‘Everyone on the team worked together.’ Teamwork has Barlow on the brink of program history after Bruins knock off No. 2 Jesuit in 6A girls basketball quarterfinal
By Paul Valencia | Photos by Taylor Balkom
There were 38 seconds left on the clock when the ball went out of bounds.
The horn buzzed.
Substitutes were waiting to come in the game.
Five of them.
For the five Barlow starters.
The Bruins got to start celebrating a little early Thursday night. A big lead in the state quarterfinals justified that emotion.
“It’s huge for our program,” senior Lindsay Barden said. “Our girls program has not been here in — I don’t even know how many years. It’s been so long. To be able to represent our school and bring a team here is so big to all of us.”
The No. 7-seed Bruins are going to the state semifinals for the first time since 1993 after rolling past No. 2 Jesuit. The Bruins, who trailed by one at the half, pulled away for a 52-36 victory at the Chiles Center in a quarterfinal of the 2022 OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union Class 6A Girls Basketball Tournament.
Barden led a balanced attack with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting, and the 5-foot-5 guard also pulled down five rebounds. Annie Koenig added 15 points and six rebounds, and Kennedie Shuler had 11 points.
Barlow (24-3) will take on No. 3 South Medford in a semifinal matchup at 8:15 p.m. Friday.
“We really focused up for this game to be the best team we could be for one game,” Barden said. “We’re the 7-seed, but we can still go far.”
To continue in the championship bracket, the Bruins had to get past the Crusaders. The teams were tied three times in the first half and there were three lead changes, with Jesuit taking a one-point advantage at the break.
The fourth lead change came early in the second half. An aggressive Shuler scored first for the Bruins.
It would be the last lead change of the game because the rest of the quarter, the rest of the game … all Barlow.
“We just wanted to work better as a team,” Koenig said of the halftime adjustments. “We know we’re capable of that, and we wanted to prove it. … We just realized, ‘We’re at the Chiles Center. You can’t have any bad possessions.’ Everyone on the team worked together.”
Koenig had two blocked shots in the game and was instrumental in Barlow’s overall defensive plan, which held Jesuit to 16 points in the second half.
“We had lots of energy,” Koenig said. “Everyone on our team brought out the energy after halftime, and we did a great job.”
Barlow scored the first nine points of the second half. Barden connected on back-to-back 3-pointers, leading to a Jesuit timeout.
“It was really just a momentum change,” Barden said. “We were changing our offense to the way we needed to be doing it, and that just brought us everything.”
Team first, but it also was a special moment for the individual.
“It was just nice to have them fall,” Barden said of her shots. “Sometimes they fall, sometimes they don’t. Tonight they did, and it was big.”
Jesuit’s Avery Edwards ended Barlow’s 9-0 run with a 3-pointer of her own.
The Bruins, though, went on another 9-0 run to take a 14-point lead.
And at the end of the quarter, Olivia Payne had an unlikely three-point play. Seemingly trapped by the Jesuit defense, trying to find someone to pass the ball to, Payne realized she still had her dribble, then went around the defense and into the paint. Her basket, plus the free throw, made it a 12-point game going to the fourth quarter.
Jesuit never got any closer in the final eight minutes.
“This isn’t solitaire. You want to look at yourself a lot. But you’ve got to start by giving Barlow credit,” Jesuit coach Jason Lowery said. “They came to play. They defended well. They pressured us. They got downhill. They made shots. They did a great job.”
As far as his team, Lowery said the Crusaders still have a lot to work for this season, and they should be optimistic about the future.
“We’re still young. Use this experience to hopefully help us the next time we get into the winner’s round,” Lowery said. “We also told them, ‘Let’s play two more games.’”
Jesuit will take on Benson in a consolation game at 10:45 a.m. Friday. The winner will play for fourth place Saturday.
“I’m proud of my team. I love my team,” Lowery said. “That was my message.”
Emma Sixta led Jesuit with 15 points Thursday. Edwards added 13 points.
Barlow will look to make program history Friday night. The Bruins have never made it to the state championship game.
The Bruins are also proud to represent the Mt. Hood Conference. They joined Clackamas from the conference in the final four.
“We have two strong teams, two teams who have been working hard for years to build a program,” Barden said.
