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Perttu leads South girls to state Mail Tribune / Alex Szlachtianshyn South Medford's Emily Perttu (11) drives on Glencoe's Mari Lyn Petrick (21) Perttu scored a school-record 32 points. By Greg Stiles The South Medford Panthers couldn�t have picked a better time to break two school scoring records. Emily Perttu poured in a single-game record 32 points Saturday night and South Medford took advantage of Glencoe�s penchant to run as the Panthers secured their first trip to the Class 4A state tournament since 1995 with an 83-74 victory. The point total is a single-game team mark as well. "This is huge," Perttu said. "We�ve been working for this since we were in Y-ball. It�s been our goal to go to the state tournament for a long time." The Southern Oregon Conference runner-up trailed for more than three quarters before overhauling the Metro League�s No. 3 team. But Perttu had plenty of help as Whitney Grant popped in 22 points, nailing 14 of 18 fee throws, and Thomas added 15 points and 13 rebounds. The Panthers (16-8) join SOC champion Crater and third-place Ashland in the tournament as they await today�s seeding meeting to find out who and when they play in the opening round at the Chiles Center at the University of Portland. It�s the first time since 1984 the SOC has placed three teams in the tournament. Then, Klamath Union, Mazama and Roseburg made it. Glencoe wound up the season 20-6. "We told ourselves that if we were going to make it to the Chiles Center," said Thomas, "we�d have to step up and play like we know we can." South surged ahead early in the fourth quarter with a 19-6 run, then put it away by converting 20 of 24 free throws in the fourth quarter. The Panthers didn�t take the lead until Perttu swept into the lane from the left side to make it 62-61 with six minutes to play All of a sudden, the Panthers were in their comfort zone. "Our goal was to keep it close going into the fourth quarter," South Medford coach Andrea Wegner said. "We never let them go up 10 points. We�re a good shooting team and have clutch foul shooters. I was confident in them." Glencoe reeled off eight straight points to take a 13-7 lead to close the first quarter. The Crimson Tide�s high-water mark of the first half came when Pam Thornborrow made a free throw after a steal to make it 27-20 with 3:31 left in the second quarter. But the Panthers demonstrated what was coming when they outscored the Tide 16-9 the rest of the half. Thomas� 12-foot jumper made it 36-35 at the break. Heather Arns stoked Glencoe�s fire with 10 of her 14 points in the third period as the Tide pushed its advantage to 58-54 after three quarters. South Medford used a variety of players � some who saw significantly more junior varsity than varsity action during the regular season � to defend Glencoe�s rugged 5-foot-11 sophomore post, L�Trece Prewitt, who scored 20 points. But Prewitt drew her fourth personal foul five seconds into the last period and scored just four points in the final eight minutes. It was poor timing for the Tide as Perttu scored seven and Thomas added six more in the pivotal five-minute stretch that saw South build a nine-point advantage. Grant capped the run with two free throws, making it 73-64. "The kids picked up the defense in the fourth quarter and started boxing out well," Wegner said. "Kellie Thomas got real active and Lindsey (McHenry) did a good job in there, too." The Tide had no choice but to foul and the Panthers obliged by finishing 31 of 42 at the line. "When you split double teams, you�re going to shoot a lot of free throws," Glencoe coach Mike Melin said. "They came through when they were supposed to." Melin could only imagine what might have been had the Tide extended its lead three or four more points. "In our (pressing, running) style of play, we�ve been able to do that," Melin said. "When we get teams down by 10 points, we�ve been pretty successful. But the South kids were in great shape." Perttu pumped in 11 of 21 field goal attempts, including 2 of 2 from behind the 3-point arc, and downed all eight of her free throws. "She�s a good athlete and there wasn�t a lot we could do," Glencoe senior Mari Lyn Petrick said. "We were trying to step in front of her a couple of times, but that didn�t work either." Perttu broke the record of Lynn Wooton, who scored 30 points against Eagle Point last year. "I didn�t know until Karla (Zenz) came up to me after the game," Perttu said. "I thought I had maybe 20 points. I was happy, but shocked." The Tide was able to cut off her slashing moves to the basket early, but not when the game was on the line. "I think I did a better job of picking and choosing my drives," Perttu said. "I just had to realize when it was open." The Panthers� 83 points easily surpassed their effort on Jan. 2, 1999, when South defeated Mazama, 78-44. "We knew what we were up against," said Glencoe senior Petrick. "They have some big girls and they were ready for us. GLENCOE (74) � Mellum 4, Arns 14, Thornborrow 14, Petrick 6, Deplanche 0, Schmidt 16, Ainge 0, Prewitt 20. Totals: 27-64 18-36 74 SOUTH MEDFORD (83) � Perttu 32, Wright 4, Grant 22, Hilgendorf 1, McHenry 0, Thomas 15, Brennan 3, Beth Mueller 6, Zenz 0. Totals: 25-53 31-42. Glencoe...................................................13 23 22 16 � 74 South Medford.........................................7 28 19 29 � 83 3-point goals � Glencoe 2-12 (Thornborrow 1, Schidit 1). South Medford 2-10 (Perttu 2). Fouled out � Arns, Thornborrow, Schmidt, Mueller, Zenz. Technical foul � Glencoe (delay of game). 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.