REDMOND — Ashley Hall saw it as her duty to take over. It was her job as an upperclassman to grab the reins and steer Ridgeview to victory.

After senior point guard Aspen Jeter got into foul trouble in the second quarter, Hall was presented the challenge of taking control — and she sprinted away with it.

Hall scored 10 of her game-high 19 points in the second period Tuesday night, and the Ravens opened up a nine-point halftime lead. With visiting Putnam still hanging around in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, Hall erased the chances of a comeback with two late buckets that allowed Ridgeview to secure a 65-48 victory in the Class 5A girls basketball play-in round.

“I felt like, at first, we were going to play our team game, where each of us scores six or seven points and it adds up,” Hall said. “But when Aspen got her third foul and other people’s shots weren’t falling, that kind of was my opportunity and my job to step up. … As an upperclassman this year, that’s my chance and my opportunity to do that for my team.”

For the second time in its six-year history, Ridgeview, competing in the play-in round for the fifth straight year but hosting for the first time, advances to the first round of the 5A state playoffs. The Ravens, seeded 13th in the 16-team field, will visit No. 4 Springfield on Friday.

“The big thing that’s really paying off for us now is we’ve had some girls who went through this with state soccer playoffs,” said Ridgeview coach Shan Hartford, referring to four players who were on the Ravens team that reached the 5A soccer quarterfinals this past fall. “The pressure just hasn’t gotten to them. They’re used to it. They’re used to playing in a big game, and it shows.”

Trailing 14-10 early in the second quarter Tuesday, Ridgeview needed a spark, and Hall provided it. Her baseline jumper tied the game 14-14 and another six straight points from Hall pushed the Ravens’ lead to 24-18 late in the second period. All told, paced by Hall, Ridgeview (15-10 overall) outscored Putnam 19-10 in the quarter to lead 29-20 at the half, hitting 7 of 12 shots while benefiting from nine Kingsmen turnovers.

“It just took some time to get used to,” Hall said. “I think we were just really hyped up on adrenaline that first quarter because we’ve never had a play-in game here at home. So we were really excited, but when the second quarter hit, we kind of settled down our nerves and got together and started hitting shots and playing as a team like we have all year.”

Rylee Troutman opened the third quarter with back-to-back layups to spark an 8-2 Ravens spurt, extending their advantage to 37-22. But Putnam, the fifth-place team from the Northwest Oregon Conference, cut the deficit to eight points as Emma Whittington found Miranda Evans for a fast break lay-in to cap a 7-0 run by the Kingsmen from Milwaukie. Still, a late jumper by Alaina Clark had Ridgeview ahead 45-32 heading into the final quarter.

Putnam (6-19) narrowed the gap to 47-40 midway through the fourth quarter, as the Ravens committed five quick turnovers to open the final period. Troutman and Jeter, however, kept Ridgeview afloat with consecutive layups, and a 3-point play by Hall, followed by her jumper shortly after, allowed the Ravens to pull away for the play-in win.

Whittington paced the Kingsmen with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Abigail Paul had nine points, while Evans and Sarah Rope each scored eight.

Clark had 14 points off the bench for Ridgeview, and Troutman finished with 12 points, 10 boards and two blocks. While Jeter totaled seven points and five assists for the Ravens, it was Hall who provided the spark — and the finish — to move Ridgeview into the first round of the state playoffs.

“Ashley tonight, she just kind of took it upon herself to put the team on her back,” Hartford said. “And she just wasn’t going to lose.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0307, 
glucas@bendbulletin.com.