Beaverton OR – It was only a minute into the third quarter but you could feel the momentum of the mavericks. After two consecutive turnovers by South Eugene, the game was tied at 22 apiece. Sophomore Halle Hageman brought the ball up the court, and after a quick crossover,she drove past her defender. Floating the ball over an outstretched hand of a defender, she sunk the floater.

Sophomore Carly Stone was the only one who found any rhythm by knocking down a few three’s and a baseline ‘J’. “I normally put a lot of shots a day, I try to get at least 500 shots up per day. Some inside of practice, and some outside of practice.” Of the eighteen points scored, Stone had made nine of them.

After a shaky start, the Mavs came back focused and determined. They were in this position last year, where they learned they didn’t want to concede an early exit in round one. Only being down by two points, and with two quarters left to play, they knew they could still pull out with the ‘W’.

The Mavericks jumped out to a white-hot start. They forced turnovers and made their first four baskets, with Hageman leading the charge, “I just needed to focus on my shots more, so once I started focusing on my shots, and telling myself that the shot was going to go in instead of doubting myself.” With that in mind, she scored twelve of her fourteen points in the second half.

The Mavs were also able to take back control of the post, with Sophomore Lindsey Wilson finishing through contact after being hammered in the first. Wilson put up ten points and secured ten rebounds. The Mavericks outplayed The Axe 20-9 in the third quarter.

The Mavericks would step up their game even more in the fourth quarter, by shutting down South Eugene’s offense to two points for the entire fourth quarter. Once the timer petered out to zero, the Mavs were filled with joy knowing that they won their first-ever playoff game. Without Seniors Kailea Boerste and Cameron Brink, they technically won without seniors.

When asked about the feeling of winning the first-ever playoff game, Smith said “[The win] feels amazing, I’m so proud of everyone.” The Mavericks play later today in Oregon City at 7 pm.