Mixed day for top seeds

Oran's defense adjusted in the second half to St. Vincent's backdoor cuts and held off a late third-quarter rally to secure a spot in the Delta New Year's Tournament championship with a 57-49 victory on Wednesday at Delta.

The third-seeded Eagles will face host Delta at 4 p.m. on Saturday in the finals. Delta, the top seed, routed No. 4 Woodland 72-44 in the other semifinal Wednesday.

Second-seeded St. Vincent led 7-0 early as Oran did not account for the Squaws' consistent cuts. The Eagles went 4 minutes before they scored their first basket, but still managed to tie the score to 11-11 after one quarter.

A 7-0 run midway through the second quarter put Oran in control 23-16, and the Eagles led 27-22 at the half. St. Vincent stayed in the game thanks to a 12-of-14 shooting performance from the free throw line in the first half.

"We were chasing the whole first half," Oran coach Larry Boshell said. "It was basic defense and we weren't doing the job. ... Twelve of their 22 points were because we fouled them. I guarantee three or four of them were on the cuts.

"I thought the second half we did a pretty good job defensively."

Oran continued to lead through the second half, but the Eagles' foul trouble caught up to them late in the third. All five starters went to the bench in the final minute of the third with three fouls for the Eagles, and St. Vincent took advantage of Oran's reserve lineup with a 6-0 run in the final minute to send the game into the fourth quarter tied 39-39.

The Eagles did not allow St. Vincent to regain the lead, hitting the key baskets down the stretch.

Callie Kielhofner put the game out of reach with a 3-pointer late in the fourth for a 50-44 lead. St. Vincent got no closer than six points the rest of the way.

Post players Erica Michelsen and Tiffany Glastetter led Oran's offense, with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Kielhofner added 14 points for the Eagles.

"When we get the ball to Tiffany most of the time good things happen, and Erica does a good job down low, too," Boshell said. "When you get the two of them together, good things happen."

Jessica Welker led St. Vincent with 12 points. Elizabeth Rozier and Lacey Siegmund had nine points apiece. After missing just two free throws in the first half, St. Vincent went 13-for-23 in the second half.

In the opening semifinal, host Delta used an 8-0 run to close the first quarter with a 25-11 lead and did not look back against No. 4 Woodland. Delta's lead did not fall below nine points the rest of the game.

Ten of Delta's 13 players got into the scoring column. Brittni Deprow came off the bench to score 11 points, including three 3-pointers.

"I thought we had kids who did a good job for us," Delta coach Randy White said. "Brittni Deprow came in and really shot the ball well. Sara Blattel came in and immediately sparked us."

Senior guard Kaci Menz led the Bobcats (8-0) with 16 points. Menz scored nine points in the opening quarter, six off steals. Ashley Deprow and Sarah Keys added nine points apiece.

"Kaci Menz penetrated real well for us," White said. "Not only does she score, she penetrates and distributes the ball. She really helps break down the defense."

Tasha Lincoln led the Cardinals with 16 points and Cortney Glastetter had 13.

Delta routed Greenville in the finals last year, following a semifinal win over Oran. The Eagles and Bobcats could meet two more times in the following two weeks.

"We're just going to play hard," Boshell said. "Delta's a really good team, and hopefully we're getting better."

Oran 57, St. Vincent 49

Oran 11 16 12 18 -- 57

St. Vincent 11 11 18 10 -- 49

ORAN (57) -- Erica Michelsen 18, Tiffany Glastetter 16, Callie Kielhofner 11, Mandi Wood 6, Wendy Eftink 3. FG 21, FT 12-23, F 22 (3-pointers: Kielhofner 2, Eftink 1. Fouled out: Michelsen)

ST. VINCENT (49) -- Courtney Besand 8, Jessica Welker 12, Kelsey Cissell 5, Elizabeth Rozier 9, Brooke Brown 4, Lacey Siegmund 9, Miranda Holmes 2. FG 12, FT 25-37, F 17 (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none)

Delta 72, Woodland 44

Woodland 11 11 6 16 -- 44

Delta 25 18 17 12 -- 72

WOODLAND (44) -- Tasha Lincoln 16, Cortney Glastetter 13, Francee VanGennip 9, Casey McCraw 2, Laura Johnson 2, Rheanna Greer 2. FG 18, FT 8-17, F 10 (3-pointers: none. Fouled out: none)

DELTA (72) -- Kaci Menz 16, Brittni Deprow 11, Ashley Deprow 9, Kayla Seabaugh 8, Jodi Menz 7, Sarah Keys 9, Tiffany Amelunke 3, Rebecca Cox 4, Jessica Kidd 1, Sara Blattel 4. FG 28, FT 9-14, F 17 (3-pointers: K. Menz 2, B. Deprow 3, Amelunke 1. Fouled out: none)