Rockford Lutheran 46, Oregon 34: Lutheran jumped to a 9-0 lead in the first 67 seconds of Tuesday’s 46-34 Class 2A girls basketball regional semifinal victory over Oregon.

“It could have been a totally different ballgame without that,” Lutheran’s Dawn Martin (11 points) said. “They play great defense. It’s hard to get good shots off against their 2-3 zone.”

Lutheran (21-6) rediscovered that quickly, shooting 1-for-19 the next 12 minutes.

“We knew our defense had to get a lot stronger if we wanted to win,” Oregon guard Carissa Oelke said.

Yet even the best defense couldn’t draw Oregon (16-12) closer than five, as the Crusaders played a great 2-3 zone defense of their own, holding the Hawks to 18 percent shooting (7-for-38) the first three quarters.

“We need to take pride in our defense; that’s what generates our offense,” Martin said. “And if we’re not scoring, we can’t let them score either.”

Only Erin Pederson (13 points) ever got much going for Oregon.

“When shots are falling, everything looks good,” coach Joni Carlson said of Lutheran’s quick start, “but we really stressed defensive stops. We can get cold and hot within minutes, so we needed to focus on stopping them.”

Callie Rezin scored 13 points and Lauren McKee had eight points and five blocks for Lutheran.

“It’s tough,” Oregon coach Pat Donahue said of never being able to make up for those first 67 seconds. “Against a team like that, you can’t come back. They are just too skilled, too poised.”

- Matt Trowbridge, rrstar.com