Tough quarterfinal loss to North Eugene

A year ago, the Corvallis High girls basketball team was overjoyed just to be in the OSAA 5A state basketball tournament at the Chiles Center.

So when the Spartans lost to Hermiston in the quartfinals, they were disappointed but still a bit excited to have a chance to finish fourth.

With nearly the entire team back this season and a No. 4 ranking, the Spartans had their sights set on challenging for a state title.

That dream ended on Thursday as the Spartans kept clawing back but could never overcome an early deficit and fell 40-35 to North Eugene.

"Yeah, it's really hard," senior McKenzie Redberg said. "Last year I didn't get to play really so this was my one opportunity to go out and win a state championship."

The Spartans, who saw their nine-game winning streak snapped, will now try to rebound and match last year's fourth-place finish. That quest begins at 10:30 a.m. against Hillsboro, a 58-46 loser to Ashland later Thursday.

A slow start proved to be the Spartans' downfall on Thursday. After scoring the first four points, the Spartans watched as North Eugene went on a 20-2 run to build a 20-6 lead with 5:05 left in the first half.

"The opening quarter hurt," CHS coach Joe Williamson said. "We just didnt have the defensive presence, that physical, take it to them (style). We let them post us up and go inside. Even when they missed we let them get on the boards."

Redberg dind't have an answer for the lack of defensive intensity early.

"There were open people everywhere and their posts scored buckets," she said. "It's not what I expected at all. I don't know what happened."

Still, the Spartans (21-4) managed to cut the deficit to 20-14 at the half as they were able to get out in transition late in the second quarter, keyed by their defense.

They got it to 20-19 on a basket by Kayla Laney early in the third, but that was as close as they would get despite having the ball and a chance to take the lead on at least four possessions.

The Spartans were just 14 of 38 from the floor and just 3 of 10 from the free-throw line for the game.

"It's just disappointing," Redberg said. "I know I missed a layup and I missed three free throws. If I would have made all those we would have at least been tied."

But it was Redberg's offense that kept the Spartans in the game. Redberg, who was injured in the quarterfinals a year ago, scored eight of her game-high 16 points in the third quarter and hit a three at the buzzer to keep CHS in the game, down 29-25.

"She just wanted it," Williamson said of Redberg. "It looked like she wanted to step up and hit big shots where everybody else was afraid to."

Added Redberg: "I didn't want to let my team down so I was going to do whatever I could to make sure we would get to the next stage and (was) hoping people would rally around but it didn't happen."

As tough as the loss was, Redberg said the Spartans must regroup and close out the season on a positive note.

"It's going to be really hard but we have to," she said. "We're not going out. We are not losing our game tomorrow."

North Eugene 40, Corvallis 35
NORTH EUGENE 13 7 9 11 -- 40
CORVALLIS 6 8 11 10 -- 35
North Eugene: MaKenzie Ficek 13, Huff 12, Virde 7, Ferrenburg 6, T. Ficek, Knight, Couts
Corvallis: McKenzie Redberg 16, Kayla Laney 8, Johnson 4, Gerner 4, Schrock 3, Kar. Laney, Seitz, Adams, W. Redberg