Southridge girls down Jesuit 47-38 for state title

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Dominique Johnson was only half-joking when she described the scene in the Southridge locker room at halftime of the state title game, with the Skyhawks trailing Jesuit 26 to 16.

"A bunch of yelling and screaming," she laughed.

And what was said?

"This is the championship," she said. "We need to bring some intensity out there."

However it went behind closed doors, it worked.

Johnson scored 11 points, including a key 3-pointer in the final quarter, and third-ranked Southridge came from behind to beat fourth-ranked Jesuit 47 to 38 on Saturday in the OSAA Class 6A girls state championship game.

The Skyhawks (26-2) trailed by as many as 12 points but rallied in the fourth quarter, going up 41 to 35 on Johnson's 3-pointer with 3:54 to go.

Elizabeth Brenner had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Crusaders (22-7), who were unable to overcome the late momentum shift for Southridge.

The Skyhawks defeated top-ranked Oregon City, the defending state champion, 55 to 47 in the semifinals. Southridge won four straight state titles until last year, when they lost to the Pioneers in the playoffs.

Aubrey Ashenfelter also had 11 points for the Skyhawks.

Jesuit jumped out to an early 12 to 1 lead, capped by Carly Wellington's jumper and a pair of free throws. Southridge broke the run on Johnson's layup to make it 12 to 3 to start the second quarter.

Southridge narrowed it to 14 to 9 after five straight points from Ashenfelter.

Brenner, the Class 6A volleyball player of the year, answered with a jumper before adding a layup and a free throw to make it 19 to 9 for the Crusaders.

Brenner added a jumper at the buzzer to give Jesuit a 26 to 16 lead going into the break. She had seven points and seven rebounds in the first half.

"I just challenged them," Southridge coach Michael Meek said of his halftime talk. "I didn't think we were putting in the effort to win a championship."

The Skyhawks came out determined in the second half, narrowing it to 26 to 20 on Callie Mikesell's jumper.

It was rough-and-tumble from there, with the Skyhawks closing to 30 to 32 on Allie Brock's layup. After a Jesuit free throw, Allison Greene scored on a fast break to narrow it to 33 to 32 at the end of the third quarter.

Mikesell made a pair of free throws to put the Skyhawks ahead for the first time, 34 to 33, to start the fourth quarter. McKenzie Dalthrop made a short jumper and Johnson had a layup to extend it to 38 to 33, as the momentum shifted squarely to Southridge for the rest of the way.

Afterward, Brock ran into Southridge's student section at the Rose Garden with her arms raised, hugging her pals.

A few of the girls from Jesuit had tears in their eyes, but applauded respectfully when Southridge was awarded its trophy.

"This was amazing," Johnson said. "A dream come true."

Southridge finished 4-0 against the Crusaders this season.

Jesuit defeated South Eugene 61-46 in the semifinals. The Crusaders lost to the Axemen in the quarterfinals last year.

Jesuit has never won a title, but have been to the finals three times in the past eight seasons.