IONE – The Ione/Arlington girls needed every second and a fair amount of help from the basketball gods to defeat Dufur on Monday night.
Dufur missed two free-throws and two free-throws from a technical foul in the final seconds of the game. The Cardinals pulled out the 42-40 victory despite trailing for most of the game.
Cardinals coach Nathan Heideman celebrates with Jessica Medina as Ione/Arlington defeated Dufur 40-38 on Monday night in Ione. Medina had 26 points, 18 of which came in the 2nd half.
The Cardinals looked flat at the start and trailed Dufur 2-8 midway through the first quarter. The Rangers saw strong play from freshman center Hayley Peterson – who battled for rebounds and dominated the paint in the first half.
The Cardinals were on the ropes but clawed back and cut the lead to 7 at the half: 15-23.
The Cardinals made adjustments and came out with focus in the second-half. Getting stronger play on defense, the Cardinals closed lanes and got solid rebounding from Larysa Burright and Eva Martin.
The defensive stops and takeaways opened up the transition game for the Cardinals. Ione senior Jessica Medina went on a tear – scoring 18 of her game high 26 points in the second half. Medina scored one 3-pointer in the first half and most of her second-half points came in transition.
Still trailing with under 2 minutes to play, Ione senior Eva Martin stole the ball and scored on a layup. On the following play, Martin stole the ball again and Medina scored to put Ione/Arlington on top 38-37.
The Cardinals got another steal and score from #32 – Hailey Heideman. On Dufur’s final possession, Kiersten White was fouled. Then, a technical foul was called on a Cardinal player. However, the Rangers converted on just 1 of 4 free-throws and that sealed it for the Cardinals.
Now, the Ione/Arlington team is looking at the possibility of a trip to Baker City for an invitational state tournament next week.