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Challenger girls lose opener PENDLETON � Candace Perlifine found her scoring touch when Santiam Christian needed it most as she helped send Cascade Christian to the consolation bracket of the Class 2A girls state basketball tournament. Perlifine drained two free throws in the waning seconds of regulation and then controlled the tempo of the overtime in leading Santiam Christian to a 61-59 overtime victory over the Challengers on Tuesday. "She came up big for them in the fourth quarter and in overtime," Cascade coach Loren King said of Perlifine, who scored a team-high 19 points. The nailbiter wasn�t secure for Santiam, however, until Kelly Clarke was knocked off her rhythm after stealing an inbounds pass and attempting a close-range shot with five seconds to play in overtime. "She got nailed before the buzzer but there was no call," said King. "I guess when you�re that close you�re going to have to make it no matter what. Still, it was a good ballgame and was hard-fought all the way through." Clarke finished with a game-high 21 points for the Challengers (21-6), who will face City Christian at 1:30 p.m. in today�s consolation round. City Christian lost 39-35 to Sherman in Tuesday�s opener, but should be more than ready for the Challengers today. Cascade upset then-No. 1 ranked and unbeaten City Christian to open last year�s state tournament. "I�m sure they�ll have revenge on their minds," said King. "They�re not going to look too kindly on us." City Christian faced Cascade Christian in a season opening tournament at Santiam Christian and won 57-34. In Tuesday�s first round game, Santiam Christian managed a 29-22 halftime lead before Cascade was able to fight back for a 40-39 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. In the overtime, Santiam converted 8 of 9 free throws and managed only one field goal, while the Challengers had four field goals but never made it to the charity stripe. CASCADE CHRISTIAN (59) � Clarke 21, R. Gettman 4, Brookins 7, Kelley 5, H. Gettman 8, Conley 7, Roos 2, Salamone 5, McCandless 0. Totals: 22 9-16 59. SANTIAM CHRISTIAN (61) � Perlifine 19, Weed 2, Juedeun 4, Lang 8, Harter 8, Arlyn 12, Young 8, Doyle 0, VanLoon 0, Skae 0. Totals: 23 15-22 61. Cascade Christian................................8 14 18 11 8 � 59 Santiam Christian...........................14 15 10 12 10 � 61 3-point goals � Cascade 4 (Kelley 1, H. Gettman 1, Clarke 2). Fouled out � Salamone. Boys REGIS 60, ST. MARY�S 55 � At Pendleton, St. Mary�s, the Southern Cascade League No. 2 entry, dropped its opener to the Tri River top seed. The Crusaders (18-6) fall into the consolation bracket and will try to stay alive in the double-elimination tournament at 11 a.m. today against Gold Beach, which lost its opener to Portland Christian 66-47. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.