Girls Basketball holds off comeback efforts, defeats Westview 67-56 in first round of OSAA State Playoffs (15 Photos)

In the first round of the OSAA State Girls Basketball playoffs,  12th seeded West Linn (14-10, 11-5 Three Rivers League) held off 21st seeded Westview (13-12, 8-6 Metro League) 67-56.

After being held to eight points in the first quarter, the Lions came out strong hitting six threes in the second quarter and scoring 33 points, giving West Linn a 41-21 lead at the half.

Despite strong comeback efforts from Westview, they only trailed the Lions 53-43 at the end of the third quarter. However, Lexie Pritchard, sophomore, led the Lions in the fourth quarter scoring the team’s final eight points, giving them a 67-56 win.

This marks West Linn’s third win in a row, which they are hoping will give them momentum heading into the round of 16.

“We know what it takes to win,” said, Caitlin Malvar, senior, “Having a few wins under our belt going into a big game is really important.”

The Lions will face 5th seeded Oregon City (21-4, 14-0 Mt. Hood Conference) at Oregon City, Friday at 7:00 p.m.

“Not only is this game a Battle for the Bridge, but the winner gets to advance to the Chiles Center,” remarked Malvar, “I couldn’t think of a more exciting game to play in than the one we are about to be in.”