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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, April 24, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend February 27, 2005 Tornado finds a way to state tournament By KEVIN GOFF Mail Tribune Neither North Medford or Lake Oswego could find an offensive rhythm in Saturday’s whistle-filled, third-round Class 4A girls state-playoff basketball game. But North found a tempo to its liking on the defensive end and, because of it, is off to dance another day amongst the state’s elite. The ninth-ranked Black Tornado made 29 of 48 attempts from the free-throw line and held the seventh-ranked Lakers to seven field goals in a 47-36 triumph at the North Medford gym. Advertisement The Tornado players sprinted to center court as the final buzzer sounded to celebrate North’s first trip to the state tournament in seven years. "This feels awesome," said Tornado senior post Michelle Westermann, who is one of four seniors that came within one game of the tournament last season. "Everyone stepped up for us. ... Everyone played a big part. "It makes it even better being the last home game for the seniors and all." Southern Oregon Conference co-champion North Medford (24-3), which finished fourth at state in 1998, advances to the eight-team tournament March 3-5. The Tornado tips off against eighth-ranked Tualatin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the opening round at the Chiles Center on the University of Portland campus. North didn’t convert a field goal in the fourth quarter but connected on 24-for-38 from the foul line to maintain a double-digit lead for most of the final eight minutes. The two teams combined for 50 fouls — Lake Oswego committed 31 — and 73 free-throw attempts. The Lakers had just two field goals heading into the final three minutes of the fourth quarter. "Unbelievable," said third-year coach Tim Karrick. "What a great deal for the seniors. "We’ve had our ups and downs this year but we’ve managed to play our best defense at the end of the season." Senior guard Caitlin Seeley, who shared the majority of the ball-handling duties with freshman point guard Whitney Hodnett, led a relentless Tornado defensive attack. Seeley helped North pester Lake Oswego into 16 turnovers. "I thought we played incredible," said Seeley, who banged her knee late in the final minute but should be ready for Thursday’s game. "Our goal this whole season was to make it to Portland. "We’ve had so many people come in and play well. Megan (Ross), Whitney. ... Everyone has contributed." The Tornado, a 47-33 winner over Glencoe in a second-round game Wednesday, struggled again to get its fastbreak offense going without Kailey Bostwick. The senior point guard is out for the remainder of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee last Saturday. Bostwick will have surgery on Wednesday and meet her team at the state tournament. "This is the best feeling," said Bostwick. "The girls came together and stepped it up so much. I’m just really excited to be a part of this." Lake Oswego (20-6), the third seed from the Three Rivers League, also had injury issues. Sophomore wing Margaret Johnson, the team’s leading scorer, missed Saturday’s contest after spraining her ankle in practice on Friday. The Lakers, though, still had plenty of offensive ammo take the floor against North Medford. Yet the Tornado was focused and ready from the opening tip. North forced four turnovers in the first two minutes and took a 6-4 lead — one it would never relinquish — on a Ross jumper midway through the opening quarter. Another Ross bucket, two of her team-high 10 points, and a Lauren Berger free throw pushed the advantage to 15-7 at the 3-minute mark in the second stanza. Hodnett sank another foul shot and senior post Mellisa Eastwold buried a short jumper to put North ahead 18-9 at the intermission. Lake Oswego was 3-for-5 from the foul line for its only points of the quarter. "We had it set in our hearts that we wanted to win this," said Eastwold, who finished with nine points and a team-high eight rebounds. "We were pretty excited to get off to a good start." The Lakers’ zone defense caused some difficulty in the third quarter. Senior post Melissa Richardson took advantage with three free throws and Christine Lee closed the period with a layin to trim the deficit to 23-16 entering the fourth quarter. "I thought the zone stagnated (North)," said first-year Laker coach Velaida Harris, whose losses this season have all come against ranked opponents. "But you can’t win when you don’t put the ball in the hole." Karrick predicts the offense will come as the team adjusts to life without Bostwick. But, he admits, defense is what pushed North to the next level. "The defense is what wins games in the playoffs," Karrick said. "With all these teams being so equal, it comes down to the little things. "Tonight, our defense made the real difference. That’s what we’ve been doing well. Hopefully we can keep at it and see what we can do up north." LAKE OSWEGO (36) — Brown 4, Lomax 0, Cleary 0, Shoquist 3, Wical 5, Atkins 5, Barram 0, Barton 4, Peterson 4, Lee 2, Hatch 2, Richardson 7. Totals: 7 20-25 36. NORTH MEDFORD (47) — Schultz 2, Berger 1, Westermann 9, Eastwold 9, Ross 10, Grimland 0, Seeley 8, Preston 0, Hodnett 7, Heim 1. Totals: 9 29-48 47. Lake Oswego..................................6 3 7 20 — 36 North Medford..............................12 6 5 24 — 47 3-point goals — Lake Oswego 2 (Atkins 1, Wical 1)). Fouled out — Brown, Hatch, Shoquist. Reach reporter Kevin Goff at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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