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Sutherlin's Brooklyn Norman drives on Taylor Munson of Molalla during Friday's Class 4A playoff game.
SUTHERLIN — With Brooklyn Norman on fire from beyond the arc, the seventh-ranked Sutherlin High girls basketball team appeared to be in control against Molalla Friday night, owning a 12-point advantage near the end of the third quarter.
But the No. 9 Indians staged a furious rally, scoring 13 unanswered points to earn their first lead of the game at 40-39 with 3:24 left in regulation and put the Bulldogs' season in doubt.
Sutherlin, though, showed its toughness with some big plays down the stretch and escaped with a 46-44 win in a Class 4A second-round playoff game at the 'Dawg Pound.
The victory sends the Bulldogs (21-4) to the state tournament for the fourth straight year. Sutherlin, the Far West League champion, will play No. 2 Marist (17-8), the second seed from the Sky-Em, at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday in a quarterfinal game at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis.
Marist won at No. 4 Yamhill-Carlton, 46-42, Friday. Eighth-ranked North Bend, the Far West's second seed, also advanced to the final eight with a 53-42 victory over Astoria.
Every good team needs its seniors to rise to the occasion in big games and that's exactly what Norman, a 5-foot-7 senior guard and lone returning starter from last year, did for the Bulldogs with a state tournament berth on the line.
The first-team all-league selection finished with 27 points, hitting a career-high seven 3-point field goals. Norman only missed one 3-point attempt. She gave Sutherlin the lead for good with 2:58 remaining, scoring inside to make it 41-40, and converted both ends of a one-and-one at the line with 32 seconds to go for a 46-42 advantage.
“A lot of people didn't think we'd make it this far, so it's nice to prove them wrong,” Norman said afterwards among the celebration. “I'm overwhelmed, excited. I knew in my heart we were going to go (to the state tournament) ... I knew the girls wanted it as much as I did.”
“It feels great we made it back (to the tournament) this year,” added Sutherlin senior post Randi Kostner, who contributed eight points and five rebounds. “I'm relieved because we blew such a big lead. We lost our composure and panicked a little bit (in the fourth quarter), but the seniors needed to step up and it worked out.”
Norman had 14 points and Kostner six to stake the Bulldogs to a 26-21 halftime lead. Norman continued her onslaught from the outside in the third quarter with three 3-pointers, the last trey giving Sutherlin a 39-27 cushion with 3:48 left.
“I felt good ... I don't think I've had a good game like this,” Norman said. “I have a shooter's mentality. If they're not going to shut me down, I'm going to keep shooting. My teammates trust me and threw me the ball.”
“She's the best — Brook saves us in all clutch circumstances,” Kostner said. “She plays her best when we need her to.”
“I'm really proud of Brook,” said Sutherlin coach Josh Grotting. “For being a leader, for being everything for us. She has the green light (from 3-point range). This is the first game in a long time she's had that many looks and if she's open, you let you shoot.”
Molalla (15-8), the second seed from the Capital Conference, had an opportunity to tie or win it at the end.
After Norman's free throws put the Bulldogs up by four, Teri Gilbert scored on a putback to make it 46-44 with :19 on the clock. Kostner was fouled by Taylor Munson with :11 remaining, but missed the front end of the one-and-one and the Indians rebounded.
With Molalla not in the bonus at the line yet, Kostner committed a foul with :06 left. Following a timeout, the Indians attempted to set up a play for Emily Burch but she was unable to get a shot off while being hounded by Danielle Hults and the rest of the Bulldogs.
Burch, a first-team all-conference guard, scored 11 of her team-high 15 points in the fourth period to singlehandedly bring the Indians back. Munson finished with nine points and Gilbert eight for Molalla.
“We didn't run our press-break real effectively and everyone tightened up (in the fourth quarter),” Grotting said. “We got stagnant on offense. You can tell she's (Burch) a great competitor. She scared us to death, but Dani did a great job on her.”
“We were down. Their screens were getting us and we weren't helping out each other,” Hults said.
The Bulldogs made 17 turnovers in the contest, while Molalla had 13.
“I don't know how many times I told my team, ‘don't let No. 14 (Norman) shoot,'” said Molalla coach Shawna Sipp. “We had moments where we forget where she was and Sutherlin exposed us. But our depth as a team allowed us to come back. Emily Burch is the most stoic athlete I've ever met. She's what drives our team ... the one that balances us and gets us through.”
Mikayla Mendenhall had seven points and a team-high six rebounds, while freshman Lainey Corbett chipped in four points and five rebounds for the Bulldogs. Mendenhall delivered one of the biggest plays of the game, rebounding her own miss and scoring on the putback while being fouled with 2:34 to go in the contest. She added the free throw to put Sutherlin up 44-40.
“It's too bad somebody had to lose this game, but I'm really happy for our girls,” Grotting said. “Nobody gave us a chance to get back there (to the tournament), but there's been a lot of hard work on their part. They're a good group of kids.”
Sutherlin will now focus its attention on Marist, which handed the Bulldogs a 53-30 loss at the Seaside Holiday Classic on Dec. 17. The Spartans are on a nine-game winning streak.
“It's kind of a shocker (making it to the tournament),” Hults said. “We don't have big players (like last year), but we have speed and we're physical. We know how to play together.”
MOLALLA (44) — Emily Burch 15, Gibbons 5, S. Palmer, R. Palmer 2, Gilbert 8, Munson 9, Brown, Thomas 4, Farner 1. Totals 17 8-10 44.
SUTHERLIN (46) — Brooklyn Norman 27, D. Hults, Mendenhall 7, Corbett 4, Freeman, Chamberlain, Kostner 8. Totals 18 3-4 46.
Molalla 9 12 8 15 — 44
Sutherlin 16 10 13 7 — 46
3-Point Shots — Mol. 2 (Munson, Gibbons), Suth. 7 (Norman). Total Fouls — Mol. 13, Suth. 8. Rebounds — Suth. 22 (Mendenhall 6).
But the No. 9 Indians staged a furious rally, scoring 13 unanswered points to earn their first lead of the game at 40-39 with 3:24 left in regulation and put the Bulldogs' season in doubt.
Sutherlin, though, showed its toughness with some big plays down the stretch and escaped with a 46-44 win in a Class 4A second-round playoff game at the 'Dawg Pound.
The victory sends the Bulldogs (21-4) to the state tournament for the fourth straight year. Sutherlin, the Far West League champion, will play No. 2 Marist (17-8), the second seed from the Sky-Em, at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday in a quarterfinal game at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis.
Marist won at No. 4 Yamhill-Carlton, 46-42, Friday. Eighth-ranked North Bend, the Far West's second seed, also advanced to the final eight with a 53-42 victory over Astoria.
Every good team needs its seniors to rise to the occasion in big games and that's exactly what Norman, a 5-foot-7 senior guard and lone returning starter from last year, did for the Bulldogs with a state tournament berth on the line.
The first-team all-league selection finished with 27 points, hitting a career-high seven 3-point field goals. Norman only missed one 3-point attempt. She gave Sutherlin the lead for good with 2:58 remaining, scoring inside to make it 41-40, and converted both ends of a one-and-one at the line with 32 seconds to go for a 46-42 advantage.
“A lot of people didn't think we'd make it this far, so it's nice to prove them wrong,” Norman said afterwards among the celebration. “I'm overwhelmed, excited. I knew in my heart we were going to go (to the state tournament) ... I knew the girls wanted it as much as I did.”
“It feels great we made it back (to the tournament) this year,” added Sutherlin senior post Randi Kostner, who contributed eight points and five rebounds. “I'm relieved because we blew such a big lead. We lost our composure and panicked a little bit (in the fourth quarter), but the seniors needed to step up and it worked out.”
Norman had 14 points and Kostner six to stake the Bulldogs to a 26-21 halftime lead. Norman continued her onslaught from the outside in the third quarter with three 3-pointers, the last trey giving Sutherlin a 39-27 cushion with 3:48 left.
“I felt good ... I don't think I've had a good game like this,” Norman said. “I have a shooter's mentality. If they're not going to shut me down, I'm going to keep shooting. My teammates trust me and threw me the ball.”
“She's the best — Brook saves us in all clutch circumstances,” Kostner said. “She plays her best when we need her to.”
“I'm really proud of Brook,” said Sutherlin coach Josh Grotting. “For being a leader, for being everything for us. She has the green light (from 3-point range). This is the first game in a long time she's had that many looks and if she's open, you let you shoot.”
Molalla (15-8), the second seed from the Capital Conference, had an opportunity to tie or win it at the end.
After Norman's free throws put the Bulldogs up by four, Teri Gilbert scored on a putback to make it 46-44 with :19 on the clock. Kostner was fouled by Taylor Munson with :11 remaining, but missed the front end of the one-and-one and the Indians rebounded.
With Molalla not in the bonus at the line yet, Kostner committed a foul with :06 left. Following a timeout, the Indians attempted to set up a play for Emily Burch but she was unable to get a shot off while being hounded by Danielle Hults and the rest of the Bulldogs.
Burch, a first-team all-conference guard, scored 11 of her team-high 15 points in the fourth period to singlehandedly bring the Indians back. Munson finished with nine points and Gilbert eight for Molalla.
“We didn't run our press-break real effectively and everyone tightened up (in the fourth quarter),” Grotting said. “We got stagnant on offense. You can tell she's (Burch) a great competitor. She scared us to death, but Dani did a great job on her.”
“We were down. Their screens were getting us and we weren't helping out each other,” Hults said.
The Bulldogs made 17 turnovers in the contest, while Molalla had 13.
“I don't know how many times I told my team, ‘don't let No. 14 (Norman) shoot,'” said Molalla coach Shawna Sipp. “We had moments where we forget where she was and Sutherlin exposed us. But our depth as a team allowed us to come back. Emily Burch is the most stoic athlete I've ever met. She's what drives our team ... the one that balances us and gets us through.”
Mikayla Mendenhall had seven points and a team-high six rebounds, while freshman Lainey Corbett chipped in four points and five rebounds for the Bulldogs. Mendenhall delivered one of the biggest plays of the game, rebounding her own miss and scoring on the putback while being fouled with 2:34 to go in the contest. She added the free throw to put Sutherlin up 44-40.
“It's too bad somebody had to lose this game, but I'm really happy for our girls,” Grotting said. “Nobody gave us a chance to get back there (to the tournament), but there's been a lot of hard work on their part. They're a good group of kids.”
Sutherlin will now focus its attention on Marist, which handed the Bulldogs a 53-30 loss at the Seaside Holiday Classic on Dec. 17. The Spartans are on a nine-game winning streak.
“It's kind of a shocker (making it to the tournament),” Hults said. “We don't have big players (like last year), but we have speed and we're physical. We know how to play together.”
MOLALLA (44) — Emily Burch 15, Gibbons 5, S. Palmer, R. Palmer 2, Gilbert 8, Munson 9, Brown, Thomas 4, Farner 1. Totals 17 8-10 44.
SUTHERLIN (46) — Brooklyn Norman 27, D. Hults, Mendenhall 7, Corbett 4, Freeman, Chamberlain, Kostner 8. Totals 18 3-4 46.
Molalla 9 12 8 15 — 44
Sutherlin 16 10 13 7 — 46
3-Point Shots — Mol. 2 (Munson, Gibbons), Suth. 7 (Norman). Total Fouls — Mol. 13, Suth. 8. Rebounds — Suth. 22 (Mendenhall 6).
