Willamette breaks ‘curse,’ holds off Jefferson to reach Oregon 6A girls basketball semifinals
The curse is over for the Willamette Wolverines.
That’s what they called it, anyway.
They are accustomed to going to the elite eight in state tournaments, but now they are heading the right way on the bracket.
No. 5 Willamette used a 19-0 run in the first half to take command, then held off a late rally from No. 4 Jefferson, beating the Democrats 53-47 on Thursday at the University of Portland's Chiles Center.
The victory sends the Wolverines to the championship semifinals of the OSAA 6A girls basketball state tournament. Willamette (21-8) will take on No. 1 South Medford at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
A year ago, the Wolverines lost in the quarterfinals before winning two games to claim fourth place in the 6A tournament. In 2022, the Wolverines did the same thing at the 5A tournament.
“We’re super excited we don’t have to wake up and play at 9 a.m.,” said Brynn Smith, who led Willamette with 21 points.
“It means so much,” added Isabella Harms, who had 20 points. “It was one of our main goals. ‘OK, we gotta break the curse. We can’t lose (in the quarterfinals) again.’ I think it’s about working hard every day in practice and knowing we can do it.”
They had to really believe after their impressive first-half performance.
Jefferson took a 15-12 lead late in the first quarter. The Democrats would not score again until 12 seconds remained in the second quarter. Willamette’s 19-0 run gave the Wolverines a 16-point lead.
“You can definitely feel the energy,” Harms said of being on the court when everything was going Willamette’s way. “You don’t know the numbers. I just knew we were winning and playing well. But that’s good to hear. A 19-0 run is pretty good.”
A three-point play by Harms followed by eight consecutive points from Smith completed the 19-0 run.
Smith said a coach told her about the streak during halftime.
“It was awesome. To work off that energy was really special,” she said.
The Wolverines also understood that the game was not over at halftime.
“We knew they were going to come out strong. We just had to keep our composure,” Harms said. “Just keep doing what we were doing.”
Sure enough, Jefferson (24-3) slowly chipped away.
The Democrats, who were down 18 early in the third quarter, finished the period trailing by 11. They had hope.
A basket by Leila Nunez, off an assist from Abrianna Lawrence, made it a nine-point game early in the fourth quarter.
Jefferson was in position to make a move.
The Democrats got the deficit to five on another basket by Nunez — after Jefferson got two offensive rebounds to continue the possession — with three minutes to play.
Harms connected on a 3-pointer after Smith’s drive to the lane and perfect pass to give Willamette an eight-point advantage again.
Still, Jefferson wasn’t done. Makenzee Lawrence scored, and on the next possession, it was Mylee Lawrence off an assist from Abrianna Lawrence to make it 51-47 with 1:55 remaining.
That would be the last of the scoring for Jefferson, though. The Democrats never had the ball down the stretch trailing by three or fewer.
“We just had to stick to our game plan,” Smith said of withstanding that Jefferson rush.
Nunez, who was injured earlier in the postseason, came off the bench to lead Jefferson with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting. She had six rebounds. Makenzee Lawrence added 10 points. Abrianna Lawrence had nine points, 14 rebounds, and five assists.
“I’m definitely proud of our fight,” Nunez said. “I’m proud of my teammates, I'm proud of my coaches. We all fought hard.”
This quarterfinal matchup featured two teams dominated by juniors.
Jefferson will play No. 8 Southridge in the consolation bracket Friday morning. The winner will play for a trophy Saturday. The Democrats are thinking about the future, too.
“We’re a family. We’re a community. And our community is building us to become better,” Nunez said. “Our coaching staff is building us to become better. We’re going to build an even better program and win a championship.”
Willamette starts five juniors.
Smith finished with five rebounds and three assists to go with her 21 points. Harms had a team-high seven rebounds. Harper Wagner had nine points and four rebounds. Victoria Nguyen had six rebounds and five assists.
At Willamette, there is no need to think about the future. It is all about the present, even with a young team.
“We’re focused on this year right now,” Harms said.
Willamette is, after all, in the final four.
“It means everything to me,” Smith said. “These girls are my family. I’ve been playing with them forever. It’s something we’ve wanted for so long.”
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Photos by Naji Saker
