ASHLAND — Bittersweet best describes the North Medford girls basketball team’s 45-38 victory over Ashland on Saturday.

The Black Tornado (22-3), which shared the Southern Oregon Conference title with the Grizzlies, clinched the No. 1 seed but lost a key piece of the puzzle in doing so.

Senior all-SOC point guard Kailey Bostwick went down with a knee injury midway through the second period of the conference seeding game and did not return. The extent of the injury is not fully known but North coach Tim Karrick believes she may have torn the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, which would signal the end of her Black Tornado career.

"It didn’t look good," said Karrick. "I think she probably tore her ACL, so she won’t be back.

"I feel sad for Kailey and the rest of the seniors."

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North Medford will host either McNary or Glencoe on Wednesday in a Class 4A first-round state-playoff game. Ashland (14-10), the SOC’s No. 2 seed, travels to play Franklin, the No. 2 team from the Portland Interscholastic League, on Wednesday.

Bostwick was averaging just over 13 points per contest in conference play and was the team’s leader in assists. She had seven points Saturday when she went down awkwardly with four minutes left in the second quarter.

"The worst part of it was the Bostwick injury," said Ashland coach Ken Lathen after the defeat. "You never like to see that sort of thing happen. I feel very bad for her."

Bostwick left for good with the game tied at 16-all.

Karrick wasn’t sure how his team would respond after the injury, but sophomore Megan Ross, freshman back-up point guard Whitney Hodnett and senior mainstay Mellisa Eastwold more than picked up the slack.

Ross, an athletic wing, scored seven of her 11 points in the first half, and made several key hustle plays to keep North afloat.

Hodnett also scored 11 — nine coming over the final two quarters — and finished with just one turnover.

"Someone has to step up when your lead player goes down," said Ross. "The senior and the whole team in general stepped up their play."

Eastwold, who poured in a team-high 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting, and Ross combined for eight points to help North claim a 23-21 lead at the end of a back-and-forth first half.

There were 13 lead changes and neither side led by more than five in the opening two quarters.

Hodnett immediately set the tone for the second half with a 3-pointer to stretch the Tornado lead to 26-21. She then nailed two free throws and scored on a fastbreak layup toward the tail end of the third period to hand North Medford its biggest advantage at 36-28.

"Anytime you lose a three-year starter and replace her with a freshman," said Karrick, "you really don’t know what you’re going to get.

"I thought (Hodnett) responded amazingly."

The Grizzlies, however, wouldn’t go away.

Abeni Hill scored seven of her season-high 19 points in the fourth quarter to bring Ashland to within 40-38 with just over one minute to play.

North Medford then ran 45 seconds off the clock before Hodnett was fouled. She calmly sank both free throws with the hostile crowd whooping it up behind her, and Ross followed with a pair of critical foul shots 20 seconds later to seal the win.

Hill, who also pulled down 10 rebounds, was the only Grizzly in double figures. Fellow post Danielle Thompson added seven points and played solid interior defense.

Guards Alysse Carlson and Jamie Roupp, the team’s leading scorers, tallied just six points apiece.

"We just didn’t shoot well," said Lathen, whose team finished 15 of 42 from the field. "We did get great play out of our posts but we couldn’t hit a shot from the outside. That’s kind of backwards for us. Normally it’s those two kids (Roupp and Carlson) who carry us in scoring.

"But that was by far the best game of the season for Abeni. She was out there calling for the ball."

The Tornado also struggled from the field, making just 13 of 47. But a 17-for-22 effort from the foul line, an area where North has made great strides since the start of the year, made up for the poor shooting.

"I think we’re getting pretty confident at the line," said Karrick. "We’ve shot over 70 percent in the second half of the season."

Eastwold had nine rebounds and Michelle Westermann and Hodnett each had four steals.

Karrick was optimistic by his team’s perseverance heading into Wednesday’s playoff game.

"I’m real proud of the girls," he said. "The way they picked it up after losing Kailey... It was pretty special what they did tonight. They really shined."

NORTH MEDFORD (45) — Bostwick 5, Schultz 0, Berger 0, Westermann 0, Eastwold 16, Ross 11, Seeley 2, Hodnett 11, Heim 0. Totals: 13-47 17-22 45.

ASHLAND (38) — Thompson 7, McDermott 0, Carlson 6, Roupp 6, Sohl 0, Hasty 0, Hill 19. Totals: 15-42 6-12 38.

North Medford............................11 12 13 9 — 45

Ashland.......................................10 11 7 10 — 38

3-point goals — North Medford 2 (Bostwick 1, Hodnett 1), Ashland 2 (Carlson 1, Thompson 1).