PORTLAND — Alyxe Bruns scored 26 points and made big plays down the stretch as No. 3 Willamette knocked off No. 2 Ashland in overtime 55-48 in the quarterfinals of the OSAA Class 5A girls state championships at the University of Portland on Wednesday.

The Wolverines (26-1) had to overcome a dominating performance by Ashland’s 6-foot-3 junior post Brenna Heater.

Heater finished with 36 points on 13-for-23 shooting and 14 rebounds but fouled out in overtime for the Grizzlies (24-3), who were the top seed out of the Southern Sky Conference.

A pair of Heater free throws with 41.7 seconds left in regulation tied it at 46 and the Grizzlies got the ball back on a Wolverine turnover with 4.5 seconds to go. After a timeout, Heater missed a runner in the lane at the buzzer.

Ashland took the lead with two more Heater free throws early in OT, but Bruns made a jumper to put the Wolverines up 49-48. On the ensuing possession, Heater picked up her fifth foul on a charge. Bruns then made three free throws and came up with an important steal to seal the game for the Wolverines.

Willamette, the Midwestern League champion, beat the Grizzlies 51-26 in the first game of the season.

Jefferson 50, Bend 38

Top-ranked Jefferson used an aggressive defense and balanced offense to beat No. 10 Bend 60-38 in the quarterfinals and advance to a semifinal matchup with Willamette.

Nyesha Sims led Jefferson (25-0) with 15 points and nine rebounds. Janita Badon added 13 points, five rebounds and seven assists and Tyrisha Blake finished with 11 points and six rebounds for theDemocrats. The Lava Bears (15-9) were led by Brittaney Niebergal, who finished with eight points.

After leading only 12-9 after the first quarter, the Democrats went on a 13-0 run to start the second. Jefferson followed that up by starting the third period with a 10-0 run and the Demos rolled from there on.

The Democrats quick defense picked up 16 steals against the Lava Bears.

Jefferson advances to play Willamette who beat the Democrats 64-45 in last year’s semifinals.

Hermiston 51, Corvallis 46

Shoni Schimmel’s 14 points and fancy ball-handling led No. 4 Hermiston to a 51-46 win over No. 8 Corvallis on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

Leading only 25-22 early in the third quarter, Hermiston (23-4) used an 11-2 and a 10-2 run in the second half to give the Bulldogs enough breathing room over the Spartans.

Corvallis (16-10) turned the ball over 32 times, leading to 27 Bulldog points.

Both teams struggled to make an outside shot. The Bulldogs shot 2-for-23 (9 percent) from the 3-point line and the Spartans went 1-for-12 (8 percent) from beyond the arc. Despite leading the Bulldogs, Schimmel only made one of her 12 3-point attempts.

Briana Stacona chipped in eight points for Hermiston, the top seed out of the Intermountain Conference. Gabe Johnson scored 19 points to lead Corvallis, top seed from the Mid-Willamette Conference.

Wilsonville 66, Crater 52

Melinda Ingalls did a little bit of everything to lead No. 5 Wilsonville to a 66-52 victory past unranked Crater on  Wednesday in the other quarterfinal.

Ingalls finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for the Wildcats (23-3), who won their eighth straight.

Trailing Crater (14-9) 26-25 in the second quarter, the Wildcats used a 9-0 run to end the half and a 13-3 run in the third to pull away. The Wildcats used a strong defense to their advantage, scoring 31 points off 24 Crater turnovers.

The Wildcats were also led by Megan Arnoldy and Katy Britsch, who scored 14 and 11 points, respectively. Carly Deschamps led Crater with 13 points and Aundrea Albright added 11.