North Medford senior Caileigh Raines woke up Wednesday morning and had a good feeling about the Southwest Conference girls basketball game that would be played later that night against 10th-ranked Grants Pass.

And while the pregame numbers didn’t bear out that premonition — the Cavers owned more than twice as many wins (16 to 7), a loftier status in the Class 6A state power rankings (No. 9 to 31) and a previous win over the Black Tornado — all that mattered was how the teams would go about their business following the opening tipoff.

Following a ragged first quarter for both teams, North Medford settled in with its attack and gained enough confidence and finishing composure to earn the program’s best victory in seven years with a 45-33 upset on the campus of Oakdale Middle School.

“I knew it from the beginning,” said Raines, in her fourth season as a starter. “I woke up this morning knowing it. I knew we were going to come together as a team tonight, and I was ready for it.”

“After the first quarter, I think we got our nerves out,” she added, “and then we started playing as a team and our shots started to fall after moving the ball around. It was all a team effort.”

Raines recorded 16 points, seven rebounds and two steals, while fellow senior Mariah Lane went 4-for-6 from 3-point range to score 12 points and Olivia Boger added eighth points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals in a pivotal all-around effort.

Prior to the game, Raines was recognized in a ceremony acknowledging that she had eclipsed the 1,000-point career scoring milestone at North Medford.

North Medford (8-13, 5-4 SWC) moved up three spots in the power rankings with the win — up to No. 28 in a system that will see 32 teams reach the state playoffs — and has now won three of its last four contests.

The victory also snapped a streak of 10 straight losses to Grants Pass (16-6, 7-4) dating back to 2020.

“We really talked about game management over the last couple games as part of our learning curve, and I think they did just that,” said first-year North Medford head coach Tiani Tunoa. “They stuck to the game plan, even when things got rocky, and they were disciplined and executed.”

It took a while to get going — North went scoreless for the opening seven minutes — but the Cavers didn’t find themselves in much better position as the two teams exited the first quarter tied 5-all.

A 12-0 run by the Black Tornado in the second quarter, however, allowed the host team to create a 19-10 advantage and you could see the confidence growing with each possession. The key was quick passing and aggressive showings in space near the basket by North, with Boger playing a key role to set up her teammates against the Cavers’ zone defense.

“I think we figured it out after the first quarter,” said Raines, “and you’ve just got to fake a pass to make a pass.”

A long 3-pointer just ahead of halftime, however, allowed Grants Pass to sneak into the break with a 20-19 advantage, but the Black Tornado would not waver on this night.

The teams traded baskets in the third quarter but, this time, the passing moved from high to low to drive and kick out for North Medford, which knocked down five 3-pointers in a 17-point third quarter surge.

Boger and Abby Taylor took care of the opening shots beyond the arc, then Lane seemingly took over in the last two minutes to connect on three 3s — including a stepback in the right corner just ahead of the buzzer that pushed North Medford on top, 36-33.

“She found her rhythm and stepped up and hit some super big shots for us,” said Tunoa of Lane. “I think that broke the game wide-open for us.”

The last shot, especially, was pivotal and resulted in her teammates swarming her from the nearby bench as the buzzer sounded.

“That was so nice, so nice,” Tunoa said with a big smile.

As with her pregame feeling, Raines said she wasn’t surprised to see Lane heat up like that in the third quarter.

“She’s a big-time shooter,” she said. “She’s the best shooter I’ve ever met. We know she can do it — she does it all the time — she just has to have her confidence.”

Confidence was far from lacking in the final frame, where it almost seemed like the teams switched their expected roles given win-loss records and it was North Medford showing the utmost poise and composure to finish the job.

“I think that goes right back to senior leadership and having that experience,” said Tunoa. “Early in the season we’ve been in some tight moments like this and have fallen apart before, and just taking those losses as lessons and learning how to come back and being able to execute is really paying off for them.”

“I’m super proud of them, that was a really big win,” added the coach. “Against a top-10 seed, that doesn’t come easy.”

Grants Pass was held scoreless in the fourth quarter after going 0-for-11 from the field with seven turnovers against the Black Tornado’s extended pressure.

A fading baseline jumper by Sophia West put North ahead 41-33 with just over three minutes remaining and the Tornado rode out the win from the free-throw line.

“It’s huge, especially in the rankings,” said Raines. “We’re low, they’re high, but we knew we could come into it with a big win, and we just fought all the way through.”

Senior Mia Thompson and freshmen Millie Lathen and Eva Lindahl each scored seven points for Grants Pass, with Lathen and Kenzie Kleiner also grabbing seven rebounds apiece.

Lathen also led the Cavers, who dropped one spot in the power rankings to No. 10 entering their season finale at SWC champion Willamette, with four assists and three steals.

GRANTS PASS (33): Brandes 2, Thompson 7, Kleiner 6, Willett 4, Lathen 7, Lindahl 7. Totals: 11-53 6-8 33.

NORTH MEDFORD (45): Brownlee 0, Smalley 0, West 5, Taylor 4, Boger 8, Raines 16, Verduzco 0, Lane 12. Totals: 15-52 8-12 45.

Grants Pass 5 15 13 0 — 33

North Medford 5 14 17 9 — 45

3-point goals — Grants Pass 5-20 (Kleiner 2, Lindahl 2, Thompson 1), North Medford 7-25 (Lane 4, West 1, Taylor 1, Boger 1). Technical fouls — Grants Pass coach Wakefield.

SOUTH MEDFORD 79, SHELDON 31: At Eugene, South Medford junior Mayen Akpan set the tone with 14 of her 24 points in the first quarter as the Panthers pulled away early for the Southwest Conference victory.

Maddy Warberg dropped in three 3-pointers to finish with 13 points, while Jordan Barlow tallied 12 points and Sara Schmerbach scored 11 points for South Medford (18-4, 8-2 SWC).

The sixth-ranked Panthers — No. 4 in the state power rankings — led 26-11 after one quarter and 54-18 by halftime over Sheldon (11-11, 3-7).

SOUTH MEDFORD (79): Taulani 6, Warberg 13, Imperial-Viray 3, Schmerbach 11, Barlow 12, Howell 7, Akpan 24, Andersen 4, Vasey 2.

SHELDON (31): Trumbull 0, Sowers 3, Line 4, Raleigh 4, Mayernik 7, Seilo 0, Rhode 2, Ayres 2, Schuck 6, Kearney 3.

South Medford 26 28 9 16 — 79

Sheldon 11 7 8 5 — 31

3-point goals — South Medford 6 (Warberg 3, Barlow 2, Imperial-Viray 1), Sheldon 3 (Sowers 1, Mayernik 1, Kearney 1).

Boys Basketball

GRANTS PASS 57, NORTH MEDFORD 50: Nate Anderson was 5-for-5 from the field for 10 points but North Medford managed only five assists and three steals as a team — typically team strengths — and struggled to score after creating a 42-41 lead early in the fourth quarter at the Pawlowski Athletic Center.

Grants Pass used a 10-2 answering run in the fourth quarter and then benefitted from the free-throw line down the stretch after North was forced to foul to slow the clock.

Traeger Healy hit a baseline jumper to bring his team within 52-48, and the foul strategy seemed to pay off when Zach DeChenne made only 1-of-2 with 38 seconds left but an ensuing turnover thwarted North’s ability to answer and further close the gap.

Dylan Scott scored six of his eight points in the fourth quarter for the Black Tornado (12-9, 5-4 SWC), while Tate Snyder finished with nine points and Healy had seven points and four rebounds.

Jordan Rossetta led Grants Pass (10-13, 6-5) to its fifth win over the past six games with 21 points, and Peyton Bruner added 16.

Wednesday’s results only further muddied the SWC race for three automatic state playoff bids. Sheldon has clinched the boys title already at 10-0 in league play, but South Medford (6-4 SWC), Grants Pass, North Medford and South Eugene (5-5) are essentially stepping in each other’s toes with about one week of games remaining. 

GRANTS PASS (57): DeChenne 12, Bruner 16, Connelly 5, McKittrick 0, Traylor 0, Rossetta 21, Hart 3. Totals: 18 15-22 57.

NORTH MEDFORD (50): Scott 8, Rea 6, Sawyer 4, Curtis 2, Snyder 9, Healy 7, Stewart 4, Anderson 10. Totals: 21 6-9 50.

Grants Pass 10 13 18 16 — 57

North Medford 15 11 12 12 — 50

3-point goals — Grants Pass 6 (DeChenne 2, Rossetta 2, Bruner 1, Hart 1), North Medford 2 (Snyder 1, Healy 1).