Schmerbach spurs South Medford to 15th straight win over North
Published 3:53 am Friday, February 28, 2025
South Medford's Sara Schmerbach drives to the basket for a layup against North Medford at Oakdale Middle School in Medford Thursday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
South Medford's Dyllyn Howell, left, dives for the loose ball against North Medford's Mariah Lane at Oakdale Middle School in Medford Thursday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
South Medford's Payton Andersen drives past North Medford's Sophia West for a basket during Thursday's game at Oakdale Middle School. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
North Medford's Olivia Boger pulls up for a shot against South Medford at Oakdale Middle School in Medford Thursday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
North Medford's Riley Smalley, right, fights for the ball against South Medford's Malia Taulani at Oakdale Middle School in Medford Thursday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
North Medford's Caileigh Raines shoots over South Medford's Payton Andersen at Oakdale Middle School in Medford Thursday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
South Medford's Sara Schmerbach splits the defense for a score against North Medford at Oakdale Middle School in Medford Thursday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
South Medford's Jordan Barlow makes a pass against North Medford at Oakdale Middle School in Medford Thursday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
South Medford's Mayen Akpan fights through the defense against North Medford at Oakdale Middle School in Medford Thursday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
Panthers senior scores first 7 points of third quarter and 24 overall to shake Black Tornado
North Medford took momentum and belief toward a huge upset into the locker room Thursday night in its regular-season finale against fifth-ranked South Medford at Oakdale Middle School.
Panthers senior Sara Schmerbach had other thoughts.
With Schmerbach dialing up the defensive pressure to open the second half — and her teammates following suit — South Medford was able to turn a close contest into a blowout seemingly in the blink of an eye.
South Medford’s Sara Schmerbach splits the defense for a score against North Medford at Oakdale Middle School in Medford Thursday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
Schmerbach scored the first seven points of the third quarter and was on either the giving or receiving end of all but one of the Panthers’ 20 points in the frame as South Medford shrugged off a slow start to earn a 53-32 romp over the Black Tornado.
“We started off slow and we just kind of had to get our team fired back up,” said Schmerbach, whose team led 24-19 at the break in the Southwest Conference affair. “Our defensive energy needed to be better, and I took advantage of that and just kept going.”
Schmerbach collected 24 points, four assists, seven rebounds and four steals to boost the reigning Class 6A state champion Panthers (20-4, 10-2 SWC), who played a second straight game without senior starter Maddy Warberg and continue to be beset by illness and injury.
“We’ve been missing girls all season,” said the Santa Clara-bound Schmerbach. “Every game there’s been someone missing, so we just have to get used to it. It usually takes us a while to get going.”
That was certainly true Thursday night during the finale of a doubleheader with the boys basketball programs.
South Medford opened a 14-7 through one quarter, but a 3-pointer from North Medford’s Olivia Boger closed the gap to 14-12 midway through the second quarter and the Black Tornado (9-15, 6-6) continued to make things difficult for the Panthers thereafter.
Even when it looked like South Medford would create a decent cushion — Schmerbach hit a 3-pointer in the waning seconds of the first half — North Medford stormed right back and saw Mariah Lane drop in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer of her own.
“They stayed composed, they trusted the defense and they hit some big shots,” said Black Tornado head coach Tiani Tunoa. “I think that’s what kept it close initially, and were some positives for us, for sure.”
North Medford’s Olivia Boger pulls up for a shot against South Medford at Oakdale Middle School in Medford Thursday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
In an eight-day span, North Medford had enjoyed a top-10 upset of Grants Pass, a quality challenge on the road at No. 4 Willamette and a 14-point win over Sheldon — so the Black Tornado certainly had the attention of South Medford head coach Tom Cole.
Energy and execution was going to be the driving force on this night, and Cole tasked his team at halftime to supply a better effort over the final 16 minutes.
That message did not fall on deaf ears.
“This team desperately needed somebody to step up and not want to lose,” said Cole. “Sara, obviously, brings that for us.”
South Medford opened the third quarter with a 17-1 run, with Boger supplying her team’s lone field goal with 2:22 remaining and accounting for all four of her team’s points in the quarter.
“Hat’s off to them, they’ve always been super aggressive that way,” Tunoa said of South’s game-changing tenacity. “I think we just ran out of gas. We played a little more hesitant than we have, and I think having that and then them cranking it up just kind of hurt us.”
South Medford sophomore Payton Andersen also played a key role in the victory, providing a little bit of everything to the Panther attack. Andersen supplied six points, six rebounds, four assists, four blocks and four steals.
South Medford’s Payton Andersen drives past North Medford’s Sophia West for a basket during Thursday’s game at Oakdale Middle School. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
“She’s been in that role for us all year, really,” Cole said of his team’s top reserve player. “She’s come in and learned that when she gets into games, she has to bring energy, and she’s been responsible for some big momentum shifts. It’s not so much just about scoring, but coming in and getting rebounds and getting deflections and making hustle plays.”
Mayen Akpan added eight points and six rebounds and Jordan Barlow had four steals for the Panthers, while Dyllyn Howell battled through injury to record five points and six rebounds.
“As we move on, hopefully we learn some things from tonight because it was far from being perfect in a lot of places,” said Cole, whose team earned its 15th straight win over North Medford. “You keep hoping that the rhythm that was created in the third quarter defensively — which then created transition offense — is something that they have some more consistency with, especially as we move into the playoffs.”
Boger finished with 10 points, three rebounds and three steals to lead North Medford, while Sophia West scored six of her seven points in the second quarter to boost her team’s hopes. Caileigh Raines had five points, five rebounds and two assists.
The Black Tornado placed fourth in the SWC but should get a state playoff invitation with a No. 26 Class 6A state power ranking.
“The next couple days off will be super beneficial,” said Tunoa. “I just let them know that I don’t think tonight is an indication of our team, we’ve just got to go back to the drawing board and regroup and be ready to go on Tuesday. It’s zero-zero all across the board, so anything can happen.”
“They’ve shown moments where they can play with some really, really good teams and be right there,” added the coach, “so it’s just a matter of putting four quarters worth of it together.”
SOUTH MEDFORD (53): Taulani 3, Imperial-Viray 3, Schmerbach 24, Barlow 4, Howell 5, Akpan 8, Andersen 6, Vasey 0. Totals: 23 4-9 53.
NORTH MEDFORD (32): Brownlee 0, Gomez-Monarrez 0, Smalley 2, Miller 0, West 7, Taylor 3, Boger 10, Raines 5, Canton 0, Verduzco 0, Lane 3, Molioo 2, Leggett 0. Totals: 12 4-9 32.
South Medford 14 10 20 9 — 53
North Medford 7 12 4 9 — 32
3-point goals — South Medford 3 (Imperial-Viray 1, Schmerbach 1, Andersen 1), North Medford 4 (Boger 2, Taylor 1, Lane 1). Fouled out — Boger.
Reach sports editor Kris Henry at khenry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035
