Bouncing back against Hillsboro

After being upset in the quarterfinals of the OSAA 5A girls basketball tournament by North Eugene on Thursday, McKenzie Redberg made a bold statement.

The Corvallis High senior said her team would not lose Friday when it met No. 3 Hillsboro in the consolation bracket.

Redberg scored 10 points, played solid defense on Hillsboro's Shayla Ball, helping to hold the state's second-leading scorer to 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting and got a lot of help from her teammates as Corvallis advanced to the fourth-place game with a convincing 68-37 rout at the Chile Center.

"I think we had our mind that there was no way we were going out losing two games," Redberg siad. "We just wanted to come out and play our game.

"We knew (Thursday) we didn't play our game and it was frustrating because it was the time we needed to show our game. (Friday) we played how we should have (Thursday).

No. 4 Corvallis (22-4) will face Summit at 9 a.m. Saturda with a chance to take home its second straight fourth-place trophy. The Storm knocked off Sherwood 45-27.

Redberg, who led Corvallis with 16 points in the 40-35 loss to North Eugene on Thursday, was one of four players in double figures on Friday with 10.

Gabe Johnson (18), Katie Schrock (13) and Karly Laney (10) also finished in double figures.

Johnson, who only scored four points in the loss to North Eugene on Thursday, was still feeling under the weather but a pep talk got her going.

"I talked to the coaches and they said it was all in my head," she said. "I just had to put that aside and play."

Hillsboro started well and led 17-14 after the first quarter. But Corvallis hung tough defensively and limited Hillsboro to 14 points the next two quarters to open a 48-31 lead.

Corvallis used a 13-1 run to close out the second quarter to take the lead at the half, then back-to-back 3s and a steal and short jumper by Johnson late in the third quarter broke it open.

Laney had seven of her 10 points in the 13-1 run that erased a 23-18 deficit and put Corvallis up 31-24 at the half.

Laney said it was a drive by Schrock just before that run that gave Corvallis the confidence it needed.

"I knew that they were tired when Katie came off that pick and got a wide open layup," she said. "Right then they were tired, and maybe they would come out in the second half ready to go a little bit, but they aren't going to stay with us."

Hillsboro did stay with Corvallis in the third quarter before the dam broke open late in the period.

Corvallis led 38-30 with 2:35 left when Schrock hit two 3s, the second hitting the front rim and dropping in from the baseline, and Johnson converted a short jumper after Corvallis stole the inbounds pass.

Just like that it was 46-30 with 1:28 left in the third and Hillsboro was never able to mount a comeback.

The biggest difference from Thursday to Friday was the work Corvallis did on the glass. Corvallis had just 21 total rebounds against North Eugene, but had 29 in the first half against Hillsboro. It ended with 54.

"We just came out with the mentality that this is our ball and this is our court, you're not going to touch it," Laney said. "Every time they shot the ball, every time we shot the ball, we needed to get the ball and so every rebound was ours. Not all of them but most of them."

That effort allowed the seniors to play one more game.

"The seniors, we were talking and saying that we don't want this to be our last game, we don't want to lose our last game here so we were all really determined and we were going to get a win," Johnson said.

So that moment late in the fourth quarter when they all came out of the game and got to watch the players who will be back next year get a chance to taste what it's like to play at the Chiles Center, well let's just say it was pretty darn sweet.

"It was just fun to watch because that's the team next year," Redberg said. "We're sad we're not going to be a part of it but it was nice they got to play in the tournament too and get that experience if they make it next year."

But before next year there is one more game. It's a chance to go 4-2 at the state tournament over the past two years and to finish with 44 wins.

Sure the pain from Thursday's loss is still lingering -- "It feels a lot better but still the loss (Thursday) is in the back of all of our minds and still thiniking only if we could have played like that -- but the Spartans showed the heart and resiliency needed to bring home another trophy.

Corvallis 68, Hillsboro 39
CORVALLIS 14 17 17 20 -- 68
HILLSBORO 17 7 7 8 -- 39
Corvallis: Gabe Johnson 18, Schrock 13, Kar. Laney 10, M. Redberg 10, Kay. Laney 4, Gerner 4, McGowan 4, Adams 2, Clark 2, W. Redberg 1, Hendrickson, Seitz.

Hillsboro: Shayla Ball 10, Cookson 8, Edwards 7, Christensen 6, Tollefson 6, Foekler 1, Lopez 1, Merrill, O'Connor, Pearson, Thorud