Osseo's potent one-two attack of Olivia Antilla and Phillis Webb gave White Bear Lake fits on both ends of the Target Center floor Wednesday in the teams' Class 4A quarterfinal matchup.

Their pesky inside presence helped limit No. 3 seed White Bear Lake to shoot just a tick above 30 percent for the game. On the other end of the floor, the two scored more than the whole Bears’ team in a 68-41 blowout at Target Center.

Even after Osseo climbed to a 17-point lead at halftime, the Orioles didn’t let off the gas. Antilla drove for a layup on the first possession of the second half and scored 10 of the team’s next 12 points from there to all but put the game out of reach.

Webb finished with a game-high 22 points.

“You never want to be happy when you know you can do more and do better,” Antilla, who finished with 20 points, said of her second-half surge. “So we won’t be satisfied until that championship game.”

If Osseo keeps this up in Thursday’s semifinal with Edina, it will get there with an undeniable swagger.

Poised throughout against the Bears, the Orioles played the part of a team out to prove a point in award-winning fashion.

“They played with a chip on their shoulder; they know what they are,” coach Joey Waters said. “But they also know nothing is handed to them. They had to work hard for everything they got.”

Janay Morton got into early foul trouble, but still finished with a double-double for the Orioles.

BRIAN STENSAAS

Junior forward Phillis Webb isn’t always the most efficient post player according to her coach, but in Osseo's 68-41 dismantling of third-seeded White Bear Lake, she was the poster child for efficiency, hitting 10 of 14 shots for 22 points on Wednesday, March 14 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

Webb bulldozed her way inside throughout the game, getting close shots and fighting for rebounds. At times, the White Bear Lake defense simply couldn’t handle her.

“She was very solid for us tonight,” Osseo head coach Joey Waters said after the game. “It’s very hard to defend her, she’s a kid that’s super athletic. “When she’s around the basket, she can out-jump pretty much anybody.”

Not only did she collect 22 points in the quarterfinals victory, she also grabbed seven boards and a block.

“If you throw her a bad pass she can go up and get it,” Waters said. “Tonight we just kept feeding her and she was there and she was finishing and she grabs her own rebounds too so it was a tough matchup with them.”

The physicality and athleticism was something learned early on in her basketball career. A varsity player since eighth grade, she had to play hard and strong in order to hang with girls who were well past her in age, experience, and height.

“Three years or four years ago when I was playing in eighth grade those girls were huge but I still played physical,” Webb said. “I like banging around so it’s kind of fun to see who’s stronger than the other.”

Waters was very happy with the performance, noting that Webb doesn’t always rack up buckets with ease. 

“That’s the thing is really working with her to be more efficient and to put the ball away. When you’re that close to the basket she’s gotta put it away,” she said. “When she does that we’re very successful.” 

Phillis Webb, Osseo
Webb was the epitome of efficiency, scoring 22 points on 7-10 shooting during the first half when Osseo pulled away. The junior forward finished with 22 points  while also grabbing seven rebounds. She was a presence on the inside all game for the Orioles and was a puzzle the Bears just could not solve.