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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, April 24, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 4, 2005 North Medford�s Erica Schultz (4) has her shot blocked by Tualatin�s Maryam Razavi in the first half. Tornado can’t keep up with Tualatin Timberwolves wear down North Medford in first-round game at state tournament By KEVIN GOFF Mail Tribune PORTLAND — North Medford seemed to be just the one pass or one extra dribble away from solving the Tualatin pressure Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A girls basketball state tournament. Instead, the Timberwolves turned 36 Black Tornado turnovers into easy buckets or momentum-sapping 3-pointers en route to a 71-56 victory at the Chiles Center on the University of Portland campus. Tualatin (23-3) will face top-ranked and unbeaten Southridge, a 54-47 winner over Lakeridge, in a semifinal contest today. North Medford (23-4) plays the third-ranked Pacers and reigning player of the year Jillian Harmon at 3:15 today in a consolation bracket game. Fifth-ranked North Medford had 22 miscues in the first half alone and spent most of the second half of its first state-tournament appearance in seven years playing catch-up. Advertisement "We just didn’t take care of the ball," said third-year North coach Tim Karrick. "When we did we got good looks. That’s pretty much what it came down to." Despite the uncharacteristic number of mistakes, North shot 63 percent from the field (12-for-19) and managed to forge a 31-all tie at the break in front of a large contingent of Tualatin fans. But the No. 4-ranked Timberwolves, the No. 2 seed from the Pac-9 Conference, broke the game open with a 13-4 run in the first three minutes of the third period and North never climbed closer than eight points the rest of the way. "We knew it would be a battle," said Tornado senior post Michelle Westermann, who had 10 points on 5 of 7 shooting. "It was a pretty fast-paced game. I think a lot of us really didn’t understand how much pressure (Tualatin) would put on us. "For some reason we came out slow and looked tired (in the third quarter) and got into a hole." North Medford’s struggles with the full-court press emphasized the importance of point guard Kailey Bostwick’s season-ending injury. The senior tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee on Feb. 19 and spent Thursday’s game on the bench rooting on her team. North, which shared the Southern Oregon Conference crown with Ashland, won three games without its floor leader, defeating the Grizzlies in an SOC seeding game, then beating Glencoe and Lake Oswego in the opening rounds of the state playoffs. "I think this was the first game that Kailey’s absence really showed," said Karrick. "I’m not saying we would have won, necessarily, but I definitely don’t think we would’ve turned the ball over that many times. "I know she would have made a difference." Freshman point guard Whitney Hodnett, who committed just five turnovers while stepping in for Bostwick over the last three contests combined, had nine miscues in the first half and finished with 10 overall. Sophomore wing Megan Ross also labored against the Tualatin pressure and foul trouble. After averaging nearly 13 points a game during Bostwick’s absence, Ross scored seven and fouled out with nearly five minutes to play. "It was just one of those games," said Karrick. "After that run in the third quarter, we just never snapped out of it." The Black Tornado managed a number of easy baskets early against Tualatin’s man-to-man pressure. Hodnett and Mellisa Eastwold, who scored nine of her team-high 16 points in the opening quarter, converted fastbreak layins in the first minute of play. Missy Lindquist, however, answered with five straight points to give the Timberwolves the edge. North Medford took its biggest lead, 23-18, at the 4:49 mark of the second quarter on a Westermann layup but Tualatin used its pressure defense to even the game at intermission. "We tried to do what we usually do," said Tualatin coach Todd Jukkala, whose team entered Thursday’s game averaging 70 points per contest, "and that’s pressure the ball. "North knew how to attack it, and they did a pretty good job of that early. We were hoping to get them up-tempo and that’s what happened." Holly Mengis and Lindquist combined for Tualatin’s first nine points, forcing a North timeout facing a 40-33 deficit. A short Kristin Hein bucket gave the Timberwolves a 50-37 advantage three minutes later. Hodnett converted a three-point play with two minutes gone in the fourth period to sneak North within 56-48 but Kate DePaepe and Lindquist broke free for uncontested layups and an insurmountable lead. North Medford shot 53 percent for the game (24 of 45) and held the Timberwolves to 38 percent from the floor (26-for-67). Tualatin, however, overcame its 24 turnovers and shooting woes by snaring 20 offensive rebounds to North’s seven. Lindquist led the Timberwolves with a game-high 20 points, Hein had nine rebounds and Madison Mendezona dished out seven assists. Eastwold paced the Tornado with seven rebounds and senior guard Caitlin Seeley had six assists. Lauren Berger, a 6-foot-1 sophomore post, contributed six boards and eight points in her most complete game of the year. "Ya know, the girls competed hard," said Karrick. "I’m disappointed but very proud of them. I’m already over this (loss) and ready to get back on the court to see what we can do." NORTH MEDFORD (56) — Westermann 5-7 0-1 10, Eastwold 7-13 2-4 16, Ross 3-7 1-1 7, Seeley 2-3 0-0 4, Hodnett 2-3 4-6 8, Schultz 1-3 1-4 3, Berger 4-8 0-3 8, Preston 0-0 0-0 0, Barry 0- 0 0-0 0, Heim 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 24-45 8-19 56. TUALATIN (71) — Mendezona 1-8 0-0 3, Mengis 4-10 0-0 10, Lindquist 8-11 4-5 20, Hein 1-7 0-1 2, DePaepe 4-11 0-2 8, Razavi 3-9 2-2 10, Foiles 1-2 2-2 5, Re 1-1 1-2 3, Gruss 1-3 1-2 4, Child 2-5 2-2 6. Totals: 26-67 12-18 71. North Medford.........................17 14 12 13 — 56 Tualatin....................................17 14 23 17 — 71 3-point goals — North Medford 0-3 (Ross 0-1, Hodnett 0-1, Berger 0-1), Tualatin 7-23 (Mendezona 1-6, Mengis 2-4, Hein 0-1, DePaepe 0-1, Razavi 2-7, Foiles 1-2, Gruss 1-2). Fouled out — Ross. Reach reporter Kevin Goff at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Tatoos Advertisement s