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By Bob Lundeberg | For The Oregonian/OregonLive

Photos by Ken Waz, for The Oregonian/OregonLive

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PORTLAND — The best girls basketball team in Oregon might reside nearly 300 miles south of Portland.

With every key player other than all-time leading scorer Ula Chamberlin back from last season’s Class 6A state tournament squad, South Medford has arguably the deepest roster of Tom Cole’s 13-year tenure as head coach.

There also is plenty of talent.

The athletic Panthers claimed their second consecutive tournament title Sunday night at Franklin High School with a defensive 59-50 victory over Class 5A Wilsonville in the POA Holiday Classic Diamond Bracket championship game. One week earlier, South Medford finished first at the Del Oro California Showcase.

“I feel like we push each other a lot and we want it real bad,” junior guard Toni Coleman said of the Panthers’ tournament success. “We’re real passionate, hungry for it, and we know that we aren’t the same team we were two years ago. We are more confident, we’ve grown up, and all of us are learning to be together.”

In Coleman’s freshman season, South Medford went 17-10 overall — a down year by its standard — and fell to eventual state runner-up Benson in the second round of the playoffs. The Panthers made it back to Chiles Center last March and are looking for more this time.

Guard Bella Pedrojetti, an Eastern Washington signee, is South Medford’s lone senior. But many of the team’s six juniors and three sophomores have extensive varsity experience.

“We are young, and I think a big part of this is just learning,” Cole said. “Learning how to finish a game, learning how to compete for four quarters, learning at times of adversity how to pick your head up and fight through some of that.

“It’s a joy as a coach to watch these kids grow, and part of what makes youth sports so exciting is that it’s unpredictable and you get to see character get formed and character get built.”

South Medford won the school’s only state title in 2012 and has qualified for nine of the past 10 state tournaments. Because of geography, the Panthers still feel overlooked at times.

“Even the years we were nationally ranked, we were always under the radar here in Oregon because we’re so far south,” Cole said. “We’ve talked about that and how it’s important to represent our school and our community. We are still part of 6A basketball and I hope we can continue to be relevant in 6A basketball.”

Added Coleman: “I feel like we embrace it a lot, because we’re part of Oregon too and we feel like we can do this too. We like coming up here and being able to say, ‘Hey, we’re here. We might be a little far away, but we’re here.’ ”

After strong performances against White County (Tennessee) and West Linn, the Panthers (9-2) weren’t as sharp in Sunday’s championship game. Neither was Wilsonville (5-2).

The Wildcats, who made it to the final with wins over Benson and University (Washington), shot 9 of 22 from the free throw line, surrendered 14 offensive rebounds and turned it over 28 times. Five Panthers recorded at least two steals.

“We were fatigued. I don’t think we played enough kids yesterday … and that probably hurt us today,” Wilsonville coach Justin Duke said. “Some things that don’t typically happen to us were kind of I think just the result of playing three games in three days, but that’s why we’re here. We want to learn about ourselves so we’re not learning that in March.”

Pedrojetti hit four three-pointers and finished with a game-high 23 points. Coleman added 15 points and four steals, and Bella Stone had six rebounds and five steals.

Wilsonville junior post Emilia Bishop put up 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Sydney Burns recorded a double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals.

South Medford held a 17-16 lead following a fast-paced opening quarter. Coleman helped create some separation with a couple layups off steals, and Pedrojetti knocked down two three-pointers as the Panthers' lead jumped to 37-26 by halftime.

“Steals are fuel,” Coleman said. “I know if I put those in, my whole team gets fired up.”

Renee Lee opened the second half with a three to get Wilsonville within eight, but the Panthers scored the next 12 points to go up 49-29. The Wildcats, who placed third at last season’s Class 5A state tournament, made a late fourth-quarter push before running out of time.

“In the second half it was about trying to settle down and not force things, and I think we played a little tight,” Cole said. “It’s the first time we’ve been in a championship game of this caliber. We just won a tournament in California, but the stakes were higher here and I think we got a little tight.”

Duke was impressed with the play of several reserves down the stretch.

“The kids showed me something -- some of those kids proved me wrong today,” he said. “I should’ve given them an opportunity yesterday and it probably could’ve helped us out a lot more today. Some of them built some trust with the coaches, and it’s really going to help us.”

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Brackets, box scores

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Earlier:

Don’t forget about South Medford in 6A title discussion: Hot-shooting Panthers cruise past West Linn at POA Holiday Classic

Wilsonville 72, Benson 48: Wildcats put state on alert, end Techsters' 24-game win streak in dominant fashion

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