25th Annual
North Central District "A"
Girls Basketball Tournament
2000

Champ

ionship

Brew
(21

ster
-1)

Score

: 51-48

Liberty
(13

 Bell
-9)

Score

: 68-27

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Brewster 53, Liberty Bell 46
Game 1.
At Brewster, WA

When Brewster's Nancy Rios went to the foul line late in the Caribou Trail League District 1A game against Liberty Bell, she had a simple thought.
"I need to make these so we don't go into overtime," Rios recalled. "We went through that before (in a Feb. 8 victory) and we didn't want to do that again."
The Bears didn't, winning 53-46. The victory puts Brewster into the district championship game against Okanogan at 8 p.m. Saturday at Chelan. The Lions face Lake Roosevelt in a loser-out contest at 6:30, also at Chelan.
Rios drained two foul shots with 29 seconds left, putting Brewster up by six. The junior hit another foul shot with nine seconds left, giving her 12 points for the game. Rios started out by scoring half of the Bears' first 10 points.
"Nancy is one of our veterans, she's our floor leader," Brewster coach Bryan Boesel said. "We were nervous early and it showed."
Both teams showed their nerves. Liberty Bell led early, going up by five (12-7) after its first possession of the second quarter with a Diana Thomas lay-up.
The Lions led despite hitting just 3 of 10 field goals. Liberty Bell tried to exploit the height advantage of 6-foot-3 post Jessica Werremeyer, who had a productive game (22 points) in the previous overtime loss.
"Jessica was just trying to shoot too quickly," Lion coach Mike Bourn said. "She had good shots, but tried to rush it. She needed to slow down just a little bit."
Werremeyer, limited to four field goals, finished with 13 points. She also had eight rebounds and one blocked shot.
Brewster rotated three defenders against Werremeyer and sent others in to help when she got the ball. Seniors Brianna Brown, Heather Hallet and Ashleigh Shaw shared the duties.
"Those three did a great job, they wore Jessica down," the Brewster coach said.
Meanwhile, Brewster's nervousness disappeared. A combination of hitting free throws and Brown draining a pair of inside shots gave the Bears the lead just before halftime.
Brewster made 10 of 12 foul shots, five by Jeni Boesel to 23-15 at the half. It countered her 0-for-9 start from the 3-point line.
Brewster's lead grew to 10 when Boesel and Rachel Crane drained treys. Boesel finished with 15 points and Crane nine.
Liberty Bell started hitting from beyond the arc, the first a buzzer-beater by Maja Nickell to close out the third quarter. Natalia DeKalb hit a trey early in the fourth.
DeKalb was playing despite a sore back. She missed Wednesday's practice and the Lions' coach was uncertain she would play.
"She toughed it out," Bourn said. "I didn't know how long she'd be out there."
DeKalb played to the end. So did Thomas, scoring nine points in the fourth quarter.
That countered three treys by the Bears' freshmen trio of Rachel Crane, Michelle Tostenrude and Boesel. Boesel's came before leaving the game when her calves cramping up.
"We had to go to a different lineup at the end," the Brewster coach said. "Still, we were able to get some good shots."
The Lions stayed close though as Thomas had her own 5-0 run, part of her team-high 14 points. The senior hit a trey and drained two foul shots, putting Liberty Bell within four (50-46).
After Brewster missed a trey, the Lions were unable to take advantage. Liberty Bell missed two foul shots, had a turnover and another missed shot in its final three possessions.
"We had our chance, but you can't be missing free throws," Bourn said. "We had our chance to get it down to two points late."
After that, Rios' free throws clinched the victory.

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Okanogan 64, Lake Roosevelt 25
Game 2.
At Okanogan, WA

Naomie Peasley produced 12 points, seven assists and five steals as one of 11 Bulldogs to play in the lopsided game at Okanogan.
Jill Attridge, Amanda Merkley and Andrea Lisenbey each netted 10 points for Okanogan, which cruised to a 32-9 halftime lead. Aletha Walker grabbed six rebounds.
Lake Roosevelt freshman Kayla Truscott scored 10 points.

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Liberty Bell 68, Lake Roosevelt 27
Game 3.
At Omak, WA

Sheena Hinkle tossed in 14 points and Jessica Werremeyer and Diana Thomas clicked for 13 and 11, respectively, for the Lions.
Werremeyer pulled down nine rebounds, while Maja Nickell and Hinkle each nabbed five steals. Natalia DeKalb dished out four assists.
Jade Kiser and Katie Kennedy combined for 12 points for the Raiders.

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Brewster 51, Okanogan 48
Game 4. (Winner to regional)
At Omak, WA

Brewster's Rachel Crane gave Okanogan fits defensively, then rained some offensive blows to lead the Bears to a 51-48 victory Saturday for their first Caribou Trail League District 1A championship and state berth as well.
Brewster will play Northeast champion Colfax in a seeding game Saturday at Moses Lake. Game time was not yet announced.
The State 1A tourney runs March 1-4 in the Tacoma Dome.
Okanogan plays Liberty Bell at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Omak High in a loser-out game. The Mountain Lions stayed alive by beating Lake Roosevelt 68-27.
The winner advances to a regional winner-to-state playoff against Northeast No. 2 Freeman on Saturday at Moses Lake (time TBD).
With Brewster leading 49-48, Crane hit both ends of a one-and-one free-throw chance with six seconds left. Okanogan's last-chance 3-point try was partially deflected.
Crane finished with 17 points, Jeni Boesel 15 and Nancy Rios 11.
"Rachel stole the ball five or six times and stepped up to hit some key buckets," Brewster coach Bryan Boesel said.
Crane hit six of Brewster's 14 second-quarter points en route to a 30-28 halftime lead.
Boesel canned 10 points in the first quarter but experienced foul trouble in the second half. She picked up her fourth foul early in the final period and sat for about four minutes.
"The rest of the girls really stepped up," coach Boesel said. "We've done it before when some of the other girls would get in foul trouble."
He praised the work of freshman reserve guard Chelise Becker, who had four points in about 10 minutes plus strong defense against Okanogan's Kim Attridge.
Attridge led Okanogan with 13 points and Naomie Peasley struck for 12.

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Liberty Bell 52, Okanogan 51
Game 5.
At Omak, WA

When the Liberty Bell girls' basketball team trailed by 10 points in the third quarter against Okanogan, senior Maja Nickell delivered a message to her teammates.
Then Nickell delivered a game-winning performance. The senior had 11 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Lions win 52-51 in the Caribou Trail League District 1A consolation final Thursday at Omak.
The victory sends Liberty Bell into a winner-to-state game against Freeman at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Moses Lake.
The Okanogan boys won the other loser-out game, beating Lake Roosevelt 50-39 at Omak. The Bulldogs face Liberty at 2 p.m. Saturday in Moses Lake.
In the girls' finale, Liberty Bell was facing a third loss to Okanogan. The Bulldogs won by 28 and 12 points in the regular season.
"During a timeout, Maja did all the talking," Lion coach Mike Bourn said. "She told the team they weren't going to lose. Then she almost willed the team to a win."
Nickell had the game's key defensive play after scoring 19 points. The senior blocked a 3-point shot just before the buzzer. Liberty Bell took its first lead midway through the fourth quarter on a trey from Natalia DeKalb, who then fouled out.
"Yes, I was worried," Bourn said. "We had to play the last four minutes without Natalia, but sophomore Rickie Bovee came through."
Bovee had six assists, most in the second half. It countered Okanogan's long-distance accuracy.
The Bulldogs hit six treys, led by junior guard Kim Attridge with four in the first half. Attridge finished with 15 points while Naomie Peasley added 14.
DeKalb finished with 11 points and six assists. Jessica Werremeyer contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds.
"It's a great win, but I feel bad for Michelle (Ferenz, the Okanogan coach)," Bourn said. "She has such a good program and they've been so close the state the past two seasons."
The Bulldogs lost by one point last year in the North Central District "A" winner-to-state game.