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GIRLS HOOPS: Panthers happy to be back home By Danny Penza Updated: Dec 20, 2022 09:45 PM A A 10 View all photos No. 4 South Medford cruises to win over West Linn in home opener The South Medford girls basketball team was happy to be, at long last, playing a game in their home gym Tuesday afternoon. It didn’t hurt that they got their star player back, too. Senior guard Donovyn Hunter scored 13 of her game-high 17 points before halftime and had five rebounds in her return to the starting lineup to lead fourth-ranked South Medford to a 57-21 victory over West Linn in the Panthers’ home opener. “It’s senior year, so you don’t want to miss out on many games,” said the Oregon State-bound Hunter, who missed Saturday’s win over Crescent Valley due to illness “I was definitely feeling the sickness so I’m glad I sat out, but I’m pretty glad to be back.” Hunter has been one of the many South players dealing with illness as it has run rampant through the program over the last week. For South head coach Tom Cole, his team’s two home games within a 24-hour span have been about getting healthy as much as anything else. The Panthers (7-1) play host to Cleveland at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. “We got Donovyn back, we got Kendall Fealey back for the first time since we went to Hawaii, but we lost Tatum (Schmerbach) to an ankle injury in a walk through,” said Cole. “It’s just about trying to figure out how to get a rhythm. I thought there were some good things today and some things that we need to shore up.” Being at home for a bit helps, too. “It’s nice to be home over Christmas break, have a couple of games and then go up to Portland (for the PIL Holiday Classic),” said freshman guard Taylor Young. “Portland’s not too far away compared to where we’ve traveled.” South (7-1) never trailed against a rebuilding West Linn squad that lost a much of its firepower from last season’s team that made the Class 6A state tournament. The Panthers opened the game on a 14-3 run, with Hunter, Young and sophomore Sara Schmerbach accounting for South’s first 12 points. The lead only grew from there. South pushed its advantage over 20 points with a 13-2 run that put the Panthers ahead 32-10 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half. Hunter accounted for nine of those points, including a 3-pointer from the left wing in transition following a steal from Kim Ceron and assist from Fealey. South limited West Linn (0-7) to just one second-quarter field goal and three points overall in the period. “There were some great things we did defensively which created some transition buckets for us,” said Cole. “When we’re playing well, that has always typically been our style. The negative side is that I think we lacked some discipline in that and a lot of fouls were committed. In close games, those can hurt and we experienced that over the last weekend a little bit when we were missing some kids and got into foul trouble.” As he has done this season, Cole utilized a substitution pattern that has seen sometimes as many as five players replaced at a time. On Tuesday, South’s line change had the wrinkle in that its second unit featured five of the six freshmen on this season’s roster. Young and fellow freshman Dyllyn Howell each finished with 10 points to join Hunter in double figures, while freshman post Mayen Akpan grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Sara Schmerbach added four steals and five assists while Ceron blocked four shots. Freshman Reese Jordan’s 13 points paced West Linn. “I think we’re doing good,” Young said in regard to how South’s freshmen are adjusting to life at the varsity level. “I think we can work on some things, but overall for being a bunch of freshmen, I think we’re doing pretty good.” Hunter can certainly see improvement from the youngsters, too. “They’ve come a long way,” she said. “Obviously it’s nerve-wracking because it’s their first home game today, but they’re all doing good. I think it’s a good thing they all have each other because if one makes a mistake they have a whole little clan to help them and the whole team to support them. I love watching them. They work hard and they put their best foot forward.” South plays the second half of its two-game homestand against a Cleveland team that has already faced top-5 teams in top-ranked Clackamas and No. 5 Barlow. “They’re coming in with a good record, they’ve played some quality opponents and they’ve got some good guards,” said Cole. “I think it will be a different kind of game, and it’s always good to be home.” WEST LINN (21): Daniels 0, Arnold 0, Moore 1, Haines 0, A. Jordan 0, Hess 0, R. Jordan 13, Maxwell 0, Batch 7. Totals: 7 5-14 21. SOUTH MEDFORD (57): Richardson 2, Taulani 2, Hunter 17, Young 10, S. Schmerbach 4, Ceron 2, Barlow 0, Howell 10, Akpan 4, Fealey 6. Totals: 25 5-8 57. West Linn8355— 21 South Medford19151211— 57 3-point goals — West Linn 2 (R. Jordan 1, Batch 1), South Medford 2 (Hunter 1, Howell 1). JV result — South Medford won. CLEVELAND 41, NORTH MEDFORD 33: North Medford’s strong start took a hit once point guard Olivia Boger ran into early foul trouble and Cleveland took advantage at North Medford High School. Sophomores Boger and Caileigh Raines each scored 13 points for the Black Tornado (3-4). Raines also posted 12 rebounds and two blocks while Boger grabbed eight rebounds. Boger picked up her third foul in the first quarter and missed long stretches of the middle quarters before fouling out in the fourth. Cleveland improved to 2-3 with the win. CLEVELAND (41): Huss 12, Breger 11, K. Waiwaiole 10, M. Waiwaiole 1, Kelly 1, Galm 1, Bregoli 1, Gardner 4, Cole 0, Jacmotte-Parks 0. Totals: 9-48 19-27 41. NORTH MEDFORD (33): Raines 13, Boger 13, Patel 4, Hamlin 2, Harris 1, Lane 0, West 0, Taylor 0, Heese. Totals: 14-39 4-13 33. Cleveland 11 10 10 10— 41 North Medford 12 8 3 10— 33 3-point goals — Cleveland 4 (K. Waiwaiole 1, Breger 1, Gardner 1, Huss 1), North Medford 1 (Patel 1). Fouled out — Boger. JV result — Cleveland won. EAGLE POINT 36, ROSEBURG 22: At Eagle Point, senior Morgan Dole led all scorers with 16 points and Eagle Point’s defense set the tone in the early stages. Dole added three rebounds and two steals for the Eagles (5-1), who also received 11 points and nine boards from Thianna Deng-Gomes. The Eagles limited Roseburg (4-3) to just two points in the first quarter with great team defense, specifically from sophomore Kadence Lindstrom and junior Rikki Baldwin, who came up with three steals. The Indians began the third quarter on a 7-2 run but it was as close as they would get. ROSEBURG (22): Bowman 2, Morello 3, Muntifering 3, Carpenter 4, Mohlsick 1, Murphy 9, Brooksby 0, A. Smith 0. Totals: 8 3-10 22. EAGLE POINT (36): Dole 16, Garlitz 2, Lindstrom 2, Ledbetter 4, Cabrera 1, Deng-Gomez 11, Schauffler 0, A. Baldwin 0, R. Baldwin 0. Totals: 15 4-5 36. Roseburg 2 6 7 7— 22 Eagle Point 12 12 6 6— 36 3-point goals — Roseburg 3 (Morello 1, Murphy 2), Eagle Point 2 (Dole 2). JV result — Roseburg won. South Medford's Donovyn Hunter drives to the hoop against West Linn during the 3rd quarter in Medford Tuesday. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune] South Medford's Taylor Young steals the ball against West Linn during the 1st quarter in Medford Tuesday. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune] South Medford's Elise Richardson shoots for two points against West Linn during the 3rd quarter in Medford Tuesday. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune] South Medford's Sara Schmerbach drives to the hoop against West Linn during the 1st quarter in Medford Tuesday. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune] South Medford's Donovyn Hunter shoots against West Linn during the 1st quarter in Medford Tuesday. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune] South Medford's Kendall Fealey steals the ball against West Linn during the 3rd quarter in Medford Tuesday. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune] South Medford's Kim Ceron steals the ball against West Linn during the 3rd quarter in Medford Tuesday. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune] South Medford's Kim Ceron shoots against West Linn during the 1st quarter in Medford Tuesday. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune] South Medford's Kendall Fealey drives to the hoop against West Linn during the 3rd quarter in Medford Tuesday. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune] South Medford's Kim Ceron drives to the hoop against West Linn during the 2nd quarter in Medford Tuesday. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune]