PORTLAND – Jefferson's dream season seemed to be teetering on the brink in the quarterfinals of the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 6A girls basketball tournament Wednesday afternoon at the Chiles Center.
The top-seeded Democrats couldn't buy a basket, and upstart West Linn took advantage to build a 14-point lead in the second quarter. Senior-dominated Jefferson was staring down the barrel of a second consecutive quarterfinal exit.
“Honestly, I think we fell behind because of nerves,” senior point guard Abrianna Lawrence said. “We went into a big building, college court, honestly, we were just nervous.”
The Democrats were able to settle down with a 9-0 run before halftime, then took control in the second half to turn back No. 9 West Linn 62-58. Jefferson (27-1) will make its first semifinal appearance since winning the 2010 5A title when it meets No. 5 Clackamas on Friday.
Senior guard Chauncey Andersen said the burst late in the second quarter was a turning point for the Democrats. who were able to regroup at halftime.
“We just came into the half, I told the seniors and I told the team, 'This is it,'” Andersen said, “'so we have to give it everything we have, otherwise we're going home, and that's not what we came here to do.' So we came out and we did what we do.”
Andersen and Lawrence showed the way by combining for 28 points in the second half. Lawrence finished with 22 points, three assists and four steals, hitting three three-pointers. Andersen ended with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
“We got over our nerves at halftime,” Lawrence said. “We knew we could play basketball, we just had to put the ball in the basket, and that's what we did.”
Lawrence, the daughter of Jefferson coach Andre Lawrence, was outstanding in directing the show for the Democrats.
“I went to her as a dad-slash-coach, and said, 'Hey, we're not going to have no tears, so we've got to go out with no regrets,'” Andre Lawrence said. “'So I need you to carry us to the end, or not.' She put me on her back this time.”
Andersen raved over the play of Lawrence, the Portland Interscholastic League player of the year.
“She's the conductor. She does everything for us,” said Andersen, who has signed with UC Santa Barbara. “She just calms us down. She can knock down easy shots. She had those momentum threes in the second half. She gets everybody in set. I can't talk about her enough. She's amazing.”
Down 28-14, Andersen scored back-to-back baskets and Lawrence hit a three-pointer during a 9-0 run to make it 28-23. The Democrats kept chipping away, pulling to within 32-31 on a four-point play by senior forward Carmela Nunez midway through the third quarter. The shot gave Jefferson a jolt of momentum.
“That was huge. I think that was the winning play for us,” Andersen said. “She just kept her head and kept shooting. That's what we need from everybody.”
The Democrats took the lead at 40-38 late in the third quarter when Lawrence made a steal and hit two free throws. Early in the fourth quarter, Lawrence made a layup and three-pointer to push the lead to 50-43. West Linn got no closer than four points the rest of the way.
Andre Lawrence tipped his cap to the senior-less Lions (20-8), who entered on an eight-game winning streak.
“They were playing tougher than us,” he said. “It was just tough basketball. We had to play through. We had to come back in the second half and do that.”
What turned it?
“Seniors,” he said. “Seniors were in the huddle saying, 'We don't want to feel what we did last year.' They didn't want to lose first round again here. The seniors came together and they did it.”
Senior guard Charisma Johnson was the catalyst for Jefferson's defense, collecting six of the team's 13 steals. Johnson also had 10 points, five rebounds and two assists.
“Charisma's our glue. Without Charisma, there's no us,” Andre Lawrence said.
Jefferson, which has won 24 in a row since losing to third-seeded Tualatin at the POA Holiday Classic, now turns its attention toward powerhouse Clackamas (26-2). Jefferson has the top seed at the tournament, but the Cavaliers were the unanimous No. 1 team in the final OSAAtoday 6A coaches poll.
“I think they're the No. 1 team in the state,” Andre Lawrence said. “I think if we play Jefferson basketball, we're going to be in the game, and that's all we ask for.”'
West Linn was led by sophomore guard Kaylor Buse, who had 19 points, 14 rebounds and two assists. Junior point guard Reese Jordan, the Three Rivers League player of the year, shot 2 for 10 from the field and finished with nine points and seven rebounds before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Kyla Buse and freshman Kinley Buse added nine points apiece for the Lions.
“We battled the whole time,” West Linn coach Brooke Cates said. “We made too many turnovers. We knew they were going to come roaring back, and they did. At the end of the day, they just got a couple more buckets than we did. We absolutely could have won this game. We're right there.”
Jefferson forced West Linn into 23 turnvoers, committing 11.
“They're all, and they're long,” Cates said of the Democrats. “They make passing hard. So I think that frustrated us a little bit, got us out of our game.”
Wednesday's other quarterfinals:
No. 5 Clackamas 60, No. 4 McMinnville 29: The Cavaliers (27-2) earned their fourth consecutive semifinal berth by routing the Grizzlies (21-6).
USC-bound senior forward Jazzy Davidson had 26 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, five blocks and two steals to lead Clackamas. Senior guard Sara Barhoum scored 12 points on four three-pointers, giving her 119 triples this season, moving her closer to the state record of 121 (Shoni Schimmel, Franklin, 2010).
Seven different Cavaliers made three-pointers as they shot 11 of 35 from behind the arc, led by the Oregon-bound Barhoum, who went 4 for 14.
Seniors Allie Roden, Avery Peterson, Reyce Mogel and Davidson hit three-pointers during a 14-0 run that opened a 23-6 lead early in the second quarter. Barhoum and senior Dylan Mogel connected from deep as the lead grew to 33-8. Barhoum made two three-pointers and Davidson scored on a layup to start the second half, extending the advantage to 47-11.
McMinnville senior Macie Arzner, a Pittsburgh commit, shot 4 of 22 from the field and finished with 10 points, 14 points below her average. She also had eight rebounds and three assists.
No. 3 Tualatin 47, No. 6 South Medford 37: The Timberwolves (24-2) advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2006 by turning back the reigning state champion Panthers (22-5).
Freshman point guard Love Lei Best had 15 points and five assists and senior post Jordyn Smith had 14 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and two steals for Tualatin. Freshman forward Kendall Dawkins had eight points, seven rebounds and two assists and junior guard Ries Miadich added five points and four steals.
The Timberwolves opened a 19-10 lead early in the second quarter on back-to-back three-pointers by junior Maaya Lucas and Miadich. Smith's jumper to start the second half made it 23-12.
South Medford closed within 31-26 on a three-pointer by junior guard Jordan Barlow late in the third quarter, but Tualatin scored the next nine points to lead 40-26 with 6:51 left in the game. Best had two layups in the surge.
The Timberwolves forced 19 turnovers, committing 11. They had a 21-7 edge in points off turnovers.
Junior guard Dyllyn Howell made three three-pointers and scored 19 points for South Medford. Mayenabasi Akpan, a 6-4 junior post, had 10 points, 10 rebounds and three steals.
No. 2 Willamette 66, No. 7 Southridge 42: The Wolverines (23-5) went on a 24-3 run in the second half to break open a close game and dispatch the Skyhawks (19-8).
Southridge, which led by as many as six points in the first half, was within 38-34 in the third quarter before Willamette took over. The Wolverines scored nine consecutive points to lead 47-34, and after a Skyhawks basket, they reeled off another 15 points to make it 62-37 with 2:45 left.
Senior forward Diamond Wright shot 12 of 18 from the field and finished with 25 points and seven rebounds for Willamette. Senior guard Brynn Smith had 19 points, four assists and two steals and senior forward Izzie Harms added 14 points for the Wolverines, who shot 53.6 percent from the field.
Southridge was led by junior point guard Sara Mangan, who made five three-pointers and had 23 points, six rebounds and two assists. The Skyhawks shot 35.6 percent from the field.
Willamette returns to the semifinals, where it lost to South Medford last year. The Wolverines won four 5A titles between 2007 and 2014 but have never won a championship in the highest classification.
jerryu@osaa.org
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