‘At the end of the day, it’s a basketball hoop and a basketball.’ South Medford keeps it simple vs. West Salem, rides defense to easy 6A quarterfinal win

“We believe defense wins games. Scoring is obviously important, but stopping the person and the other team from scoring is what helps us win games.”

Paul Valencia | Mar 9, 2023

By Paul Valencia | Photos by Naji Saker

It was a defensive clinic that helped create a stellar shooting night for the South Medford Panthers.

South Medford recorded 14 steals, created 19 turnovers and ended up shooting better than 50 percent Wednesday at the Chiles Center in a 65-35 victory over West Salem in the quarterfinals of the OSAA 6A girls basketball state tournament.

“We believe defense wins games. Scoring is obviously important, but stopping the person and the other team from scoring is what helps us win games,” said Donovyn Hunter, who scored 20 points for the Panthers. “Everyone focuses in on that.”

Hunter, a senior, and Taylor Young, a freshman, each had four steals. Young took advantage with her own personal layup drill, going 8 for 10 from the field for 16 points.

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This South Medford team is a mix of veterans who have been here before and youngsters making their first trip to the Chiles Center for the Elite Eight. The Panthers have six freshmen on their roster.

“Since there are enough of our older ones who have been here, they have taken our advice and they trust our words,” Hunter said.

“It’s a big stadium. At the end of the day, it’s a basketball hoop and a basketball. Just go out there and play the same thing we’ve always done. They did that. They came in and they weren’t scared, and they did what they needed to do.”

It looked a little scary for the Titans, though, when South Medford focused on its defense.

In the first quarter, Hunter got a steal, went the other way and converted a three-point play. (Hunter would get three old-school three-point plays in the game.) Young then got back-to-back layups after the South Medford defense forced turnovers on the press.

Just like that, seven points in a row with West Salem never getting past midcourt. That gave South Medford a nine-point lead. The Panthers pushed the lead to 10 after the first quarter, to 19 at halftime and to 28 by the end of the third quarter. Much of the fourth quarter was played with a running clock.

Hunter finished 8 for 15 from the field for her 20 points. She had five rebounds and three assists to go with her four steals. Sara Schmerbach had six assists and three steals. Tatum Schmerbach had a team-high seven rebounds.

Kim Ceron had two blocked shots and one of the highlights of the night for South Medford. She blocked a West Salem 3-point attempt, grabbed the rebound, took off and then scooped in a contested layup early in the third quarter.

“We always say survive and advance, treating every game like a championship,” Hunter said.

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This was “just” the quarterfinals, though. It was the No. 2 Panthers taking on the 10-seed, and it was West Salem’s first trip to the quarterfinals.

The competition will get tougher from here for South Medford, which improved to 26-2 with its 17th consecutive win. In fact, it just might feel like a championship atmosphere Friday when the Panthers take on No. 6 Barlow in a rematch from last year’s semifinals. Barlow got the best of South Medford that night.

“We’re just excited,” Hunter said of the opportunity to play the Bruins again.

But there was no bulletin board material from the wise senior leader.

“Once again, focus on what we can do instead of what the other team can,” Hunter said.

For the Titans, not exactly what they wanted for their first performance in the Chiles Center.

“We’ve got a game tomorrow. We’ve got to have a short-term memory,” West Salem coach Katie Singleton said, referring to the 10:45 a.m. consolation game Thursday against Tualatin.

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“We are definitely happy to be here, but we wanted to play better, obviously,” Singleton said. “It’s an experience. They’re a great team. We had a game plan that we didn’t play quite according to. But like I said, we play in the morning. Hopefully they can flush it. We’re a much better team than we showed tonight.”

South Medford’s defense has a way of doing that to a lot of good teams.