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Ephrata 55, Cashmere 27
Game 9. (Loser out)
At Quincy, WA

Ephrata pushed the ball inside to its big people and they delivered to get the Tigers headed toward a triumph over Cashmere.
Adina Moritz, Lori  Brashear and Laura Mayer all recorded double figure scoring nights inside to overpower the shorter Bulldogs, who were held to eight field goals in the game.
The Tigers held Cashmere's Cathy Smith to six points. Cashmere hit only 8-of-45 field goal attempts (18 percent).
Moritz scored 12 points, Brashear collected 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Mayer contributed 13 points, including eight in the second quarter, to help Ephrata to a 30-12 halftime lead.
Betty Cabe and Carol Ary, Ephrata's outside scoring tandem, were content to work the ball inside and combined for nine assists. Ary also grabbed eight rebounds.
Cashmere ended its season 7-16.

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Okanogan 50, Chelan 46
Game 10. (Loser out)
At Omak, WA

Okanogan carried a 13-point lead into the fourth quarter and managed to hold off onrushing Chelan to post the win.
Sarah Works, held to 10 points, well below her season average of 24.4 per game, hit a crucial one-and-one free throw in the last minute to help seal the win.
Kim Bahr picked up the slack for Okanogan with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Marcy Tollefson added 14 points and seven rebounds. The Bulldogs also received strong rebounding games from Jenny Lashinski and Jennifer McGaha.
Janice Goodwin's 19 points and Kelly Swinney's 16 led Chelan.
The Goats outscored Okanogan 16-7 in the fourth quarter to make it close. Chelan ended its season with a 7-16 mark.

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Ephrata 40, Okanogan 38
Game 11. (Loser out)
At Chelan, WA

Okanogan got the ball in the right player's hands, in the right place at the right time.
But on a night when Okanogan star Sarah Works found the going tough, the last two seconds proved to be no different.
Works' baseline shot at the buzzer, off an inbounds play, clanked off the rim and Ephrata celebrated a hard-fought survival game victory.
"Those things happen," said Okanogan coach Dick Merriman, dealing with the subject of his team's hard luck in the last seconds.
Actually, both teams were the victims of turnovers and missed opportunities in the final minutes as the scoreboard seemed stuck on 38-38.
It became unstuck with 32 seconds left when Betty Cabe canned two free throws to give Ephrata its winning margin.
But the Tigers still had to survive the final frantic seconds as Okanogan lost the ball on a traveling call with 13 seconds... Ephrata turned it back over on an errant pass with 10 seconds... Ephrata's Nanea King fouled Okanogan's Jennifer McGaha, who missed the front end of a one-and-one with four seconds remaining... a tie up on the ensuing rebound between Ephrata's Laura Mayer and Okanogan's Works resulted in a Bulldog ball out of bounds on the alternate possession rule with two seconds.
That set the stage for Works, who has been the dominant player all season long in the Caribou Trail League.
"Cabe did a super job (defending Works)," said Ephrata coach Don King, whose team went with a box-and-one defense, using Cabe to shadow Works all night. "And she was getting some help form Carol Ary and Nanea. They hurt us a little in the middle, but that's better than letting Sarah hit that turn-around shot all night."
"They played that against her before," said Merriman. "Physically, she was a little tired. But I'm sure everyone is at this point. Still, Sarah is the best passer on the team and the best rebounder... I'm glad to see Sarah accomplish all she has... There are better players around, but no one has shown the dedication she has."
After averaging 24.4 points per game during her senior season, Works was limited to 10 points against Ephrata. She got off to an OK start (3-of-6 in the first half), but slumped to a 2-for-11 second half showing.
No one scored a bundle of points in this defensive struggle. Carol Ary topped Ephrata with 10 points. Kim Bahr led Okanogan with 11.
The Tigers hit only 34 percent of their field goal tries (17-of-50) and the Bulldogs shot an even 30 percent (18-of-60).
Okanogan took an early 8-2 lead and was on top most of the first half before an 8-0 Ephrata run evened the score at 20-20 at the intermission. Mayer sank a put-back at the buzzer to finish off the Tigers' scoring spurt.
The two teams played yo-yo right up to the final buzzer.
The Bulldogs were victimized by seven fourth-period turnovers, including two steals apiece by King and Ary. They also missed three of five free throws down the stretch.
Merriman brushed off the subject of the bruising style of play and let-the-players-play attitude of the officials. He preferred instead to praise the defense and ball-handling of sophomore guard Kay Craig, who is back after three knee surgeries, and the all-around effort of sophomore wing Marcy Tollefson (six points, eight rebounds, three steals).
He also expressed sorrow for veteran post Ericka Johnson, whose foot bone problems caused her to miss the season finale.
Bahr contributed seven rebounds and Works had three steals for Okanogan (17-7).
King lauded the Okanogan match-up zone defense, which he said "really took us off our (shooting) spots. They've played man-to-man all year. We weren't expecting (the zone)."
Ephrata got several good rebounding efforts - Mayer (with nine) and Ary and Lori Brashear (each with seven). Adina Moritz turned in a strong game off the bench, scoring eight points and collecting five rebounds.
"This has been a great girls league this year," said King. "There's been a lot of parity."

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Cascade-Leavenworth 52, Omak 46
Game 12. (Championship, winner to state)
At Chelan, WA

Cascade broke new ground and Ephrata kept its hopes alive for continuing a long tradition in North Central District A girls basketball action here Thursday night.
Cascade, having never won a District championship or a berth in the State A tournament, got both by outlasting Omak in a physically and emotionally exhausting contest for both teams. The Kodiaks will go to next week's State A tournament in Tacoma as North Central Washington's top-seeded club.
Like a couple of evenly matched boxers, Cascade and Omak traded blows throughout Thursday's North Central District A girls basketball title game.
But in the end, the Kodiaks had just a little too much inside power for the Pioneers and posted the win.
Call it a split decision.
"We knew we'd be in for this kind of a game," said Omak coach Scott Culbertson, referring to the physical nature of the game. "They beat us (inside) and they beat us fair and square."
"Cascade is a very deserving team. I think tonight we proved we're a deserving team too. It just came down to the last two minutes."
The Pioneers got as close as 45-44 inside the two-minute mark on a close-range shot by Stephani Stanger. But the Kodiaks put the game out of reach at the foul line, where the game was played almost the entire fourth period.
Cascade's Donna Eilers and Kami Wagoner each drilled two free throws and Jennifer Saunders hit one in the final 1:39. Wagoner's foul shots with 38 seconds showing gave the Kodiaks an insurmountable 50-44 advantage.
Eilers followed a Laurie Pearson put-back with a lay-in at the buzzer for the final count, setting off a massive Cascade celebration. A tidal wave of fans mobbed the players at center court, one of whom accidentally gashed the head of Saunders who after a brief treatment was sent back into the victory melee.
Cascade coach Bob Bullis smiled and looked on before being carried off for the traditional net-cutting ceremony.
Said Bullis, who coached Peshastin-Dryden's girls to a North Central District B title and three State B tournament appearances before consolidation created Cascade High said, "I had a lot of confidence in these kids. They've come through under pressure all year."
The Kodiaks opened the game like they were determined to blow the Pioneers out of the gym. Cascade went up 12-2 before Omak staged a rally of its own, going on a 15-2 run to take a 17-14 lead.
The two clubs traded buckets until the Pioneers rattled off six straight points to go up 29-23 just before intermission.
Cascade dominated the third period as Saunders hit her first three shots of the half and wound up going 4-for-6 from the field, scoring eight of her game-high 21 points. The Kodiaks' 13-5 third-period spurt put them up by four heading into the final period.
That's when the free-throw wars started.
Omak, playing a tough zone defense, shut out the Kodiaks over the first four minutes of the final period. Carmen Kursave converted both ends of a one-and-one to put Omak up 40-38 at 3:57.
But Cascade bounced back, going on top for good when Shannon Williams rebounded a missed free throw and stuck it back in for a 41-40 Kodiak lead. Seconds later, after a Saunders steal, a pass bounced off the head of Wendi Hurt and into the hands of Saunders who was wide open under the basket for a lay-in.
"It was a matter of who got the breaks in the last two minutes," said Culbertson. "The seemed to get 'em all."
The foul-shooting advantage tilted heavily to Cascade's favor in the fourth period after Omak had gone to the line 18 times in the first-half (converting 11). The Kodiaks got 13 attempts from the foul line in the last eight minutes, sinking only six.
Besides leading everyone in scoring, Saunders passed the ball effectively and played strong defense.
It was Cascade's defensive effort, mostly in zone, that pleased Bullis most.
"(Omak) has such good shooters I was worried about zoning them," said Bullis. "But the kids played it well."
The Pioneers hit only 31 percent of their shots -- 15-of-48.
"I was surprised they played so much zone; we usually shoot a zone out," said Culbertson.
The Omak coach pointed to Cascade's 41-27 rebounding advantage as a "big key." Williams led the way with 10 rebounds, followed by Eilers with nine and Hurt with eight (plus three blocks).
Tanya Smith and reserve Jenny Kerr each netted 13 points to pace Omak. Kerr had an outstanding game off the bench, hitting 5-of-8 shots, all three of her free throws and grabbing seven rebounds. Pearson finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Kursave had four steals.
"We had some young players who didn't handle the pressure," said Culbertson. "But this game is going to help us. If we play our game and play tough, we can beat Ephrata."

Omak 55, Ephrata 40
Game 13. (winner to state, loser out)
At Eastmont High School

Just call 'em The Young and The Restless.
The Omak girls basketball team - without a single senior ballplayer - made it quite clear there would be no rest until it qualified for the State A tournament in Tacoma. The Pioneers did exactly that Saturday night, knocking off defending District champion Ephrata in the battle for second place to wrap up the North Central District A tournament at Eastmont High.
The win means an Omak girls team will be making its first-ever trip to State. It also brought an end to Ephrata's string of State tourney appearances, which numbered five going into Saturday night.
After the Pioneers claimed the second-place trophy with their 13th win in 14 games, Omak coach Scott Culbertson was bold about his State tournament expectations.
"We'll come home with a trophy," said Culbertson. "What kind of trophy, I don't know."
"We may have to buy one," cracked Omak assistant coach Gary Smith.
Ephrata coach Don King, whose team closed out the season at 15-10 was impressed enough to give the Pioneers his vote of confidence.
"I think the Caribou will be represented well at State," he said. "Both our teams have a good shot at bringing home some hardware."
Coach Culbertson has wondered all season if his players would be "up" at game time. And after losing to Cascade in a hard-fought District championship game on Thursday night; he had a right to be extra concerned.
But the Pioneers, true babes of the hardware with three freshman starters, showed their coach and the rest of the league what they're made of against Ephrata.
"We've had trouble with poise with all these young kids this year," said Culbertson. "But it became apparent in mid-January that we deserved to be here. We have expected to knock off Cascade on Thursday.
The Pioneers grabbed the early lead against Ephrata and never let go, despite disadvantages in size and experience. Omak shot a blazing 60 percent in the first period (6-of-10) to go out to a 14-10 lead, while Ephrata struggled after missing its first nine shots.
Ephrata rallied to tie the score on Carol Ary's baseline shot at 6:30 of the second quarter, but the Pioneers answered with a 6-0 run. After back-to-back Ary buckets, the Pioneers went on a 6-2 spurt to go up 26-20 at the half.
The Lady Tigers tried full-court pressure from the outset of the second half and was successful in creating several Omak turnovers. But the Tigers also turned the ball over against intense Pioneer pressure.
The Pioneers built as much as a 14-point lead in the third period before Ephrata chopped it back down to six at 42-36 on a Lori Brashear layup midway into the fourth period. But the Tigers got no closer as the Pioneers hit the clutch shots and converted their free throws down the stretch.
"Part of our problem tonight was that we probably had about a quarter and a half of intensity," said King. "Our biggest problem tonight was putting the brown thing in the round thing."
The Tigers' 30-percent shooting was only part of the problem. They were also out-rebounded 32-25. And Omak didn't miss many shots, going 46.7 percent from the field.
"That young Omak crew played like an experienced one," said King.
Freshman Tanya Smith and sophomore "sixth-player" Stephani Stanger turned in senior level performances, especially in the second half for Omak. Smith netted all 11 of her points in the second half, hitting 4-of-7 attempts from the floor and 3-of-4 at the foul line. Stanger, who shared game-high scoring honors with starter Laurie Pearson with 14 points, drilled 5-of-9 shots from the field and was 4-of-4 at the foul line in the fourth quarter.
Pearson provided the inside scoring punch for the Pioneers, canning 5-of-8 shots in addition to her 4-for-4 foul shooting touch.
"We got one of our best performances out of Stephani Stanger," said Culbertson. "She's worked hard on her shot and boy did it pay off tonight."
"Tanya too. She has been giving us one performance after another. And our inside girls... they fought for that ball."
Freshman forward Jenny Kerr led the inside crew with nine rebounds. Smith and Carmen Kursave each had six.
Reserve Adina Moritz and Ary provided Ephrata with the bulk of its offense. Moritz, tossed in 12 points and Ary, who went 1-of-5 in the second half, finished with 10 points. Cabe, Nanea King and Brashear were the top ball-hawkers for the Tigers and Brashear was their lone standout around the boards with 10 rebounds.
"I'm proud of these girls," said King. "There were some people who didn't think we'd make it this far... I feel better now than after we won the second-place trophy (at state) last year. We didn't have a dominant player (after an injury sidelined Michelle Davisson) and four new starters. I'd say the girls played up to their potential."

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Tournament Scoring Leaders