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Cascade-Leavenworth 57, Okanogan 41
Game 9. (Loser out)
At Omak, WA

Cascade's trio of Gretchen Freund, Gail Gagnon and Shannon Williams proved to be too much for outmatched Okanogan.
The three Kodiak standouts combined for 48  points and 37 rebounds in leading their team to its convincing triumph.
The Kodiaks dominated the boards and continually broke the Bulldogs' game-long full-court press, often scoring baskets off the break.
"We got a lot of fast breaks," said Cascade coach Bob Bullis. "We were getting the ball inside before they could recover."
Bullis was especially pleased with the effort of Gagnon, who netted 14 points, collected 12 rebounds and dished our nine assists.
"She really hustled," said Bullis. "She's a real team player."
"Gagnon was the game-breaker for us," said Okanogan coach Dick Merriman. "She hits the offensive boards so well."
Freund was the Cascade point leader with 19 and pulled down 11 rebounds. Williams gathered 15 points and 14 rebounds and had six assists.
The Kodiaks, who shot 42 percent from the floor, led by eight at the half and expanded the lead gradually from there. Their zone defense was effective against the Bulldogs, holding Okanogan scoring leader Sarah Works to six points.

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Chelan 62, Lake Roosevelt 44
Game 10. (Loser out)
At Okanogan, WA

Angie Coleman poured in 29 points and unheralded Amy Sturtz scored 12 to spark the Goats to their victory over Lake Roosevelt.
Coleman fired in 11 of 17 field goal tries, connected on 7 of 8 at the foul line and snared 10 rebounds to pace the Goats.
"She had an excellent ball game," said Chelan coach Jim Talley of Coleman.
But Talley believes Sturtz, a senior guard who averaged just six points per game during the regular season, has made the Goats a different team during post-season play.
"She's been a key to our tournament success," said Talley, noting that Sturtz has averaged in double figures in the district playoffs. "She's really been coming on."
The Goats expanded a seven-point halftime lead to 17 by the end of the third period. Chelan shot 46 percent from the field, compared to the Raiders' 32 percent.
Suzy Lavender also scored in double figures for the Goats, netting 14 points.
Annabelle Speck led the way for Lake Roosevelt with 15 points. Nancy Kuiper added eight points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

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Chelan 57, Cascade-Leavenworth 40
Game 11. (Loser out)
At Okanogan, WA

Chelan coach Jim Talley thought the season was over... when Angie Coleman picked up her fourth foul with 1:43 to play in the second period.
"When she got her fourth, I figured it was over for us because Cascade was playing so well," said Talley.
Coleman went out with the scored tied at 22-all. That's the way the half ended and early in the third period Cascade led 30-28 and 32-30.
But Chelan proved there's a lot more to the team than Coleman.
With freshman Rachael Lavender and Shelly Gibbs leading the way -- they each finished with 18 points -- the Goats outscored Cascade 27-8 the rest of the way.
"Throughout this tournament when the pressure has been on of our key players, somebody else has come through," said Talley. "Shelly (Gibbs) played the game of her life tonight. (The talent) has always been there but we haven't gotten it out of her.
"For a freshman, Racheal (Lavender) has had a heckuva year for us. She showed that tonight. Kelly Case came through with some big rebounds for us when Angie got in foul trouble."
Cascade stayed in contention with sheer hustle and minus some offensive firepower of its own. The Kodiaks got no offensive production at all from Gail Gagnon (0-for-10) from the field and just nine points from Gretchen Freund, Cascade's top two scorers.
But sophomore Shannon Williams, hitting 7-of-15 shots, kept Cascade in the picture with a 14-point game. Junior Jana Zediker gave the Kodiaks some unexpected firepower from outside, banging in four long range baskets.
However, in the second half, the Kodiaks couldn't buy a basket. Cascade hit only 8-of-37 second-half shots, the same kind of shots there crisp-passing offense produced in the first half.
The big difference in the outcome showed up in the rebounding stats, a department overwhelming in favor of Chelan (51-32), and at the free throw line, where the Goats hit 17-of-34 compared to 6-to-9 for the Kodiaks.

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Ephrata 51, Tonasket 36
Game 12. (Championship, winner to state)
At Okanogan, WA

Tonasket coach Mel Erickson had a good plan. After being routed by Ephrata twice playing man-to-man defense, Erickson devised a diamond-and-two, then box-and-one zone defense.
It worked for nearly three quarters.
Tonasket's tactics frustrated Ephrata early, especially Becky Wiersma, the sparkplug engineer of the Basin Tigers' offense. Tonasket always dropped two players on defense to prevent Ephrata from fast-breaking. Once Ephrata got the ball up court, Wiersma and Mary Beth Nelson were shadowed every step they took.
At the half Ephrata led only 24-22 and early in the third period Tonasket went ahead 26-24 on a basket by Kendra Curtis.
That's when Wiersma took over, getting the ball to the wings, mainly Tracy Allen and Hazel Hahne, who both turned in sizzling shooting performances.
Two Tonasket time-outs later, Ephrata owned a 39-28 lead. Tonasket went scoreless for the first three minutes of the fourth quarter and with that drought went its district title hopes as well.
Allen and Hahne softened up Tonasket's zone with some deadeye shooting from the baseline, Tracy swishing in 8-of-10 field goal attempts for 16 points. Hahne 4-of-7 tried for eight points.
Another major factor in the victory  was the key play of 6-foot-1 senior transfer Sheryl Quiring. The former Illinois resident worked herself open inside because Tonasket's concern for Nelson. The result: five Quiring field goals in 10 shots and a 12-point total.
Eventually, Nelson got into the act as well, scoring eight of her 13 points in the second half.
Ephrata's 18-8 domination of the fourth quarter dimmed what been a fine performance by Tonasket.
Tonasket's inside trio of Curtis, Gloria Dugas and Keri Baker aggressively battled Ephrata on the boards. The trio not only combined for 27 points, Curtis and Dugas had 10 apiece, but also led their team to a slight 26-25 edge in rebounding.

Tonasket 44, Chelan 37
Game 13. (winner to state, loser out)
At Eastmont High School

It will be Tonasket and Ephrata for the second straight year in a row, representing North Central Washington in the girls State Class A basketball tournament beginning Wednesday at Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland.
Tonasket survived a furious Chelan comeback to down the Goats at Eastmont High School Saturday night.
And survived may be putting it mildly, because the Tigers scored only 11 points in the second half after cruising to a 33-21 halftime cushion. Tonasket, leading 39-29 entering the fourth quarter, didn't score a point until one minute and 29 seconds remained in the game, when Kendra Curtis downed both ends of a one-and-one free throw situation to give Tonasket a 41-37 advantage. She added a three-point play with 28 seconds left to create the final score.
Tonasket, also for the second straight year, will play Wednesday's 9am opener against the Raymond Gulls (16-8).
Chelan had closed to within 39-37 with 2:51 left on a rebound basket by Shelly Gibbs. But the Goats missed a bundle of opportunities down the stretch, shooting 4-of-22 for the quarter and just 8-of-42 in the second half.
Both teams -- meeting for the fourth time, with Tonasket winning all four -- were obviously feeling the pressure down the stretch.
Early in the game however, it looked as though Tonasket would win easily. The Tigers came out red-hot, firing in 8-of-11 first-quarter field goal attempts to build a 19-10 cushion. Near halftime, Tonasket expanded the cushion to 33-19.
"The first quarter was the ball game," said Chelan coach Jim Talley. "I've never seen shooting like that in a girls basketball game.
"We had plenty of chances to come back but the girls just didn't settle down. They just don't have the court sense yet."
Tonasket coach Mel Erickson was just relieved that the Tigers had met their goal.
"We were expected to go to state this year," said Erickson. "There was pressure on everybody, from me, from the girls themselves and throughout the community."
Erickson said, "We really didn't show a lot of poise down the stretch."
But, despite the 1-for-9 fourth-quarter shooting and six turnovers in the final period, Tonasket did do one thing well: play defense.
Tonasket's front-line trio of Curtis, Gloria Dugas and Keri Baker, gave Chelan no clear shots at the basket inside. They were particularly effective against Angie Coleman, who was held to a mere three points and was 1-of-8 from the field.
"We boxed-and-one on Coleman all game long and it was pretty effective," said Erickson. "All year long we played man-to-man defense but the girls did a good job zoning the last two games.
Early in the contest DeAnn Erickson ignited things for Tonasket. Scoring mostly from the 10-to-15-foot range, Erickson produced all her 12 points in the first half, hitting 6-of-9 field goal attempts. Erickson didn't shoot at all in the second half.
Suzy Lavender topped Chelan with 12 points and Gibbs had 10. Rachael Lavender's hustling floor game and defensive play helped Chelan make its second-half rush.
"Even though we couldn't make the key basket, I couldn't have asked for any more effort from the girls," said Talley. "We gave our fans a lot of exciting ball this year."

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Tournament Scoring Leaders