South Medford walked off the court following a December loss to Benson with a 4-3 record but not a hint of doubt of what the Panthers could still become as they settled into new roles.

Although the girls basketball team had played in the previous Class 6A state championship game, this was a new atmosphere for most and the battlecry was to make sure South Medford was playing meaningful games in March.

Through steady maturity and a willingness to work, it’s safe to say they don’t get any more meaningful than the one the Panthers assured themselves of being in Friday night after slipping by Willamette for a 46-43 victory in the semifinal round at the Chiles Center in Portland.

“I’m really proud of them,” said South Medford head coach Tom Cole of his Panthers, who have won 21 straight games since the 68-58 setback to Benson on Dec. 20. “Nobody thought this team would be back in a state championship, really no one. But I think they have believed in themselves all year long and they have grown tremendously by playing through adversity and by getting tested. To their credit, they’ve been able to overcome it, and tonight was no different.”

South Medford senior Kim Ceron-Romero was fouled with 9.6 to play in a tie game and made the first of two free throws before the errant second one was hauled in by Mayen Akpan for her 18th rebound of the game.

“There was no bigger one than that,” Cole said of Akpan’s final offensive rebound. “That kind of accentuated the kind of performance she had. She was just gritty, being in foul trouble but just playing through it. She was tough tonight, but they were all tough tonight.”

Akpan quickly shifted the ball over to fellow sophomore Taylor Young, who was fouled with 4.8 seconds remaining and knocked down both free throws to create a 46-43 cushion.

On the ensuing inbounds play, Akpan intercepted a long pass from Victoria Nguyen just beyond halfcourt to seal a third victory this season for No. 1 seed South Medford (25-3) over the Southwest Conference runner-up Wolverines (21-8).

“That was two teams who know each other really well,” Cole said of the nip-and-tuck affair. “It was a low-scoring game but it was because both teams were playing defense. Different kinds of defense but each to relative success, I thought.”

“It’s a tough one, and it’s tougher still to win three against a team like that in one season,” he added.

Young finished with 17 points while junior Sara Schmerbach turned in a strong overall game with 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Beyond her 18 rebounds, Akpan managed eight points and two steals, while Ceron-Romero shrugged off an ankle injury to collect six points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

“Sara Schmerbach was her typical aggressive self offensively, and was tenacious on defense,” said Cole. “Taylor made some big plays late and with Kim, her presence makes such a difference for us this year. I was really proud how she just toughed it out through the pain and was just like, ‘I want to go back in,’ and she did and really helped us.”

“They all had a fingerprint on it,” the coach added of the victory.

The back-and-forth contest appeared to finally be settling in for South Medford in the fourth quarter when Schmerbach found Ceron-Romero alone in the left corner for a 3-pointer that put the Panthers ahead 41-33 with 6:40 to play.

That shot, however, proved to be the final field goal for South Medford and Willamette countered with a 5-0 run before Akpan was able to connect on the back end of two free throws with about three minutes to play for a 42-38 edge.

Akpan added one more free throw after she was fouled following an offensive rebound, but Maddy Warberg sank Willamette’s sixth 3-pointer of the game from the top of the key with 1 ½ minutes remaining to close the gap.

After a pair of missed opportunities by Jordan Barlow and Akpan, Willamette junior Brynn Smith drove through the lane for an easy layup to tie the contest at 43-all with just about 40 seconds remaining.

Smith led the Wolverines with 15 points while Isabella Harms had 13.

Cole called a timeout and South Medford did well to work for a good shot as the clock wound down. Ceron-Romero found a crease in the key and was fouled with only a couple seconds left on the shot clock on a reach-in foul by Harms.

That set up the final wild scenario, built on effort and a little bit of luck.

“Football’s a game of inches and basketball’s a game of the bounces,” said Cole, “and it went the right way for us tonight.”

South Medford finished with a 10-0 advantage in second-chance points thanks to 14 offensive rebounds — 11 coming from the 6-foot-3 Akpan.

“Offensive rebounding has been a staple of the wins that have been meaningful for us,” said Cole. “It’s a collective effort but it really starts with what Mayen Akpan brings to the boards and her toughness. That rebound at the end to secure it was just amazing.”

Friday marked the fourth consecutive state tournament semifinals for South, not counting the 2021 spring culminating week tournament won by the Panthers. South Medford will be making its second straight trip to the championship finals, again in hopes of securing the program’s first official state title since 2012.

“They felt as they continued to learn and grow and take some of the lumps that they did in the early season, that it would be a recipe for being meaningful in March,” said Cole of his team. “That’s what we always try to say, it’s about being meaningful in March, and they get an opportunity to be meaningful in March.”

“To be in a state championship is incredible,” he added. “There’s 49 other teams that would trade anything to have that opportunity and I’m just trying to remind them of how special this journey is and take one game at a time. We took one tonight, and we move on to the big one (Saturday).”

Saturday’s 8:45 p.m. opponent will be the aforementioned Benson (23-4), which built a 20-point lead on reigning 6A champion Clackamas before having to hold on in the final seconds for a 51-47 triumph.

Mahogany Chandler-Roberts had 19 points and 16 rebounds and Mauriana Hashemian-Orr added 17 points and eight rebounds before fouling out for the sixth-seeded Techsters, who survived a second-half surge led by Jazzy Davidson (24 points, seven rebounds).

WILLAMETTE (21-8)

Brynn Smith 6-14 0-0 15, Isabella Harms 4-12 4-4 13, Harper Wagner 2-8 3-4 7, Victoria Nguyen 1-4 2-2 5, Maddy Warberg 1-2 0-0 3, Jadynn Ireland 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-40 9-10 43.

SOUTH MEDFORD (25-3)

Taylor Young 6-16 3-3 17, Sara Schmerbach 6-15 0-2 14, Mayenabasi Akpan 3-8 2-4 8, K. Ceron-Romero 2-7 1-2 6, Jordan Barlow 0-0 1-2 1, Dyllyn Howell 0-2 0-0 0, Elise Richardson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-48 7-13 46.

Willamette 10 8 15 10 — 43

South Medford 12 6 19 9 — 46

3-point goals—Willamette 6-19 (Brynn Smith 3-8, Victoria Nguyen 1-1, Isabella Harms 1-5, Maddy Warberg 1-2, Harper Wagner 0-3), South Medford 5-17 (Taylor Young 2-8, Sara Schmerbach 2-5, K. Ceron-Romero 1-2, Dyllyn Howell 0-2). Rebounds—Willamette 17 (Victoria Nguyen 6), South Medford 35 (Mayenabasi Akpan 18). Assists—Willamette 9 (Harper Wagner 2, Brynn Smith 2, Isabella Harms 2, Victoria Nguyen 2), South Medford 10 (Sara Schmerbach 5). Total fouls—Willamette 8, South Medford 10.

GRANTS PASS 37, JESUIT 26: At Portland, neither team was able to generate much offensive rhythm but 14th-seeded Grants Pass was able to earn a third game at the 6A state tournament by holding No. 10 Jesuit to 17% shooting (7-for-41) in the consolation contest at the Chiles Center.

Brooklyn Wakefield generated 12 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists to pave the way for the Cavers (19-10) into the fourth-place final. Grants Pass leading scorer Brooke Anderson was limited to a 2-for-13 effort from the field for seven points but grabbed six boards and Mia Thompson had six points and six rebounds.

Kendra Hicks pulled in 14 rebounds to go with seven points for Jesuit (20-8), which had previously split in two games against the Cavers.

Grants Pass will play No. 4-seeded Jefferson for either fourth or sixth place at 9:45 a.m. Saturday.

GRANTS PASS (19-10)

Brooklyn Wakefield 3-10 4-4 12, Kenzie Kleiner 2-8 2-2 8, Brooke Anderson 2-13 2-2 7, Mia Thompson 3-7 0-2 6, Callie Brandes 2-8 0-0 4, Madison Montejano 0-0 0-0 0, A. Vainuku-Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Lauren Robinson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 12-49 8-10 37.

JESUIT (20-8)

Audrey Bayless 3-15 1-2 9, Amani Lubrano 3-8 0-0 7, Kendra Hicks 1-2 5-6 7, Sophia Costarella 0-11 2-2 2, Reese Filkins 0-1 1-2 1, Kelly Mattson 0-0 0-0 0, Taniyah Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Anna McCullagh 0-1 0-0 0, Lauren Reding 0-0 0-0 0, Lily Appleyard 0-0 0-0 0, Evelyn Tossi 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 7-41 9-12 26.

Grants Pass 12 11 2 12 — 37

Jesuit 4 5 13 4 — 26

3-point goals—Grants Pass 5-20 (Kenzie Kleiner 2-6, Brooklyn Wakefield 2-3, Brooke Anderson 1-7, Lauren Robinson 0-2, Callie Brandes 0-1, Mia Thompson 0-1), Jesuit 3-22 (Audrey Bayless 2-8, Amani Lubrano 1-5, Sophia Costarella 0-6, Taniyah Smith 0-1, Anna McCullagh 0-1, Evelyn Tossi 0-1). Rebounds—Grants Pass 36 (Brooklyn Wakefield 9), Jesuit 33 (Kendra Hicks 14). Assists—Grants Pass 4 (Brooklyn Wakefield 2), Jesuit 3 (Sophia Costarella 2). Total fouls—Grants Pass 13, Jesuit 14.