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South girls finish busy week with win over Corvallis By Danny Penza Updated: Feb 06, 2022 07:31 PM A A 5 View all photos Entering the fourth and final game of their busy opening week of February, one could understand if the South Medford girls basketball team was simply running on fumes Sunday afternoon. But even feeling the obvious fatigue, the Panthers didn’t let it impact how they opened the proceedings. Led by big first-half performances from senior Sierra Logue and junior Donovyn Hunter, No. 4-ranked South Medford led wire-to-wire in a 65-37 win over Class 5A Corvallis at the Panthers’ gym. “We were obviously pretty excited and fueled by our wins earlier in the week,” said the UC Riverside-bound Logue. “We just knew we had to come out and take care of our business and the outcome of the game would be how it ended up. In the first half, we came out with that energy.” The Panthers (16-3) were originally scheduled to play the Knights (12-6) — who are ranked fourth in the latest 5A coaches poll — early in January, but the game was postponed due to COVID-19 issues in the Corvallis program. That meant it got rescheduled to Sunday, setting up an even busier finish to an already busy week for South, which over the last four games had just eight players available. Throw in the fact that South was coming off a 52-49 overtime win over Sheldon in Eugene to take sole possession of first place in the Southwest Conference less than 24 hours earlier, and you had a tired bunch of kids no matter their youthful ages. “It’s been a long, tough week,” said South head coach Tom Cole, whose team had played its previous six games all on the road before Sunday’s contest. “It happened quickly and we logged a lot of miles with quick turnarounds. It’s just been a lot.” South, playing in just its second home game of the 2022 calendar year, had the kind of start that certainly made its head coach happy. The Panthers opened the game on a 10-0 run, capped by Hunter’s coast-to-coast basket in transition. South held Corvallis scoreless for the first 3 ½ minutes, with the Knights — coming off a Friday night 60-47 loss to West Albany, ranked third in 5A, — scoring just six first-quarter points. South led by double digits for all but 20 seconds after taking its initial 10-0 lead, with Hunter’s jumper that rolled around nearly the entire cylinder of the basket and Sara Schmerbach’s coast-to-coast basket giving the Panthers a 22-6 advantage right before the end of the first quarter. South didn’t slow down from there, continuing the first-half surge behind the strong play of Hunter and Logue. The duo combined for 29 of the Panthers’ 46-first half points. Hunter scored 15 of her 17 points in the opening half, while Logue recorded all but three of her 17 points against Corvallis before halftime. “She’s a great player all the way around, but she’s amazing on defense,” said Logue of Hunter. “She gets a steal on defense and we have a fastbreak and the rhythm of our team is just so fluid and we really work together.” South opened the second quarter on a 13-5 run to start to pull away from Corvallis, with a Logue basket in the paint and Hunter’s transition layup making it 36-11. As the Knights’ offense sputtered, the Panthers were executing on both ends of the floor and getting out and running in transition, taking a 46-15 lead into the half. “We just knew that we had to put in this energy and start fast and it would take care of itself,” Logue said. South forced 28 turnovers and recorded 19 steals. Hunter finished with five of those steals, while Logue had five rebounds and a pair of steals. Tatum Schmerbach led the Panthers with 11 rebounds and added seven points. Of the eight players who Cole suited up Sunday, six of them scored at least six points. “I felt like they started off with the kind of tenacity on-ball and in some of the gaps that always make us more successful,” said Cole. “There were times in the Sheldon game that we weren’t playing that way, so it was good to feel that way today.” Corvallis, which outscored South 22-19 in the second half, got a team-high nine points from Holland Jensen. “I think we saw some things that I thought were improvements that we had talked about in some things we haven’t done well in some of our games,” said Cole, “so we got to see some of that in the first half. “In the second half, we saw some things that need to be revisited collectively.” South, which has now won six straight, returns to SWC play Friday night when it hosts Roseburg. Between now and then, it’s safe to say there may be a day off or two for the Panthers. And it’s not like they haven’t earned it. “I think we might get (Monday) off, so I’m really looking forward to that,” said Logue as she pumped her fist. “I’m ready for it.” CORVALLIS (37): Conklin 2, Prechel 6, Brasfield 7, Jensen 9, Hammer 3, Van DeRiet 6, Mackey 0, Bannister 0, Sullivan 4, Griffin 0. Totals: 15 6-13 37. SOUTH MEDFORD (65): Settle 2, Hunter 17, Dillard 6, S. Schmerbach 4, Logue 11, West 6, T. Schmerbach 7, Fealey 6. Totals: 29 7-14 65. Corvallis 6 9 13 9— 37 South Medford 24 22 13 6— 65 3-point goals — Corvallis 1 (Jensen 1). Reach reporter Danny Penza at 541-776-4469 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @penzatopaper. South Medford senior Sierra Logue shoots over Corvallis defenders during the first half of Sunday’s game. (Larry Stauth Jr. / For the Mail Tribune) South Medford junior Donovyn Hunter drives to the basket during the first half of Sunday’s game. (Larry Stauth Jr. / For the Mail Tribune) South Medford senior Sierra Logue goes up for a shot during the first half of Sunday’s game. (Larry Stauth Jr. / For the Mail Tribune) South Medford junior Donovyn Hunter goes up for a shot during the first half of Sunday’s game. (Larry Stauth Jr. / For the Mail Tribune) South Medford hesd coach Tom Cole talks to his team during a timeout in the first half of Sunday’s game. (Larry Stauth Jr. / For the Mail Tribune)