COQUILLE — For more than two quarters, Coquille’s girls basketball team was out of sorts in its league playoff game against Lakeview on Friday.
The Red Devils trailed the Honkers 24-16 midway through the third quarter when they flipped a switch, ramping up the pressure, forcing turnovers and getting easy hoops.
Coquille finished that third quarter on a 17-0 run and added the first seven points of the fourth to turn the deficit into a dominant advantage in a 45-25 win.
The Red Devils visit Creswell on Saturday in the second round of the state playoffs, the winner advancing to the state tournament jointly hosted by Marshfield and North Bend. Coquille beat Creswell by one point back in the season opener. The Bulldogs upset Pleasant Hill in the Mountain Valley Conference tournament on Saturday to earn the home playoff game despite having a lower ranking than Coquille.
If the Red Devils get to the tournament, their quarterfinal opponent at Marshfield likely will be familiar foe Sutherlin, which is seeded second and hosts either Taft or Valley Catholic on Saturday.
Lakeview’s only point in the last 12 minutes came on a free throw as the Honkers, who had stymied Coquille with their own defense for much of the game, suddenly struggled to get the ball across half court or make shots when they did.
Coquille didn’t need the win to make the playoffs, given their high power ranking, but wanted to enter the playoffs with momentum.
“I’m glad we won that,” said Holli Vigue, who sparked the rally and scored 15 points.
“We started turning them over and hitting baskets. That got us going.”
Coquille got a huge lift from Synthia Salazar, who scored 14 points and hit a pair of 3-pointers.
“Synthia played awesome, both offensively and defensively,” Coquille coach Marty Stallard said.
Stallard was stumped by Coquille’s struggles for the first part of the game and said the latter part was typical for his team.
“That’s the way we’ve been playing,” he said. “We’ve been so good.”
Coquille enters the playoffs with just three losses on the year — twice to league champion Sutherlin and once to Cascade Christian when a couple of players were ill.
The Red Devils were eighth in the final power rankings, but will be on the road since Westside Christian is guaranteed a home game as champion of the Lewis & Clark League.
Stallard said Friday’s win will provide a boost.
“That was a good comeback,” he said. “I’m really proud of them.”
Next up, the playoffs and an opportunity to extend the season to the state tournament.
“I’m super excited,” Vigue said. “This is the best time of the year. We still have things to improve on, but we’ve got a week to pull things together.”
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