PENDLETON – The Santiam Wolverines kept their playoff momentum going full steam ahead Thursday with a 61-54 quarterfinal victory over the Lost River Raiders at the 2007 OSAA/U.S. Bank/Les Schwab Tires 2A Girls Basketball State Championships.

Less than a week ago, the No. 1-ranked Wolverines blasted into the “elite eight” with a 54-21 win over the Knappa Loggers, and much of Thursday’s game showed off their talents.

On the other hand, a late Lost River rally and a 20-point lead cut to seven in the fourth quarter also showed Santiam some areas where they need to improve.

“For a while we played well,” Wolverine coach Joy Lease said. “We let up at the end of the game and let them get back in it with some big shots. We hurt when we get in foul trouble, and we were kind of battling through that all night.”

After three quarters of dominance leading to a 51-34 lead, the Wolverines’ letdown was enough for the Raiders to get a foot in the door down the stretch.

“I subbed in to get some kids some playing time and they just lit it up and played well,” Lost River coach Ed Vieira said. “They never gave up.”

The Santiam starters ran into a myriad of problems late in the game, including foul trouble with sophomores Heidi Halemeier and Ashley Walczak and a poked eye on senior Jakira Ballard.

Though the Raiders outscored the Wolverines 20-10 in the fourth quarter and outrebounded them 48-43 through the game, Santiam put four starters in double-digit scoring and Lost River ultimately couldn’t keep up.

“We found out quickly we couldn’t full court press because they were as quick as we were,” Vieira said. “Both teams had to drop back to half -court (defense).”

Walczak led the game with 16 points before fouling out late and was named Qwest Player of the Game, while Halemeier registered a double-double with 11 points, 13 boards and four blocks.

The win puts Santiam into today’s 1:30 p.m. semifinal against the Nestucca Bobcats and sent Lost River into the 9 a.m. consolation game against Heppner.

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LOST RIVER (17-9) 14 9 11 20 – 54

SANTIAM (26-2) 19 17 15 10 – 61

LOST RIVER – Courtney Rieger 9, Lindsey Thompson 9, Adriana Barajas 8, Kayla Swingle 7, Mandee McCulley 7, Heidi Condon 5, Rosio Hernandez 4, Bailey Johnson 3, Kimberly Rajnus 2, Morgan Hammers, Mayra Martinez.

SANTIAM – Ashley Walczak 16, Kim Hoover 14, Heidi Halemeier 11, Jakira Ballard 10, Amy Flores 5, Sarah Wellsandt 3, Kara Stair 2, Latesia Garcia.

3-point field goals – Lost River 2-9, Santiam 4-13. Free throws – Lost River 16-22, Santiam 17-34. Fouls – Lost River 23, Santiam 18. Fouled out – Rieger, Condon (LR), Walczak (Santiam).