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Lincoln puts an end to South�s season By Greg Stiles PORTLAND � The spirit was willing, but the bodies weren�t up to the task. South Medford�s girls basketball team hit the wall Thursday morning and couldn�t bounce back from sickness and fatigue that underscored the Panthers� lack of depth. Despite leading at the half and at the end of the third quarter, South Medford came up short, losing 67-56 to Lincoln in a consolation quarterfinal at the Class 4A state tournament. The loss ended South�s season and the careers of several seniors, whose chief goal had been to make an appearance at the Chiles Center on the University of Portland campus. What the Panthers didn�t take into account, however, was having two players sidelined with torn anterior cruciate ligaments in their knees. They overcame that to win playoff game against Glencoe last Saturday. But before they arrived in here, a virus made the rounds and struck Kellie Thomas, Emily Perttu and Beth Mueller. That cost the Panthers in the later stages of their first-round overtime loss to Jesuit and again against Lincoln, the Portland Interscholastic League champion. When South Medford got into foul trouble against the latter, coach Andrea Wegner could only think: "Our depth is sitting down the bench with ACL tears. But our team played with a lot of heart. It was just a matter of going cold in the fourth quarter. We couldn�t hit free throws and lost our legs." South Medford trailed 11-10 after one quarter and quickly took the lead when Whitney Grant pierced the Cardinals� defense. The lead seesawed until Thomas hit both ends of a one-and-one and followed with a basket from the right corner for a 22-19 advantage. But Grant picked up her third foul with 2:45 left in the half, and Lincoln reeled off five points in a row to take a 24-22 advantage on Amy Shepro�s steal. But Perttu sparked a 6-2 run, including a layin at the buzzer with an assist from Natasha Wright, as the Panthers took a 28-26 lead at the half. The Panthers built a 42-35 lead in the third quarter as Mueller, a 6-foot-3 sophomore center, asserted herself with four straight points after Karla Zenz drew her fourth foul. But the final two minutes of the third quarter � and the rest of the game � belonged to the Cardinals, who finally clogged the lane with enough defenders to keep Grant, Perttu and Thomas from penetrating to the hoop. "They were penetrating inside and we had to start helping each other a lot more in the second half," said Lincoln�s Alayna Vincent, who led all scorers with 21 points, including 9 of 10 free throws. "We were finally able to stop their penetration." Lincoln took its first lead of the second half when Vincent hit a pair of free throws after Mueller fouled out with 6:07 to play. Thomas gave the Panthers their final lead, 50-49, when she dropped in an 8-footer. Lincoln went on a 10-0 surge as Kelsey Nicolaisen scored four of her 15 points. Zenz made it a 59-52 game with a 15-footer with 2:32 left, but Katie Wax drove the lane, scored her only field goal in seven attempts, and Zenz committed her fifth foul. Wax completed the three-point play and the Panthers never got closer than 11 the rest of the way. "We were fatigued a little and our free throws didn�t fall," Thomas said. "They had some big girls who were really pushy, and we didn�t get the calls. It�s disappointing that we lost our last game. We�ll never be together again. We really wanted to win it." Grant and Thomas finished with 15 points apiece. Zenz and Mueller finished with 11 rebounds each. Thomas added six rebounds and four blocked shots. Perttu had 10 points. "I thanked my seniors for all they�ve done, the hard work, the leadership and new standard they set for South Medford," said Wegner as she emerged from a tear-filled locker room. "It�s been an honor to coach them." The Panthers finished the season 16-10, while Lincoln (18-5) plays in today�s consolation quarterfinals against Crescent Valley, a 48-28 victor over Forest Grove. "I think we earned a lot of respect this season," Mueller said. "I know people will expect good things from us next year, and I hope we respond to that." SOUTH MEDFORD (56) � Perttu 10, Grant 15, Thomas 15, Mueller 6, Zenz 6, Wright 1, McHenry 3. Totals: 20-61 14-27 56. LINCOLN (67) � Shipley 0, Wax 5, Olson 3, Vincent 21, Nicolaisen 15, Byers 2, Rogers 0, Runkle 5, Brosseau 1, Montgomery 2, Shepro 7, Jones 6. Totals: 21-57 24-38 67. South Medford.......................................10 18 16 12 � 56 Lincoln...................................................11 15 17 24 � 67 3-point goals � South Medford 2-14 (Grant 2), Lincoln 1-7 (Runkle 1). Fouled out � Mueller, Zenz. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4483, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.