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Okanogan 54, Cascade-Leavenworth
52
Game 8. (Championship, winner to state)
At Eastmont High School
Who says girls' basketball is
boring?
Not anyone who wandered into the Eastmont High gym Thursday night for
Okanogan's 54-52 victory over Cascade in the North Central District A
championship game.
Nor anyone who was there earlier in the night to watch Quincy's 62-61
victory over Omak in a loser-out game.
The district title sends Okanogan to the State A tournament for the second
year in a row. Cascade and Quincy will play Saturday for the second berth.
``They did it,'' said Okanogan coach Michelle Spurr. ``They were
tired and behind and they sucked it up at the end. They were exhausted and
got their heads back in it.''
``There's a saying on our team,'' said Okanogan senior Jennifer Whitley,
who hit three key baskets in the final three minutes. ``If you think of
losing, you've lost. Ms. Spurr is just really good at motivation. In the
huddle (during a timeout late in the game) we all said intensity, but
patience.''
The district title continues a great string of sports success. Many of the
Bulldogs were on the volleyball team which won the State A crown last
November.
``I think that helped,'' Spurr said. ``It's that attitude of handling
pressure.''
The Bulldogs, in control most of the game, found themselves behind by five
points with 3:21 to play. Time to panic? No, time to be patient with the
ball and aggressive on defense.
Okanogan used passes to get the Kodiak defense out of postition and open
the middle for Whitley, who canned a 10-footer. Brandy Nicholas
followed a Cascade turnover with a baseline jumper and Whitley's
eight-footer put Okanogan ahead 51-50 with 1:27 to play.
While the offense did its part, the defensive pressure forced Cascade into
four turnovers and one missed shot during that span.
The Kodiaks hung tough. After Whitley missed a shot, Kim Whaley
sank two free throws to make it 52-51 Cascade with 54 seconds left.
Okanogan went to _ who else? _ Whitley in the key and she pumped in a
fadeaway six-footer to put the Bulldogs on top with 42 seconds left.
Cascade never got another shot. The Kodiaks threw the ball out of bounds,
and after Michelle Messinger made one free throw with 22 seconds to
go, another errant pass turned into a Nicholas steal. The Bulldogs ran out
the final seconds.
``Whitley just killed us,'' said Cascade coach Chuck Darlington.
``She was the determining factor.''
Whitley saved her best for last, scoring eight of her game-high 19 points
in the fourth quarter. She also pulled down eight rebounds, had four
steals and a blocked shot.
It nearly wasn't enough to stop Cascade, which trailed by nine points late
in the third quarter and pulled into a tie 77 seconds later. The key shot
was a 3-point basket from Heidi Darlington at the third-quarter
buzzer. The Kodiaks' 9-0 run turned into a 19-5 spurt, sparked by seven
Darlington points, which opened that five-point lead. Then on came
Okanogan.
``We turned the ball over, we quit executing,'' coach Darlington said.
``We were going inside good, then we quit doing it.''
Okanogan had built its lead behind defense, holding the usually
high-scoring Kodiaks to 18 points in the first half. The Bulldogs used a
box-and-one to bottle up the key and keep Darlington, Cascade's scoring
leader at 16 points per game, from getting many shots.
``The first half really set the tone,'' Spurr said. ``We just decided we'd
make the rest of them (besides Darlington) beat us.''
Whitley shot 8-for-11 in scoring her game-high 19 points. Nicholas pumped
in 11 points, and Taylor added 10 points and eight rebounds. Messinger
delivered a solid game handling and distributing the ball while also
scoring seven points.
Darann Hamilton paced Cascade with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Darlington hit six of her 10 shot attempts for 14 points, plus nine
rebounds. Alicia McIver added 12 points and eight boards.
| Cascade (16-7) - Whaley
7, McIver 12, Cook 4, Dar. Hamilton 15, Darlington 14, Rieke 0, Dan.
Hamilton 0, Johnson 0. |
| Okanogan (16-4) - Smith
0, Messinger 7, Whitley 19, B. Nicholas 11, Taylor 10, L. Harrison
0, Nelson 4, Merkley 3, L. Nicholas 0. |
| Cascade |
|
9 |
18 |
36 |
52 |
| Okanogan |
|
9 |
24 |
40 |
54 |
| Officials: Brian
Barnaby and Pat Flannery |
|
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***************************************************************************
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Cascade-Leavenworth
72, Quincy 57
Game 9. (Winner #2 to state, loser out)
At Eastmont High School
Thank goodness for that recovery day.
The day off between the championship game loss and the second-place
game did wonders for the mental attitude of Cascade, which beat
Quincy 72-57 in Saturday's runnerup contest in the North Central
District A girls' tournament.
The victory sends the Kodiaks to the State A tournament for the
second year in a row. Cascade opens play Wednesday at the Tacoma
Dome.
Quincy finished 15-10.
Thursday's 54-52 loss to Okanogan in the district title game was a
crushing defeat for the Kodiaks, who had a five-point lead with just
over three minutes to play. Having a day off Friday allowed the
Cascade players to regroup.
``It got us emotionally down,'' senior Darann Hamilton said of the
title game defeat. ``Having the day off kind of got us calmed down,
got us back in focus.''
Their coach, Chuck Darlington, knew the team was ready.
``They had a great attitude, they were mentally ready,'' he said.
``I was a lot more relaxed tonight.''
Hamilton turned that relaxed attitude into a big game _ 24 points
and 10 rebounds. She made 10 of 12 shots from the floor and all four
of her free throws.
``She had a great game,'' Darlington said. ``All the seniors had a
great game.''
Hamilton said the experience of playing in last year's state
tournament helped.
``It helped us in leadership,'' she said. ``It helped us stay
calm.''
The Kodiaks came out smoking, scoring the first eight points of the
game. But Quincy quickly jumped back into contention, twice taking
the lead. Cascade regained the advantage late in the first quarter
and maintained a narrow lead most of the game.
The Kodiaks led by as many as 10 points in the opening minute of the
second half, but Quincy fought back. Betsy Field drilled three
consecutive 3-pointers, the last pulling the Jacks within three
points.
The Jacks were still within range at 57-54 with 4:13 to play and
61-56 with 3:11 left. Then Cascade's Gina Cook hit a pair of free
throws and Heidi Darlington scored on a putback shot and was fouled,
sinking the free throw to make it 66-56 with 2:12 to play. Quincy
was unable to counter.
``We gave it our best shot,'' said Quincy coach Mike Haerling. ``We
just don't have enough horses and their horses came to play.''
``The Quincy kids are real scrappers with a lot of heart,''
Darlington said.
The Kodiaks had an edge inside with Hamilton and Alicia McIver, who
collected 10 points and eight rebounds. Quincy post Chris Garcia
picked up three fouls in the first 31/2 minutes and finished with
only two points. The Jacks' other starting post, Krystal Bowman,
also battled foul trouble.
Any edge Quincy may have had in the backcourt was neutralized by
Cook. The junior guard dribbled through the Quincy press without
much trouble and finished it off with a career-high 17 points
(5-for-6 field goals, 7-for-8 free throws) and several steals. She
had three steals in a four-minute span of the third quarter.
``She handles the ball really well against pressure,'' Darlington
said.
Betsy Field hit four 3-pointers (in nine tries) to top Quincy with
16 points. Tanis Pusey collected 12 points and eight rebounds.
Bowman added 10 points and seven rebounds.
| Quincy (15-10) - A.
Field , Pusey 12, B. Field , Bowman 10, C. Garcia , S. Garcia
, Schorno , Gibson . |
| Cascade (18-7) - Whaley
, McIver 10, Cook , Dar. Hamilton 10, Darlington , Rieke ,
Dan. Hamilton 24, Johnson . |
| Quincy |
------------
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57 |
| Cascade |
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72 |
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***************************************************************************
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Tournament Scoring
Leaders
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Player |
Team |
Total
Points |
Games
Played |
Average |
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