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Some debilitating foul problems — so what?

An ice-cold second-quarter shooting display — who cares?

A pesky, opportunistic North Bend squad looking to punch its tourney ticket — just another obstacle to overcome.

To state things simply, the St. Helens High School girls basketball team was absolutely determined not to let anything stand in its way.

With that in mind, the Lions, behind a brilliant fourth-quarter performance, rallied to score a 45-39 win over the Bulldogs in a Class 4A state playoff contest played Saturday, March 7 in front of a large, boisterous crowd at St. Helens High School.

“This means so much,” said St. Helens senior Devan Lee, who scored 11 of her game-high 17 points in the decisive fourth quarter. “I don’t know how long it’s been. It’s such a great feeling, going into the Elite Eight, I can’t even describe it.”

“League champs was big, but this is even bigger,” St. Helens senior Maddie Hancock said. “I don’t know the last time we got to the tournament. It’s so big. We’ve worked so hard for four years to get us here, and now we’re going to try and take it all the way.”

“This means everything. We’ve worked four years for this, and now we’ve shown it,” Lions senior D’aye Davidson said. “It’s a good day to play basketball.”

With the victory, sixth-seeded St. Helens, the Cowapa League champion, improved to 18-5 on the season. The Lions also earned their first state-tournament berth since 1997.

“Yeah, 1997 was the last time we won a league championship, and it was the last time we made it to the tournament. We’re kinda making history again,” St. Helens coach Jillian Ross-Dean said. “It’s the farthest we’ve made it in this program for a really long time. Within the past four years, with our senior leadership, we’ve really turned the program around, big time. So, this means a lot to the program, and especially to our seniors, who paved the way.”

The Lions will open Class 4A state tourney play on Thursday, when they face Cowapa League rival Seaside in a quarterfinal contest starting at 6:30 p.m. at Forest Grove High School.

“We want to take it one game at a time,” Ross-Dean said of the tournament. “We know our first match-up is Seaside, a team we’ve played three times (winning twice), so we’re very familiar with them. We want to have a good week of practice, go in and take it one game at a time, and, hopefully, come home with a trophy.”

“Again, we’re going to keep our foot on the gas,” Lee said. “We’ve got Seaside next, a team we know. I think we have a good chance at going farther.”

“We’re going to put it all out there on the court, like we did tonight,” Davidson said.

St. Helens, in Saturday’s playoff contest, seemed to start well enough, grabbing a 10-9 lead at the end of the first quarter behind Davidson’s four points, two rebounds and a block, and a 3-pointer bymsophomore Brooke Stevens.

However, Davidson, the Lions’ standout post, picked up two fouls less than four minutes into the

contest. She was then whistled for her third foul in the opening minute of the second quarter.

That was just part of St. Helens’ second-quarter woes. The Lions missed their first 11 shots from the field in the period. That helped spark a 13-1 North Bend run, featuring six points from senior Hailey Rinderle, which gave the Bulldogs a 22-11 lead with 1 minute and 20 seconds left before halftime.

Hancock ended St. Helens’ scoring drought, sinking a short-range jumper with 53 seconds remaining in the quarter, and junior Libby Hasenkamp followed with a foul-line jumper, helping the Lions trim the margin to 22-15 at halftime.

St. Helens tried to continue to chip away early in the third quarter. Hancock converted a 3-point play to open scoring in the period. But the Lions’ momentum took a hit as Davidson was charged with her fourth foul with 5:04 remaining in the quarter.

And, as the period wound down, St. Helens faced a 29-21 deficit after North Bend freshman Lauryn Garrigus came up with a steal and layup.

But, as the quarter ended, the Lions may have found the momentum-turning spark they needed, as Lee sank a buzzer-beating pull-up 3-pointer, making the score 29-24 going into the fourth quarter.

“I feel that helped us put the gas pedal all the way down,” Lee said of her 3-pointer. “It was really big. I knew I had to make that to help get us going.”

A pep talk before the final stanza may have aided as well.

“Oh my God, we had a good meeting before (the fourth quarter), and we knew we had to put our foot on the gas, don’t let up and keep going strong the whole time,” Lee said.

“We just had to keep shooting,” Hancock said. “They’re not going to go in if you don’t shoot.”

Hancock sank a 10-foot jumper to start the fourth quarter. Lee followed with back-to-back 3-pointers, giving the Lions their first lead since the opening seconds of the second quarter, at 32-29.

They wouldn’t relinquish their lead the rest of the way.

Lee would score 11 points in the period. Hancock had six points and four rebounds in the quarter.

Davidson, back on the court, added two points, three rebounds, a pair of assists and a block in the period.

“I didn’t want it to end here. I wanted to keep going” Davidson said. “I had to focus. I had my

teammates beside me, and we all pick each other up.”

Lee went 2 for 2 from the foul line to up the St. Helens lead to 45-39 with 11.5 seconds remaining.

Soon after, the final horn sounded, St. Helens students rushed onto the court, and the Lions clinched their long-awaited return to the state tournament.

“It was amazing, everyone storming the court,” Lee said with a smile. “It was such a good feeling. I literally can’t even describe it. It was so exciting.”

“Even when there was one second left, I was like, ‘wow, we actually made it to the tournament,’”

Hancock said. “We actually did it. It’s not over. I’m glad this wasn’t my last game. I was so excited.”

After shooting at an 8-for-35 clip from the field in the first quarters, St. Helens went 8 for 11 in the decisive fourth period, while North Bend went 4 for 15 in the final stanza.

“It was our defensive intensity toward the end, and just settling in on offense, and not being in a rush, like they wanted us to be,” Ross-Dean said. “Sometimes the fourth quarter is just ours. I would prefer for us not to have to turn it on at the end of a game, but sometimes we just have to go that way.”

“The rebounding was so much better than the rest of the game,” Hancock said. “I think that’s where we really locked it down. Our defense was way better, as well.”

“It was our team chemistry,” Davidson said. “We always pick each other up. Sometimes we’re a little bit mean about it, sometimes we have to give each other a little kick in the butt, but we get through it.”

The Lions insist that there was another key factor in their victory – the enthusiastic home crowd.

“This was so fun. The crowd was amazing,” Hancock said. “That helped us so much. The energy is so much better when the crowd is loud.”

“I think our home court advantage, and our fans, really made a difference,” Ross-Dean said. “This was the loudest I’ve ever heard it here, and I went to high school here. It was a great environment, and a great win.”

Lee, the Cowapa League Player of the Year, had six rebounds, four assists, four steals and a pair of blocks to go with her game-high 17 points.

“The first half was a little rough, but we had the mindset that we’re not going to stop,” she said. “We’re on our home court, we’ve got a loaded gym, and we had to play well for us and for our fans.”

Hancock had 13 points and six rebounds. Davidson, in her limited minutes, added six points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. Hasenkamp scored six points and Stevens had three.

“This was so fun,” Davidson said. “We’re going to the tournament for the first time in I don’t know how long, and I hope that our school is really proud of us.”

North Bend, the No. 11 seed, finished its season at 19-7. Garrigus led the Bulldogs with 10 points in the contest.