|
Cascade-Leavenworth 50,
Liberty Bell 29
Game 8. (Semifinal)
At Leavenworth, WA
The Kodiaks defense held Liberty
Bell to less than half of their season scoring average of 58.5 as Cascade
won the match-up.
"We played our best defensive game of the year, maybe of the last
couple of years," said Cascade coach Mike Lewis.
Liberty Bell's leading scorer Jennifer Paluck (24.9 ppg) was held
to 14 points, her second lowest scoring output of the season.
"Megan Franza and Marni McGregor did a great job
defending Paluck," said Lewis. "They really changed her
shots."
Cascade's Megan Franza totaled 16 points and eight rebounds and Becky
Franza had 10 points and six assists. Allison Fender added nine
rebounds.
Liberty Bell did not help their own cause shooting 4-for-17 from the
free-throw line.
| Liberty Bell (16-6) -
Bradshaw, Gardner 2, Ma. Nickell 4, Paluck 14, Torpey 2, K. Liebl,
J. Liebl 4, Mo. Nickell, Bourn 3, Wilson, Maples. |
| Cascade (20-2) - B.
Franza 10, O'Niell 2, Crowston 2, Fender 8, Willet 2, M. Franza 16,
McGregor 6, Bradshaw 1, Marson, Roche, Burgess 3. |
| Liberty Bell |
|
5 |
13 |
18 |
29 |
| Cascade |
|
15 |
27 |
38 |
50 |
|
***************************************************************************
|
|
Liberty Bell 56,
Okanogan 47
Game 9. (Loser out)
At Chelan Community Center
Liberty Bell's Jennifer
Paluck scored a game-high 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to
lead the Mountain Lions.
"This was our best effort of the season," said Liberty
Bell coach Mike Bourn. "I think we are peaking right
now."
The Mountain Lions' Sarah Bradshaw and Erin Gardner
each had six points, five assists and three steals. Liberty Bell
shot 54 percent (22-for-41) from the field.
Okanogan was led by Cicely Clinkenbeard's 17 points and Amanda
Timm's 13 points. Okanogan shot 46 percent (18-for-39) from the
field.
"Okanogan played a great game also," said Bourn.
"Both teams shot the ball very well."
| Okanogan (17-6) -
Burchard, Derting 6, Chamberlin 2, Goldmark 2, Merkley 7,
Mitzner, Clinkenbeard 17, Reese, Timm 13. |
| Liberty Bell
(17-6) - Bradshaw 6, K. Liebl, Gardner 6, J. Liebl, Mo.
Nickell, Bourn, Wilson 2, Ma. Nickell 2, Paluck 32, Maples,
Torpey 8. |
| Okanogan |
------------
|
10 |
20 |
34 |
47 |
| Liberty Bell |
------------
|
17 |
26 |
41 |
56 |
|
|
***************************************************************************
|
|
Cashmere 53, Tonasket
48
Game 10. (Loser out)
At Chelan Community Center
The No. 7-seeded Bulldogs
had four players score in double figures in the North Central
District A game.
With the score 48-48 with two minutes to play, the next score did
not occur until Cashmere's Wendy Webb hit a eight-foot jumper
with 29 seconds left for her only points of the night.
The Tigers could not convert on their offensive trip and had to
foul. Audrey Geary hit two free throws with 19 seconds to
play to give Cashmere the game's final points.
The game was close throughout, including 15 lead changes, 11 ties
and a neither side enjoying more than a five-point lead.
"Our defense played great tonight," said Cashmere coach Jeff
Kenoyer.
The Bulldogs forced 19 turnovers by Tonasket while committing only
nine of their own.
Cashmere's Amanda Nichols and Gina Smith each scored
13 points. Keri Peterson added 11 points and Geary 10.
Tonasket's Mandy Lindhe scored a game-high 20 points on
10-for-14 floor shooting. Krissy Range totaled 18 points.
| Tonasket (15-8) -
Clarkson 4, J. Freeman 4, Lindhe 20, Corey, Range 18, C.
Freeman, N. Freeman 2. |
| Cashmere (9-13) -
Geary 10, Peterson 11, Caillier 4, Smith 13, Nichols 13,
Jordan, Webb 2. |
| Tonasket |
------------ |
14 |
24 |
38 |
48 |
| Cashmere |
------------ |
12 |
27 |
37 |
53 |
|
|
***************************************************************************
|
|
Liberty Bell 63,
Cashmere 53
Game 11. (Loser out)
At Omak, WA
The Bulldog girls were
voted the CTL's season sportsmanship award, but they weren't about
to be good sports and just give the game away. After falling behind
by 20 points late in the third quarter, Cashmere came roaring back
behind Gina Smith and Keri Peterson and pulled to
within six points in the final 11/2 minutes.
But the Mountain Lions held on, with Jennifer Paluck (26
points), Erin Torpey (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Erin
Gardner (eight points, six assists) all turning in big games.
Gardner's crisp passing helped the Lions get out of the blocks
quickly, with five assists in the first nine minutes as Liberty Bell
jumped out to a 19-9 lead.
"She (Gardner) wants to get over there and smell the (Tacoma)
Dome," coach Mike Bourn said. "So does Erin. Real
bad."
Cashmere got a huge game (24 points, six rebounds) from Smith, but
the Bulldogs had no answer for Paluck. The Lions' athletic 5-foot-9
post shot 10-for-21 from the field and got surprising support from Beau
Bourn (seven points in the final 10 minutes).
"Jennifer's tough," Cashmere coach Jeff Kenoyer
said of Paluck. "She's a tough girl to play against. But the
other girls came to play, too. It wasn't just Jennifer. ... I was
proud of our girls, because we were down 20 and came back. I'm happy
with the way things ended, that's for sure."
| Liberty Bell
(18-6) - Torpey 16, Paluck 26, Gardner 8, J. Liebl 3,
Bourn 8, Bradshaw, K. Liebl, Ma. Nickell 2, Wilson, Maples,
Mo. Nickell. Totals 25-57 11-19 63. |
| Cashmere (9-14) -
Peterson 8, Smith 24, Webb 7, Nichols 2, Caillier 2, Geary 7,
Jordan 3. Totals 19-53 12-19 53. |
| Liberty Bell |
------------ |
17 |
36 |
53 |
63 |
| Cashmere |
------------ |
9 |
27 |
35 |
53 |
|
|
***************************************************************************
|
|
Cascade 66, Omak 56
Game 12. (Championship, winner to state)
At Omak, WA
Freshmen are a different
breed, coaches will tell you.
Consider Cody Burgess and Megan Marson, two Cascade
freshmen who came up just as big as those ancient juniors and
seniors Thursday night in helping the Kodiaks clinch their second
consecutive North Central District A championship. They're about as
different from each other as they could be.
Burgess is the emotional one. In the week prior to Thursday's 66-56
thumping of Omak -- thus sending the Pioneers into Saturday's
second-place-to-state finale (1 p.m., at Eastmont) against Liberty
Bell, a 63-53 conqueror of Cashmere in a loser-out game -- Burgess
had been psyching herself up emotionally for the Pioneers.
"She was getting up all week," said senior Megan Franza,
whose 23 points paced the Kodiaks. "Every time we'd walk by,
she'd be going, `C'mon, hit me, hit me, make me mad.' " The
feisty Burgess was preparing herself to shut down Omak junior Mandi
Taylor, who had lit up Cascade defenders for 18 points in the
Pioneers' regular-season win over the Kodiaks. It must have worked:
Taylor shot just 1-for-8 from the field Thursday.
Then there's the steady-as-she-goes Marson, who doesn't even seem to
change expression during a game, thereby seeming not at all
freshman-like. All she did Thursday was come through with a dozen
points -- including the biggest basket of the night, a 15-footer
from the top of the key after Omak had sliced a 19-point,
second-half deficit to 49-46 with 41/2 minutes remaining.
"In all honesty, she's one of the most calm kids on the court,
even though inside we know she's tight," coach Mike Lewis
said of Marson, who tied Burgess for team-high rebound honors with
seven. Added Franza, "She (Marson) doesn't get intimidated by
the pressure."
Franza scored 16 second-half points, following Marson's critical
fourth-quarter jumper with back-to-back 3-pointers, turning one into
a four-point play when she was fouled on the shot. And she got
plenty of support: Her sister, Becky, dished out six second-half
assists, Allison Fender and Marni McGregor combined
for 18 points and Courtney Crowston helped spark a 14-2 run
late in the second period.
"Defensively, we're a better team than that," said an
obviously discouraged Omak coach Chuck Morris. "But you
have to give them credit; Cascade keeps coming at you, that's one
thing you can always count on."
The Pioneers had some solid performances. Tauni Lisenbey and Trish
Wipprecht combined for 33 points and Shae McCormack
grabbed 15 rebounds, nearly half Omak's team total.
But Morris saw something that must change before the Pioneers go
into Saturday's game against Liberty Bell.
"They did not play as a team. They played as individuals,"
Morris said. "Usually, they look for each other, help each
other. Tonight there was too much one-on-one."
| Omak (18-5) -
Wipprecht 14, McCormack 12, Lisenbey 19, Short 4, Taylor 5,
Orr 2, Lemmon, L. McCormack. Totals 17-51 18-32 56. |
| Cascade (21-2) -
M. Franza 23, B. Franza 4, Fender 8, McGregor 10, Burgess 3,
Marson 12, Crowston 4, O'Neill, Bradshaw, Willet 2, Roche.
Totals 22-53 18-27 66. |
| Omak |
------------ |
9 |
19 |
34 |
56 |
| Cascade |
------------ |
8 |
26 |
43 |
66 |
3-point
goals-- Omak 3-7 (Wipprecht 2, Lisenbey), Cascade 4-12 (M.
Franza 4).
Rebounds-- Omak 33 (S. McCormack 15), Cascade 38 (Burgess 7,
Marson 7).
Turnovers-- Omak 23, Cascade 19. Fouled out-- Short, Wipprecht. |
|
|
|
***************************************************************************
|
Omak 50, Liberty Bell
39
Game 13. (Winner #2 to state, loser out)
At East Wenatchee, WA
Pioneer junior Mandi
Taylor was breathing pretty hard, her face flushed with emotion
and exertion, after the final buzzer, and she had earned a
well-deserved rest.
Although Taylor scored just five points, she had been instrumental
in holding Paluck to just six points over the first three quarters.
By the time Liberty Bell's star post got rolling -- she had 10 of
her 16 points in the final four minutes -- the Pioneers' victory was
well in hand.
"I'm very tired. It's hard, because she's such a good
post," Taylor said of Paluck. "Basically, you can't let
her get the ball."
"Our main plan was to double-team Jennifer Paluck,"
said Omak forward Shae McCormack, who finished with 15 points
and 12 rebounds. "She's aggressive, but if you can take away
her (move to the) left -- because that's her strength -- you can
stop her."
The Pioneers stopped much of Liberty Bell's offense, and the young
Mountain Lions stopped themselves a bunch as well. Nerves played a
large part; by late in the second quarter, they were shooting
3-for-24 (.125 percent) and had already committed a dozen turnovers.
"We were way too tight and tentative," Liberty Bell coach Mike
Bourn said. "But our girls learned a lot. They needed to
get to this game, as a basis for next year ... and maybe pull it
off. But if you score eight points in a half, it ain't gonna
happen."
Even so, the Pioneers still led on 25-22 after a six-point Lion run
late in the third quarter. But a three-point play by McCormack and a
pair of back-to-back 3-pointers by Trish Wipprecht (12
points) helped build the lead to 13 points, and Omak had the game in
hand by the time Tauni Lisenbey (10 points) fouled out with
2:32 remaining.
The Pioneers salted the game away at the free-throw line. The
Pioneers were 19-for-30 at the stripe; the Lions were a frigid
3-for-11.
"What'd you think of that defense, huh?" Omak coach Chuck
Morris said with a big grin after the game. "What about
Mandi Taylor? Didn't she do a job on Paluck?
| Omak (19-5) -
Wipprecht 12, Short 4, Lisenbey 10, S. McCormack 15, Taylor 5,
Orr 4, Lemmon, L. McCormack, Diefenbach, Schwictenberg. Totals
14-42 19-30 50. |
| Liberty Bell
(18-7) - Paluck 16, Bradshaw 2, Nickell 6, Torpey 10,
Gardner, Maples 2, Bourn 3, J. Liebl, Wilson, Nickell, K.
Liebl. Totals 17-54 3-11 39. |
| Omak |
------------ |
9 |
17 |
29 |
50 |
| Liberty Bell |
------------ |
6 |
8 |
22 |
39 |
3-point
goals-- Omak 3-7 (Wipprecht 3), Liberty Bell 2-5 (Paluck,
Bourn).
Rebounds-- Omak 40 (McCormack 12), Liberty Bell 37 (Paluck
16).
Turnovers-- Omak 21, Liberty Bell 20. Fouled out-- Lisenbey,
Torpey. |
|
|
|
|
***************************************************************************
|
Tournament Scoring
Leaders
|
|
Player |
Team |
Total
Points |
Games
Played |
Average |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|