SALEM — Surrounded by reporters on the floor at Willamette University Wednesday afternoon, Sam Sanders admitted being in a happy daze.

“I’m in such shock right now,” the Myrtle Point junior said.

Moments earlier, she had made the winning free throw with 3.6 seconds remaining to give the Bobcats a 39-38 win over Burns in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A state tournament. Myrtle Point rallied from seven points down in the final 1:45 to earn a spot in Friday’s semifinals against Valley Catholic, the same team that stunned the Bobcats last year in a game that also ended on free throws in the final seconds.

Veteran Myrtle Point coach Marty Stallard said he considered retiring after that agonizing loss. His attitude Wednesday was understandably happier.

“I can’t believe how good I feel right now,” Stallard said.

The Bobcats needed a huge comeback to get the win, and rallied with the team far from full strength.

Krissy Johnston, Myrtle Point’s standout senior, fouled out with 5:03 to go and Myrtle Point clinging to three-point lead. She followed Cally Kennedy to the bench — the junior post had fouled out at the 5:45 mark.

Monique Bentz made one free throw after the foul on Johnston to pull Burns within 26-24.

Sanders made two free throws on Myrtle Point’s next trip down the floor, but then the Bobcats went three minutes without scoring and Burns ran off 10 straight points. Bentz started the run with a basket and then Mattea Zabala rebounded her own miss in to tie the game. Bentz scored on a pass from Zabala following a steal to put Burns in front at the 3:48 mark. After a Myrtle Point turnover, Jaela Dinsmore scored for the Hilanders and then Ashley Schouviller hit her fifth jumper of the second half.

Sanders finally got the Bobcats back on the scoreboard when she hit two free throws after a steal with 1:49 to go, but Burns stretched the lead again quickly. Dinsmore was fouled and made the first free throw. Bentz rebounded in the second to give the Hilanders their biggest lead.

Shirah Stidham scored with her left hand to pull Myrtle Point within five and then the Bobcats forced a turnover. Katilyn McCollum was fouled with 1:20 to go and made the second free throw, cutting the Burns lead to four and prompting a timeout by Stallard.

The Bobcats then forced a 5-second count to regain possession. Courtney Toney stole the inbounds pass for Burns, but traveled, giving the ball back to the Bobcats.

Kylee Fischer missed a 3-pointer from the left corner, but the ball fell right into the hands of Meghan Ross, who was fouled while putting it back in.

Ross missed her foul shot, but Burns was called for traveling on the rebound.

Sanders took the inbounds pass and swished a 3-pointer from the left wing, giving the Bobcats the lead with 54 seconds to go.

Burns tied the game on a free throw by Schouviller with 31 seconds to go and the Bobcats worked the clock down for a final shot. Sanders was fouled while she tried to dribble around a double team 25 feet from the hoop and calmly swished the first free throw, drawing a roar from the big Myrtle Point crowd.

“I was thinking I could do it because I made all of the earlier ones,” said Sanders, who had made her first six free throws and finished with a game-high 18 points.

She missed the second shot, but Bentz’s desperation half-court shot at the buzzer bounced high off the backboard, sparking the Myrtle Point celebration.

Johnston said she had confidence in her teammates even as Burns took the late lead.

“I know my team will pull through,” she said. “I’m really proud of Sam and the team.”

After an ugly first half in which the teams combined to shoot 4-for-28 and Myrtle Point held a 10-8 lead, both teams found their offense in the third.

Myrtle Point scored 10 points in the first four minutes of the second half, including five by Johnston, two each from Sanders and Maria Ciccarelli, and a free throw by Kennedy.

“Marty told us we needed to be a more offensive threat,” Johnston said.

But Myrtle Point didn’t score in the final four minutes of the quarter after Johnston picked up her fourth foul.

Burns scored the final five points of the third to pull within 20-17, and Johnston, who had 13 points, kept the Bobcats in front with six points early in the fourth before she and Kennedy fouled out.

Myrtle Point dug down with its defense to complete the late comeback.

“We played our hearts out,” Sanders said. “We’ve known we want it more than other teams. Obviously, it happened tonight.”

Ross said the team picked up its intensity in the final minutes.

“We were all in it together,” she said. “We wanted it more.”

Myrtle Point has prided itself on tough pressure defense for years, but wasn’t always able to use a full-court press this year because of the team’s lack of depth,” Stallard said.

He’s never questioned the group’s will, though.

“I’ve never had a team with this much heart,” he said.

Still, Stallard had a feeling of deja vu watching the Highlanders take the late lead. Last year, Myrtle Point had a furious comeback against Valley Catholic only to lose on a similar foul call and free throws in the final seconds.

“I was thinking we worked so hard and we’re going to lose again,” he said.

Instead, Myrtle Point was celebrating and the players didn’t have to go through the experience of last year.

“Losing in the first game is the worst feeling ever,” Sanders said. “I didn’t want to go through that again.”

Notes: Bentz and Schouviller led the Hilanders with 11 points each. Johnston and Sanders were the only Bobcats to score more than two. Bentz also had a game-high eight rebounds and Zabala added seven. Johnston led the Bobcats with seven boards. After forcing 11 turnovers in the first three quarters, the Bobcats forced six in the fourth. Sanders had five steals and Fischer three. Myrtle Point committed 20 turnovers, but just three in the final quarter. Friday’s semifinal starts at 1:30 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for students.