South Medford sophomore Mayen Akpan isn’t one to be selfish on the offensive end, often giving up her own looks to provide opportunities for her teammates.

On Thursday afternoon, however, Akpan had little choice as the top-seeded Panthers fed her routinely in the paint and the 6-foot-3 delivered with a dominant showing to propel South Medford to a 56-24 runaway win in the Class 6A girls basketball state quarterfinals.

Akpan went 8-for-14 from the field in one of her highest shooting totals of the season — she entered Thursday at 5.8 shots per game — to finish with 19 points. She also corralled 18 rebounds, often getting a tip on others that went to her teammates, for a spectacular showing at the Chiles Center in Portland.

Akpan entered the 6A tournament with averages of 9.4 rebounds and 6.7 points per game, and provided a steady complement for the Panthers (24-3) to senior frontcourt mate Kim Ceron-Romero, who also registered 19 points on 7-for-15 shooting and finished with four steals, four rebounds and two assists.

“Mayen had a great game,” said South Medford head coach Tom Cole. “I thought our interior, between Kim and Mayen, had a very different impact today than maybe they’ve had in any single game collectively, at least from a scoring standpoint. And, obviously, Mayen finishing with 18 rebounds puts her physicality into perspective.”

The effective play in the paint was especially crucial for South Medford after starting sophomore Dyllyn Howell was unable to play due to non-COVID illness Thursday, and scoring leaders Taylor Young and Sara Schmerbach combined for 14 points on 6-for-21 shooting.

Although the conversions may not have always been there for the leading duo, Young and Schmerbach were a thorn in Southridge’s side all game with their defensive intensity — often pushing the Skyhawks (22-5) further back in their sets or forcing turnovers.

“The stat that doesn’t show up was just how tenacious the defense was by both Taylor and Sara,” said Cole. “When you hold a team to nine points in the first half that’s a Metro League champion, that’s pretty impressive. Even though offensively maybe they weren’t filling up the stat sheet, I think what doesn’t go recognized is just how much ball-pressure and constant attention that both of them played on the best players on their team.”

Schmerbach finished with nine rebounds and five assists, while Young’s efforts didn’t always result in stats but made a difference in pushing South Medford back into the 6:30 p.m. semifinals on Friday, where the Panthers will meet a familiar foe in Willamette (21-7).

The fifth-seeded Wolverines, who were runner-up to South Medford in the Southwest Conference standings, used a 14-2 run in the second quarter to build a 42-31 cushion on No. 4-seeded Jefferson (24-3) through three quarters and held on for a 53-47 win.

A watch party for the state semifinal game, free of admission, will be held in the South Medford High commons area Friday night.

South Medford also got a strong showing from sophomore Elise Richardson, who took over for Howell in the starting lineup and defended well on the perimeter to help force 21 turnovers by the Skyhawks.

“I thought Elise did some really, really impressive things,” said Cole. “Coming in and starting a state tournament game and playing the way she played is a big step in the right direction for her, for sure.”

Young got the Panthers on the board with a 3-pointer and set up Ceron-Romero for a nifty reverse layup to spark what would become an 18-3 surge out of the gates. Ceron-Romero scored 11 of those points in a spirited effort.

South Medford limited Southridge to 1-for-16 shooting in the opening quarter, and the lone conversion was a deep 3-pointer by Audrey Meek from well above the top of the key.

Schmerbach’s five straight points to open the second quarter kept momentum on the Panthers’ side, and Akpan scored six of the final eight points of the frame to allow South Medford to take a 33-9 cushion into halftime.

With the game well in hand, scored seven points in the fourth quarter to close the gap on Ceron-Romero for team-high honors. In an unselfish manner, it was Ceron-Romero who often was the one finding her teammate for shots in the paint.

Meek and Sara Mangan wound up with eight points apiece to lead Southridge, but the duo combined to go 6-for-27 from the field — including a 2-for-10 mark from beyond the arc by Mangan. Overall, Southridge was limited to 21% shooting (10-for-48) and 24% from 3-point range (4-for-17).

“There were a couple kids that we knew were really impressive scorers,” said Cole, “and I think we did a good job of scouting them and kind of knowing what they like to do, and I thought our kids did a good job of really disrupting that.”

SOUTHRIDGE (22-5)

Sara Mangan 3-15 0-0 8, Audrey Meek 3-12 0-2 8, Addison White 2-2 0-0 4, Courtney Barton 1-3 0-0 2, Rayanna Peterson 1-5 0-0 2, Lauren Irish 0-0 0-0 0, Caroline Rauchholz 0-0 0-3 0, Alex Lytchanyi 0-2 0-0 0, Avery Barron 0-2 0-0 0, Bella Loitz 0-5 0-0 0, Sofia Dotta 0-1 0-0 0, Faye Scott 0-0 0-0 0, Brinley Lyden 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 10-48 0-5 24.

SOUTH MEDFORD (24-3)

Mayenabasi Akpan 8-14 3-5 19, K. Ceron-Romero 7-15 4-4 19, Taylor Young 3-10 0-0 7, Sara Schmerbach 3-11 0-0 7, Malia Taulani 0-1 2-2 2, Jordan Barlow 1-3 0-0 2, Dannika Ostvik 0-0 0-0 0, Payton Anderson 0-2 0-0 0, Janaya Bullock 0-3 0-0 0, Elise Richardson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-59 9-11 56.

Southridge 3 6 11 4 — 24

South Medford 18 15 12 11 — 56

3-point goals—Southridge 4-17 (Sara Mangan 2-10, Audrey Meek 2-4, Bella Loitz 0-2, Sofia Dotta 0-1), South Medford 3-10 (K. Ceron-Romero 1-2, Taylor Young 1-3, Sara Schmerbach 1-3, Payton Anderson 0-1, Janaya Bullock 0-1). Rebounds—Southridge 35 (Rayanna Peterson 6), South Medford 43 (Mayenabasi Akpan 18). Assists—Southridge 5 (Bella Loitz 2), South Medford 11 (Sara Schmerbach 5). Total fouls—Southridge 9, South Medford 8.

BENSON 51, GRANTS PASS 30: At Portland, sixth-seeded Benson never trailed in claiming the 6A state quarterfinals win over No. 14-seed Grants Pass at the Chiles Center.

Brooke Anderson had 11 points and seven rebounds for Grants Pass (18-10), while Brooklyn Wakefield finished with six points, six rebounds and three steals.

Fifteen first-half turnovers limited the Cavers’ chances as they fell behind 17-6 through one quarter and 31-19 by halftime. Grants Pass finished with 25 turnovers overall, and shot 29% from the field (11-for-38).

Mahogany Chandler-Roberts led Benson (22-4) with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Mauriana Hashemian-Orr supplied 12 points, 11 rebounds and seven steals.

GRANTS PASS (18-10)

Brooke Anderson 4-9 1-3 11, Brooklyn Wakefield 2-7 2-2 6, Mia Thompson 2-8 0-0 5, A. Vainuku-Johnson 2-3 0-0 5, Lauren Robinson 1-1 0-0 2, Kenzie Kleiner 0-6 1-2 1, Samantha Willett 0-0 0-0 0, Callie Brandes 0-4 0-0 0. Totals: 11-38 4-7 30.

BENSON (22-4)

M. Chandler-Roberts 6-13 8-10 20, M. Hashemian-Orr 4-10 1-3 12, Samarah Massey 3-10 0-0 7, Eboni Clay 2-9 0-0 6, Taliya McKelvey 0-1 2-4 2, Kelyn Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Trinity Alex 1-8 0-2 2, Londyn Dyton 0-0 0-0 0, Olivia Hinck 0-0 0-0 0, Jaiden Young 0-4 0-0 0. Totals: 17-56 11-19 51.

Grants Pass 6 13 3 8 — 30

Benson 17 14 11 9 — 51

3-point goals—Grants Pass 4-13 (Brooke Anderson 2-3, Mia Thompson 1-2, A. Vainuku-Johnson 1-1, Kenzie Kleiner 0-4, Brooklyn Wakefield 0-3), Benson 6-19 (M. Hashemian-Orr 3-6, Eboni Clay 2-7, Samarah Massey 1-2, Trinity Alex 0-3, M. Chandler-Roberts 0-1). Fouled out—Mia Thompson. Rebounds—Grants Pass 29 (Brooke Anderson 7), Benson 41 (M. Hashemian-Orr 11, M. Chandler-Roberts 11). Assists—Grants Pass 5 (Brooklyn Wakefield 2), Benson 12 (M. Hashemian-Orr 3). Total fouls—Grants Pass 15, Benson 8.