to 26 with one period remaining. Springfield prevented the game from going to a running clock with a spirited fourth-quarter effort, outscoring South Albany, 17-14, over the final eight minutes.
Filipe finished with 11 to pace Springfield (18-8). Darissa Romero-Ah Sam added nine, all in the second half.
Taelyn Bentley supported Donaldson’s supreme effort with seven points and six rebounds. The RedHawks (23-4) shot 50 percent from beyond the arc for the game, outrebounded the Millers and won the rebound battle, 31-22.
No. 2 Silverton 63, No. 7 West Albany 5
Defending champion Silverton outscored West Albany, 19-3, over an almost-six-minute stretch of the third quarter to turn an eight-point deficit into an eight-point advantage in the Foxes’ 63-58 win. After dominating two conference games during the regular season, Silverton had to fight to get this win over a determined Bulldog team.
West Albany, which has just one senior on its roster, actually had the better of the play until that fateful Silverton run. The Bulldogs got a massive performance from sophomore point guard Payton Starwalt, who had 18 points in a first half West Albany led by three; and 21 before a Hadley Craig three started bringing Silverton (24-3) back from an eight-point deficit. Allie Mansur’s three, assisted by Grace Hayashida; gave Silverton its first lead of the second half. The Foxes would not trail again.
Seventh-seeded West Albany (20-7) fought bravely in the fourth quarter and used long balls from Cate Kurth, Natalie Tidwell and Starwalt to keep the game in doubt. Twice the Bulldogs cut the margin to three points, but Silverton stay poised, grew its advantage to nine in the in the final half-minute and hung on.
Starwalt led West Albany’s effort with 30 points and five assists. No other Bulldog scored more than Kurth’s eight.
Craig overcame foul trouble to lead Silverton with 19 points. The senior added 12 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Mansur contributed 12 points and four assists. Hayashida had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists. Silverton outrebounded West Albany, 37-22.
johnt@osaa.org
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